Chapter 151: Fear, Respect, and an Audience
Chapter 151: Fear, Respect, and an Audience
Elyn’s POV
I didn’t believe him.
Not even a little bit.
I stared at Zorathys the way one stared at a beautifully wrapped gift that was definitely hiding a knife inside. Calm on the outside. Deadly beneath. His expression was far too innocent, far too unbothered for someone who had apparently no idea a date for the ball had been agreed upon in his name.
"You expect me to believe that?" I asked flatly.
He met my gaze without flinching. In fact, he looked mildly offended—like I’d accused him of stealing sweets rather than orchestrating social chaos across an entire palace. "I truly did not know that the date had been concluded," he said. "I was asleep."
"You were asleep?" I asked, and he nodded.
"That is your excuse?"
He nodded again.
"Zorathys, we both know that even before I came here, things still moved with only your approval," I told him.
"No..." He dragged out the word. "You are wrong there, Firefly. Even while I was asleep, the realm moved without my approval."
I just gave him a look because I still did not believe that Zorathys had no idea the date for the introductory ball had been agreed on without his knowledge.
He sighed, slow and dramatic, and ran a hand through his hair. "If you doubt me so deeply, Firefly, then ask Naviel. Perhaps he knows how this... mysterious date came about."
I narrowed my eyes at him. My senses tingled—it seemed like he was planning to put the blame on Naviel. Only one way to find out. "Alright. Call him," I told him.
"I’ll do that later," he said dismissively.
I shook my head and folded my arms across my chest. "No. You are doing it now."
"Now?" he asked, eyes wide in shock.
"Yes, Zor," I said sweetly. "Now."
"But—"
"The earlier, the better," I said, cutting in because it was obvious he was about to give me an excuse, and I wasn’t ready to listen to it.
Zorathys hesitated, and that alone told me everything. He scratched the side of his face, gaze flicking briefly away before returning to me. "Naviel isn’t in the palace at the moment."
"Then summon him," I told him.
"I tried," he said smoothly. "Seconds ago. He is currently sleeping."
I raised a brow. "Since when has Naviel sleeping ever stopped you from summoning him?"
He opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Then said, "Since now."
I just stared at him. One thing I was certain of was that Zorathys was lying. Normally he was a good liar, but perhaps it was because he had just woken up—or because I was getting to know him better—but he was doing a terrible job of lying right now. I could see through everything.
"I need to respect my subjects," he added, as if that explained anything.
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. The sound burst out of me, sharp and incredulous. "You don’t even know what the word respect means."
Zorathys went quiet at that.
The hall seemed to quiet with him—shadows stilled. He looked thoughtful, head tilted to the side as he considered my words.
"...Perhaps," he said slowly, "I do not fully understand the concept."
I blinked in shock because I had not been expecting that.
"But," he continued, nodding once as if he’d solved something profound, "I do know that it is similar to fear."
What the—?
"No," I said instantly. "It isn’t."
He tilted his head. "Yes, it is."
"It is not."
"Fear and respect yield the same result," he said calmly. "Obedience. So yes, it is."
"Fear doesn’t always result in obedience," I told him.
"But it gets the job done."
"What job?" I asked.
"Obedience," he said, like he could not understand why I was asking him something so obvious.
"That is inaccurate," I told him.
He watched me with open curiosity now, like I was a puzzle he hadn’t yet decided whether to dismantle or admire.
"I don’t see how, but humour me then. Explain what makes fear so different from respect when they both give the same result," he told me.
"Fear," I said carefully, "is when people obey you because they’re afraid of what you’ll do to them if they don’t."
"And respect?" he asked.
"Respect," I said, "is when they listen to you even when they aren’t afraid. When they trust your judgment. When they believe you won’t harm them just because you can."
The silence stretched.
"They don’t fear you," I continued, softer now. "But they choose to follow you anyway."
Zorathys considered that.
"Would respect give people the opportunity to wake me up from my sleep just because they feel like I wouldn’t hurt them?" Zorathys asked.
I nodded. "Yes."
That seemed to bother him more than anything else I’d said.
He frowned faintly, eyes drifting toward nothing. Then, after a long pause, he said, "Hmm. Respect seems bothersome. I prefer fear."
I almost laughed at how ridiculous the statement was, but then again, this was the demon realm, and the person I was speaking to was the king of all ridiculousness.
"It’s a bit synonymous with respect," he added.
"It isn’t," I argued.
He shrugged, unconcerned. "Then we will just settle with you saying it is not and me saying it is. No need to waste our energy arguing after all," he said with a yawn.
A deep, unapologetic yawn that showed far too sharp teeth for someone pretending to be reasonable.
"Well?" he asked lazily. "Are you done stalling for time now?"
"I wasn’t stalling," I told him.
I definitely was.
"Mm," he hummed. "And are you going to perform for me now?"
I stiffened. "I never said I was going to perform for you."
He gestured vaguely to himself, already reclining deeper into the shadow-chair like a king settling in for entertainment. "I am sitting."
"That’s not my problem."
"I am bored," he continued. "And I wish to see you dance."
I crossed my arms. "Your wish is definitely not my command."
He ignored me.
"And besides," he added, eyes half-lidded, voice infuriatingly calm, "I need to recharge my energy. Teleporting from my bedroom to the hall was... taxing. I need to regain my energy."
"By watching me dance?" I asked.
He smiled. "Yes, Firefly."