LADY SERAPHINE'S POVForce and threats should have worked.It always does.That’s how order is maintained.That’s how power functions.But as I stand in the center of the courtyard, watching Marcus refuse to yield, watching the guards hesitate, watching the servants linger instead of scattering.I feel it.Power slipping, breaking.No.I won’t let it.If brute command won’t bend them, then I will remind them why they should kneel.I straighten slowly, drawing in a breath, forcing the rage back beneath the surface where it belongs.Control.Always control.“Guards, stop.”My voice cuts through the noise, sharper and carrying across the courtyard with practiced precision.It works, partially.The murmurs quiet not fully but enough.I take a step forward, lifting my chin, letting them all see me clearly. Letting them remember who I am.“You forget yourselves,” I say, my tone measured now, deliberate. “All of you.”My gaze sweeps across the gathered crowd.“I am not some passing authority
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