The imperial court had always been a place of intrigue, with nobles plotting, rival factions scheming, and secrets hiding behind every gilded door. But as Simone's decisions began to reshape the empire, something more unsettling was brewing. The court was beginning to realize that the Crown Prince wasn't just making the right decisions—he was making them with a terrifying level of accuracy, as if he had already known everything beforehand.
Reports of crime, corruption, and treachery came flooding in daily, and each time Simone issued a verdict, it was as though he had already read the perpetrators' private records, knew their schemes, and understood their every move. The nobles were bewildered, unable to comprehend how the new Crown Prince could discern so much with such chilling precision.
Adrian, Livia, Cassian, Selene, and the others gathered in secret to discuss what they were all starting to realize. The air was thick with unease, as the implications of Simone's newfound abilities became more and more apparent.
"You saw it, right?" Adrian's voice was tense, his brow furrowed in worry. "The way he dealt with that noble? He knew everything about his dealings. No one else could have figured it out so quickly."
Livia, her fiery temper simmering, clenched her fists. "It's not possible. He didn't even have to investigate. How does he know everything? His judgments are unnervingly accurate... It's like he can read minds."
Cassian's eyes narrowed. "He can't be reading minds. But he is reading everything—documents, logs, records... something. He's always one step ahead. We've all been underestimating him."
Selene, calm and calculating as always, spoke with a quiet seriousness. "It's not just his intelligence. He's... seeing things. And hearing things. His decisions—his verdicts—are like he's been watching the empire for years. It's as though he's been present in every meeting, every discussion."
Helena's voice trembled as she spoke, her usually mischievous tone replaced with concern. "What if he's been listening to us? All this time, what if he knows everything we've been saying about him?"
The realization hit them all like a wave of cold dread. Simone's power of Darkness had always been a mystery, but now they understood that it wasn't just the power to conceal—it was the power to hear and see everything that happened in the shadows, in the darkness that surrounded him. The whispers, the quiet conversations, the secrets in the dark corners of the palace—Simone could hear them all. He could see everything that they thought was hidden.
"They're right," Dorian muttered, his usual arrogance replaced by a rare note of uncertainty. "He can hear everything... everything we say. We've been speaking in private, assuming it was safe. But he's been listening. He's been watching us."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as the siblings came to grips with the terrifying truth. Simone's power, the one they had always dismissed as a weakness, had turned out to be the perfect tool for him to gather knowledge. His ability to hear and see everything—every conversation, every secret—had made him a far more dangerous enemy than any of them had realized.
"I knew he was different," Adrian said, his voice tinged with disbelief and anger. "But this... this is beyond anything I could have imagined. He's been playing us all along."
"He's not playing," Livia snapped, her eyes narrowing. "He's been watching. Hearing us. Knowing everything."
It was then that the door to their private meeting room swung open, and there stood Simone, his expression cold and emotionless, his blood-red eyes gleaming in the dim light. The room fell silent as all of them turned to face him.
Simone stepped into the room slowly, his every movement deliberate. He didn't look like the boy they once knew. The shy, overweight prince was gone, replaced by a tall, imposing figure who radiated a quiet, terrifying power.
"You really think I didn't hear you?" Simone's voice was calm, his words cutting through the tension like a knife. "Of course I heard everything. You think I don't hear the whispers in the dark? You think I haven't been listening to every word you've said about me?"
He walked further into the room, his presence making the temperature drop, his power of Darkness creeping into every corner. The shadows seemed to follow him, as if they were part of him now.
"I told you all, didn't I?" Simone continued, his voice low and chilling. "I didn't want this. I chose to abstain from the throne. I chose to stay hidden, to live as a commoner, because I didn't want this life. I didn't want the power, the crown, the empire."
His eyes flickered briefly to each of his siblings, as though measuring their reactions. "But you didn't listen. You pushed me into this. You pushed me to accept the crown. And now, you fear me. You fear what I've become. You fear the power I've gained."
Simone took another step forward, his voice hardening with every word. "But you should be careful what you wish for. You wanted me to take the throne. You wanted me to play your game. But now that I'm here, now that I've taken what you wanted, you want to take it all away. You want to stop me. Try it."
A dark smirk appeared on his lips. "Try all you want. I'll make sure to keep my title. You don't control me anymore. I control this empire now."
The room grew even colder, and his siblings stood there in stunned silence, unable to find words. They had underestimated him for so long, assuming his power was nothing more than an inconvenience. But now, they were seeing the truth—Simone was not just a threat. He was a force of nature.
Simone turned his back to them, his dark power swirling in the room like a storm. "And don't think for a second that I can't hear you even when I'm not around. Your thoughts are as clear as day to me. Every whisper, every word. I'm always watching. Always listening."
Without another word, he left the room, his footsteps echoing in the silence behind him. His siblings stood there, each of them reeling from the revelation. Simone was no longer the person they had once known. He was something far more dangerous—something they could never hope to control.
The shadows of the empire had taken hold of him, and now, they would see the true extent of his power. And there was nothing they could do to stop it.