CHAPTER 355: BAIT

"Dealing with people is an art," Vanessa said slowly, though her mind was racing as she thought of the best way to explain this to Nero. "Before convincing others of the truth you want them to see, first you have to have clarity about your goals. This sounds simple, but often people’s actions do not align with their goals. Sometimes emotions interfere, other times convenience, and other times still, people just become misguided about what actions will support them in their goals.

"You, I suspect, don’t have an issue in this aspect, and I won’t pry into your private affairs. But, if you will allow me, I have some questions I would like to propose. You don’t need to answer them to me, or even let me know whether or not you’ve considered them before or not. You simply need to answer them to yourself."

Nero nodded, noticing how seriously yet cautiously Vanessa was taking this. He suspected that she was cautious because she wanted to address certain sensitive topics, like his brother. That was, honestly, the only topic someone might find to be sensitive for him anyway.

"Go ahead," he said. "No need to hesitate - I am not so delicate that a few questions will rattle me."

Feeling slightly reassured, Vanessa continued.

"Let’s start with something simple: what is your main or ultimate goal in life? Is it become a Sage? To raise your family to new heights? To bring pride to your parents? Maybe it’s even something as grand as becoming leader of all of Kolar. Considering all the big dreams you try to sell me, ’naming an era after your name’ and such, I’d say your goal is at least that, right?

"Or is it possible that you haven’t really identified such a grand, ultimate goal in life. Maybe you actually haven’t thought past a less grand, yet seemingly impossible task... for example, revenge for your brother."

Vanessa paused to see if Nero reacted at all to her words, but his expression remained just as stoic as always. If her words bothered him at all, he didn’t show it.

"If you’ve thought about revenge, have you considered the target for your revenge? Is it the perpetrator? Maybe everyone involved, from the lowest level to the highest. Or perhaps the entire institution that allowed such an injustice to occur."

Though Nero showed no outward change, internally he wondered if he was truly so easy to read. Yes, the admiration he once held towards the great country of Kolar had turned into disgust overnight. He hated them just as much as he hated the Dom family - perhaps even a little bit more. They were supposed to be the personification of honour, of brotherhood, of justice and all the things that filled a young boy’s mind.

The fact that reality proved otherwise infuriated him, making him hate and blame them, even if he himself didn’t understand who ’they’ even were. Eventually he concluded that they were not the good and honest soldiers who fought daily to keep the country safe, but the superiors and commanders. They were corrupt, and greedy, and all the things that were wrong with this country.

But having met someone like Lieutenant Earl Berkin, Nero had to admit he could assign no blame to the man at all. He was probably even more honourable and respectable than Nero himself. Then there was Commander Dagon Thomas, who at least seemed like an honest, if a little too straightforward, man. There was also Dr. Iris who had kept his secret for no apparent price, and had helped him tremendously.

Nero did not want to think of these things. No, he just wanted to hate. He wanted to hate Kolar and all those who allowed it to become the instrument that took Nero’s brother away from him. As much as he hated Dave and whoever supported him, the existence of such people allowed Nero to feed his inner belief that this country was corrupt to the core. Yet if he was being honest, painfully honest, then not all of them were to blame.

That feeling left him a little confused. This was a truth he had been avoiding for a while now - something he didn’t want to think about at all. Fortunately, his hectic and busy routine allowed him little time to dwell on such things. Yet with Vanessa directly asking these questions, Nero was forced to think about them.

"Maybe in your eyes, this institution is wrong. Or maybe a few people in it are corrupting an otherwise pure nation. Have you, at all, then, considered the ramifications of what would happen if you truly achieved your revenge? Let’s ignore the possible collateral damage, and all the system disruptions that might occur if you do target the institution. Have you considered what you would do afterwards? Of what life would be like once you’ve achieved your goal?

"I’m not asking these questions because I want to dissuade you from your goals, or even because I might think you’re targeting the institution at all. My purpose, in all of this, is simply to show you the depth in which you need to understand yourself, your goal, and what your future might look like in your eyes.

"This is not for childish emotions and impulsive actions. You need to understand yourself in depth, and need to fully consciously make your decisions so that you’re clear on exactly

where you stand. Only after you know yourself and your goals fully, can you then begin to work on influencing how others perceive you.

"This is vital because we live in a world where everything is unpredictable. People may have cards or abilities that let them read your emotions, or determine whether you’re telling the truth or lying. Heck, if the person you’re facing is of a much higher Aetherian rank than you, their heightened senses and experience alone should allow them to see many things you may wish to hide."

Vanessa had successfully intrigued Nero. The confusion he felt about his emotions regarding Kolar was one thing. But the absolute, unforgivable hatred he felt towards the Dom family had never wavered, and while it was true that for years already he had been working dedicatedly towards his goal, it was also true that as his exposure increased and he encountered new things, his ideas were beginning to change. It couldn’t be helped. That was not to say that he hated them any less.

What he meant was that understanding a hint of what their motives might have been for acting against Nero’s brother allowed him to see just how insignificant such an act really was for them. Perhaps, they never even thought about it again.

In fact, they were so confident in themselves that they blatantly used their relationship with Nero as a tool to gain some benefits from another Great family. Nero had not forgotten how his father had told him that the assassination against him in Lumina had actually been about Gabriel, and that the Dom family had simply taken the blame for it as a convenient way to gain some benefits from someone else.

The action of targeting Patrick had been nothing more than a calculated move to gain some benefits, whatever they may have been. The Dom family’s sheer indifference towards him and his family cooled Nero’s anger, and allowed him to look at the situation with a clear, non-emotional head.

To him, the Dom family was his ultimate goal, but to them, he, his suffering, his family, all were just simple pawns to use at their convenience. There was a certain level of arrogance and power buried behind such blatant indifference.

He thought about how some Ascendants might be working towards gaining the resources to become a Sage. If Baelor Dom became a Sage, then all his dreams of revenge, all his ambitions, everything would suddenly become pointless. The man would become untouchable.

While such a realisation infuriated Nero even more, he did not allow his anger to take hold of him. Not after learning that his anger was blatantly obvious for all to see, and it was impeding his goals.

If that’s what it took to fulfil his goal of getting revenge, Nero would even let go of his anger if that’s what was needed. After all, his conviction would be unwavering even without that anger.

"Let’s assume," Vanessa continued, "for the sake of this argument, that you’re deadset on seeking revenge for your brother, and your target is none other than Jacob Dom. To be honest, even if you tell me he’s not, and that you have no dreams of getting revenge, I would never believe you. Most important people you meet will be able to reach such a conclusion with a background check, and most regular people you meet won’t really care about the details either way.

"After all, you’re the first person born who wants revenge, and you most certainly aren’t the first who thinks that the death of a loved one was unfair or unjust, or that there’s someone responsible for it. So then what do you do with something that is basically an open secret?

"The answer is fairly simple. You use it. You let everyone know that this is your secret. You never spell it out - no, that would be too obvious. But you let everyone know enough that they can draw the conclusion fairly easily. After all, if people think that they know you, and know what to expect, they will no longer fear you, or doubt you. You will go from someone who ’may manifest his aggressiveness in an unanticipated and potentially destabilizing manner’. After all, people will know who your aggressiveness is targeted towards. Compared to a state where you hold your secrets close, and leave everyone guessing who you might end up harming, this is a much more preferable outcome."

Vanessa paused for a moment to let Nero absorb her words - after all, the idea she had put forward sounded simple in theory, but to implement effectively was far from easy.

"Even this is only just the beginning," she continued. "This is the first step you need to take, but far from the last. You see, you need to consider others just as perceptive and insightful as you consider yourself, in which case, an obvious bait like that won’t necessarily work. Not on its own."