Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Don’t commit treason

Gabriel did not raise his voice.

That, more than anything else, was what made Rafael sit straighter.

“Rafael,” he said calmly, hands folded over the tablet, posture composed in the way that meant the conversation had moved out of irritation and into authority. “You will be presented this year.”

Rafael scoffed softly. “You cannot compel…”

“I can,” Gabriel interrupted, still even. “And I will. Refusal would constitute willful evasion of an imperial legal rite. In simpler terms: treason.”

Rafael stared at him. “You are being ridiculous.”

“No,” Gabriel replied. “I am being merciful.”

Rafael laughed once, sharp and incredulous. “By threatening me with treason?”

“By not escalating it further,” Gabriel said, unbothered. “You falsified your own status. You hid yourself from a public registry. If I were anyone else, this conversation would be happening with three witnesses and a recorder.”

Rafael’s mouth closed.

Gabriel’s gaze softened, fractionally. “I am not doing that. I am correcting it quietly.”

Rafael leaned back, rubbing his temples. “You enjoy watching me suffer.”

“I enjoy not having gaps in my administration,” Gabriel replied. “You happen to be one of them.”

Silence stretched.

Then Gabriel tapped his tablet and turned it so Rafael could see the schedule draft. A highlighted block, neatly annotated.

“I am placing you with Pais’s diplomatic party,” he said. “Front-left quadrant. Third row.”

Rafael blinked. “…Pais?”

“Yes,” Gabriel said. “Their delegation is loud, ceremonial, and politically fascinating. They will draw the attention like moths to a solar flare and even more gossip from the past events of their princess.”

Rafael scanned the names, dread warring with reluctant relief. “So no one will look at me.”

“Not for more than five minutes,” Gabriel confirmed. “And only because you have to give an oath to me and Damian. Three minutes if it’s short.”

Rafael lowered the tablet slowly. “You are enjoying this far too much.”

“I am enjoying efficiency,” Gabriel corrected. “And the fact that you will survive this with minimal trauma.”

“Five minutes of public attention is not minimal,” Rafael said flatly. “It’s a hostage situation.”

Gabriel’s mouth curved, faint but unapologetic. “You will stand, you will swear loyalty, you already give daily, you will not trip, and then everyone will immediately stop caring because Pais will start a diplomatic incident with their seating colors.”

Rafael closed his eyes. “Of course they will.”

“They always do,” Gabriel said. “Last year it was a near-duel over sashes.”

Rafael exhaled through his nose. “You planned this too well for someone claiming benevolence.”

“I planned this like someone who knows you,” Gabriel replied. “You won’t have to be a symbol or public more than strictly necessary.”

“Yes,” Rafael said tightly.

“And yet,” Gabriel continued, voice steady, “you do not get to opt out of adulthood because it’s inconvenient.”

Rafael opened his eyes. “I am already an adult.”

“You are,” Gabriel agreed. “But in the Empire’s eyes you still need your mother’s signature for anything deemed important. That’s why the courting system never notified you first, but Delphine.”

Rafael went very still.

“…That,” he said slowly, “explains several deeply irritating things.”

Gabriel inclined his head. “It does.”

Rafael stared at the tablet again, then at nothing in particular. The fight drained out of him in a quiet, controlled way, like someone setting down a weapon rather than being disarmed.

“So,” he said at last, voice even, “once this is done, I am legally autonomous.”

“Yes,” Gabriel replied.

Rafael exhaled, long and measured. He straightened his sleeves, aligned the papers on his desk with unnecessary care, and finally nodded.

“Very well,” he said. “I accept.”

Gabriel studied him. “That was… graceful.”

“I am choosing to think of this as a strategic inconvenience,” Rafael replied. “One I can survive, but I’m still having a backup plan of running away, honestly.”

Gabriel’s lips twitched, the expression hovering between fondness and warning.

“Do not,” he said calmly. “I will find you.”

“I have no doubt,” Rafael replied. “Which is why it remains a theoretical option.”

Gabriel shook his head once, amused despite himself. “You really are incapable of reacting to authority in a normal way.”

“I work for the Emperor’s consort,” Rafael said dryly. “Normal responses were removed from my system the moment I stepped into the office.”

Gabriel pushed himself upright with a careful breath, one hand settling briefly at his back. “You will attend. You will stand where you’re told and will survive the applause.”

Rafael winced. “The applause is the worst part.”

“And then,” Gabriel continued, unbothered, “you will be officially recognized as an adult, which means no more maternal overrides, no more registry anomalies, and no more other people making decisions about you behind your back.”

That gave Rafael pause.

“…That does sound appealing,” he admitted.

Gabriel smiled faintly. “It should.”

Rafael nodded once more, the decision settling into place. “Very well. I will not run.”

“Good,” Gabriel said, turning toward the door. “Because Damian already likes you, and Gregoris would chase you for sport.”

Rafael closed his eyes. “Of course he would.”

Gabriel paused at the threshold. “Get some rest, Rafael. You have a ceremony to survive.”

After he left, Rafael sat back in his chair, staring at the ceiling for a long moment.

“Strategic inconvenience,” he murmured again, then reached for his tablet. “Manageable. Possibly.” He had less than two weeks until the ceremony.

He opened his calendar, added a new reminder, and typed:

Prepare for public adulthood. Do not commit treason.

He stared at it, then added a second line beneath.

Order stronger tea.

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