(Almera POV)
The Empress did not dismiss the court with a command.
She did not need to.
She merely turned.
And the court understood.
The shift was subtle. Conversations resumed in low tones, nobles began to move in carefully measured steps, and officials inclined their heads as if returning to duties that had never truly paused. But no one left immediately.
No one ever did.
Because in Constantine, departure was not dictated by permission.
It was dictated by timing.
And the timing, at that moment, was not yet right.
Romulus remained beside me as we stepped forward from the center of the chamber, his presence steady and immovable against the quiet current of movement around us. I could feel the eyes that followed him. Not just curiosity.
Assessment.
Comparison.
Calculation.
The Sun Emperor had stepped into a court that did not belong to him.
And yet—
He did not appear out of place.
That unsettled them more than if he had.
