Gabriel didn't even flinch. "A math competition."
Alexandra choked on her tea.
Damian's brows lifted, a slow smile forming. "Try again."
There was a beat. Not long. Just enough silence for the air to shift.
Gabriel glanced up, poised and perfectly composed, like a man who had not only expected this confrontation but had already written the rebuttal.
"I took the civil examination," he said, calm as clean glass. "Under a false name. Seventeen. Passed."
Damian stopped in front of him, eyes narrowing, gold and sharp. "Somehow this doesn't surprise me, but why?"
Gabriel didn't blink. "I just wanted to see if my knowledge and skill were like the tutors said."
There was no bravado in the answer. No need for it. Just the quiet, measured certainty of someone who had already fought the doubt and won.
"And were they?" Damian asked, his voice low, but not unkind. More curious than anything, like a man re-evaluating the past through a sharper lens.
