Bound by the Mark of Lies (BL)-Chapter 330 - 325: Civil examination and math

They entered the examination hall not as administrators but as a procession. Or at least, that’s what it looked like once Gabriel opened the mirrored doors and stepped inside—composed, radiant, and terrifyingly quiet.

Behind him followed the Department of Spite.

It took less than a minute for them to fall in line. Less than another for the room to feel it.

Gabriel, in slate and silver, his robe lined in understated embroidery that shimmered only when the ether light shifted. His hair, as usual, was perfect. His expression, diplomatic.

And his presence, heavy.

The rest of them cleaned up remarkably fast, as if exhaustion had been something they wore deliberately. Alexandra adjusted her cuffs and raised her chin. Julian pulled his gloves taut and straightened the edge of his coat like he was about to pass judgment on God. Irina rebraided her hair in thirty seconds flat and managed to look both seventeen and a seasoned killer.

Rafael stood a bit too tall, like someone trying to pretend he hadn’t been crying over scroll ink an hour ago. But with his collar ironed and his shoulders squared, he looked like he belonged. And maybe, finally, he did.

The examinees rose instinctively as Gabriel stepped in, as if pulled by gravity. Not all bowed. Some were too stunned. Others were too calculating.

Gabriel didn’t require either. He merely passed them like a tide.

At the front of the amphitheater stood the professors, those who had passed the vetting process, the background reviews, and, in some cases, Gabriel’s own lectures. Men and women of various ages, all robed in the black and blue of the Ministry, lined up like judges.

They bowed.

Gabriel bowed in return, just enough to be courteous. Not enough to be humble.

"Thank you," he said clearly, his voice carrying through the quiet, "for being here to witness the future of this Empire—and to ensure it deserves one."

There was no clapping. No ceremony, past the necessity.

Just a stillness that sank into the marble floor and settled into the bones.

Behind him, Alexandra crossed her arms and whispered to Irina, "He always sounds like he’s either saving the world or about to destroy it."

Irina whispered back, "Both. That’s the brand."

Gabriel turned toward the assembled applicants—two thousand of them, including the ones who were already sweating through formalwear too expensive to actually move in. They looked like a mosaic of nerves and overconfidence, arranged in silent rows that stretched back further than any of them probably expected when they signed up.

Some sat straight-backed and eager, pens already in hand. Some slouched in expensive arrogance. And some, Gabriel could spot them easily, looked like they were beginning to understand what kind of room they’d just walked into.

"Three hours," he said, his voice calm and steady, not loud but impossible to ignore. "Essay. Analysis. Logic."

The words settled into the space like falling coins. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

"Any attempt at cheating," he continued, "will result in a permanent ban from all forms of governmental service."

A ripple passed through the rows. One girl in the second seat tried to pretend she wasn’t hiding a charm bracelet under her sleeve.

Gabriel’s gaze passed over her once. That was enough.

"Choose wisely," he added, just soft enough that they had to listen.

Behind him, someone stifled a laugh. Probably Alexandra.

He didn’t turn.

The last syllable hadn’t finished echoing before the hall began to shift. The proctors stepped forward in synchronized movement, scrolls releasing ether locks with a crisp sound that somehow felt louder than it should. Hundreds of pens lifted off desks like a breath being held.

Silence.

And then—

A low bell chime. The examination had begun.

Gabriel didn’t sit immediately. He stood at the head of the platform for another minute, gaze sweeping over the amphitheater like someone taking inventory of a battlefield.

He didn’t need to say anything else.

Not now.

The terms had been made clear.

Behind him, the Department of Spite settled into their long table like a tribunal of mildly caffeinated judgment. There were no introductions. Just the quiet scrape of chairs and the shared fatigue of people who’d spent the last three nights redesigning an exam schedule, reviewing magical signature interference protocols, and trying to convince the palace catering department that lemon scones were not an acceptable breakfast for war.

Alexandra was the first to break the silence. She poured tea from the pristine white pot Edward had sent and passed the cups around like a priest at communion.

"Gabriel," she said, her voice pitched low. "You didn’t tell us the ether insulation in this room was that thick."

Gabriel finally sat, folding into his chair like someone who still hadn’t admitted he was tired. "That’s the point. No spells. No tricks. No sense of bloodlines."

Rafael rubbed at his eyes, red pen already uncapped. "No mercy, either."

Julian didn’t look up. "Mercy is for finals."

"Ah, now this reminds me of Gabriel when he was your age, Irina," Alexandra said fondly, her tone too light, too sweet, the kind that usually came with either flammable consequences or family secrets.

"You are scaring me," Irina said, immediately on edge.

Alexandra smiled wider. "Good. That means you’re paying attention."

Gabriel sighed, not looking up from his papers. "Don’t."

"Why not? It’s educational." She set her teacup down and turned to the others with entirely too much delight. "Did you know he took the exam when he was seventeen? In secret. Under a false name. No one in the family knew. Not even Charles. Just me."

Julian finally looked up, brows raised. "Wait. What?"

Rafael turned in his seat like he’d just discovered a hidden Chapter in the Empire’s constitution. "You were seventeen? You lied to take the civil exam?"

"I borrowed someone’s identity," Gabriel corrected, still flipping through the answer sheet with the casual cruelty of someone grading future senators. "Lying implies I wanted to deceive them. I didn’t care what they believed. I just wanted to pass."

"I helped forge the documents," Alexandra added cheerfully. "He made me practice his signature six times."

Irina blinked. "But... why?"

Gabriel looked up at that. His eyes were steady. "Because I needed to know if I was good enough on my own. Without the name. Without the noise."

"And were you?" Julian asked softly.

Gabriel nodded once. "Second place."

A pause.

Rafael blinked. "Who beat you?"

Gabriel smiled, faintly, like someone recalling a wound long since cauterized. "They’re irrelevant now."

The room went still until the distant, polished echo of heavy boots broke it.

Everyone turned.

The doors at the rear of the observation chamber opened with the low hiss of ether locks, and Damian entered like a storm someone had wrapped in silk to be polite. He wasn’t wearing the imperial robe, but he might as well have been. The gold in his eyes caught the morning light like a knife held up to a flame.

"Second place in what?" he asked, casually, too casually.

Gabriel didn’t even flinch. "A math competition."

Alexandra choked on her tea.

Damian’s brows lifted, a slow smile forming. "Try again."

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