Gregoris stared at him for a beat.
Then the smile finally won, if one could call it that, but in truth it was more of a grin of a man who'd been insulted in a way he respected.
"He did," Gregoris said. "And he did it with paperwork."
Rafael's eyes widened in horrified delight. "No."
"Yes."
"How?"
Gregoris exhaled slowly, like he was still personally offended by the audacity. "He didn't call it an order."
"Of course he didn't."
"He called it," Gregoris continued, voice flattening into a near-perfect imitation of imperial calm, "'an adjustment to operational status in light of the newly registered marriage and expected heir of House Alamina.'"
Rafael choked. "Expected heir. That sentence is going to haunt me."
"It already haunts me," Gregoris said, deadpan. "He made it sound like I woke up yesterday and announced I was developing a preference for indoor work."
