Chapter 589: No more surprises

Nero had been gone for less than five minutes when Dean and Arion were allowed into Sebastian’s dressing room.

Dean knew that because Chris had checked the corridor twice before opening the door, apparently unwilling to trust Nero’s procession schedule, palace security, or several hundred meters of ceremonial distance to keep him from discovering another reason to return.

"He left," Chris said. "Properly this time."

Dean stepped through the doorway.

And stopped.

Arion nearly walked into him.

Sebastian stood beside the long windows while Madame Celestine corrected the silver fastening at his waist, the morning light falling directly across the white ceremonial robe and turning parts of the embroidery almost metallic.

Dean had known about it.

He had known enough to torment Sebastian silently the previous evening, had seen the family chat descend into suspicious fragments before Sebastian began deleting anything remotely visual, and had understood that the traditional omega robe had been redesigned to suit someone who would rather walk naked through a council chamber than appear wrapped in anything delicate.

Knowing had not prepared him.

The robe fell from Sebastian’s shoulders in long, clean lines, white fabric interrupted by dense silver embroidery that followed the sleeves, edges, and broad panels toward the floor. Deep purple showed beneath it whenever Sebastian shifted, matching the sash fitted around his waist and the violet stone set among the silver chains near one shoulder.

Underneath, the fitted black coat anchored everything.

It kept him unmistakably Sebastian.

His shoulder-length black hair had been brushed into loose, controlled waves, the dark strands making the white and silver around him appear even brighter.

Dean stared.

Sebastian looked over.

"Well?"

Dean walked farther into the room.

"I hate that you hid this."

A smile pulled at Sebastian’s mouth.

"That sounds promising."

Arion came around Dean and took in the full outfit without speaking immediately. He had changed for the ceremony already, wearing a warm stone-colored formal coat with muted gold embroidery at the cuffs and collar over cream trousers, his dark hair pulled cleanly away from his face.

He circled Sebastian once to inspect the robe from the back.

Dean looked at him.

"You’re evaluating him like military equipment."

"I’m looking at the embroidery."

Sebastian lifted one arm slightly.

"Nero’s household patterns."

"I noticed."

Arion touched none of it, but his gaze followed the silverwork where it became particularly dense across the shoulder.

"It suits you."

Sebastian looked genuinely pleased by that.

Dean finally approached close enough to examine the violet stone.

"Nero saw you?"

"Unfortunately."

Chris laughed from near the door.

Dean looked at him.

"That was the secret."

"He came to check whether Sebastian had eaten."

Sebastian adjusted one of the silver chains across his chest.

"He checked very thoroughly."

Dean’s eyebrows rose.

Trevor, standing near one of the side tables, cleared his throat.

Lucas looked delighted.

Dean turned back toward Sebastian.

"You survived?"

"Barely."

"That bad?"

Sebastian gave him a look.

Dean immediately understood.

"Oh."

Arion’s mouth twitched.

Chris checked the time again.

"He was supposed to leave eight minutes earlier than he did."

"That explains everything."

Sebastian smoothed the front of the robe where Nero had apparently disturbed it before the procession staff rescued both the clothing and the schedule.

The room had settled after the earlier chaos. Several garment cases stood closed along one wall, jewelry boxes had been cleared from the dressing table, and only the final emergency sewing kit remained open beside Celestine. Through the windows, Dean could see part of the ceremonial courtyard below, where attendants were already moving into their assigned positions beneath deep-purple banners and silver standards.

Nero would be assembling for his section of the procession now.

Sebastian had perhaps twenty minutes.

Which was apparently why he turned toward the mirror and touched his hair.

Dean noticed immediately.

"No."

Sebastian looked at him through the reflection.

"I haven’t said anything."

"You have the face."

Arion glanced between them.

"What is he planning?"

Sebastian gathered part of his hair at the back of his neck and studied himself.

Dean stared.

"You cannot be serious."

Lucas straightened.

Chris’s attention sharpened immediately.

Sebastian looked toward them.

"Would cutting it shorter now be too much for Nero?"

Silence.

Dean’s mouth slowly opened.

Arion looked at Sebastian’s reflection, then toward the door through which Nero had disappeared.

"How short?"

Sebastian lifted his hand to just below his ears.

Dean covered his mouth.

Chris began laughing.

Trevor muttered something about poor timing.

Lucas was already studying Sebastian’s hair as though the proposal deserved serious consideration.

"You want to cut it now?" Dean asked.

"I’ve been thinking about it anyway."

"Before your wedding?"

"Technically before the ceremony."

"That distinction is doing nothing."

Sebastian turned from the mirror.

His hair slipped back across his shoulders.

"I was going to do it after."

Dean stared at him for another second before laughter finally escaped.

"This is cruel."

"That was not my intention."

"That makes it worse."

Arion folded his arms.

"Nero has already seen you in a robe he had no idea existed, in his colors, carrying his household embroidery, after spending weeks expecting the green suit."

Sebastian nodded.

"And now you want to appear in the procession with different hair."

"When you phrase it like that—"

"It sounds exactly like what you are doing."

Dean moved closer, caught one section of Sebastian’s hair between two fingers, and folded it upward to roughly the length Sebastian had indicated.

The change was immediate.

Shorter hair exposed more of his jaw and the high collar beneath the robe, sharpening his features and making the silverwork around his shoulders look even more prominent.

Dean looked at Arion.

Arion studied Sebastian for several seconds.

"Nero will malfunction."

Dean laughed.

Sebastian frowned at his reflection.

"Is that a reason not to?"

"No," Dean said immediately. "It is a reason I want a good seat."

Trevor sighed.

Lucas smiled.

Chris had already moved toward the corridor.

"I’ll find the stylist."

Sebastian turned.

"You’re encouraging this?"

Chris opened the door.

"No, I’m just going to warn the stylist before all of you give her a heart attack."