Page 44 of Damsel in Disguise

“Elimination is efficient when the subject is expendable. She’s not.”

Victor shifts. “Every subject is expendable.”

“Incorrect,” I reply evenly. “Some subjects are pressure points.”

The Crown remains still. Luca watches.

“You selected impact over infiltration,” I continue. “You turned a surveillance irregularity into a spectacle risk. Had she died on that road, CynoTech would already be auditing satellite feeds and cross-referencing emergency response times. They wouldn’t look outward first. They would look inward to find the root cause.”

“She crossed a threshold,” Luca insists.

“She brushed against one,” I correct him again. “There’s a very fine difference.”

I step closer to the glass, watching my own reflection fracture across their projections. “She doesn’t yet understand what she was following. That ignorance is a resource that can be turned into an asset for us.”

Victor gives a short, humorless sound. “You want to protect her.”

“I want to control her and protect Triarch Dominion from public exposure,” I correct calmly. “If she disappears, she becomes a catalyst. If she dies, she becomes a nemesis. If she wakes here, under observation protocols not calibrated for subtlety, you’ll definitely frighten her into reaching out to her family.”

The Crown speaks. “What are you suggesting, Hertley?”

“Under me, she becomes manageable. She knows me as her professor. And I believe she has somehow developed some strange fascination with me.”

Behind the masks, the Council shifts.

“She’s my student,” I remind them again, not defensively but factually. “Her presence near my operational patterns can be justified without invoking Dominion infrastructure. If questions arise, I answer them. If curiosity resurfaces, I redirect it. Bottom line is,” I take a deep breath, “I take full responsibility for her.”

“What if she continues digging?” Victor presses.

“Then I’ll decide whether she’s salvageable or not,” I say, holding his gaze through distortion.

The Crown’s voice lowers. “You’re asking for discretionary authority, Hertley. That’s an exception.”

“I’m trying to prevent a chain reaction that you’d initiate by choosing a Keinston. Additionally, she doesn’t have any serious allegation that we can use as leverage.” I reply.

“Stalking is a crime,” Luca points nonchalantly.

“I agree, but she’s just a twenty-year-old girl who’s always been sheltered by her family if I’m correct. She’s too naïve to physically target a Traich member,” I pause, needing this to solidify.

“If she were of any other last name with the slightest criminal record, I wouldn’t bother at all,” I take a deep breathe, mentally preparing myself for what I’m about to say.

“And if this restraint backfires, then the failure on me,” I say before they can ask about it without hesitation. “Not the Triarch Dominion. There’s still time to make things right. Let me be more useful than just authorizing Project Synthète.”

The Crown studies me. “You’re unusually invested.”

I ignore the implication completely, not letting it interrupt my flow. “And you’re testing my limits by putting me under such situations. Have I not proved my loyalty by marrying Delilah Crosswave?”

That renders them silent for a beat.

“What are you proposing now, Hertley?” Luca asks.

“I know how to keep her contained without letting her know what she’s been contained from.”

The Council stirs faintly behind the glass.

“You’re asking for exclusion from Council oversight,” one of the Council member says.

“I’m preventing Council liability,” I correct. “If this becomes public, the Dominion answers. If it remains private, I do.”