diff --git a/HellionChat/Integrations/HonorificService.cs b/HellionChat/Integrations/HonorificService.cs
index 6a37588..5f139c6 100644
--- a/HellionChat/Integrations/HonorificService.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/Integrations/HonorificService.cs
@@ -195,4 +195,23 @@ internal sealed class HonorificService : IDisposable
             return false;
         return true;
     }
+
+    // Test seam: the three status fields are private-set and IPC-driven, which a
+    // headless /xlperf run can't reach (Honorific is usually absent in tests).
+    // Callers MUST snapshot the prior values and restore them in CleanUp, and
+    // MUST drive Set -> Draw -> Assert within ONE synchronous RunStep (never
+    // Waiting between Set and Assert) — a between-frame OnReady/OnTitleChanged
+    // would otherwise clobber this state and a CleanUp restore can't un-corrupt a
+    // mid-flight assertion. (A FontsReady precondition gate returning Waiting
+    // BEFORE the snapshot/Set is fine — nothing is mutated yet.)
+    internal void TestOnly_SetState(
+        bool isAvailable,
+        (uint Major, uint Minor)? detectedApiVersion,
+        HonorificTitleData? title
+    )
+    {
+        IsAvailable = isAvailable;
+        DetectedApiVersion = detectedApiVersion;
+        CurrentTitle = title;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/HellionChat/SelfTests/HonorificHeaderRenderStep.cs b/HellionChat/SelfTests/HonorificHeaderRenderStep.cs
index 3e57a4c..8d7d704 100644
--- a/HellionChat/SelfTests/HonorificHeaderRenderStep.cs
+++ b/HellionChat/SelfTests/HonorificHeaderRenderStep.cs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 using Dalamud.Bindings.ImGui;
 using Dalamud.Plugin.SelfTest;
+using HellionChat.Integrations;
 
 namespace HellionChat.SelfTests;
 
@@ -20,8 +21,26 @@ internal sealed class HonorificHeaderRenderStep : ISelfTestStep
 
     public string Name => "Hellion Chat - HonorificHeader render";
 
+    private HonorificService? _svc;
+    private bool _prevAvailable;
+    private (uint Major, uint Minor)? _prevVersion;
+    private HonorificTitleData? _prevTitle;
+    private bool _prevToggle;
+    private bool _snapshotted;
+
     public SelfTestStepResult RunStep()
     {
+        // HonorificHeader.Draw early-returns on !FontsReady (HonorificHeader.cs:40-44)
+        // and never reaches the gated title branch, which would make assert (a) a
+        // false FAIL during a font-atlas rebuild. Return Waiting BEFORE any
+        // snapshot/mutation so the runner re-polls cleanly and no seam state leaks
+        // (precedent: FoxBannerTextureSmokeStep). This is a pre-Set precondition
+        // gate, not a mid-test Waiting — the Set->Draw->Assert window stays synchronous.
+        if (!plugin.FontManager.FontsReady)
+        {
+            return SelfTestStepResult.Waiting;
+        }
+
         var header = plugin.MainWindow.GetHonorificHeaderForSelfTest();
         if (header is null)
         {
@@ -29,9 +48,48 @@ internal sealed class HonorificHeaderRenderStep : ISelfTestStep
             return SelfTestStepResult.Fail;
         }
 
+        _svc = header.GetServiceForSelfTest();
+        _prevAvailable = _svc.IsAvailable;
+        _prevVersion = _svc.DetectedApiVersion;
+        _prevTitle = _svc.CurrentTitle;
+        _prevToggle = Plugin.Config.ShowHonorificTitleInHeader;
+        _snapshotted = true;
+
+        var valid = new HonorificTitleData("Champion", false, false, null, null, null, null, null);
+        var original = new HonorificTitleData("Champion", false, true, null, null, null, null, null);
+
+        // Draw at a deliberately wide 420px so the title never hits the truncation
+        // clamp — LastTitleRendered then reflects the GATE outcome, not the width.
         try
         {
+            // (a) available + valid title + toggle on -> title renders
+            Plugin.Config.ShowHonorificTitleInHeader = true;
+            _svc.TestOnly_SetState(true, (3, 1), valid);
             header.Draw(420f);
+            if (!header.LastTitleRendered)
+            {
+                ImGui.Text("Gate failed: valid title did not render");
+                return SelfTestStepResult.Fail;
+            }
+
+            // (b) toggle off -> title suppressed (crown stays, untestable headless)
+            Plugin.Config.ShowHonorificTitleInHeader = false;
+            header.Draw(420f);
+            if (header.LastTitleRendered)
+            {
+                ImGui.Text("Gate failed: title rendered with toggle off");
+                return SelfTestStepResult.Fail;
+            }
+
+            // (c) IsOriginal title -> suppressed even with toggle on
+            Plugin.Config.ShowHonorificTitleInHeader = true;
+            _svc.TestOnly_SetState(true, (3, 1), original);
+            header.Draw(420f);
+            if (header.LastTitleRendered)
+            {
+                ImGui.Text("Gate failed: original title rendered");
+                return SelfTestStepResult.Fail;
+            }
         }
         catch (Exception ex)
         {
@@ -42,5 +100,12 @@ internal sealed class HonorificHeaderRenderStep : ISelfTestStep
         return SelfTestStepResult.Pass;
     }
 
-    public void CleanUp() { }
+    public void CleanUp()
+    {
+        if (!_snapshotted || _svc is null)
+            return;
+        Plugin.Config.ShowHonorificTitleInHeader = _prevToggle;
+        _svc.TestOnly_SetState(_prevAvailable, _prevVersion, _prevTitle);
+        _snapshotted = false;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/HellionChat/SelfTests/README.md b/HellionChat/SelfTests/README.md
index e499afb..6f06e4f 100644
--- a/HellionChat/SelfTests/README.md
+++ b/HellionChat/SelfTests/README.md
@@ -37,9 +37,12 @@ step explicitly as smoke-only instead of faking a headless pass.
 
 ## Anti-pattern of record
 
-`HonorificService.ShouldRenderSlot` had zero production callers and was green
-only because the test called it directly — a test passing on a path the game
-never runs. That is the failure this standard prevents.
+`HonorificService.ShouldRenderSlot` once had zero production callers and was
+green only because the test called it directly — a test passing on a path the
+game never runs. v1.8.7 retired it: the gate is now wired into the real
+`HonorificHeader.Draw` and asserted through it via
+`HonorificHeader.LastTitleRendered` (see `HonorificHeaderRenderStep`). Kept here
+as the canonical example of the failure this standard prevents.
 
 ## Step classification