The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]

The door to Marshal Julian’s office opened far faster than one golden-eyed cadet had been expecting.

”!”

Luca practically flinched from where he’d been hiding, his eyes immediately snapping toward the two people who’d just entered the room. Beside him stood his husband, who’d decided to accompany him for today’s observation and ”possible” meeting.

Oddly enough, Xavier didn’t seem surprised in the slightest.

Then again, maybe Luca should’ve expected those two to arrive that quickly too.

If he’d been in Tech Specialist Eden’s position, wouldn’t he have been practically waiting right outside the door for an answer?

And if one of his own loved ones had gone missing, would he really have been capable of sitting around patiently when there was finally an opportunity to get closer to finding them?

Definitely not.

And thinking about it that way was precisely why Luca had chosen to go over to the Military Headquarters despite Marshal Julian telling him to think everything through first, just in case he ended up changing his mind.

To be fair, he really appreciated how much everyone worried about him. Even after agreeing to rope in the Deputy Officer and Tech Specialist, they’d still insisted on handling this part first so they could do their due diligence.

Personally, the dungeon owner didn’t think they needed to go through quite this much trouble. The people he trusted already trusted those two with secrets that were just as important, but the others insisted, and so there they were.

More importantly, the stakes had recently changed.

If Lord Curtis and Lady Eden were really going to get involved, the general consensus was that they’d need to know far more than originally intended so they could have a better idea of what they might actually be up against.

And that meant they couldn’t simply be allowed into the dungeon-linked space, where most of House Kyros’s people were already permitted to go, and leave it at that.

They’d have to be briefed on the newly accessed bloodline abilities, what they could do with corruption, and several other things that could potentially put everyone in danger if the information ever fell into the wrong hands.

Basically, if their involvement was going to count for anything, they’d likely end up skipping straight past the union contract and going directly for the pinky swear.

Moreover, from a logistical standpoint, those two wouldn’t even be able to access the dungeon-linked space if their infiltration required them to venture directly into the pirates’ den, so it made far more sense to grant them greater access from the start.

Looking at it from that perspective, Luca eventually agreed.

Because this wasn’t only about whether Curtis and Eden were trustworthy enough to be given those secrets. It was also about whether they were willing to accept the responsibility that came with knowing them.

After all, the two of them could’ve continued living considerably less complicated lives.

Their primary reason for wanting this mission wasn’t even Luca or the incense burner.

It was Enzo Harcrest.

Given that particular information, was it really fair to ask them to shoulder the responsibility of protecting everyone else’s secrets just because they wanted a chance to search for Lady Eden’s missing older brother?

It didn’t seem fair.

That was why Luca couldn’t simply walk out there and ask them himself.

Because the moment he started explaining why he needed their promise, he’d already be revealing far too much, effectively forcing an obligation onto them that they hadn’t necessarily signed up for.

So, for now, the questions had to come from Marshal Julian.

__

The Deputy Officer and Tech Specialist stood ramrod straight before the Empire’s highest-ranking military officer, the three of them locked in what was quickly becoming an extremely tense staring contest.

Curtis remained unusually still, while the woman beside him looked so rigid she might’ve been awaiting a verdict.

Marshal Julian stared at the pair for several long seconds before finally sighing.

”At ease. We’re not deciding punishments here.”

Eden’s shoulders loosened by the tiniest fraction, though her expression clearly suggested that this might as well have been the same thing.

Julian could only shake his head before leaning back slightly and finally getting to the point.

”If the two of you truly want to take charge of the on-site operations for this investigation, I’m willing to approve it.”

”!”

Eden’s eyes widened.

Beside her, Curtis somehow managed to straighten even further.

”But,” Julian continued, immediately stopping whatever relief had been about to appear on their faces, ”in good conscience, I can only allow that if both of you are willing to swear loyalty.”

The two stared at him.

Curtis’s brows slowly furrowed.

Eden looked equally baffled.

Swear loyalty?

Hadn’t they already done that?

Not only were they citizens with vested interests, but they were Imperial personnel who even knew the identity of their hidden Crown Prince!

As if he could practically see the questions forming on their faces, Julian added calmly, ”And before either of you misunderstand me, I’m not referring to the oath you’ve already sworn to the Empire.”

That somehow sounded even worse.

”What I’m asking for is a level of loyalty that, should the situation ever demand it, would have you willing to go against the Crown itself.”

”!!!”

Hep—!

Hold on.

Wait just one damn minute!

Eden might’ve been progressive by nature and generally cared zilch about overly complicated protocols, but she certainly wasn’t deaf enough to miss something that sounded suspiciously like treason!

Even Curtis looked like his eyes were about to bug straight out of his skull.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Because really, what were they even supposed to say to something like that?!

Or was this some kind of test? A trick question they were expected to somehow answer correctly?

The only reason neither of them immediately questioned whether Marshal Julian had suddenly lost his mind was because this was Julian Theron they were talking about.

The Empress’s own brother.

One of the last people in the entire Empire anyone would reasonably suspect of plotting against the Crown!

There had to be a reason.

And there was.

Unfortunately, the poor leader of the Imperial Military couldn’t exactly explain that reason to most people.

Julian clicked his tongue as he looked at Curtis’s thoroughly flabbergasted expression before his gaze briefly shifted toward the place where Luca was currently hidden.

He couldn’t actually see the boy.

But he didn’t need to.

Julian could already imagine the exact expression on Luca’s face after hearing that question.

And sure enough, the golden-eyed cadet had nearly jumped in place.

What?!

Luca’s eyes became enormous.

For one frantic moment, he even started wondering if Marshal Julian had simply worded it wrong.

Maybe he didn’t actually mean ”go against the Crown.”

Maybe there was some other way of interpreting it!

Luca immediately turned toward his husband, fully expecting Xavier to look just as shocked as he was.

Only to pause because the Imperial Prince was calm—

Far too calm.

The future symbol of the Empire stood beside him with the same composed expression he’d worn since Curtis and Eden entered the room, one arm remaining protectively around his little wife’s waist.

There wasn’t even the slightest indication that he’d found his uncle’s question strange.

The shocked chipmunk couldn’t help but gawk at that.

His husband looked almost like he’d been expecting it.

Well.

That was because he had.

Because if the two people currently standing before Marshal Julian wanted someone to blame for being asked something as drastic as whether they’d be willing to go against the Imperial Crown, then they were looking at the wrong man.

They’d be better off blaming the Imperial Crown Prince himself.

After all, Xavier Solaris himself had been the one to insist that particular question be asked.