The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 1016

Chapter 1016: The Smoldering Crisis

"Ummm... this ’look’? What does it really look like?"

Ollie practically croaked the question out. It came out rough and strained, like he had to drag each word up from his throat. The ladies immediately noticed how pale he’d gotten.

"Lord Mylor, are you alright?" one of them asked, her brows knitting in concern.

The flickering blonde forced a smile. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he held it there anyway.

"I’m fine! I just... realized it would’ve been better if my friend knew about this earlier. Now I can only hope it’s not too late!"

Then, as if catching how that sounded, he stiffened and waved his hands.

"Not too late in informing him, I mean!"

An awkward beat passed before he attempted to salvage things again.

"So, for the sake of my friend, I have to learn everything about this. Please!"

There was no missing the desperation in his voice.

The ladies exchanged glances.

"Well... it’s not entirely impossible to teach this," one of them said slowly. "But my lord, something like this requires not only determination but also full acceptance and responsibility."

Another nodded. "There’s really no going back after crossing this bridge. Once you move past it, the relationship... changes."

"So," she added gently, "are you that determined?"

"Yes! Completely!"

Ollie’s eyes suddenly lit up with a burning resolve. Even his hair antenna shot up like it was fully backing him.

Then he froze.

"I mean... my friend is completely ready!"

The ladies nodded, accepting that with polite grace while trying to stop the smiles threatening to break out on their faces.

The crash course finally began.

"It’s important to set the right time and place," one explained. "Imagine initiating something while your partner is in a bad mood, or in the middle of a crisis. Would anyone really be able to think about intimacy?"

That made both sworn brothers pause.

They glanced at each other.

Because... that was actually a difficult question.

Luca, for one, had very much experienced intimacy in the middle of life-and-death situations. Just thinking about it now made his toes curl.

Ollie, on the other hand, had never really sorted events that way. Everything felt like a crisis to him anyway. And more importantly, he was usually asleep when it actually mattered.

"..."

"..."

The blonde could only purse his lips and nod as if he understood.

The ladies continued, unaware of the internal chaos.

"As for the execution of the ’look,’ it requires mutual understanding. Every couple develops their own version. Something only the two of them recognize."

"Huh?" Ollie blinked. "Then what if there’s none?"

"Then you make one."

"Eh?!"

"Yes, my lord. The first attempt tends to be more obvious since there’s no precedent yet. But once you cross that bridge, it becomes easier to establish your own signals."

"Oh..."

Ollie nodded slowly, trying to keep up.

"So what do you do for the first seduction?"

"Well, some go for increased skinship," one lady said, raising a finger as if lecturing. "While others opt for something simpler, like the more universally recognized gesture to convey interest."

She paused for emphasis.

"A perfectly good smolder."

Ollie and Luca blinked, more like fluttered.

Like two big-eyed children who had just heard a foreign word.

"A good... smolder?" Ollie repeated carefully.

"Yes, my lord! Men are particularly good at this."

"What? Really?"

Luca raised his hand, genuinely curious, because how come he hadn’t heard of it when he was a man too?

"But what exactly is this smolder?"

"Ah!" one of the ladies brightened. "You know when someone looks at you without saying anything, but somehow your insides start twisting?"

Another chimed in, softer this time. "Sometimes the feeling is so strong that you want to look away... because it feels like you’ll burn if you don’t."

"!!!"

Ollie froze.

Then slowly brought a hand to his chest.

Honestly, there was a moment he thought about the looks teachers gave right before pop quizzes. Because, unfortunately, they elicited a reaction similar in him.

However, the ladies were likely referring to a more positive reaction rather than constipation.

So wasn’t that... something he should be able to do?

But if he didn’t even know what a smoldering look was...

Then, in all the time he’d been in a relationship—

Had he never made his boyfriend feel like that?

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