The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 1154

Chapter 1154: Partway In

Objectively speaking, he’d say no.

At least, not that he was aware of.

In fact, everyone and their hardiest hair follicle would say exactly the same thing. Bridging their spiritual seas was already far beyond what most people could ever hope to achieve, so just what could he possibly be talking about?

Clearly, objectivity wasn’t exactly the issue.

But subjectively speaking, somewhere deep inside the increasingly deranged recesses of Killian Nox’s mind, there lingered an even bigger guilt that stubbornly refused to stay buried.

Because however he looked at it...

Jax...

Had never really been given much of a choice.

And the more he thought about it, the more that unsettling possibility refused to leave him alone.

What if this attachment Jax now felt wasn’t entirely his own?

What if the accidental bond between their spiritual seas had quietly influenced him from the very beginning, not enough to force anything, but just enough to make one path seem more obvious than every other?

If that were the case, then wasn’t Killian simply benefiting from a choice that Jax had never been allowed to make under completely fair circumstances?

And if one day...

One day Jax eventually looked back on all of this after meeting more people, after seeing more of the universe in a different light, after living long enough to discover the kind of life he truly wanted...

Wouldn’t he regret it?

Wouldn’t Killian eventually become the person forced to hear those regrets?

Or worse...

The one who’d have to quietly say, "I told you so", because he’d already seen this possibility coming but had still allowed everything to continue?

Shit.

Growing old.

Together.

Killian actually frowned at himself.

It was already ridiculous enough that he’d somehow let his thoughts wander that far simply because Jax had insisted on throwing away every argument he’d put forward. But to so casually imagine growing old with someone he’d only moments ago been trying to convince to reconsider...

Wasn’t that far too much?

He really needed to get a grip on himself.

Well, that increasingly self-righteous yet equally self-sabotaging train of thought didn’t get very far.

Because before he could spiral into yet another impossible conclusion, something warm brushed against his now-sensitive ear.

...Jax had started nuzzling him.

The young official narrowed his eyes, finally wrenching himself away from the increasingly dangerous direction his thoughts were taking as he turned ever so slightly toward the culprit. Somewhere along the way, the redhead had apparently decided that fully resting his head on Killian’s shoulder after whispering straight into his ear was the most natural thing in the world.

"Are you a dog?" he asked.

It was partly because he genuinely wanted to know.

Mostly, however, it was because he desperately needed to talk about literally anything else rather than answer the question that still hung heavily between them.

Thankfully, Jax didn’t seem particularly concerned about anything. Not the side step or his actually rhetorical question.

Rather, the redhead spent a suspiciously long moment staring at Killian’s ears instead, watching them remain stubbornly red before quietly letting his gaze drift over the way the official’s body had gradually relaxed despite himself. Apparently deciding that this was already a rather satisfying sight, the redhead smiled.

"Oh. Well, I can be," Jax answered easily, remembering what he’d long since heard from a conversation between Ollie and Princess Kira. "If you think I’m cute like a dog."

"Who’s saying anything about being cute like a dog?" Killian replied with his usual exasperation, though even he knew it had less to do with the ridiculous answer and more to do with the fact that somehow, against all odds, this had become the topic of their discussion when there were countless other things that should’ve been occupying their attention.

Looking away once more, the eldest Nox searched for anything else to focus on.

"It’s because you’re sticking to me like some puppy that’s never heard of personal space," he muttered. "Lean any closer, and I won’t even be able to hear my own thoughts."

Surprisingly, Jax seemed to find that to be a genuinely wonderful outcome.

"Then that’s good."

Killian raised a brow.

"If you don’t get to think about so many things," Jax continued, gently lifting a hand to gesture toward the side of Killian’s head, "then maybe it won’t feel so crowded in there anymore."

His fingers lingered only briefly before falling away.

"As it is, I already think you need another break."

That, however, apparently wasn’t the end of his conclusion.

"Hmmm..." Jax hummed thoughtfully. "What if you just think about me instead?"

Who knows how many blinks he made, but Killian sure did fit a handful in that short moment.

"Everyone always says I’m really easy to figure out and think about," the redhead continued as though proposing the most reasonable solution imaginable. "So if you think about me instead, maybe you’ll feel a little lighter."

The eldest Nox really couldn’t help it.

He scoffed.

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