The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 1245

Chapter 1245: A Question of Loyalty

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?

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!

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.

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