The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 928

Chapter 928: When Masks Fall

While heated affection was being exchanged inside one thankfully sturdy hovercraft, an intense discussion was underway in one of the private rooms at the Expo.

Luca looked at Rahil’s pale and worried face, trying to verify the horrifying situation he’d just heard about.

"So the reason this is so unusual," he began carefully, "is because Prince Eren’s been keeping the young Princess away as a hostage?"

Rahil didn’t hesitate.

"Yes, my lord. As you could probably tell, Princess Marin has no idea something like this was even happening. But in reality, up until that call, Prince Elior hadn’t been allowed to contact her in any way, and vice versa."

The words settled heavily in the room.

"So to suddenly initiate contact like this?" Rahil continued, choosing his phrasing as diplomatically as possible. "Unless Prince Eren’s been possessed by some benevolent entity, I highly doubt he would’ve suggested surprising his brother out of the goodness of his heart."

He kept his tone respectful.

In truth, he was certain the madman was up to no good.

Moreover, ’goodness of his heart’? For that to happen, the Elven Prince would actually need to have a damned heart to begin with. But as one could probably tell, Prince Eren couldn’t possibly have one with that rotten personality!

Still, complaining about his master’s twin brother wasn’t going to solve anything. There were clearly bigger problems demanding their attention.

Luca wasn’t particularly versed in decoding politically charged maneuvers, but even he couldn’t help agreeing with Rahil’s assessment.

Back in Tesseris, he’d noticed something similar.

Right before asking for taxing favors—like demanding even more guiding pills—certain people who normally made his life miserable would suddenly soften. It was like flipping a switch. One moment, they were tormenting him. The next, they were offering a kind of gentleness that, unfortunately for him at the time, he failed to immediately recognize as dangerous.

Starved for even the smallest scrap of kindness when he was younger, Luca hadn’t really questioned their true intentions.

Not until much later, when he realized he’d probably just been used.

That realization had only sharpened after he began spending time around genuinely kind people. And while humans could absolutely change, like Noah, for example, they usually did so in ways that didn’t leave a bitter aftertaste.

But this?

Even Luca had a bad feeling about this.

Especially after factoring in the engineered parasite he’d asked Doctor Philip and Auntie Cece to examine more thoroughly.

Nothing about this felt coincidental.

"Would it be possible to have the little Princess followed?" Luca asked, turning to look at his husband.

Xavier was already seated with the contemplative posture of a leader, fingers lightly steepled.

"Yes," he replied easily. "In fact, that would be a given. Considering she’s arriving as foreign royalty, surveillance would fall under both diplomatic courtesy and Imperial security protocol."

Luca visibly brightened.

"Really? That’s good then!" the golden-eyed cadet exclaimed, relief flooding him almost immediately.

It wasn’t a solution.

But at the very least, there was some sort of safeguard.

__

Luca wasn’t the only one who actually felt a lot better.

Prince Elior drew in a slow breath, clearly trying to gather himself before speaking again.

"In that case," he began carefully, "would it be prudent to inform the Imperial Palace about my sister’s arrival?"

His tone was measured, but there was an unmistakable edge of concern beneath it.

"And if so... how much information would be appropriate to disclose?"

He hesitated for half a second.

"It may be presumptuous of me to ask, but would you perhaps know who would be best to approach regarding this matter?"

He had seen the earlier livestream. The members of the Imperial family had visited this booth personally. Given that many of the people gathered here came from prominent noble families, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume they might have clearer insight into who he should approach for something like this.

But for some reason, the room went quiet. A little too quiet.

Elior’s brows knit slightly.

Did he say something wrong?

He glanced at Princess Kira. She didn’t look alarmed. If anything, she appeared unusually neutral for someone who had to bite down on something earlier to remain seated.

So what was going on?

Apparently, something unexpected.

Because Xavier suddenly spoke.

"No need," he said calmly. "We already know."

"Huh?"

Prince Elior blinked.

That statement made absolutely no sense.

"Would you perhaps," he tried again carefully, "be able to inform the Imperial family in my stead?"

Xavier didn’t move much.

He simply lifted a hand and pointed at himself in a relaxed, almost casual manner.

"Imperial Crown Prince Xavier Aeric Theron Solaris."

"..."

Prince Elior gawked.

"..."

"!"

"!!!"

Say what now?!

__

It was, without exaggeration, a complete shift in worldview for the two elves.

Prince Elior stared.

No, he really, truly stared.

And for some reason, he felt incredibly stupid, as though his eyes hadn’t functioned properly until this very moment.

Had he been so focused on his fiancée that he’d somehow overlooked the glaring resemblance now standing in front of him with painful clarity?

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