Physical prowess.
Perfect shape.
Mister—god-forsaken—Benefactor.
All of it echoed in the suddenly quiet hall that only got interrupted by the sound of a musical instrument being hit by accident.
Eeek!
Cassian’s left eye twitched.
Around him, the foreign delegates went wide-eyed.
Rhys looked like he was on the verge of collapse.
And not far away, literally just beside Luca, someone else flinched for an entirely different reason.
Haunted by an all too familiar ghost of memories past, Xavier, who had looked borderline murderous just moments ago, now seemed... noticeably better.
With a complexion that suddenly recovered as if basking under the sun, he looked like he had won the lottery as he coughed once.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something important after hearing the sound, Luca gasped once again.
"Oh!"
How could he have possibly forgotten about Xavier?!
The proper handover had been interrupted towards the end, and he didn’t get the chance to part formally because of his nervousness.
He had initially wanted to talk about their dance and give praise, as his mother had taught him, but with Cassian coming over, those would have to be rescheduled for later.
But that didn’t mean he should have left his beloved standing in the middle of the dance floor!
"!!!"
That was something that shouldn’t have happened, and so Luca, who had been taught manners by so many hard-working individuals, needed to make corrections.
At least for the sake of their collective effort, and because he would never want to wrong his own Prince, he didn’t hesitate to move.
He turned immediately, reaching for his husband’s hand before pressing a gentle kiss against the back of it.
It was a soft and lingering kiss that Luca hoped would convey his sincerity.
"I really had the best time. And I would sincerely appreciate it if you could please wait for my return," he said with a bright and hopeful smile that, unbeknownst to him, probably blinded half the civilization.
Xavier, who had greater training, accepted it without hesitation.
He sure looked like a princess instead of the proud Prince he really was, but he was pretty damned sure it could have been worse. And with that smile and look of yearning before they even parted, what else could he do?
"Of course. I will wait for your return."
His tone was calm as he stepped back, though his gaze, which left his wife’s face, lingered on Cassian for just a moment.
"Mister Benefactor."
The greeting was polite.
Very curt and, for some reason, extremely annoying.
Given the supposed nature of the Federation, there really shouldn’t be honorifics for the kind of political system they allegedly had.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABEL
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]