The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]-Chapter 866: The Prince Who Could See

Blessed with sharp eyes, intense persistence, and the unmistakable determination of a partially guilty romantic, one puppet prince could see perfectly well.

So for all intents and purposes, Prince Elior absolutely did not need to hear Rahil’s blow-by-blow account of the very same thing unfolding before his eyes.

Unfortunately for said prince, Rahil—who needed justice for being woken up even earlier than the devil for today’s excursion—disagreed.

They had picked a spot that was both far enough to avoid attention and close enough for their kind to see everything. A ridiculous perch, really. One had to climb, sidestep, and practically cling to railings that were clearly not meant to be used by sane people just to get to that obscure lookout. But the view was excellent.

And Rahil, despite feeling like shit, was thriving.

"And now," he said calmly, hands folded behind his back as if delivering a weather report, "a certain someone who couldn’t be named, hereby respectfully called ’she’ for safety, is greeting another group of children."

Elior, as expected, did not respond.

Rahil continued anyway.

"She’s consciously bending slightly to meet their height," the aide said. "Very considerate. Extremely dangerous." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

He paused, eyes narrowing in sharp focus.

"Ah. There it is."

Rahil cleared his throat. Thankfully, this time around, he didn’t feel like coughing out his remaining lung. Unlike the first time he had witnessed the gesture, he managed to keep himself together as he resumed his narration.

"She kissed her left bicep," he reported evenly.

A beat.

"And now her right bicep."

"Your Highness, the children appear delighted. One of them even looks like he may cry from happiness."

Elior’s fingers tightened on the railing.

"Remarkable stamina," Rahil went on, voice flat. "This is the seventh group in a row. No signs of fatigue. If anything, she seems more energetic."

"Rahil," Elior said without looking away.

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"I can see."

"Of course," Rahil replied smoothly. "Merely providing commentary for emotional enrichment."

The prince who could definitely see didn’t dignify that with a response.

From where they were, the two watched as the gathering crowd shifted. Children scattered happily. A new customer stepped forward.

The aide inhaled softly.

"Oh."

Someone’s jaw tightened.

"And now," Rahil said, with what could only be described as malicious calm, "a grown man has approached the booth."

Silence.

"She tucks her hair behind her ear," Rahil continued. "A very gentle motion. One might even call it thoughtful."

Elior’s eye twitched.

"And there it is," Rahil added. "A soft chuckle."

That did it.

"Rahil," Elior said, voice sharp, "shut up."

Rahil immediately complied. There were only so many buttons he could push before he himself was pushed out from the perch.

Silence fell between them, broken only by the distant noise of the expo and the sound of Elior breathing very slowly through his nose.

Several seconds passed.

Then Elior spoke again, tone clipped and precise.

"It wasn’t a soft chuckle."

Rahil glanced sideways.

"She was merely grinning."

Rahil looked fully at the prince who hadn’t blinked since earlier.

That pointed gaze stayed fixed ahead, while Elior’s posture remained rigid, his expression so carefully composed it bordered on unnatural.

Rahil waited.

Sure enough, his boss continued, as if compelled to correct the record.

"She was simply grinning at a married man."

Uh-huh.

"One who was asking about the best free sample to select for his wife."

The painfully patient aide hummed quietly, eyes flicking back toward the booth.

"...Ah," he said. "That does change things, Your Highness."

"..."

"..."

Still, Elior did not relax.

But his grip on the railing loosened by exactly one finger.

After all, he had no right to feel dissatisfied when seeing all this was already more than generous for someone in his position.

In truth, Elior had not expected much at all.

Based on the VOD of the livestream he replayed an unreasonable number of times the night before, there were very few opportunities to see her in person. Unless he managed to get inside the booth, or waited for the scheduled tour that would barely last a few minutes, his chances were slim.

In essence, everything hinged on ingress and egress.

Which was precisely why the normally silent prince had dragged his heavily sleeping aide out of bed before dawn so they could at least be present during setup, when exhibitors were likely to appear.

Leaving Rahil and his big mouth behind would have been ideal.

Unfortunately, he likely wouldn’t hear the end of it later, so Elior had chosen the lesser evil and brought him along.

He even tolerated the yapping.

At least for a good while.

But just as he began seriously contemplating whether it was worth bartering Rahil back into that crystal for some peace and quiet, the figure he had been waiting for finally emerged.

Elior froze.

He committed the image to memory without blinking.

There weren’t many things a puppet prince could do in his position. He had already offended the people who mattered to him, and had been ordered to offend even more just to keep his younger sister alive.

Of course, he had no intention of truly obeying.

But intentions alone were meaningless without preparation.

With what right would he have to stand before her now, empty-handed and powerless especially after disappearing for that long?

Elior exhaled slowly as he watched her take a few steps forward.

Then, as expected, she disappeared somewhere he couldn’t follow.

They waited a bit, allegedly for safety. A cruel joke when he was the one who had safety issues at the moment, but even so, he had originally been raised with chivalry in mind.

Only just as Rahil opened his mouth to comment on how long they had been standing there while the person they were watching had clearly gone inside, two orcs suddenly burst back out.

Running.

Panicked.

"???"

The prince straightened instantly.

He saw it then. That unfamiliar frown. The sharp tension in her posture. The look of someone reacting to something genuinely alarming.

It took considerable self-control, and possibly Rahil restraining him physically, to stop him from rushing forward.

Was there an attack?

When someone that strong reacted like that, it was never trivial.

And yet, to the complete shock of both the prince and his aide, the person they had been watching didn’t charge toward danger.

Instead, she moved behind the counter.

The counter.

The one clearly labeled for free samples.

And instead of leaving for the Activity Center, she actually stayed outside to greet the attendees.

"?!"

The elven prince didn’t really know how to react to the sudden change.

But then he saw her interactions with the children and almost fell from their hiding spot.

"!!!"