The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]-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?

Okay, maybe he could excuse the hair; many people have something similar, but combined with those eyes?

Those eyes.

How had he not recognized them?

It was just that the possibility had never crossed his mind. Which person in hiding would have been confident enough to exist in the same space had they really been relatives?!

As someone who’d spent years hiding, altering his identity, and reshaping his presence just to evade his own brother, Elior couldn’t wrap his head around the audacity of it.

And yet, here it was.

Moreover, why were they being told something this monumental so plainly?

Prince Elior’s eyes widened further.

Beside him, Rahil practically jumped from where he stood, an accusing finger shooting out toward Xavier in pure disbelief before survival instincts kicked in.

His hand dropped instantly.

He straightened, bowed deeply, and with impressive reflexes, grabbed Elior by the sleeve and yanked him into a bow as well.

It was very much unlike the behavior of a proper aide, but Elior could simply berate him for that later if they managed to keep their heads.

"Greetings to the Eternal Light of Solaris!" Rahil declared with utmost formality.

Elior nearly stumbled but managed to follow through.

Then, like a delayed realization crashing down on both of them at once, another truth struck.

If Xavier were the Imperial Crown Prince...

And he was married to Luca...

Then the human they had once stayed with at House Kyros—

Rahil swallowed.

They bowed again, this time toward the golden-eyed cadet.

"Greetings to His Highness, the Imperial Crown Prince Consort of Solaris," Rahil said reverently, lowering his head further. "May your radiance continue to bless the Empire."

Elior echoed the greeting, still reeling from the revelation that the young lord who seriously couldn’t move or speak before was now, in fact, the Imperial Crown Princess—should he so choose that title.

The room suddenly felt much smaller than before.

Just what the hell was up with today?

__

A whole hell of a lot, apparently.

Honestly, even Luca was surprised by the sudden introduction. His husband had always been extremely careful about keeping that particular piece of information under wraps.

More importantly, he didn’t think his head would actually poof after being greeted as an Imperial royal.

Normally, it was just Sir Uno who would sneak the greeting in with utmost seriousness. The members of House Kyros who had attempted to switch to it usually ended up with suspicious moisture in their eyes whenever they tried to refer to him as such.

His father, in particular, looked like he needed medical assistance whenever the title was uttered in his presence.

So to suddenly be greeted like that?

What was he even supposed to respond with?

Apparently nothing.

Yes. A shocking nothing.

It was actually Kyle who leaned in to explain, just as Xavier, the still shellshocked Elven Prince, Rahil, Sir Uno, and D-29 began tracing Princess Marin’s projected travel route.

His husband had said such a thing before, but Luca wasn’t so sure because Princess Nina usually had so many things to say after a greeting. But to hear it from Kyle, even?

Woah!

"You don’t really have to do or say anything," Kyle began evenly. "It might not be obvious to you because you met the entire Imperial Family under... unusual circumstances, but in the Empire of Solaris, the authority held by the ruling family is actually absolute."

He spoke matter-of-factly, not boastful, not dramatic.

"They just happen to prefer keeping themselves accountable and upright. But if they wanted to commit any number of atrocities, they actually could. They are, quite literally, the law of the land."

Luca blinked.

"And you’re part of that now."

"!!!"

"So while people would always have opinions one way or another, at the end of the day, you should always remember that you’re also a Solaris."

"So, whether you want to return a greeting warmly or say absolutely nothing? That’s entirely up to you."

"Of course, some wouldn’t take kindly to anything you say or do. Just think of them as people who were simply born as natural haters, just part of the package and the position."

"Then again, having critics isn’t always so bad. Opposition has been allowed to exist as a way to keep some semblance of balance and other people in check. But realistically speaking, the position comes with the authority to insist on nearly anything."

"!!!"

Kyle looked at Luca, the future of the Empire, and remembered what the Empress said about preparing to ease the pressure when it reared its head.

So that was what the Crown Prince’s adjutant was doing. He immediately noticed how flustered Luca had become the moment the elves greeted him, and Kyle decided to work on behalf of his currently occupied boss.

He just hadn’t expected this particular outcome.

Because just how intense was the level of hypnotism the Imperial Crown Prince had over Luca for the golden-eyed cadet to suddenly beam and ask, "Then my husband... did he reveal his identity to wield authority against the evil Elven Prince?"

His eyes were shining.

Proudly.

Kyle stared at his little star’s sworn brother and blinked several times.

He was fairly certain his boss had only pulled rank to demand complete disclosure regarding the state of the Elves and the Lumira galaxy.

In essence, the Imperial Crown Prince wouldn’t usually interfere in matters that didn’t directly concern the Empire and its interests.

But seeing that look?

Why did Kyle suddenly have the distinct feeling they might end up rearranging the ruling family of an entirely different race for a totally different reason?

Should he go and inform Luca about the usual way the Empire had dealt with foreign political issues?

Or was it already too late?

For the golden-eyed ruler had already sent flying kisses.

"..."

"..."