The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1153: Protocol

Okay, clearly, the eldest Nox wasn’t going to get through to him that way, so he figured he’d pivot a bit.

"Well, do you even realize what you just said out there? They’ll think..." Killian started, only to realize that despite spending years learning diplomacy and carefully choosing the right words for every conceivable political situation, his vocabulary had apparently abandoned him at the exact moment he needed it most.

He opened his mouth once more, hoping something coherent would emerge. "They’ll think—"

"They’ll think whatever they want to think," Jax replied with surprising ease. "Though they’ll probably think the right thing." He shrugged lightly before adding, "After all, wasn’t I pretty clear?"

Killian couldn’t help but stare.

There wasn’t even a trace of embarrassment on the redhead’s face.

No awkwardness.

No hesitation.

Jax simply stood there with his entire attention fixed on him, not even seeming inclined to blink, and somehow the weight of that unwavering gaze felt heavier than any interrogation the young official had ever endured.

"And besides..." Jax tilted his head ever so slightly. "Shouldn’t what think matter more? I only figured I’d tell them because wasn’t that the usual protocol?"

Where?!

It was admittedly a long shot, but the official, who’d had to practically absorb protocol through his pores from a very young age, couldn’t help but wonder whether there existed any precedent whatsoever for this sort of thing.

Since when had anyone possessed the audacity to announce something like that so openly?

How could such a life-threatening course of action ever become protocol?

And had it really been so, then how many would’ve failed to make it to this day and age?

Unfortunately, none of that seemed to matter, or even apply to the wall before him.

Killian was just about to conjure an answer when Jax seemed to remember something.

"Yep, your thoughts, definitely."

The redhead grew oddly thoughtful.

"But maybe not your words."

His voice lowered just a little as though arriving at a rather curious observation.

"Surprisingly, your words aren’t nearly as honest as your thoughts."

Killian felt his heartbeat skip.

"Then again..." Jax continued, studying him with genuine fascination rather than accusation. "Even your thoughts don’t seem as honest as your body."

Before Killian could even begin deciphering what that was supposed to mean, Jax casually took another step forward.

Instinctively, Killian took one back.

Then another.

His heel struck the wall behind him.

Only then did he realize he’d run out of places to retreat.

Jax stopped directly in front of him.

The difference in height between them had never been particularly significant, amounting to no more than a measly two inches that still made them both formidable in stature. But with the redhead leaning down ever so slightly until they were nearly eye level, Killian suddenly became acutely aware of just how formidable those two short inches really were, and of how little distance now remained between them.

"So..." Jax murmured, sounding genuinely contemplative. "How should we go about this...?"

"What?"

Killian finally found his voice again.

It came out somewhere between disbelief and outright outrage.

"What are you even saying?"

Yet the words lost much of their force almost immediately.

Perhaps it was because Jax was standing much too close.

Perhaps it was because he could feel the warmth radiating from the redhead after everything that had happened.

Or perhaps it was simply because looking directly into those eyes made it strangely difficult to remember every carefully prepared argument he’d intended to make.

Still...

He forced himself to think rationally.

"You listen here," Killian said, drawing in a steadying breath. "I don’t know what’s gotten into you today, but saying things like that makes it sound as though you actually like someone." He frowned. "Not only that, but it sounds like you want something permanent with said someone."

"Huh?"

Jax blinked.

"Someone?"

The single word sounded almost puzzled.

He leaned in just a little more, unknowingly crowding even further into Killian’s already nonexistent personal space.

"I thought I specifically asked for "

His tone remained completely matter-of-fact.

"You couldn’t possibly have misunderstood who I was pointing at earlier, could you?"

Killian could only suck in a sharp breath.

Reasoning with this guy was becoming increasingly impossible.

"Jackson Taylor."

The full name came out far more forcefully than he’d intended.

"All right. Let’s just assume you talking about me." Killian rubbed at his temple before continuing.

"Maybe, somehow, in this universe, that’s not entirely impossible. Even then, you can’t seriously believe you like me enough to suddenly jump the gun." He gestured helplessly between them.

"You still have your entire academy life ahead of you. There are countless people you’ll meet afterward, and—"

"Oh."

Jax smiled.

"So youremember my full name."

"What?"

Killian’s train of thought derailed so completely that he found himself staring in genuine confusion.

The redhead’s grin only widened.

"Well, I thought you kept forgetting." He scratched his cheek. "You almost never call me by my name."

"I..." Killian blinked several times. "I’m pretty sure I do."

"Hmmm..."

Jax looked unconvinced. It was such a rare occurrence that he’d actually been surprised when Killian called him by his name while he was trying to apologize.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

"Then..."

The redhead leaned just a fraction closer.

"What about now?"

His voice had softened into little more than a murmur.

"Could you call me by my name... instead of just saying ’you’?"

Killian actually had a difficult time saying it.

The name reached the back of his throat but stubbornly refused to come out, forcing him into an awkward silence as though the simple act of calling the redhead by name had suddenly become one of the hardest things he’d done all day.

He wasn’t even sure why. It was just a name.

A perfectly ordinary name he’d known for years. Yet after everything that had happened, saying it now somehow felt different.

Only after letting out a slow breath did he finally manage, "Jax."

The redhead’s eyes softened almost imperceptibly.

"Killian," he returned just as naturally, speaking the official’s name as though it had always belonged on his tongue.

The exchange should’ve been enough.

It really should have.

Instead, Jax smiled ever so slightly before asking, "Again, please?"

He leaned in just a little closer without realizing it, his expression completely open, while Killian felt the cold wall pressing more firmly against his back. It was a strangely unfamiliar position to find himself in.

Someone of his build rarely ever got cornered physically, and the last time he could remember feeling anything remotely similar was probably back when he was still small enough for his friends to be able to crowd around him.

Somehow...

He still answered.

"Jax."

"There."

The redhead’s smile widened to openly display how pleased he seemed.

"Hello, Killian."

For a brief moment, Killian genuinely thought that was all Jax wanted.

Unfortunately...

It wasn’t.

"And now that we’re finally on a first-name basis," Jax continued, sounding every bit as thoughtful as someone trying to solve an interesting puzzle, "I was hoping you could explain something."

Killian already had a bad feeling about this.

"...How you could possibly assume that I don’t like you enough to jump the gun when our spiritual seas are already bridged like that?"

"!"

He’d spent the better part of his life preparing rebuttals for diplomatic negotiations, political disputes, military briefings, and courtroom interrogations.

Yet somehow...

He’d never quite prepared for this.

Seeing the increasingly silent look on Killian’s face, Jax tilted his head before taking the final step that completely erased whatever respectable distance still existed between them.

Then, smiling as though he were asking the most innocent question in the world, he lowered his voice until it brushed softly against Killian’s ear.

"By any chance..."

The grin in his voice became unmistakable.

"Is there an even bigger gun than that?"

"!!!"