The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1233: Divide and Question

Naturally, there was no way someone as prideful as Cyrion Luxastra would simply accept this wildly inappropriate treatment toward a member of such a prominent royal family.

As such, the monitoring screens were soon filled with the Aerun Prince’s indignation as he repeatedly insisted upon his innocence and threatened to make sure his family heard every last detail about how the Empire had treated him.

Those watching from the other side couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of upbringing someone needed to have to sit there so confidently, still believing that his parents would swoop in and rescue him once they learned what had happened.

Especially when those same people were probably the first ones who’d drop the twins the moment any untoward information started leaking out.

Thinking about it like that, maybe the two brothers currently being held in separate rooms were actually a little pitiful.

Deputy Officer Curtis had just started entertaining that thought when the very same Aerun Prince managed to grab every ounce of pity he’d earned and chuck it straight out the proverbial window with one hair-raising laugh.

__

Cyrion scoffed internally.

Had he actually heard that particular string of words correctly?

For a moment, the Aerun Prince looked catastrophically stunned. His eyes widened with what appeared to be genuine shock, while his lips trembled with such perfect distress that, had a few of their devoted fans been there to witness it, they probably would’ve rushed forward to comfort their beloved idol after seeing him receive such unexpected news.

But that lasted all of five pitiful seconds.

Because like a seasoned actor, or perhaps simply a deranged individual, Cyrion barely managed to reel in his amusement before rolling his eyes and letting out a disbelieving laugh.

"Ha... HAHAHAHA! Oh, goodness me!"

It wasn’t even the uncertain laughter of someone desperately trying to convince himself that what he’d heard couldn’t possibly be true.

No.

The supposedly delicate Aerun practically cackled with such blatant mockery that anyone listening would’ve thought the interrogator had just told him the most ridiculous joke in the universe.

Did they seriously think he’d fall for something that cheap?

In Cyrion’s mind, the man would’ve had an easier time convincing him that their own parents had sold him out.

But Lyrian?

His twin brother?

The person who’d been beside him practically since conception?

There was no way.

So the proud Aerun giggled openly and derisively, thoroughly convinced that whoever the Empire had sent to interrogate him must’ve been an idiot if he genuinely expected such an obvious trick to work.

"Dear, you’re still wet behind the ears, aren’t you? If you thought something like that would work on me, then you have a lot coming for you."

Then, as though genuinely grateful for the entertainment, he added with another amused chuckle, "Ah, but thank you for that. I haven’t laughed this much in a long time!"

By that point, Cyrion was so genuinely confident that practically all pretense had fallen away. There was no carefully maintained vulnerability or delicate distress left in his expression anymore, only blatant amusement at the poor fool sitting across from him.

Yet instead of becoming frazzled or even remotely bothered by Cyrion’s calculated reaction, the man merely shrugged.

"I see. If that’s how you’d like to take it, then so be it. It’s no problem," Uno, who had actually volunteered to conduct the interrogation, replied casually. "We don’t really have to send both of you back, anyway."

The amusement on the Aerun Prince’s face faltered.

But the man across from him simply continued as though he hadn’t noticed the slightest change, much less cared about it.

"We might even be doing your kingdom a favor. That way, they won’t have quite as much to be wary of anymore."

"!"

Cyrion visibly flinched.

This time, the reaction went far beyond a momentary crack in his expression. His entire body jolted against the chair before he could stop himself.

It barely lasted a few beats before he forced his features back under control, but regrettably for him, Uno had spent far too much time dealing with people who believed they were much better at hiding their reactions than they actually were.

The interrogator simply leaned back in his chair, looking completely unconcerned and in absolutely no hurry to continue.

The Luxastra heir hated it.

As someone accustomed to being stared at with reverence and admiration, he most definitely didn’t appreciate the way this man was observing him like some particularly interesting experiment whose reactions were simply being noted down one by one.

But just when Cyrion thought he’d already been annoyed and disrespected enough, the bastard actually dared to rattle him even further.

"Ah, but don’t worry, Your Highness. Your brother was nice enough to ask that you be treated as well as possible."

"!"

Cyrion’s eyes sharpened despite himself. He knew better than to take anything that man said seriously, yet for some reason, he couldn’t stop himself from hanging on to every word.

"Of course, you’ll have to understand that we don’t give special treatment to offenders, but we’ll at least make sure all your basic needs are met," Uno continued almost pleasantly, as though they were discussing accommodations rather than the possibility of indefinite confinement.

"The only thing we’ll really have to restrict is your eyes. Surely, you wouldn’t mind that too much, right?"

"!!!"

This time, Cyrion couldn’t hide his reaction quickly enough.

His entire expression changed.

Uno smiled.

"We can’t exactly have you using again, can we?"

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From the monitoring room, Curtis watched intently as Uno continued confronting the spoiled Aerun royal, but after a while, he couldn’t help glancing toward his boss.

Because really, the man clearly knew more than he was letting on.

It’d already been shocking enough to discover that the Luxastra twins were far worse troublemakers than they’d initially expected, especially when the means they’d apparently used were things Curtis still didn’t fully understand.

But now that he thought about it, perhaps what should’ve been even stranger was how they were managing to get to the bottom of any of this in the first place.

The fact that they even had leads for something that sounded like it belonged in some fantastical fairy tale was already crazy enough for the Deputy Officer. Yet now, with nothing more than a few carefully chosen words, they were actually managing to shake the resolve of two people who’d spent the entire interrogation acting like nothing could possibly make them fold.

Yes.

The whole thing was crazy.

And as if fulfilling part of the weekly quota of things Curtis could possibly agree upon with his girlfriend and personal demon, even Eden shared his confusion.

Neither of them really understood why the Marshal seemed so insistent on getting the Aeruns to personally spill their secrets when, presumably, they could’ve simply used whatever method had allowed the Marshal to pinpoint the problem in the first place.

Wouldn’t that have been easier?

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like either of them was going to receive an explanation anytime soon.

So they’d simply gone along with the diabolical plan to turn the twins against each other.

As expected, it hadn’t exactly been easy.

Whatever else could be said about the Luxastra twins, they were clearly experienced when it came to holding out under pressure. Perhaps that was simply a given for people who’d survived this long in such a cutthroat environment, but after watching them stubbornly maintain the same story no matter what was thrown their way, Curtis and Eden had honestly started wondering whether those two criminals would ever fold at all.

Then the Imperial Monarch’s personal shadow had actually appeared to give them a hand.

And suddenly, Uno started bringing up things that had the twins visibly shaken.

Curtis was obviously all for it.

Really, if that guy knew exactly where to poke to make those two finally crack, then by all means, poke away!

There was just one tiny thing bothering him.

The Deputy Officer’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the monitoring screens.

Just how in Solaris did they know any of this?!