The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] Chapter 1246: Drawing the Line

And what, pray tell, would even justify that scandalous question?

See, as unsurprising as it probably should’ve been, it was actually Xavier who’d gone through the trouble of pulling the Marshal aside and specifically asking him to find out whether those two would be willing to swear loyalty to something that might not always work in the Crown’s favor.

Naturally, Marshal Julian had found that a rather alarming request coming from the person who was supposed to inherit said Crown one day.

But Xavier’s reasoning had been simple.

"The people of House Kyros may be loyal to the Imperial Family, but if the need ever arises, they’d still be willing to lay down their lives for Luca."

Julian had stared at his nephew for a moment.

"And is that what you actually want?"

"Yes."

There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation.

"Because anyone whose loyalty lies solely with the Crown would naturally want Luca to become more of a public figure. They may also have interests focused on improving the Empire and believe his abilities should be used toward that purpose."

Xavier’s expression hadn’t changed much as he continued.

"But that’s not for anyone else to decide. Only Luca gets to make that choice."

The Marshal could still remember looking at his nephew after hearing that and thinking about just how much the boy had taken after his father.

Because sure enough, while the men of House Solaris seemed practically born to become the sort of leaders capable of carrying the Empire on their backs, they were also the first bastards who’d probably throw the whole thing away for their better halves!

Amusingly enough, the increasingly cornered uncle could actually understand where Xavier was coming from.

It wasn’t like anyone was genuinely planning some sort of treasonous uprising against the Imperial Family either.

If anything, they were all painfully aware that even the current monarchs themselves would probably choose Luca’s well-being over whatever advantage the Empire could gain from him. So what more could be expected from that deeply attached Prince whose entire focus in life seemed to have shifted after getting married?

As that punk’s uncle, Julian was well aware that this likely had a lot to do with just how unhinged his nephew could be.

Luca obviously wouldn’t believe him if he ever said it out loud, but beneath that calm exterior and the occasional smile, Xavier was likely keeping tabs on everyone around them and constantly making his own quiet risk assessments.

It wasn’t out of malice.

That was simply how he was wired.

And from that perspective, people with stronger personal ties to Luca were considerably safer in Xavier’s books. Parents whose own children would probably go down with Luca if anything happened to him, for example, had far more at stake than soldiers whose loyalty came from less personal connections.

Those soldiers might genuinely care about Luca too, but there was always a chance that loyalty could turn volatile if whatever they hoped to accomplish through him didn’t unfold the way they’d expected.

Putting it that way, Xavier really did sound like one cold and calculating prick, but what else could anyone expect from the person set to inherit the absolute clusterfuck that was the Empire of Solaris?

If he wasn’t that particular kind of crazy, would he even make it out alive?

Probably not.

So, as a form of assistance, the uncle in Julian simply felt obligated to help whenever it came to matters like this.

Which was precisely why he was currently sitting there asking two Imperial personnel such a dangerously worded question, all while silently praying that he’d judged those two correctly.

Otherwise, he might just become the first Marshal in Imperial history to get written up for something this stupid!

Thankfully, Curtis’s initial shock only lasted for a moment.

The Deputy Officer’s mouth opened before closing again as he tried to process what he’d just heard. But after remembering exactly who his boss was, as well as the questionable things Curtis himself had done over the course of his career, his expression gradually became more thoughtful.

A question like that wasn’t something he should answer lightly.

So rather than immediately saying yes just because he desperately wanted the mission, Curtis took a moment before asking, "Marshal, I feel like I should be asking whether this loyalty would eventually require me to directly or actively betray the Crown."

Julian raised a brow.

Curtis sighed.

"But what I actually want to know is whether it’d require me to do something that goes against my personal beliefs."

That got the Marshal’s attention.

The conflicted deputy scratched the side of his face before continuing somewhat awkwardly, "I’ve already gotten written up before for doing something that was technically against Imperial policy, so obviously I can’t exactly sit here and claim I have that kind of absolute loyalty to every rule the Crown puts out."

That was putting it rather mildly.

"But if you’ve already assessed whatever this is and you can tell me it wouldn’t go against my stupidly uptight yet questionable values, then I’m in."

Julian stared at him.

Then his gaze shifted toward Eden.

The Tech Specialist was already wearing practically the exact same expression.

Though unlike Curtis, Eden, a woman about as fragile as a bomb, had never been particularly obsessed with following rules in the first place. In fact, if there was any room to bypass one, she’d likely take that route without much hesitation.

What mattered considerably more to her was whether she believed something was And once she did, she had absolutely no problem being fiercely loyal to it.

More importantly, the person asking was Marshal Julian.

If there was anyone who knew enough about the two of them to judge whether whatever they were about to get dragged into would cross their personal lines, then their own boss seemed like a fairly safe bet.

Eden eventually released the breath she’d been holding.

"If you can say the same for me, then I’m in too."

Curtis glanced at her.

Eden shrugged.

Besides, at this point, weren’t they already knee-deep in all this insanity anyway?

So how much more surprised could they possibly get?