The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]-Chapter 981: Seeing Red

To accurately describe the state of the hall, it would be best to remember some synonyms of the word outrage.

Indignation.

Fury, anger, rage, wrath...

Shock, horror, disapproval, and definitely disgust.

Yes, the list could go on, and so could the number of words that would describe the emotions of one Imperial Crown Prince as he fought every single urge to launch an attack.

What "seeing red"?

Xavier couldn’t even see.

There was only darkness as it momentarily took over his mind, as if everything else had been swallowed whole the second that bastard opened his mouth.

So much for painstakingly hiding his identity over the years.

So much for keeping the peace as an Imperial leader.

And so much for having an upright moral character.

Fuck. That.

At that moment, he neither wanted nor cared for any of it.

He just wanted to wipe that smug look off that son of a gun’s face.

It was an unusual state for the usually level-headed Prince, yet at the same time, it wasn’t entirely his alone.

Because what he felt was shared across the hall.

Only his was worse.

Much worse.

In fact, his adjutant thought that if Xavier went on a rampage right now, he would be perfectly fine with it. They would likely go to war and end up with a glaring hole to fix, but Kyle personally felt ready to work triple time to deal with that aftermath.

He wouldn’t even ask for additional compensation.

Not when the entourage of the dictator’s mini-me looked at his little star in a way that would definitely unleash the might of the Nox family coffers.

The mere thought of it was enough to make his hands twitch. But that wasn’t unusual, not when his entire body was wound so tightly that he might’ve snapped at any moment if not for the mop suddenly tangling his delicate fingers with his for emotional support.

However, between the two of them, it was clearly the adjutant who needed all the support so he wouldn’t end up gutting someone.

But unfortunately for everyone else in that hall, they didn’t have that same anchor.

Especially not the people who had just been forced to refresh their memories about how that blasted fundraiser had been run all these years.

Apparently, it had always been a "fun" little thing they did every year.

Just a small tradition started by the earlier members of the Expo Committee to provide entertainment—a bit of fan service for the watching citizens who wanted to participate despite not being able to attend—as well as a way to transparently raise funds for different causes.

Initially, it was meant to support both the Expo and the Astral Cup, as they were once endeavors started by different academies that thought it would be great to host such a competition and training simulation.

But with the costs required to realize those events, they obviously needed to gather as much funding as possible.

And so, before the Imperial family backed them, they relied heavily on sponsorships.

As one might expect, that didn’t seem very fair, especially when most of those deals were negotiated behind closed doors. Under pressure from clamoring parties, the organizers eventually shifted toward more transparent fundraisers.

And this one?

This was easily a favorite.

Because it wasn’t just those interested in mechas, battles, or technology who could participate.

Even nobles who cared little about fighting could enjoy something like dances, all for little to no effort from the participants, who were generally fine with joining.

In fact, some cadets even prepared extensively for the activity because they wanted the publicity for themselves, their schools, or their guilds.

So every year, they included what was supposed to be a harmless little segment.

But even Chairman Lan couldn’t see it as harmless right now.

Not when the entire hall felt like it was about to implode.

Or maybe that was just his blood pressure soaring as he tried, for the third time, to explain things to the livid Duke Leander Kyros.

"Your Grace, we understand that you’re confident you would be able to survive the criticisms of the netizens, but the rule had been in place even before I became Chairman of the Committee..."

And wouldn’t it be better to dance with his precious son for free instead of having to pay and dancing for a set amount of time?

Then again, the clueless Lan had absolutely no idea that this would be Luca’s first official dance. Nor did he realize that the people of House Kyros, along with his overly protective friends, had absolutely no intention of handing that moment over to the demonic spawn of the Federation. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

So how could they possibly accept Chairman Lan’s explanation?

What rule? Wasn’t that just oppression?

And why, of all things, was the Duke not even allowed to join the bidding?

In truth, the rule had been in place since Leander’s own student days. It was just that, back then, the multi-faction war was at its peak, and family heads and active personnel simply didn’t have the time or energy to meddle in their children’s affairs.

Because of that, their generation never had to enforce something that had already applied naturally to them.

Then again, had they been more involved in recent years, they would’ve been far more familiar with the rules.

See, for several reasons, it had long since been agreed upon that those above the age of twenty-five couldn’t bid for dances with the cadets.

It simply became too awkward.

Either the overly rigid family heads would refuse to dance with their own children and just pay, or they would end up looking like stiff boards awkwardly twirling, which would then become the highlight of the next day’s news.

Moreover, families would just bid for their own children, and those without the same financial backing wouldn’t be able to compete.

It killed the excitement.

And no one wanted that.

Especially not the largest market share invested in this very particular fundraiser.

The lovestruck fans.

The younger assistant, Adrian, referred to them as the delusionals.

And honestly, there was a reason for that.

Chairman Lan was rather old and traditional, but it was only recently brought to his attention that factors like sailing ships and personal image were very important when it came to generating even greater funds.

Actually, he had absolutely no idea what that meant.

But the younger members of the organization clearly did, and they had always been more than willing to handle those matters themselves.

And since the proceeds were directed toward various charitable institutions, especially now that the Empire already backed both the Expo and the Astral Cup, more funds simply meant greater donations.

Therefore, they had to ensure the perfect combination of entertainment and earnings.

So, aside from receiving donations from citizens, allowing them to vote for their favorite cadets, and holding the actual bidding for those elusive dance slots, they also made sure to provide something more appropriate for others.

Individuals, houses, and organizations were allowed to bid for slots featuring their crests or company logos in different promotional materials.

Chairman Lan explained this compromise to the Duke. After all, to him, it sounded like a very good deal.

Well, unfortunately for him, it did nothing but make the War God flare up in further distress.

Because the father had apparently walked straight into the middle of that standoff near the entrance. And from what the committee head would soon learn, his initially jovial mood and broad smile quickly turned into a deadly frown the moment he understood why his child was standing in the middle of a crowd—especially when someone casually brought up something as absurd as an auctioned dance.

But what could the old man do?

That was the rule.

However, what the already exhausted Chairman didn’t expect was to encounter resistance from a returning Imperial, one who almost passed out upon learning that, due to his age, he could only bid for the photo opportunities and signed memorabilia.

Then again, the mistake was probably in how Chairman Lan had rather joyfully emphasized that the bids were intentionally kept at lower, non-prohibitive prices for the adorable children of the Empire.

Critical hit!

Aziel Solaris looked ready to cough up blood.

After being humiliated multiple times that night, he had reached his limit.

And yet, for the first time, even his distant relatives found themselves thinking along the same lines.

What was the point of being absolute authorities if they couldn’t even bend the rules for something as simple as this?

But what could they do when even they had forgotten about something that had never truly mattered until the Federation’s provocation?

Still, among all the worried onlookers, one figure stood out.

Because out of everyone present, it was actually Emperor Xavian Tarion Solaris who understood what his son was likely feeling.

After all, what was power if it couldn’t be wielded for the one they loved?

So as he watched Xavier’s pupils dilate, especially when Luca’s name practically soared to the very top of the voting charts, the Emperor simply observed.

Because really, he would understand if his son made his choice today.