[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun":3,"chapter-the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-319":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},630208,871,"Chapter 319: Plan B","the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-319",319,"\u003Cp>To be completely fair, D-29 did not expect this kind of reaction. And if anything, Luca didn’t think he’d react like that, either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d always been alone, and ended up preferring it when he realized how much worse it was to be around people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in this life—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this life, he had people who made him laugh, who made him feel warm, who made him feel like he mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And one of those would be Xavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With him, Luca didn’t just feel happy. He felt safe, wanted, and seen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And if only he understood what that thundering in his heart really meant, he might’ve realized why this fear was so deeply rooted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But despite not knowing, the dread that fell upon him was somehow worse than being told that he’d be put inside a tank for an indefinite amount of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was nothing to lose back then, no attachments, no hope. It was only a life that no one even wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to be told that there was a likely possibility of Xavier being taken away?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca’s knees trembled. And not in the same way that the Prince got him trembling from his touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was fear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And it was a message received by everyone who witnessed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xavier felt how distraught Luca was and turned the little guide’s face toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Luca...\" he said, voice low but steady, \"stay with me, please,\" requested the prince, who looked sickly himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hup—!\" hiccuped Luca, who saw his pale face and reacted even worse, eyes even more watery than earlier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Okay, well, that clearly didn’t work for this guy, whose mind was probably thinking about the worst, so Xavier tried another tactic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alright. Plan B, then.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Luca,\" Xavier tried again, this time with a change of topic, \"I need a bit of help figuring something out, and I’d like to hear your thoughts about it.\" He started.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How much would it cost to manufacture the bacteria strain we need for the aquaponic farm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca blinked, caught off guard. \"Wh—what?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The strain we discussed before. For the biofilter. What’s the cost?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca sniffled, brain flipping tracks with the awkward grace of a startled animal. \"Uh... around 22,000 Star Coins per batch...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xavier nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And how much would the equivalent be if you bought it from the Trove?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"10,000 CP per unit...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xavier leaned in, voice softer. \"Are you happy with that Star Coin conversion rate?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a pause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca blinked again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for the first time in the last minute, hethought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"... No,\" he mumbled. \"Maybe it could still be cheaper?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xavier hummed. \"Right, I think so too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But since your father said the manufacturing costs could still go down, then it should be cheaper, no?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And just like that, he felt Luca’s body slowly begin to relax against her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duchess Amelia watched the scene before him with a lot of confusion and a wave of sudden understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She, for one, did not know how to comfort her son, who suddenly looked like he was about to burst.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, this ghostly guy knew her son well enough to be able to do such a thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as embarrassing as it was eye-opening. And really, she didn’t plan on taking him away like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At best, maybe make him disappear quietly into the night if he were proven to be a major threat to her son.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But like this, it would be impossible to make him disappear unless she wanted to hate herself more than she already does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the duchess could only stare at the giant before her as they wordlessly agreed on a very temporary ceasefire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She meant it when she said she was going to listen. But forgive her for knowing full well that she was going to judge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>__\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duchess was thinking like this when they found themselves back inside the tunnel they had exited from.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, it was just the three of them, yet somehow it felt even more awkward than when everyone was around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca walked stiffly beside Xavier, still holding his sleeve. Xavier, for his part, looked steadier now that he wasn’t under scrutiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the duchess? She was at the front of the trio, back straight, steps measured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But she was the most awkward of them all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could feel it in her shoulders. The tension that hadn’t quite left her spine. The weight of her own actions pressed like a stone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d walked out with the subtlety of a siege engine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, how could she be expected to be treated as anything but one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was her fault. So the duchess had to apologize.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the right thing to do if she wanted to make her son feel more comfortable in her presence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duchess stopped. And the two had to pause behind her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then, still not turning around, she said it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...I owe you both an apology.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xavier’s brows rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duchess inhaled deeply, then turned to face them. Her expression was tight, but sincere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I acted with hostility before understanding the situation. That’s on me,\" she said, voice still controlled. \"And while I’d like to blame my instincts as a mother and a soldier, neither excuses what I nearly did.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a beat of silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Luca could only stare wide-eyed at the woman before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duchess gave him a small, tired smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m especially sorry, my son.\" She meant it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca, who had been so ready to explain himself, froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All his mental rehearsals—gone. All his worries—collapsing into something too complicated to unpack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I—I-um...\" he stammered, hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. \"I wanted to say sorry, too. For earlier. I don’t know why I reacted like that, or what came over me, I just—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s alright,\" she said softly. \"If you can’t decipher your feelings yet, that’s fine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She could tell. Luca was just as confused, but she, for one, knew how difficult it was to articulate feelings of all things, so she let it be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luca’s lips trembled. \"Really?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She nodded. \"But if possible... I’d like to understand. What’s happening? And since when has it been happening?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xavier’s arm subtly tightened around Luca’s shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duchess saw it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t comment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead, she just braced herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the moment Luca nodded—clearly about to begin—the duchess suddenly had the distinct, sinking feeling that she should’ve packed at least her smallest knife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t going to be a story. It was probably the start of someone’s epitaph.\u003C\u002Fp>",1094,"2026-06-02T06:16:21.519Z",1,"novelbin.me","68cffeee7bdafdf8a7d42189c797c5d7a10dcac67b9e781fe1fdc98663baab01","the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-320","the-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-chapter-179",1073,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-royal-military-academy-s-impostor-owns-a-dun-cover.jpg"]