The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL]-Chapter 982: Pocket Change
Yes. That choice.
The choice that every heir of their family would have to make, and one that would irrevocably change the way his son lived his life.
Xavier could very well choose to give up his disguise and his freedom in exchange for official responsibilities and his birthright.
Frankly, some of their ancestors had done it for far simpler reasons than the dilemma his son was currently facing, on a stage far bigger than anything the previous rulers had ever dealt with.
Because no Solaris had ever stood in such a precarious position.
One where the Emperor was certain that even their predecessors would agree that it was time to make use of the power their ancestors had died to protect.
Because he himself would.
Especially when it became painfully clear that the enemy had already started piecing things together.
Starting with a very specific bid for a dance with Luca.
__
Yes, with the Imperial Crown Prince’s little chipmunk being the undisputed number one, he ended up being placed front and center first.
The golden-eyed cadet couldn’t believe the graph and had to look at his friends, asking if there was an error because the chart looked absurd.
But much to his surprise, even D-29 confirmed it.
"Host! The calculations seem to be in order, and their system hasn’t been tampered with."
Huh?
It was a landslide "win," and the netizens were practically rejoicing that aside from corruption being a clusterfuck, everyone had finally found something they could all agree upon.
Ensuring Luca’s victory.
And getting all the members of DG onto the auction list.
Which, unfortunately, had Noah and Theo seriously considering calling in sick after what could only be described as an unexpected disaster.
However, one odd thing remained.
Why wasn’t the "winner" saved for last?
Wasn’t that how auctions usually worked?
Sure, that was true.
But apparently, airtime was best when everyone was still awake and watching.
More importantly, the most sought-after individuals tended to leave earlier than most guests for reasons that would soon become obvious.
But as of the moment, none of that mattered.
Not when one blonde looked like he was about to wrap himself around his good brother’s legs just to stop him from heading off to what felt like execution via a guillotine.
Then again, if the resident barnacle was already in distress, what about the husband?
The one who could barely let go of his wife’s hands the moment he stood?
It was instinctive.
He held on as if his life depended on it.
And just as Xavier reacted without thinking, Luca responded just as quickly, trying to calm his Prince, who looked like he was one step away from losing it.
"It’s okay! They said all proceeds would go to reputable charitable organizations, right?"
That.
That was the problem.
They could’ve opted out of this entire mess if not for a certain someone pointing out that it was all for charity.
With something like that dangling in front of the saintly little money-grubber in exchange for an allegedly simple dance, how could they possibly say no?
They couldn’t.
Not out of principle.
And it certainly didn’t help that Luca smiled reassuringly at him before adding softly, "I don’t think it’ll take long! I’ll be back soon!"
"..."
"..."
It was likely a jinx. One strong enough that even Kyle shuddered as he heard it.
Then again, how could they blame him for being oblivious to how long it would actually take?
Moreover, how could the wolfish Prince say anything when in truth, amidst the cheering crowd that drowned out Xavier’s senses momentarily, would come the uncanniest bid.
For despite the Imperial Crown Prince wanting to add an irresponsible number of zeroes to his opening bid, he was beaten to it.
By Ollie.
Who had already started pressing buttons before the bidding had even officially begun, moving at a speed that was frankly terrifying for someone usually so slow.
And with a determined huff, the blonde shouted,
"One million Star Coins!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Luca, who was standing under the spotlight, trembled.
From the soles of his feet to the tips of his hair, it was as if he felt the ringing of every Star Coin!
His good brother had just bid one million.
One.
Million.
Even D-29 made odd popping prompts for that.
And with a seemingly telepathic magic present only in two individuals who seemed to sometimes share a single brain cell, the golden-eyed cadet looked over to his brother who seemed to similarly reach out for him.
Like brothers reuniting after a grueling battle, the blonde wanted to free Luca from the shackles of an auction as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the money-grubber who assumed that maybe he could earn fifty thousand at most was so perplexed because his brother actually thought so highly of him!
But Ollie, bless his hair antenna, barely had three seconds to look at his brother with worried, longing eyes before—
A storm of bids exploded.
"!!!"
What one million?
Xavier, the unbelievably miffed wolf, went straight to five.
But just like his expectations, so did everyone else.
In a place that gathered the most influential beings not only on the planet but across the universe, what were mere millions to people who oversaw planets, systems, and even entire galaxy clusters?
Well, depending on who was asked—
Pocket change.
And so the numbers kept climbing.
Five, thirty, sixty, eighty million.
The amounts rose at an absurd pace, fast enough to make the golden-eyed center of attention flinch, along with the little system that had already begun calculating the potential of such a novel business model.
"Host! The twenty four pairs of shoes... It seems they were meant for this!"
Maybe they should have considered everything before returning or donating most of them?!
Meanwhile, netizens were going wild, placing bets on the final bid with an enthusiasm that bordered on mania.
But in truth, even those amounts the viewers were hyped about were insignificant to one Imperial who had far too much money at his disposal. For something truly important, he wouldn’t hesitate to go into the trillions.
However, Imperial Crown Prince Xavier Aeric Theron Solaris was currently an entirely different entity from Xavier Montclair.
The latter was, on paper, merely the heir to a Barony.
Yes.
A Barony that, by all intents and purposes, should’ve stepped aside the moment Cassian Elion Veyra of the Federation made his move.
Not because a Baron’s heir couldn’t possibly have millions to spare, but because any sane member of the lower nobility would’ve yielded the moment those with far greater power joined in.
And more importantly, given the declared wealth of such a house, how would one even explain possessing legitimate funds that could rival the spending capacity of the select elite?
Then—
The hall paused.
"One hundred million."
Cassian said it casually.
As if he were only just getting started.
Well, by all means, he actually was.
Several nobles dropped out on the spot, expressions tightening as they realized that the Federation heir had every intention of participating. Others hesitated, calculating risks, weighing dreams against reality.
They definitely didn’t want him to win. But they also were aware of the wealth gap between people and in the case that they were just being baited for a much higher price, then they may end up driving themselves into ruin.
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for those backed by research or commerce organizations, who only wanted a chance to interact with Luca Kyros. Sure, they had sent their youngest intern and were likely about to spend millions on the venture, but they figured it would all be worth i—
"Five billion."
Silence.
For a split second, the entire hall, and probably those at home, seemed to forget how to breathe.
The previous bids had barely crossed the three hundred million-mark when—
"Five billion."
Safe to say, Luca was taken aback.
Not only did a roasted chicken meal set cost five whole billions, but even a single dance did?!
Just what kind of inflation was that!
And why was no one stopping this?
Was there no cap for something this insane?
But just as his face began to crumple under the sheer absurdity of it all, something else started to emerge.
A slight pattern.
Honestly, it hadn’t been obvious at first.
Twelve.
Fourteen.
Fifteen.
Seventeen.
Then suddenly—
Seventeen billion eight hundred million Star Coins.
An oddly specific number.
One that even surprised the remaining bidders.
Luca blinked, unable to ignore it any longer, and quietly asked D-29 to check something for him.
At the same time, somewhere in the audience, one husband clenched his jaw.
Because the next bid came.
"Forty-six billion."
Forty-six billion Star Coins.
And Xavier knew.
With the way that man glanced toward their table, he already knew what was coming next.
—Fifty-two billion.
"Fifty-two billion."
In the darkened audience, two very different heirs didn’t even acknowledge each other.
There was no need for it.
But to be perfectly clear, this was the type of chess that Xavier absolutely detested playing.
One where he had Luca’s happiness tied to his moves.
