The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 525

Chapter 525: Little Secret

Honestly, there was a lot more where that came from.

And if they unpacked all of it now, he wasn’t sure any of them would still be standing by the end.

Because never, not even in his darkest and most paranoid moments, did Duke Leander ever think his precious boy had carried that much on his own.

Trauma.

Not the faceless kind, like corruption, which at least could be fought, cut away, burned clean.

Even corruption, for all its ugliness, had been kinder to his boy. At least that black gunk of death had contributed to his son’s current triumphs.

But those people.

No, those monsters.

Those fucking bastards?!

Duke Leander could not even put his fury into words. His breath came hot and ragged, his fists clenched until his knuckles hurt, heat rolling through him from the top of his head to the tips of his toes like fire threatening to consume him whole.

Shock.

Rage.

Heartbreak.

The words blurred together as he listened to Amelia speak. Each sentence pressed down on his chest, heavier than the last, until it felt like the weight of the entire world was crushing him.

And the worst part of it all?

She hadn’t even gone into detail. She didn’t have to. He could already feel it, already picture it.

And that broke him even more, knowing she had carried this knowledge alone all this time, quietly, because even now she could not bring herself to say everything aloud.

Leander felt like a fraud.

He called himself a father. Said he would always protect his son.

And even now, he spoke of protecting him from thieving wolves when clearly, he hadn’t been able to do anything when he actually needed protection.

Heck, he hadn’t even been there.

He had failed him.

And there it was, that heavy and suffocating feeling he hated above all others. The one he could never escape or deny.

Guilt.

Crushing and bitter guilt.

And beneath it, gnawing at him just as mercilessly, was helplessness.

He clenched his fists tighter, staring at the floor as his heart cracked under the weight of what he could never undo.

Meanwhile, Duchess Amelia could tell exactly what her husband was thinking, because she had been thinking the same thing.

It was the same reason she had not been able to bring herself to tell him everything she learned about Luca’s childhood. The same reason she almost kept quiet about what she recently heard from Xavier when they arranged for two rooms.

But that brooding young man had been right about one thing.

This had to be addressed.

And the best way to do that was to talk to Luca about it directly.

They were his parents. They had their shortcomings, but they still had to try their best to help him heal.

But if they expected him to find peace, they needed to set the example.

And maybe, just maybe, they could even suggest a few ways he might begin to heal.

Like maybe going on a man hunt.

Which apparently had to be momentarily shelved because their own son didn’t want it.

She had been shaken after hearing that considering that boy’s hypothesis. But then again, with her son’s personality, was that even surprising?

Luca wasn’t even itching for revenge.

Apparently, he had told Xavier his greatest concern was about the innocent people who might be caught in the crossfire.

That thought alone left Amelia quiet and heavy-hearted.

Yes. They could definitely do that.

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