Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight!
Chapter 404: ’Did He Look Like This?’

Chapter 404: ’Did He Look Like This?’

’His vitals are weak.’

Heinz’s arms trembled slightly as he gathered Florian’s fragile body into his embrace. He held him delicately, like porcelain—like something that might break further if touched too hard.

’I have to bring him to Lysander as soon as possible.’

Florian’s skin was cold. His face, pale. His breathing was shallow and barely there, like a whisper of life clinging to a thread.

Heinz stared at him, eyes narrowed in pain.

’Why does this feel so familiar...?’

Then it hit him.

A memory from his first life.

The last time he ever saw the original Florian—right before the execution. That same face. That same silence. That same look of resignation in Florian’s eyes before the blade fell.

And before that? The countless times Florian had been taken. Hurt. Broken. All the moments the prince had cried out for him—begged for him—while Heinz pushed the responsibility to Lucius and Lancelot.

Because he hadn’t cared.

Or... hadn’t wanted to.

"Did he also look like this?" Heinz whispered bitterly, brushing a strand of hair away from Florian’s face.

The ache in his chest deepened.

It wasn’t just rage anymore.

It was guilt.

He tightened his hold around Florian—gently, carefully—but close enough to feel the frail rise and fall of his chest against Heinz’s own.

"Let’s go home," Heinz murmured, his voice unsteady as he leaned down and softly pressed his nose to Florian’s forehead. A fleeting, desperate gesture—half a promise, half a plea.

Behind him, Azure stood waiting—blood dripping from his jaws, his eyes wild.

For the last few minutes, Heinz had left the dragon to deal with the remaining scum. And Azure had obeyed with brutal precision.

He bit, burned, and tore through them as they screamed for mercy.

But not all were dead.

One was still alive.

The leader. The man who had touched Florian. Hurt him.

He now lay collapsed on the ground, trembling, face twisted in terror. Blood pooled around his broken legs. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Tears streamed down his face.

Pathetic.

’I need to prioritize Florian.’ Heinz told himself, sparing only a glance.

’Then I’ll deal with this bastard. And Alexandria.’

He raised his hand, signaling Azure.

Azure dropped the half-chewed arm he was gnawing on and padded forward, stepping carefully toward Heinz and Florian.

"Grh..." Azure let out a low growl—one not of anger, but of concern. His glowing eyes were fixed on Florian. He whined softly, as if asking permission to get close.

Heinz shook his head.

"He’ll be okay," he said, though he didn’t sound sure—because he wasn’t. "But you can’t touch him right now. You’re covered in blood. We’ll clean you up once we get back."

Azure’s ears drooped, but he understood. Quietly, the dragon lowered his massive body and offered Heinz a place to mount.

Heinz climbed on carefully, holding Florian close against his chest, as if shielding him from the world.

He never looked away.

’I won’t let this happen again.’

Behind them, the leader whimpered. He tried to crawl. To beg.

’I’ll make sure of it.’

Azure turned to him.

And without a word from Heinz, clamped his jaws around the man’s face—muffled screams followed, gurgled and raw.

Heinz didn’t flinch. Didn’t even blink.

Right now, it felt like the entire world was in his arms.

And he refused to look away.

Not even for a second.

✧༺ ⏱︎ ༻✧

"Your Majesty," he greeted, his voice low but clear. "How is he?"

Lucius stepped into the room quietly, the heavy doors closing behind him with a soft click that echoed faintly in the silence.

He received no response.

Heinz didn’t so much as flinch.

He remained seated at the edge of the grand bed, hunched forward slightly, his crimson eyes fixed—unblinking—on the boy lying motionless beneath layers of white sheets. Florian’s skin had turned so pale, so bloodless, he nearly disappeared into the linens.

The only sign of life was the faint, fluttering rise and fall of his chest.

Lucius’s eyes softened.

’He almost looks like he’s already gone.’

They were in Heinz’s private bedchambers—an ornate, fortified part of the palace that rarely saw visitors. Not even the nobility dared disturb its threshold without permission. And yet here they all were, gathered in sacred silence around one broken boy.

Heinz had carried him in his arms all the way from the battlefield, refusing to let anyone else touch him. When they arrived, he barked one command: "Get Lysander. Now."

Lysander, standing near the foot of the bed, gently adjusted the glowing thread of a sealing rune over Florian’s leg. He finally looked up, noticing Lucius for the first time.

"He’ll live," the healer said softly, his voice careful, as if louder words might shatter the fragile stillness. "But... his thigh was stabbed repeatedly. The same place. It’s not something even I can fully erase overnight. The damage went deep—bone, muscle, nerves. I’ve stitched what I could, reinforced it with layered spells. He’s stable... but the pain when he wakes will be... significant."

Lucius’s eyes moved from the healer to the foot of the bed.

Cashew was curled beside Florian, face blotchy from crying. The boy hadn’t left Florian’s side even once. His small hands clutched the edge of the sheets like a lifeline, knuckles white from how tightly he held on. The tears had long since stopped falling, but his body still trembled in quiet sobs.

And beside him, nestled near Florian’s chest, lay Azure. The little dragon—now small, clean, and silent—nuzzled against his master. His sapphire eyes shimmered with sadness, and a low, purring growl rumbled from his throat every few minutes, as if trying to comfort Florian with his heartbeat.

But Heinz?

He hadn’t moved.

Not once.

He sat like a statue carved from grief and rage, his jaw clenched, his fingers curled slightly into the mattress beneath Florian’s hand.

He hadn’t spoken.

He hadn’t blinked.

He hadn’t even breathed deeply.

’To see his majesty acting like this...’ He didn’t need to be able to see Heinz’s emotions to know how the king was feeling.

Lucius swallowed and stepped closer, his voice lowering. "Your Majesty... rumors are spreading."

Still, Heinz didn’t look at him.

Lucius continued. "About what happened with the guilds. The fires. The destroyed halls. People think you’ve... started massacring again."

A pause.

Nothing.

"...Word’s already out about Princess Alexandria," Lucius added more carefully. "They’re saying you choked her in the corridor. That she’s... been locked in that room. With the ringleader from the incident. People are scared, Your Majesty."

At last, Heinz blinked.

Slowly.

And then he turned his head.

It was the first time in over an hour that he looked away from Florian.

His voice, when it came, was low—deadly cold. "Send an official statement. Kingdom-wide. I want everyone to know the truth. Say this: Florian was kidnapped. The one who orchestrated it... was Princess Alexandria Divinarae. I destroyed those guilds because I was searchinig for the one who aided her."

’Wait... we’re just going to tell the truth?’

Lucius stared at him, stunned. "We’re... not doing damage control?"

Heinz’s jaw flexed, his eyes hardening like crimson steel.

"No," he said. "No more hiding. No more political silence. I want it burned into their minds. I want them to remember it with fear. No one touches Florian. Not ever again."

Lucius froze.

It was ’No one touches Florian’ and not ’No one stands against the king.’

Even Lysander glanced up from the bed, eyebrows furrowed in silent shock.

Heinz shifted his gaze back to Lucius.

"You will stay here," he said. "With Cashew. With Lysander. Make sure he’s warm. Make sure he’s safe. And if he so much as twitches in pain, I want to be informed."

Lucius lowered his head slowly. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Finally, Heinz stood.

The weight of grief, guilt, and fury hung off him like a mantle. He turned toward the door, his eyes dim and shadowed.

He said nothing more.

But the air changed.

It was time.

Time to face that room.

Time to deal with the traitor princess and the man who dared lay hands on his Florian.

And it seems this time... mercy would not be on the table.