Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight!

"Your Majesty, my apologies for interrupting your time with His Highness," Lucius said, his voice carefully measured as he bowed low while stepping into the office. Heinz followed him in, the heavy wooden doors shutting with a muted thud that sealed them in.

"It's alright," Heinz replied evenly.

On the surface, his tone was calm, but a flicker of irritation stirred beneath.

'I wanted him… just the rings against his skin, nothing else. I wanted to see him bare, adorned only with what belonged to me.'

The image burned in Heinz's mind like a brand—Florian's pale frame, the golden rings catching the candlelight, his expression flushed and uncertain.

A sight reserved only for him.

But Lucius had summoned him for something "urgent," and Heinz was not a man to ignore urgent matters.

Annoyance should have weighed on him, but strangely, it didn't. He was in far too good a mood.

Tomorrow—tomorrow he would tell Florian everything.

Tomorrow, the truth would bind them together.

So, instead, Heinz crossed the room with his usual sharp grace, the dark sweep of his cloak trailing behind him. He settled into his seat, posture straight, the weight of authority rolling off him effortlessly.

His crimson eyes lifted, pinning Lucius in place with a single look.

Lucius stiffened, standing straighter as though that gaze had pulled him taut.

"Tell me," Heinz said, voice low but commanding. "What happened?"

Lucius cleared his throat, his expression grave. "There have been rogue sightings in the capital. At first it seemed minor, but reports confirm they've begun striking nearby villages—villages dangerously close to the Diamond Palace."

Heinz's gaze darkened, fingers tapping once against the armrest of his chair.

'Rogues, here? That close to us?' His voice cut through the silence like a blade. "Do you believe this is connected to the upcoming ball?"

Lucius clasped his hands behind his back, steady but firm. "Lancelot thinks it might be. With so many nobles gathered—and with royal families from other kingdoms attending—the timing is too deliberate to ignore."

"Where is Lancelot now?" Heinz asked, his crimson eyes narrowing.

"He's already on his way to investigate, Your Majesty," Lucius replied swiftly. "And I've doubled the security around the palace grounds. Every patrol has been reinforced."

Heinz gave a single, sharp nod. The thought had already struck him the moment Lucius mentioned the villages.

'So it begins. Whoever is behind this knows the ball will be more than a celebration—it is a gathering of power. And Florian…'

His lips curved into a faint, humorless smile. "Do not worry. Azure will attend the ball."

Lucius blinked, visibly taken aback. "…Azure? Your Majesty, with respect—your dragon has been…" He hesitated, as though searching for the right word. "…unstable. Especially these past four days."

Well…

"I… I don't know why Azure hasn't been present lately," Florian began, his voice softer than usual, his head tilted down as though the words themselves weighed heavily on him.

Heinz stilled, taken aback at the sudden mention of his dragon. Azure? He hasn't brought him up in weeks…

Florian's fingers fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve, his shoulders drawn close. "But I've been starting to really miss him," he admitted, the faintest tremor in his voice. "And I was hoping… if he could be at tomorrow's celebration? If… if that's okay…"

Slowly, hesitantly, Florian raised his head. And then Heinz saw them—those impossibly green eyes, clear as gemstones, earnest and unguarded.

'Damn it.'

The sight nearly broke him. Heinz's chest tightened with a fierce ache, his hand twitching at his side as every instinct screamed at him to close the distance, to seize Florian, to drown in the warmth of his lips over and over until nothing else mattered.

But he couldn't. Not yet. Not like lit up like emeralds catching sunlight, a fragile joy sparking across his face that made Heinz's heart pound.

"Really?" he asked, almost disbelieving, almost childlike.

"Yes," Heinz replied, the corners of his mouth softening. "Really. He'll attend. Don't worry."

For just a moment, the heaviness between them eased, replaced by something lighter—something dangerously tender.

Heinz cleared his throat, forcing his thoughts back to steadier ground before they betrayed him. He extended a hand toward Florian, palm up, steady and commanding yet gentle.

"Now," he said, his tone lower, smoother, "let's go back to our room."this.

He steadied himself, forcing his voice into calm certainty. "I don't see why not. I'm sure Azure misses you terribly as well."

The effect was instant. Florian's eyes

A flicker of amusement ghosted across Heinz's face, as though he alone understood the reasoning behind that instability.

His tone was final, unyielding. "It was a personal request from Florian. And tell me, Lucius—who am I to deny him?"

Lucius swallowed, bowing his head. "As you wish, Your Majesty." Still, the faint tension in his posture betrayed his unease.

"Everything is under control," Heinz said firmly, his gaze turning distant for a moment. His hand curled on the armrest, the memory of Florian's soft eyes flashing in his mind.

'The only reason Azure was unstable was because of those memories…' Heinz thought, exhaling slowly, the sound closer to a growl than a sigh. 'But that's in the past now. I have my Florian. Everything is going as it should be.'

"Are there other updates?" Heinz asked, his tone cool, though the weight of command in his voice filled the room.

Lucius shifted, a flicker of hesitation crossing his face. "Prince Hendrix, though absent, has sent word… a letter confirming his attendance at the ball. And with him will be… Lady Monica." His voice faltered near the end, as if testing the waters of Heinz's patience.

Heinz froze mid-breath. The air thickened.

'Now what is he planning…?' His crimson eyes narrowed sharply, dangerous heat bubbling beneath his calm expression.

Fury licked at his composure, but he crushed it down, a steel hand clamping over fire. Losing himself to anger now would gain him nothing.

No. Patience was the blade that struck deeper.

As long as Hendrix remembered his past… and remained ignorant of the fact that Heinz remembered his as well… everything would move according to plan.

"Let them come," Heinz said at last, his voice low and cutting, a finality in the words that left no room for question.

Lucius's brows drew together, unease settling on his features. "Are you sure, Your Majesty? He—"

"I'm sure," Heinz interrupted, his voice sharp enough to slice through hesitation. "The only reason he's bringing his mother is because her family will be in attendance." He leaned back slightly, recalling with cold precision the guest list. "The Tranquilis Kingdom will also be present—because of Athena."

Lucius wet his lips, voice quieter this time. "Do you not think… he's planning something, considering…"

Heinz's gaze snapped to him, crimson eyes glinting like freshly drawn blades. Lucius swallowed hard and did not finish the thought.

But the silence said it for him—

Considering that Heinz was still actively grinding Hendrix's kingdom into the dirt.

"What can he do?" Heinz's voice was almost a scoff, the contempt curling at the edges. "Yes, he can wield magic. Some magic that I, too, command."

'And he might actually be the one called 'Savior'—not Alexandria…' Heinz's mind turned, threading pieces together with ruthless clarity.

'Afton's sources said it was the Savior who spread the forbidden spells. A Savior who dared call himself the kingdom's salvation. And the one arming the rogues with mana stones bears the same name.'

With Alexandria already dead, and would not have been able to access the spells...

'There could only be one suspect.'

His jaw tightened. Savior. Hendrix. They lined up too neatly to be coincidence.

He leaned forward, shadows sharpening the edges of his expression. "Even if he is the leader of the rogues… even if my father, in his folly, appointed him king in his will… and even if he holds the forbidden spells…" Heinz's voice darkened to a dangerous whisper, heavy with conviction. "…there is still one thing he doesn't have."

And one thing Hendrix desired more than anything.

Lucius's gaze followed as Heinz reached beneath his collar. Slowly, deliberately, he drew out the necklace that hung against his chest—a gleaming blue crystal, pulsing faintly with restrained power. Azure's essence.

But Heinz's eyes were not on the crystal. His thoughts were already elsewhere.

'And of course, Florian.'

Both of which Hendrix would never obtain.

Because Heinz would slaughter him before he could even try.