Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight!
Chapter 130: ’Lie After Lie, Tear After Tear’

Chapter 130: ’Lie After Lie, Tear After Tear’

After his conversation with Heinz, Florian watched as the king left, the weight of their exchange still pressing heavily on his mind. He knew he should be relieved—Heinz had outright offered him a solution, a reward for his cooperation. And yet, something about it didn’t sit right.

It felt too easy. Too... deliberate.

’He’s planning something. Something more than just finding out who killed him.’

But what?

Florian exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. There was no denying it—Heinz was hiding something. And the worst part? He could read Florian like an open book. That unsettling awareness made it impossible to ever feel at ease around him.

Sometimes, Heinz was tolerable. Other times, he was terrifying. But most of the time, he was just... confusing.

Florian shook his head, forcing the thoughts aside. There was no use dwelling on it. In the end, all that mattered was going home. If enduring all of this meant he could return to his original world, then he would endure it.

At least, that’s what he told himself.

Days passed, and so far, they had successfully tested all the princesses—except one. Scarlett.

As expected, the process had been exhausting. Mentally grueling. Watching each princess react to Heinz’s supposed death left a bitter taste in Florian’s mouth. No matter how necessary the test was, there was something inherently cruel about making them believe they had caused it.

And yet, there was one glaring commonality among them all.

They lied.

Every single one of them.

At some point, when Heinz questioned them, they all told at least one lie.

Lucius had tried to piece together what, exactly, they were being dishonest about, but there wasn’t a clear pattern. He only knew that many of them—Alexandria included—had been untruthful.

Yet, most of their answers had been honest.

They lied when asked about their families, their kingdoms, their happiness, their feelings. It wasn’t hard to conclude that not all of them were satisfied with the arrangement.

Florian had noticed Heinz’s reaction—or rather, his lack of one. It was as if he had expected it.

’Of course, he isn’t surprised. He already knew.’

It was only natural that some of the princesses missed their homes. Some, no doubt, held grievances toward Heinz for pulling them away from their families.

The only exception was Athena.

Florian had observed her closely. As far as he knew, Athena had a better life in Concordia than in her own kingdom. It explained her timid nature, her tendency to shrink into the background. The only time she had lied was when she was asked if she missed her kingdom.

She had said yes.

Which meant, in reality, she preferred being in Concordia.

Florian couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

Then came the tea test.

It was a simple but cruel test—each princess was given two different instructions on how to prepare Heinz’s tea. One was correct. One was wrong. Heinz would drink what they made, then pretend to have been poisoned.

Their reactions were predictable.

Fear. Tears. Panic.

Some of them collapsed in sheer horror, others froze, too stunned to react. It was a mess.

But two of them stood out.

Bridget and—surprisingly—Athena.

Bridget, ever the intelligent one, remained as calm as she could. She was aware of the basic procedures for helping someone who had been poisoned, but even then, she had still cried and screamed. Florian had to step in and force her to leave the room while they ’helped’ Heinz.

Athena, on the other hand, had reacted just as terribly as Alexandria. She shook, sobbed uncontrollably, and cradled Heinz’s ’unconscious’ body, whispering frantic apologies. And yet, despite her fear, she attempted to administer basic CPR.

The methods were wrong, but at least she had tried.

The rest of the princesses?

A disaster.

Frozen in terror. Sobbing. Completely useless until Florian reassured them that Heinz was fine.

By this point, they had been ordered not to speak to each other between tests to prevent leaks. Not that it mattered. Florian had made sure to scare them enough that they wouldn’t dare say a word.

After all, what princess would be foolish enough to admit they had potentially killed the king?

Now, only one remained.

Scarlett.

And of course, she was the most irritating of them all.

"So? Are you not going to tell me what’s supposed to happen?" Scarlett’s grating voice rang through Florian’s ears, a headache already forming. "I haven’t even seen Camilla around. No matter how many times I ask her, she won’t respond to me."

Florian had deliberately left Cashew behind today. He didn’t want him anywhere near Scarlett. She had a habit of lashing out at anyone weaker than her, and Florian wasn’t about to give her an easy target.

"Hey! Don’t ignore me!" She stomped her foot like a petulant child. "Florian, just because you’re the one judging this test doesn’t mean you have the right to ignore me!"

’She’s so annoying.’

Florian exhaled slowly, trying to keep his irritation in check. He was exhausted. Tired of the test. Tired of Heinz. Tired of avoiding Lancelot these past few days.

Tired of everything.

He just wanted to go home.

Scarlett kept talking, unaware—or perhaps uncaring—of how little patience Florian had left.

"How rude. You are very rude, you know that?!" Scarlett huffed, crossing her arms. "Just because the king is giving you some sort of special treatment over getting kidnapped—" she scoffed, rolling her eyes, "—which probably wasn’t even a big deal! Anyone can get kidnapped! What makes you so special?!"

Florian stopped mid-step.

The words slammed into him like a physical blow, his body going rigid as his mind momentarily blanked.

’What did she just say?’

A slow, creeping heat coiled in his chest, molten and dangerous. His fingers twitched at his sides.

’Did she really just say that... to me?’

He turned, his movements unnervingly slow. Scarlett, who had been so brash a moment ago, faltered, her posture stiffening as her eyes met his.

Florian didn’t smile. He didn’t scowl. But there was something in his expression—something cold, something razor-sharp—that made the air between them feel suffocating.

His voice was quiet, deadly.

"Can you repeat that, Lady Scarlett?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.