Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight!
Chapter 98: ’Not Happy At All’

Chapter 98: ’Not Happy At All’

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as Lucius stopped dead in his tracks, the sharp sound of his polished boots hitting the marble floor echoing faintly down the grand corridor. The light streaming through the tall, arched windows caught the faint glint of his glasses as he turned sharply toward Florian, his usually composed expression giving way to wide-eyed disbelief.

"Have you already forgotten, Your Highness?" Lucius asked, his tone tinged with incredulity. His posture stiffened, shoulders squaring as if the sheer absurdity of Florian’s question physically demanded a reaction.

Florian’s own steps faltered. He hadn’t expected this kind of reaction, and now his heart picked up pace, thudding uncomfortably in his chest.

’Oh God. Is it that important?’ he thought, trying to maintain an air of indifference even as unease bubbled beneath the surface. His mind scrambled for answers.

’Was this a mistake? I’ve never heard of it, so I assumed the original Florian wouldn’t know either. Great, just great.’

He fought the urge to sigh aloud. He had to play it cool—smooth, even.

"Give me a break, I went through a lot yesterday," Florian said, feigning casualness as he forced a shrug. His voice was light, dismissive, as if to wave away the topic entirely.

Lucius, however, wasn’t buying it. His brows furrowed, one hand moving to rest on his hip in a stance that practically screamed disapproval. His piercing gaze bore into Florian like an arrow, sharp and probing.

"I thought you said you were fine," Lucius replied evenly, though there was an edge to his voice that made Florian feel as if he were being scolded.

’This guy...’

Florian felt his irritation flare, but he clamped down on it. Barely. He exhaled sharply through his nose, trying to keep his expression neutral.

"Look, I’m all over the place. Why can’t you just tell me?" Florian snapped, letting a hint of annoyance creep into his tone now. His arms crossed defensively over his chest, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Yeah, he was definitely playing it cool.

Lucius raised an eyebrow at the display, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. After a beat of silence, he let out a soft sigh, shaking his head as if dealing with a particularly troublesome child.

"Azure is His Majesty’s dragon," Lucius said at last, his voice measured but still tinged with disapproval.

Florian blinked, the words taking a moment to register.

’Heinz’s dragon?’

For a brief second, his mind went blank, then the pieces began to click together. Right, Heinz had a dragon—he remembered that much from the novel—but he hadn’t known it had a name.

"The blue dragon, yes, but I forgot it had a name," Florian muttered under his breath, his voice low enough that only Lucius could hear. He shifted uncomfortably, glancing down the hall before meeting the butler’s gaze again.

"But why were the maids talking about it?"

Lucius straightened, his arms crossing neatly over his chest. His tone grew sharper, tinged with that condescending air Florian had come to associate with him. "Weren’t you informed?"

Florian’s frown deepened. "No?" he shot back, his confusion now mixing with irritation.

Nobody ever told him anything around here, and he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out why Heinz’s dragon had suddenly become the talk of the palace.

The corridor stretched on around them, tall windows lining one side, allowing beams of soft sunlight to spill onto the polished marble floors. Ornate tapestries hung on the opposite wall, the embroidered figures seeming to watch their exchange silently. Yet Florian couldn’t shake the feeling of being boxed in, trapped in a conversation he was steadily losing control over.

His thoughts wandered briefly as he tried to piece things together. He had been in this world for weeks now, exploring parts of the sprawling palace, overhearing countless rumors and whispers. He’d seen strange creatures—majestic and bizarre alike—but not once had he come across a dragon. Not even a whisper of one.

"And why haven’t we seen it?" Florian asked finally, tilting his head slightly. His tone was calm but curious, like he was trying to poke holes in the logic. "I would assume a dragon as big as that would, you know, attract attention."

Lucius’s lips pressed into a thin line, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Because, need I remind you again, His Majesty likes keeping Azure hidden in a magical crystal," he replied, his tone clipped, as if explaining something painfully obvious. "We don’t know why, but he does."

Florian nodded slowly, humming softly as he mulled over the answer. That made sense. At least, it sounded like something Heinz would do—mysterious and unnecessarily dramatic.

"Okay..." Florian said, drawing out the word. "But you still didn’t answer my first two questions."

Lucius adjusted his glasses, his expression cooling into something more neutral. There was a faint glint of annoyance in his eyes now, but he spoke with a calm, measured voice.

"His Majesty hasn’t summoned Azure since the harem was formed," he said simply.

That single statement hung in the air between them, heavy with implications Florian couldn’t quite grasp yet.

"Okay? And?" Florian pressed, his voice sharper this time as he gestured impatiently. He could feel the frustration creeping in, the air between them growing heavier with the weight of Lucius’s deliberate pace.

Lucius adjusted his glasses, his expression unreadable as always, though the subtle twitch of his brow betrayed his annoyance.

"His Majesty summoned Azure yesterday," he said, his words slow and deliberate, as if delivering some monumental revelation.

Florian blinked, his mind struggling to process the statement. "Huh? He did? How come I didn’t see it?"

Lucius stopped walking again, his lips parting slightly as disbelief flickered across his usually composed face. "Your Highness, are you serious? You’re usually smarter than this." There was a subtle, almost condescending edge to his tone, and Florian’s brow twitched in response.

’This guy’s seriously pushing it today,’ Florian thought, suppressing the urge to snap back. Instead, he stayed silent, crossing his arms and waiting for the butler to spell it out for him.

Lucius sighed heavily, the sound almost theatrical in its weight. "His Majesty used Azure to bring you back to the palace before the poison fully took over your body," he explained, his tone clipped and matter-of-fact.

Florian froze in place, his eyes widening as the words sank in.

’Heinz... did that?’

The revelation struck him like a jolt of lightning. Heinz’s dragon—this supposedly fearsome, majestic beast that had been hidden away for so long it had become more of a myth than reality—was summoned just to save him? Him?

The marble hallway suddenly felt colder, the high arched ceilings looming above as if to echo the enormity of what he’d just learned. Florian stared at Lucius, but the butler had already turned his gaze forward, his expression indifferent, as though this were merely another mundane fact of palace life.

Florian’s chest tightened, a strange warmth blooming in its center that he couldn’t quite suppress. His fingers twitched at his sides, and he clenched them into fists, trying to wrestle the emotions into submission.

’What the hell is this?’ He gritted his teeth, a pang of flustered embarrassment rising despite his best efforts. It wasn’t his own reaction—he knew that much. It belonged to the real Florian, the one who had been in this body before him.

’Fuck. Florian’s heart is making me feel all... happy and stuff. Jesus Christ. I shouldn’t be this happy. Heinz literally did what he had to do.’

He clung to that thought like a lifeline, using it to keep himself grounded. By now, Heinz had probably figured out he wasn’t the real Florian.

That was the only logical explanation. Heinz was strategic, calculating—he wouldn’t let a valuable asset die. This was just an act of necessity.

That was all. Nothing more. Nothing less.

And yet, his body stubbornly refused to fall in line with his thoughts. His heart continued to beat a little too fast, the warmth in his chest refusing to dissipate.

It was irritating, irrational, and entirely beyond his control.

"It’s not a big deal," Florian muttered, his voice quieter than usual. The words slipped out before he could stop them.

Lucius paused mid-step, turning his head slightly to give Florian a long, pointed look. His dark eyes were unreadable, though there was a faint flicker of something—curiosity, perhaps?—behind them. Without saying a word, he resumed walking.

"Is it really not?" Lucius asked, his voice softer now, almost contemplative.

Florian scrambled to catch up, his pace quickening to match the butler’s brisk strides.

"No," he said quickly, a little too forcefully. "He did what he had to do. And what’s with your tone? Are you expecting me to be happy about it?"

Lucius didn’t look at him this time. "Are you not happy?" he asked, his tone devoid of sarcasm, yet the question struck like a challenge.

Florian faltered for a moment, his words catching in his throat. He straightened quickly, forcing himself to sound calm. "I’m neutral," he declared firmly. "I’m probably happy because I didn’t die, but that’s it."

Lucius hummed softly, the sound noncommittal but weighted with meaning. "Sure. If that’s what you think."

Florian’s irritation flared again. He narrowed his eyes at the butler’s back, his jaw tightening. "What’s that supposed to mean, Lucius?"

"Nothing at all, Your Highness," Lucius replied smoothly, though the faint edge of passive-aggressiveness was impossible to miss.

"Let’s just go before His Majesty arrives at the throne room."

Florian bristled, his footsteps echoing sharply against the marble floor as he followed Lucius. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to bite back the argument brewing in his mind.

’I’m not happy. It’s stupid Florian’s body that’s happy, not me. I don’t even get what he sees in Heinz, and I’m straight as a chopping board,’ he thought furiously, glaring at the polished floor beneath his feet.

The hallway seemed longer now, the tall windows casting golden beams of sunlight that danced across the smooth marble.

Despite the grandeur of the palace, Florian felt suffocated by the weight of Lucius’s lingering words. He glanced at the butler’s rigid back, his irritation simmering under the surface.

’Lucius is just being moody,’ Florian reasoned, his lips pressing into a thin line. ’He’s probably getting too comfortable with me and taking it out on me.’