Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 559

"Pardon," Regulus Cogsworth said, his voice cutting through the silence like the edge of a polished blade.

His tone was steady—refined even—but there was a weight behind it, the kind that pressed down hard enough to bruise.

"But who are you to say such words to us? You're merely a part of King Heinz's harem, much like our daughters are."

It didn't sound cruel, not at first.

But the intent was sharp.

Pointed.

The murmurs started again—low and uneasy.

Florian didn't flinch, but something in his chest twisted painfully.

Before he could respond, another voice rang out.

"Watch your tone, Cogsworth."

It was Leticia—his mother.

Her voice was clear, her expression fierce, and behind her stood several of the royal women, their glares cutting toward Regulus like daggers. Kazaria was among them, her sword already half drawn.

Asher, who stood beside the queen, gently reached for her arm. "My queen, please," he murmured softly, his tone pleading, his golden eyes darting nervously between her and Regulus.

Florian's jaw tightened at the sight of him. His stomach churned.He forced himself to look away.

'Not now. He's not worth it. There are bigger things to deal with.'

He turned his attention instead to the line of dukes standing to one side—men he had already spoken to earlier in the night.

Men who now stood silent, their earlier arrogance crushed beneath the tension in the air.

Of course they were quiet. They knew what Florian was capable of when provoked.

Only one of them—Elara, the calmest of the high nobles—offered him a faint smile, a respectful nod.

It was a small gesture, but it steadied him.

And then Regulus spoke again.

"What? Just because it is his birthday, and His Majesty decided to favor him, doesn't mean he has any power over us," Regulus said, his lip curling. "Especially when we are here as honored guests. We are not—"

"—because of me."

Florian's voice cut through him like thunder.

Regulus stopped mid-sentence, his jaw locking tight as Florian stepped forward.

"That's correct," Florian continued, his tone steady but dangerously cold. "You are here because of me."

He crossed his arms, straightening his back as the weight of the room's attention turned to him once more.

"Originally," he said, "the only ones invited tonight were people from my kingdom—my family."

He let the word linger, deliberate and heavy.

"I convinced His Majesty to extend invitations to your kingdoms," he went on, his gaze sweeping across the line of foreign monarchs. "Because your daughters are dear to me. I consider them my sisters."

He let his words sink in, his tone sharper now, his gaze locking specifically on Regulus and Valerion—those whose voices had been the loudest.

"But perhaps this is new to you," he said slowly, his head tilting just slightly, his eyes narrowing. "You're not from Concordia. So maybe you don't understand how things work here."

He took a step forward. The faint echo of his heels filled the tense silence.

"Tell me, have you wondered why the dukes and nobles of this kingdom stopped talking the moment I spoke?"

Regulus's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Florian smiled faintly—humorless.

"It's because His Majesty has given me authority to do whatever I wish—to whomever I wish—and to say whatever I please."

He uncrossed his arms and gestured toward his attire, the black and gold embroidered fabric catching the light.

"I wear the Obsidian family colors. Which means I am practically Concordian royalty."

Florian then pointed toward the guards stationed around the room, his hand steady.

"These knights," he said, and Lancelot immediately took one step forward, bowing low.

"Are under my command while His Majesty is busy protecting every single one of you."

The silence that followed was suffocating.

"So I suggest," Florian said, his tone dropping lower, colder, "that all of you—" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He turned his gaze directly at the foreign kings and queens, his eyes hard as stone.

"—keep quiet. Unless you plan to help."

He let that sink in before finishing, voice sharp and deliberate.

"And it's not as if you can do anything even if you wanted to complain," he said, his words slicing through the air. "Considering the fact that you handed over your daughters to save your own kingdoms. Because you knew you couldn't do anything in the presence of a Concordian royal."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Even Leticia, Asher, and Elara said nothing.

Florian's family—all of them—stood frozen, shocked.

They hadn't expected this tone from him. This authority. This anger.

He could feel their eyes on him, the disbelief, the worry—but he didn't falter.

He couldn't.

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