Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179: ’A Child’s Tantrum’

"Your Highness, please don’t go."

’Eh?’

Florian halted mid-step, his entire body stiffening at the raw desperation in Cashew’s voice. It wasn’t just worry or unease—it was something deeper, something frantic, something that sent a sharp prickle down the back of his neck.

Slowly, he turned.

Cashew stood there, his usually meek posture replaced by something tight and wound up, like a string stretched too thin. His hands clutched the hem of his tunic, twisting the fabric between trembling fingers. His pale blonde hair, slightly disheveled, hung in front of wide, violet eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Florian had seen Cashew nervous before. He had seen him anxious, even distressed. But this—this was something else entirely.

"Why not?" Florian asked, careful, measured, watching the way Cashew’s breath hitched at the question.

"It’s dangerous!" Cashew burst out, his voice rising in pitch, cracking under the weight of his fear. "You could be kidnapped again if you go to the village!"

Florian sighed, rubbing his temple before running a hand through his lavender hair.

’So that’s what this is about.’

"Cashew," he began, keeping his tone even, reassuring, as if trying to calm a frightened animal. "I understand why you’re worried, but King Heinz will be with me. You know how powerful he is. Do you really think anyone could kidnap me while he’s there?"

Cashew didn’t respond immediately, but the flicker of something dark across his face made Florian pause. His lips pressed into a thin line, brows drawn together, his fists trembling at his sides.

Florian narrowed his eyes.

’Wait... what was that?’

Instead of being reassured, Cashew looked even more distressed. His shoulders hunched as if he were bracing for something inevitable, something terrible.

Florian watched, unease curling in his stomach as Cashew’s face twisted—anger, frustration, and something else buried deep beneath the surface, something Florian couldn’t name.

Then, all at once—

"Then take me with you!"

Florian blinked. "...What?"

"Take me with you!" Cashew repeated, louder this time, voice cracking as he stepped forward, his desperation palpable.

Florian exhaled sharply. "Cashew, you can’t."

Cashew’s entire body tensed, his fingers digging so tightly into his tunic that his knuckles turned white. "Why not!?"

Florian hesitated. He could say because it’s dangerous, but that would contradict everything he had just told him. Instead, he chose honesty.

"Because the king insisted it would only be the two of us. We’ll be going incognito to avoid drawing attention. Less attention means less danger."

But Cashew wasn’t satisfied. If anything, his frustration only grew, thickening the air between them.

Florian studied him closely. Cashew had always been understanding, quiet, obedient—

Yet now, his expression was twisted with something Florian couldn’t quite place, something burning behind his eyes. He looked like he was fighting against every instinct that told him to stand down, to stay silent. Like he was about to shatter.

’This isn’t like him... I should feel proud he’s coming out of his shell, but—somehow, I just feel more concerned.’

Cashew suddenly took a step forward, voice rising, urgent, almost frantic. "Then don’t go! Please! Just ask for something else instead!"

’He’s terrified.’