Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 198

Chapter 198: ’What A King Should Do’

Heinz exhaled slowly, his gaze as impassive as ever—like a wall that refused to crack. "I never said they didn’t matter," he stated evenly. "But it is not my fault, nor the royal family’s, that they are cursed. We did not place this burden upon them. It existed long before any of us were even born."

Florian inhaled sharply, forcing himself to keep his emotions in check. Recklessness wouldn’t serve him here—not with Heinz. Not with a man like him. The king wasn’t someone who could be swayed by raw emotion alone. He was methodical, calculated. If Florian wanted to get through to him, he had to be just as careful.

"That may be true," he admitted, steadying his voice. Reasonable. Measured. "But just because it isn’t your fault doesn’t mean you can ignore it. Isn’t it still your responsibility to try?"

Heinz arched a brow, his expression unreadable, but there was something beneath the surface—something Florian couldn’t quite grasp. Amusement? Annoyance? Or just detached indifference?

"And if there is nothing to be done?" Heinz countered, his voice smooth as steel. "If the curse is as irreversible as the scholars believe? Should I waste my time chasing something that may never be undone?"

Florian bit the inside of his cheek. ’He’s trying to be logical. But this isn’t just about logic.’

He took a measured breath, holding his frustration at bay. How could someone so powerful, so intelligent, speak as if trying itself was meaningless?

"Even if breaking the curse is impossible, there are other ways to help," he pressed. "If the land is tainted, relocate the people. If the sickness spreads through the water, find a way to purify it. If food won’t grow here, bring it in. But to do nothing? That isn’t what a king should do."

A long silence. Heinz studied him with those cool, unwavering blue eyes. For a moment—just a flicker—something surfaced in them. A thought. A reaction. But then it was gone, buried beneath that maddening calm.

Then, with an exhale, he shook his head. "Effort does not always yield results."

Florian’s jaw tightened.

’That’s not the point.’

His hands curled into fists at his sides, frustration burning beneath his skin. "So what?" His voice sharpened, his anger slipping past the cracks of his restraint. "Because it’s difficult? Because there’s no guarantee? We should just do nothing?" He took a step forward. "Are you even hearing yourself?"

’Ah. I’m going to get in trouble for this. I’m sure of it.’

Heinz didn’t move. His posture remained composed, his expression unreadable. But Florian caught it—the shift. Subtle, but unmistakable. A quiet scrutiny in his gaze, as if Florian had just done something unexpected. As if he hadn’t thought Florian capable of pushing back so fiercely.

But Florian couldn’t stop now. Not when lives were at stake.

Not when he carried the weight of them too.

Because the truth was, Florian felt responsible. When Kaz wrote this novel, she had focused solely on Florian’s suffering. Aden had barely fleshed out the villages, let alone the depth of their struggles. He and his sister had practically invented this world.

And that meant they were responsible for the ones suffering in it.

"You have power. You have resources," Florian pushed on, the words tumbling out, raw and insistent. "Even if the answers aren’t easy, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t look for them! What is the point of ruling if you let your own people waste away just because fixing their suffering is inconvenient?"

His voice rang sharp in the still night air. His heart pounded against his ribs, fueled by fury—and something deeper. Something raw.

Something that had been festering inside him for far too long.

Azure let out a distressed chirp, his small body trembling slightly against Florian’s shoulder. He’s reacting to me. Florian barely registered it, too locked in this moment, too caught in the heat of his own words.

But Heinz was still watching him. Unmoved. Arms crossed. Untouchable.

Yet his eyes...

There was something in his eyes that Florian couldn’t place.

Florian sucked in a sharp breath, forcing himself to slow down, to think—but the words kept tumbling out.

"You know how it feels to be helpless, don’t you? Wondering who killed you? Of all times, now you should be thinking about their sake—because I am fairly certain whoever murdered you succeeded. And they wouldn’t have done it alone. They would’ve taken your throne with the help of all the villages like this one. The ones you neglected. You said it yourself." Florian’s voice was sharp, his words cutting through the thick silence like a blade.

Silence.

No response. Just that same infuriatingly blank stare.

Florian let out a humorless laugh, shaking his head.

’Why did I expect anything different?’

"You keep saying there’s no point, that there’s nothing we can do. But have you even tried?" His voice dropped, quieter now, but no less sharp. "What is the point of all that power if you have no plans of using it, Your Majesty? What is the point of being king? Why did you even fight for the title if you were only going to do nothing with it?"