Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 67

Chapter 67: ’Mastermind?’

Florian let the moment settle, allowing silence to stretch between them. Levi had finally given him something—his name. It was small, barely a crack in the rogue’s carefully constructed walls, but it was a crack nonetheless. And cracks, no matter how insignificant, had the potential to break things wide open.

He wiped at his eyes again, keeping up the act of vulnerability, his voice soft. "Levi..." He repeated it slowly, as if testing the weight of it on his tongue, as if committing it to memory. He let his lips curve into something gentle, something just shy of warm. "That’s a nice name."

Levi scoffed, shifting his weight as if the conversation had suddenly become uncomfortable. "It’s just a name."

Florian’s gaze sharpened, tracking every microexpression, every twitch of Levi’s fingers against his arms. A dismissive response, but not a defensive one. He hadn’t shut down completely—hadn’t sneered or told Florian to shut up, hadn’t immediately changed the subject. No, Levi was uncomfortable, but he wasn’t pushing him away.

That meant something.

"But it’s yours," Florian countered, tilting his head slightly, observing. There it was again—Levi’s fingers curling just slightly, his arms drawing tighter around himself, his stance stiff but no longer entirely closed off. A wall with a single, fragile crack.

This was the most at ease he had been since dragging Florian here.

Noted.

Florian let a few beats of silence pass before speaking again, keeping his tone even. "You said we’re waiting for the king to respond." He watched for any tells—shifts in body language, subtle flickers of emotion. "Does that mean you don’t actually know what’s going to happen to me?"

Levi’s jaw twitched. A flicker of something passed over his face, too fast to catch fully. Frustration? No—uncertainty. His lips pressed into a thin line, his gaze flicking toward the far wall.

"No." The word was quiet, begrudging. "We were just ordered to keep you here until further notice."

Florian hummed, considering that. No direct orders beyond detainment. No clear execution date. That was good. That meant someone was still making a decision. He filed that away for later, then tilted his head slightly, watching Levi’s face for even the smallest reaction as he asked, "So... you’re not planning to kill me?"

Levi’s gaze snapped back to him, his expression unreadable. "If that was the order, you’d be dead already."

Florian didn’t miss the way Levi’s grip on his arms tightened. The way his breath came just a fraction sharper after he spoke.

’Not boasting. Not a threat. Just a fact.’

The words sent a cold ripple down Florian’s spine, but he schooled his expression into one of careful consideration. Levi wasn’t saying it to scare him—he was saying it because it was the truth.

And yet... the way he said it.

There was something else buried beneath that detached tone. A reluctance? A quiet distaste? It was subtle, but it was there.

Florian nodded slowly, letting the weight of the conversation settle. Levi was a fighter, that much was obvious. Someone hardened by experience, someone who followed orders because that was the simplest thing to do. But he wasn’t ruthless. He wasn’t bloodthirsty.

’Dangerous, yes. But not a killer by nature.’

That, more than anything, gave Florian hope.

He took a careful breath, gauging Levi’s demeanor. His posture was rigid, but something had shifted. The air between them was different now, less sharp, less guarded. If he could just keep nudging, just keep pressing in the right places—

Florian leaned in slightly, lowering his voice just enough to make it feel like a secret. "Do you even want to be part of this group?"

Levi tensed immediately. A sharp exhale, fingers curling tighter against his arms.

Florian waited. He didn’t rush, didn’t push—just observed.

’He doesn’t want to lie.’