Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 394

Chapter 394: ’Under Attack?’

BOOM!

Florian’s eyes flew open, his entire body jolting upright as the echo of an explosion rang in his ears.

"W-What... What the fuck?" he gasped, heart pounding wildly in his chest.

Disoriented and still caught between the edges of sleep and reality, he looked around his room in confusion. He’d only meant to rest for a short while—just a quick nap, after Cashew left. He’d changed into more comfortable clothes, even let himself breathe for a moment.

But that moment was shattered.

"Azure?" he called out, eyes darting toward the corners of his room. "Azure? Azure?!"

Silence.

No chirps. No rustling of tiny wings. No weight on his shoulder. Nothing.

’Where the hell is he?! He was here before I fell asleep—I’m sure of it.’

His pulse quickened.

Then—shouting.

Panicked. Desperate. Voices rising from beyond the thick palace walls, mingled with hurried footsteps and—

BOOM!

Another explosion. Closer this time. The whole room trembled.

Florian stumbled backward instinctively, his breath hitching.

"What the fuck is happening?" he muttered, fear threading into every syllable. His legs trembled as he moved toward the center of the room, eyes scanning the windows. He could see distant plumes of smoke rising from deeper within the palace grounds.

’Are we under attack?’

’Is this part of Heinz’s plan?’

’Or... the perpetrator?’

He didn’t know. And that’s what scared him.

His mind raced. Should he stay? Should he run? Should he find someone?

"Shit... What should I do...?" he whispered, gripping his arm tightly.

But then another thought struck him like a slap.

’Azure.’

Where was he? Why hadn’t he come back? ’He wouldn’t just leave me without a reason.’ 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Frantically, Florian checked on the butterflies, rushing toward the flowers in the corner of the room.

They were still there. Still fluttering.

But...

"They’re more agitated than usual," he whispered, watching them twitch and buzz around in erratic patterns, almost colliding with one another. "Then again, there were two loud explosions..."

Still. They’d never reacted like this before.

His thoughts spiraled. ’Heinz told me to stay put. If this were an emergency, wouldn’t someone come? Lucius? Lancelot? Even Cashew?’

And this wing of the palace—Heinz’s wing—was one of the most heavily guarded. It should be safe.

Right?

Florian forced himself to breathe. Deep. In and out.

’Calm down. Just stay here. Stay put. Someone will come.’

And then—

Knock. Knock.

Florian’s head whipped toward the door.

Someone was here.

His breath caught. His heart stuttered.

’Could that be Lucius? Lancelot? Maybe... Heinz?’ he thought, already moving to the door.

His hand hovered above the handle for a second. Just a second.

Then, with a sharp inhale, he opened the door.

"Alexandria...?" Florian’s voice came out softer than he intended, laced with confusion—and wariness.

There she stood, framed in the doorway like a porcelain figure, her gown slightly disheveled, her face pale but urgent. Of all the people he expected to see, she wasn’t one of them.

’Why is she here? Why her?’

"W-What happened... why are you here?" he asked, voice flat, not even trying to mask the chill in his tone. ’After everything she said earlier... now she’s here?’

’Is that why Azure isn’t here?’ Florian blinked rapidly. ’He must’ve sensed it... Maybe he went to help. But then—why didn’t he tell me?’

BOOM!

’Was I wrong about her...?’ he wondered, heart thudding. ’She seems genuinely scared. Maybe she didn’t mean what she said earlier. Maybe I just misunderstood.’

"Wait—" he started, wanting to check on them.

Florian hesitated. ’Why are they all flying away?’

Still, he pushed the thought aside. They stepped out onto the balcony, and the air was sharp with smoke and magic. Below, the garden was eerily still.

"How do we get down?" Alexandria asked, scanning the edge of the marble railing.

Florian looked around, spotting the thick vines that grew along the palace walls. "The vines," he said. "We can use them to climb down."

Alexandria looked down at her elegant gown, then up at him. "Can... Can I do that? I mean—wearing this?"

Florian glanced at the cumbersome layers of her dress and sighed. "You can try. I’ll go first and help you from below, if you slip."

She blinked. "You... you’d do that for me? Even after I—what I said earlier?"

So she was aware of it.

Florian met her eyes. "Well..."

"I’m really sorry, Prince Florian," she said suddenly, her voice softer now, quieter than before. "Lady Delilah... she was very dear to us. We all loved her. When I heard she died, and saw how it looked like you were responsible... I didn’t mean to blame you, I swear. I just... panicked."

Florian stared at her for a moment. ’She’s apologizing. But why does it feel... hollow?’

He wanted to believe her.

He really did.

But something about her voice—it felt practiced. Controlled.

’No... maybe I’m just being paranoid. This situation’s already stressful as it is.’

He gave her a short nod, saying nothing more.

"I also just couldn’t believe," she continued, "that Lady Delilah would ruin her own son’s outfits, and steal your notes like that. It just... doesn’t sound like her." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

’It wasn’t actually Delilah though... but I can’t tell her that.’

That information wasn’t public—shouldn’t be public. Only a handful of people knew the real details.

But then—

"Wait," Florian muttered, eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at Alexandria.

She tilted her head, smiling sweetly. "Yes?"

Florian didn’t smile back. "How did you know what Delilah’s crimes were?"