Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight!-Chapter 270: ’How Could He Forget?’

’How could I have forgotten?’

’How could I have forgotten?!’

’HOW COULD I HAVE FUCKING FORGOTTEN?!’

The words screamed inside Florian’s skull, looping louder with every frantic step he took.

How could he forget?

Azure wasn’t just any creature. He was Heinz’s dragon. The King’s dragon. A rare, majestic beast that chose to make himself small, yes, but unmistakably blue. Distinct. Powerful. Intelligent. How the hell did Florian manage to lose track of that?

’I don’t understand. He should’ve followed me... right?’ Florian thought, chest heaving as he retraced his steps, starting with the garden. ’He always follows me... he always—’

But the garden was nearly empty now. The tea party had long since ended; there were no signs of Alexandria or Athena anymore. Just the scent of wilting petals and faint traces of laughter long gone.

Florian moved quickly, weaving through the hedges and flowerbeds like a man possessed. He was drenched in sweat, breathing hard, his shoes scraping noisily against the stone pathways. A couple of servants glanced at him as he passed, brows raised in quiet alarm, but he didn’t even register them.

’Come on, Azure... where are you...?’ he muttered under his breath, eyes scanning under benches, behind trees, even in the fountain, half-hoping he might catch a glimmer of sapphire scales.

Nothing.

He gritted his teeth.

The obvious answer would be to check with Heinz—to just ask, "Hey, is your dragon with you?"—but Florian couldn’t afford that.

If Azure wasn’t with Heinz, and Heinz found out Florian had lost him?

That would be disastrous.

He had to be sure. He had to search everywhere first.

’Fuck. He’s not here.’

Panic clawed its way further into his chest as he turned slowly in place, eyes darting around the garden like they could will Azure into existence. His fingers raked through his hair, tugging gently, trying to ground himself—trying to think.

Where else could he be? What else did Florian miss?

He looked up toward the corridor he had come from, breath shallow.

Time was ticking. And if Azure really had gone missing... the consequences wouldn’t just fall on Florian.

He moved faster now, legs burning and breath ragged as he sprinted down another winding path flanked by thick rose bushes. Thorns scratched at his sleeves, petals blurred past his peripheral vision—but none of it mattered.

’Get it together,’ he told himself, biting down the tightness coiling in his throat. ’You can’t fall apart now. He has to be here. Somewhere. Think, damn it—think.’

"A-Azure..." The name slipped out, hoarse and barely audible, carried by the wind like a secret. "Azure, c’mon... please."

His voice cracked on the last word, rough and trembling from panic. He crouched behind a marble bench, half-hidden by creeping vines, and scanned the garden with wild, desperate eyes. His gaze darted across hedges, tree trunks, patches of shadow—searching for any hint of glimmering blue scales. A rustle. A low breath. Anything.

Nothing.

Not even silence, just emptiness.

’Shit. Shit. What if someone hears me? I should be more careful.’

Even whispering his name had felt like too much. A gamble. Azure wasn’t just a dragon. He was the dragon. The king’s dragon. Heinz’s dragon. Florian wasn’t even supposed to be near him without supervision, let alone... lose him.

’I’m dead. I’m so fucking dead if Heinz finds out...’

His knees threatened to give in. He gripped the cold edge of the bench, fingers curled so tight his knuckles turned pale. He shut his eyes, just for a moment—just breathe, just breathe—but all he saw behind his eyelids was Heinz’s disappointed expression. Or worse—his anger.

’He’s going to kill me. Or send me away. Or—God, Azure could be hurt. What if someone took him? What if—’

’Wait...’

A spark broke through the static.

’Maybe he’s with Cashew. Or... maybe he went back to my room.’ The thought slammed into him like a wave—half hope, half desperation. ’Maybe he didn’t want to stay with Heinz. Maybe he got bored... or knew I’d come back. That has to be it. That has to be it.’

It wasn’t much. But it was something.

Hope surged—small, reckless, fierce—and Florian bolted from behind the bench like something had snapped loose in him. He didn’t stop to think. Didn’t stop to breathe. He sprinted back toward the palace, thorns tearing at his pants, wind howling in his ears.

He didn’t slow down.

Not even as his lungs screamed.

His feet slammed into the marble halls as he burst back inside, heart in his throat. He skidded on the polished floor, barely catching himself on the wall before tearing down the next corridor toward the east wing.

His room

’Please be there. Please, just be curled up on my bed like nothing happened. Just once, let something be simple.’

The hallway narrowed as he approached the final corner. Just a few more steps. He was almost there when—

Thud.

His entire body jolted. He slammed into something—no, someone. Someone tall, unmoving. Not caught off-guard. Not thrown back. Just... waiting.

Like a wall that had arms.

Florian reeled, breath punched from his lungs, but before he could fall, hands—steady, deliberate—caught him by the waist and shoulders.

The grip was firm. Gentle. Too gentle.

"What’s the rush, Your Highness?" freeωebnovēl.c૦m

The voice slid down his spine like cold oil.

Smooth. Calm. Familiar in a way that made his stomach churn. The moment it hit his ears, Florian’s entire body locked up. His blood iced over. A sharp, high-pitched ringing flooded his head, like every nerve had started screaming at once.

His eyes widened. He tried to look up.

Tried.

But something stopped him. An unseen force pressed down on him like the weight of the ocean. His head refused to lift. His muscles tensed, paralyzed. He couldn’t even move his fingers.

’What the fuck—what is this? What is this?!’

Panic erupted like fire in his lungs. He could feel the man’s arms around him—calm, almost affectionate—but they may as well have been iron shackles. The warmth of the man’s breath brushed his temple, close. Too close.

Then came a soft chuckle. Amused. Light. Like Florian’s fear was something endearing.

"You shouldn’t be scared," the man murmured, so quietly it was almost loving. "I’m the last person who would ever hurt you."

’No. No no no no no—’

The pressure in his chest became unbearable. His heart slammed against his ribs, his body trembling though it still refused to move. He couldn’t run. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t even look at him.

And then—

A kiss.

Soft.

Unassuming.

Placed right in the center of his forehead.

And then—

Agony.

It tore through him like lightning, white-hot and blinding. His breath hitched—no, vanished. His knees crumpled beneath him as an explosion of pain bloomed behind his eyes. His vision turned white. His skull felt like it was being split open from the inside.

He wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

His hands clawed at the air, desperate to hold onto something, anything, but nothing was there. Only the pain. The weight. And—

Something else.

Not just pain.

’No... this... this isn’t just—’

It was a memory.

Or a vision.