Please get me out of this BL novel...I'm straight! novel Chapter 516

Chapter 516: ’Monica Sereneson.’

Florian didn’t care about the king of Serenson. Not really.

Yes, King Marius carried himself with the kind of dignity yet he also seemed humble—the broad shoulders. But Florian’s gaze slid past him almost instantly.

He couldn’t deny, however, that Athena bore her father’s features. The line of his jaw, the soft clarity in his gaze—it was there in her, softened by her youth, but unmistakable.

Still, that was... irrelevant.

There was also Hendrix. Of course, Florian already knew Hendrix.

He was very familiar with Hendrix.

The crowd’s hushed murmurs swelled when he entered, and Florian caught the way Heinz’s grip on his arm tightened, firm enough to ground him.

A reaction. Florian’s chest tensed, catching the subtle shift of power in that small gesture.

It was obvious Heinz was the one who was affected by Hendrix’s presence the most, but he did try to conceal it.

But no. Even that wasn’t what seized Florian’s attention.

It was Monica Serenson.

The moment her figure glided into the light, Florian’s breath stalled. The nobles around him seemed to lean forward unconsciously, as if drawn in by something they couldn’t name.

She didn’t just enter the room—she commanded it. The sweep of her gown, the deliberate grace of her steps, the faint tilt of her chin—it was all effortless, the kind of elegance born of both bloodline and ambition.

She was one of the few names that had bled into Concordia’s darkest histories. The woman whispered about through the halls of the Diamond Palace. The shadow in the halls of the old palace—the obsession of the previous king.

The same woman Heinz loathed with a hatred so deep it was almost legend.

Florian’s pulse thudded.

’She...’

She looked different from what he expected.

Her eyes—bright pink, unmistakably the same as Athena’s—shone beneath the chandeliers.

But her hair... oh, her hair was a sheet of midnight black, a silken fall that framed her face like polished obsidian. It lent her an intensity, a striking edge that set her apart from her niece.

If Hendrix looked like anyone, it was her. The same sharp cheekbones, the same commanding presence—though hers was wrapped in poise, while his was sheathed like a blade.

Monica Serenson was beautiful. Gorgeous, in the way that demanded silence.

Her elegance was not dulled by time; if anything, it was sharpened, refined. Even in her maturity, she outshone the jeweled gowns and painted faces of the younger nobility with ease.

And Florian couldn’t help but think—if her eyes had been a shade darker, she could have been mistaken for an Obsidian herself.

’No wonder King Henry was obsessed with her.’

The thought slipped unbidden through Florian’s mind as he watched the Sereneson family come to a halt before him and Heinz at the foot of the staircase.

The air shifted. A ripple passed through the crowd like a breeze through tall grass, whispers swelling as nobles leaned toward one another, their fans half-hiding parted lips and scandal-bright eyes.

"She actually showed herself here...?"

"Did His Majesty truly invite her?"

"To think she would still come here after... everything."

"Prince Hendrix I could understand... but her?"

Every word brushed against Florian’s ears like daggers, sharp and eager. He was certain Monica heard them as well, yet her poise didn’t falter.

Her gaze rose steadily, and when her bright pink eyes found his, she smiled—warm, almost disarmingly so, as though none of the venom around them could touch her.

Marius Serenson, her elder brother and the King of Tranquilis, was the first to move. He stepped forward and bowed his head low, his sapphire robes pooling like water against the marble.

Monica and Hendrix followed seamlessly, bowing with practiced grace, the hall falling into a tense silence at the gesture.

"King Heinz," Marius began, his voice carefully measured, though Florian caught the faint tremor beneath the words, "I am truly honored to be invited here. To reunite with my dear sister, my dear nephew and, of course..."

He turned his head, his gaze softening as it landed on Athena within the crowd. "...my one and only daughter. It is truly a night to be remembered, and all thanks to you and His Highness, Prince Florian."

’His voice is shaking.’

Florian’s eyes narrowed slightly, though he was not surprised.

’He knows. He knows Heinz is the one ensuring Tranquilis suffers. He’s bowing to the very man tearing his kingdom apart.’

Heinz gave no illusion of courtesy in return. "It is a delight to have you all here as well," he said flatly, his tone plain, unpolished—so very clear in its disdain.

He didn’t bother pretending, didn’t even attempt to soften the blade of his dislike.

’Ah. Right, Hendrix did say he told Monica about me.’

’Are they even knights? Or just men forced into armor?’

’Really? Is that why...’

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