CHAPTER 512: ’BEAUTIFUL. GORGEOUS. ETHEREAL. BREATHTAKING.’

Heinz was uncomfortable.

He wasn’t used to wearing these kinds of clothes—layers of dark silk traced with golden embroidery, patterns curling like fire across the fabric.

The material clung and shifted with every movement, whispering against his skin like it had a will of its own.

A jeweled clasp secured his mantle, the deep red stone catching glints of light whenever he shifted his stance. Delicate chains of gold draped across his chest, weaving down to a belt set with crimson gems, each piece crafted to draw attention rather than conceal.

Even the cuffs at his arms felt suffocating, weighed down with ornate designs and glowing jewels that reflected the lantern light.

It wasn’t just an outfit. It was a display. A statement.

Heinz tugged at his sleeve for the third time, jaw tightening.

He was used to his usual all-black Concordian attire—sleek, sharp, and practical. No glinting ornaments, no unnecessary weight, no flash.

Just what he needed to move, to fight, to command.

This... this felt like a costume.

’This is surely a choice.’

Drizelous had decided that since Florian was given a Floramatrian outfit, Heinz too should wear something inspired by it, so that the two would match.

At first, Heinz hadn’t minded. The thought of standing beside Florian in complementary attire had even stirred something faint and warm in his chest.

But he hadn’t expected this—the heaviness of the fabric, the foreign cut, the suffocating ornamentation.

Still... he endured.

He was a man, and more than that, he was a king. Complaining over clothes was beneath him.

His gaze lingered on the door.

’What’s taking him so long?’

He had wanted to be the one to fetch Florian himself, to see him first, but Drizelous had been insistent.

Heinz was to wait here, apart, until the right moment. Only when it was time to enter would he be allowed to see Florian.

On the other side of the heavy doors, the celebration was already alive. Music flowed like a river—violins, flutes, and drums weaving into a grand melody.

Laughter and voices rose in waves, the chatter of nobles mingling beneath the glittering chandeliers. The princesses had already entered, their names called, and they were most likely already entertaining the nobles.

Heinz stood alone in the corridor’s half-light, apart from it all, the sound of revelry just out of reach. His hands flexed restlessly against the gem-lined cuffs, his pulse echoing in his ears.

And he waited.

Waited for the one who would make enduring all this worth it.

His love.

His Florian.

Heinz wasn’t going to let anything ruin this night.

Not the weight of the clothes, not the endless chatter spilling from the ballroom, not even the gnawing uncertainty clawing at the edge of his chest.

Tonight was the night everything would change.

Tonight was the night he would finally tell Florian he loved him.

No more holding back, no more burying it beneath duty and silence.

Florian deserved the truth.

’He deserves all of me.’

The truth of who Heinz really was. The truth of what had happened between him and the original Florian—the betrayal that had scarred him, the wound he had carried in secret for so long.

It was a shadow he could no longer keep hidden if he wanted to stand beside this Florian without doubt or hesitation.

He exhaled slowly, feeling the weight of the jeweled mantle shift with his breath.

And once the words were spoken, once Florian understood and accepted it all... Heinz would take the next step.

He would announce to the entire kingdom—before nobles, royals, and foreign dignitaries—that Florian was his chosen one. His future. His queen.

No hesitation. No secrecy.

’They’ll know. Every last one of them will know he belongs by my side.’

The image rose vividly in his mind: Florian standing beside him in radiant Floramatrian silk, jewels catching the light, his eyes bright and steady.

Heinz making the declaration with a voice that left no room for doubt, the hall echoing with the weight of it.

Florian’s name proclaimed not as just a birthday celebrant, but as their future queen.

He could already imagine the shift in the air, the gasps, the applause, the envy. The kingdom would see what he already knew—that Florian was the only one worthy.

Then, once the crown’s affairs were set in order, once lingering threats were silenced and every last loose end tied... Heinz’s present would be complete.

’Our present.’

Perfect.

He straightened, the faint sound of a fanfare swelling from the other side of the doors. His hands flexed at his sides, steady, firm.

His heartbeat was strong, insistent, like a drum heralding the moment.

Nothing—absolutely nothing—would be allowed to stand in his way tonight.

’All that’s left now is for Florian to arrive and—’

"His Majesty, good evening. I’ve brought His Highness."

Cashew’s cheerful voice cut through Heinz’s thoughts like a blade through silk.

Finally

.

Heinz straightened immediately, his chest tightening with a strange mix of anticipation and nerves.

’It’s time. He’s here. It’s time for us to go—’

"Oh."

The sound slipped from his lips before he could stop it.

He turned—and the world seemed to halt.

Heinz had always known Florian was beautiful.

No—more than that. Gorgeous. Ethereal. Breathtaking. He’d seen Florian in countless outfits, in regal robes, in casual wear, even bare under moonlight.

He thought he’d already exhausted the limits of what Florian could make him feel.

But God...

Florian had ways of proving him wrong. Ways of creating new sensations in Heinz’s chest, new shades of awe and reverence that words simply could not capture.

Standing there beneath the lantern light, veiled in gossamer and adorned with jewels that seemed to have been made only for him, Florian was not merely beautiful. He was devastating.

"Your Majesty? You look... different. Woah..." Florian’s voice was soft, filled with a wonder that made Heinz’s pulse race.

But it wasn’t Heinz who should’ve been stunned—it was Florian. Yet Heinz could not breathe, could not think. His silence stretched, his eyes devouring every line of Florian’s form, every glint of light that seemed to worship him.

’There are no words. Nothing is enough to describe this.’

Florian shifted, his lashes lowering shyly as his cheeks flushed a delicate red. He turned his gaze aside, almost fidgeting under the weight of Heinz’s stare. "I must look ridiculous, don’t I? You know, Drizelous, he—"

He never got to finish.

Heinz closed the distance in three steady strides, his presence like a storm breaking over calm waters.

Before Florian could retreat further into his own embarrassment, Heinz lifted a hand, cupping his cheek with a gentleness that belied the strength in his fingers.

His thumb brushed lightly against Florian’s flushed skin, coaxing his gaze back up.

With his other hand, Heinz reached for the sheer veil framing Florian’s face, the delicate fabric slipping through his fingers like mist.

He let it fall slowly, reverently, as though unveiling something sacred.

Florian froze, breath catching. "Y-Your Majesty?"

✧༺ ⏱︎ ༻✧

Heinz’s outfit.