"You have got to be fucking joking."
'Ah. I knew it.'
Lucius didn't even look surprised. Instead, he closed his eyes with the solemn acceptance of a man preparing himself for divine punishment as the entire office trembled around him.
"Tell me you are playing a trick, Lucius."
Heinz's voice was deceptively calm—too calm.
Lucius swallowed. "U-Unfortunately, Your Majesty… his highness said he was serious. And that…"He paused, inhaling deeply as if preparing for a death sentence.
"…if you have any qualms and try to go to him, he will return to Floramatria instead of traveling with Duke Elara tomorrow."
The room did not simply shake this time.
A boom erupted from the other side of the study—loud enough to rattle the chandeliers, loud enough for fractures to spider across the marble floor.
"…Why is he being so difficult!" Heinz exploded, fingers digging into his hair as he paced like a caged dragon. "I understand he wants to punish me, but with that—"
