Heinz didn't waste a moment after hearing the news.

He had left without a word, the ballroom fading into nothing as his mind whirled and his chest constricted. The weight of memory and revelation was crushing him from all sides.

Florian.

Pregnant.

And all those lost nights—the laughter, the tears, the stolen touches—came flooding back into him at once, no longer fragmented, no longer denied.

A single tear slipped down Heinz's cheek before he even realized it.

'Why?' His own question echoed like a wound tearing open. 'Why was I so afraid of love? Why did I push him away? Why did I force myself to forget?'

Every memory had been tainted with shame when he cast them aside, but now—now that they were whole again—he understood.

The good, the bad, the aching arguments and the tender silences… all of it, as long as it had Florian at the center, his heart had been alive.

Happy.

Whole.

Overjoyed.

How could he have been so blind? So utterly stupid?

For all the years he had ruled, for all the nights he spent surrounded by his harem, for all the fleeting pleasures meant to distract him, none had satisfied.

None had reached the emptiness inside him.

But this—this had been different.

A baby.

Their baby.

His child, with Florian.

He never thought himself capable of such joy, and yet it pulsed inside him, radiant and wild, threatening to burst out of his chest.

He searched for him everywhere. The gardens. The infirmary.

Each corridor blurred as he used his magic to hasten his search, desperation clawing at his insides.

'Where are you, Florian?'

At last, he realized the truth. Where else could he be but his room?

Upset. Alone. Crying—because once again Heinz had abandoned him.

'Not anymore,' Heinz swore, his chest tightening as he stood before Florian's door. 'I'll make everything right. I'll never let you cry alone again. I'll never let you forget how much you mean to me.'

For a moment, he forced himself to stop, to catch his breath, his hand trembling on the door handle.

His heart was so full it hurt, pounding wildly as though it already knew the words it longed to speak.

And then—

"Ah…"

The sound froze him.

A voice—moaning—drifted from inside the room.

Heinz's blood turned to ice.

No.

It couldn't be.

But the sound grew clearer, undeniable. His body stiffened, dread hollowing out the joy that had bloomed only seconds before.

And then—words. Florian's voice, breaking through the haze of ecstasy.

"You're… going to be a father."

Heinz's world tilted.

No.

No, no, no.

"I'm pregnant."

The words cut sharper than any blade.

His vision blurred, his chest twisting painfully as he staggered forward.

Hands shaking, heart hammering, he opened the door—slowly, quietly—unable to stop himself, even as dread consumed him whole.

The moans grew louder. The words replayed in his skull, louder and louder until he thought he'd shatter.

He had to see.

He had to know.

And then—he saw.

Low and behold, sprawled in betrayal's cruel embrace—Florian. And the one he clung to, the one he whispered to, the one whose body moved against his own—

Hendrix.

It was Hendrix.

The rage that broke inside Heinz was volcanic, red-hot and merciless.

Florian was pregnant—

But not with his child.

With Hendrix's.

Not his.

Hendrix's.

"I cannot remember much after that," Heinz said, his voice heavy, as though the words themselves weighed too much to carry.

He turned away, unable to face Florian's eyes. "Besides their execution. Both of them. Afterward, I erased my memories once more—stronger, harsher—so I would never have to remember again."

Heinz finally looked back, crimson eyes finding green.

The expression on Florian's face nearly staggered him. Pure, raw shock.

Still, he pressed on.

"When I found out the truth, I looked for you immediately. Because the only thing that held me back from loving you—from admitting how I truly felt—was my guilt toward the original Florian. But it turns out…"

Heinz's jaw tightened, his words like broken glass. "He betrayed me. He professed his love, yet lay with two of my own aides. And worse—he had been with the brother I loathed most. Pregnant by him."

The word was bitter, poisoned on his tongue.

But before Heinz could continue, Florian cut him off.

"Hold on."

The prince's head was bowed, his shoulders trembling.

Something in Heinz's chest went tight. "Yes?"

A sound broke the silence.

A laugh.

But it wasn't light—it was jagged, cracked, teetering on the edge of madness.

"Ha… haha… I don't believe this." Florian's voice was sharp, unsteady, filled with something Heinz hadn't expected.

For the first time, Heinz was the one caught off guard.

"Florian? What do you mean?"

The younger man lifted his head slowly, his tone cutting like a blade. "Are you saying that after all of that—after everything—you just erased him? You threw him away? And now you turn to me and say you love me, so what? What's the goal here?"

"The goal?" Heinz blinked, genuinely at a loss. His heart told him Florian was only in shock, only struggling to process what he'd heard.

That had to be it. This Florian, despite everything, seemed to care about the original more than Heinz thought.

But that didn't change the truth.

He drew a breath, firm and unshaken. "The goal is to marry you. The goal is to spend the rest of my life with you, because I mean it. I had been afraid before, yes—but not now." Heinz stepped closer, determination in every movement. "Now, I can confidently say that I am in love with—"

The impact cut him short.

Florian shoved him back with startling force, his hands trembling but firm.

Heinz stumbled a step, stunned—not because of the strength, but because of the fury blazing in those green eyes when Florian finally looked at him.

"…Florian?"

Heinz blinked, disbelief sinking into him.

The prince was glaring at him.

Not with fear. Not with hesitation.

With pure anger.

'He's… angry at me?'