Florian blinked, still trying to process what he had just been told. The words echoed in his mind like a cruel joke that somehow got taken seriously.
'I can't believe this. I can't believe Heinz!'
He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to soothe the tension gathering at the base of his skull. A tight, uncomfortable pit was already forming in his stomach.
"You mean... I'm actually going to be the one speaking to the dukes? Like, all of them, Your Majesty?"
Heinz gave a single, lazy nod, as though they were discussing what flavor of jam to have for breakfast rather than a royal summit with the most powerful men in the kingdom.
'This has to be some kind of punishment. Right? For talking back to him so many times. Gods, please just say it's a prank.'
Florian's fingers fidgeted in his lap, twisting together anxiously. "I-I mean, isn't that a little excessive? Duke Alexandrius and Duke Alaric alone are terrifying, and now I have to face the rest of them too?"
