It seemed to Ada that the situation was taking on some significant connotation. Although she had not done anything wrong, she still involuntarily cringed.
Yuls's gaze slid from her face to her hand. Noticing that she was squeezing something, he did not look away. Adi unclenched her hand.
- Butterfly.
A snow-white butterfly sat on the open palm. The wings and antennae trembled slightly.
Jules extended his hand. The butterfly flew to him. Feeling no fear of man, the insect moved from finger to finger. Adi, watching him, noticed that Yuls’s hand was larger than she thought.
Jules got up from his seat and released a butterfly out the window. Then he calmly returned to the sofa. Adi's presence did not bother him at all. Rather, on the contrary: his face seemed to say - why are you standing there, blocking the road?
Adi retreated.
- I heard you worked all night.
- Yes.
- If I can help with anything...
- Your help...
Jules was about to say that he didn’t need her, but his gaze fell on the pile of lists of gifts lying in front of him. If lists alone take up so much space, how long will it take to find the items themselves?
Week. Since he waited ten years, a week is not a long time. But it was precisely the clarity of the designated time that made it painfully long.
— There are papers over there on the table - lists of gifts.
Adi looked at the table.
- If you see something strange, bizarre or just catches your eye, tell me.
Adi took the first document she came across. Strange or bizarre.
A unicorn horn, a mermaid's hand, a roe deer's hoof with three claws, a starfish from the Northern Continent, coral from the Eastern Continent, elf hair...
- Which of these exactly should you name?
Pottery from the Eastern Continent, an automatic doll that moves without magic, the first painting painted by a gnome, a stuffed gargoyle from Genet, an ogre tooth, a bezoar extracted from the stomach of a sick man, a collection of scorpions in alcohol...
- Something that seems strange to you.
Most of the gifts on the list were exactly like that. Is there really anything particularly strange or bizarre to be found among them? The question was on the tip of her tongue, but Adi did not dare ask it.
- Yes.
After that, only the rustling of paper was heard in the room. Some pages were made of parchment and produced a heavier sound.
During her entire service as the Duke’s bodyguard, Adi saw a gift brought into the reception room only once. And then he was brought by the Duke’s relative, the Marquise. However, there were many more names and gifts on the list. Apparently, the rest didn’t even get to the reception area and went straight to the pantry.
Jules raised his head. An expression of deep dissatisfaction was reflected on his face. Finally, he said: “Adrian.”
- Yes, Your Grace.
- Sit down and continue.
- Yes.
Adi sat down opposite the Duke. She took off her sword and placed it next to her so she could quickly pick it up.
Most of the gifts included jewelry. Some sent works of art. Usually daughters of noble families are knowledgeable in art and music, but Adi had no such education and did not know how valuable these things were. Count Grimaldi was not interested in either culture or art. After all, culture and art are thriving these days, but in the past people were preoccupied with wars and witch hunts. There were many books on the gift list, but Adi didn’t know which ones were rare. Is there really something among this that he is really looking for?
- Your Mightiness.
- What's the matter?
— Is a hunting trophy in the form of an orc’s head also suitable?
-......
It was clear from his facial expression that he was not. Giving away a monster's head as a gift... Whatever this person is, he has very bad taste.
Besides, such things are rare now, aren't they? Of course, if you do not take into account places near forests, in border zones, or where people have not yet managed to convert the land into fields, then they can sometimes be found. But people and the world in which they live have long been separated. If monsters attacked and harmed people, then people would fight them instead of hunting their own kind.
It seemed like a long time had passed. The list did not decrease. The Duke's expression was serious.
But even with the air of a child, he looked at the documents with a face filled with worldly thoughtfulness and reflection.
Adi didn’t know what exactly he was looking for, but for the Duke it was clearly necessary and important. However, why he did not postpone this from the very beginning, when he received gifts, but began searching only now was unclear.
The document he took this time only contained information about gold coins and jewelry, so Adi only glanced at it briefly and put it aside. Yuls looked up and looked at her, but Adi didn’t notice.
Some more time passed, and the sound of the door opening was heard. At this intrusion, Adi grabbed her sword.
The person who entered turned out to be a servant she knew. Seeing Adi, who was sitting opposite the duke - a sword in one hand, documents in the other - the servant bowed his head with a surprised face. Then he left again.
Not knowing what to make of this strange behavior, Adi heard the Duke tell her to continue sitting and looking at the documents. Adi sat down again.
Soon the living room door opened again. It was the same servant. Wheeling the cart in, he placed the cups and sweets on the table where the Duke was sitting. Then he handed the cup to Adi. Warmth emanated from the empty cup.
Watching the tea flow in a graceful stream, Adi soon raised her cup. Taking a sip and putting the cup back, she looked at the documents again.
The Duke and the servant looked at Adi with a strange look. It seemed like they didn't expect her to drink tea first. When Adi flipped through about three sheets of paper, she said:
- There is no poison.
-......
She must have been biding her time to see if the poison would spread throughout her body.
- Of course. This is my servant.
That's what Jules said. Although there had been many assassination threats, there were fewer of them now, and his servant, whom he himself had chosen, would not try to poison him.
Those whom Yuls brought with him look like ordinary servants, but among them there is a healer-mage, an assassin and one secret knight posing as a servant. There is only one true servant.
Rather, it was not the servant who was more dangerous here, but Adi Grimaldi herself. That is why the servant did not come out, but stood behind, guarding.
- So the heir of the Grimaldi family now also tests for poison?
- My duty is security.
Although this is true, if someone here had saved Juls from the threat of poisoning, then this servant would have done a much better job than Adi Grimaldi.
No matter how you think about it, this is all strange. Maybe, under the pretext of a curse, he did not receive proper education in the family? The closer Jules got to know him, the more unusual his behavior seemed. Since he was nicknamed the Palais Dog, he thought that he would be a sly fox like Spencer Grimaldi... But no, he looks overly loyal. Just a security object that you won’t have to deal with for long.
That's why Jules had a strange curiosity. However, he didn't want to ask directly about Adrien. Yuls was thinking about what else to ask, and suddenly blurted out: “Sister.”
- What?
— Tell me about your twin sister.
-......
- Just interesting.
Adi could not answer Yuls words. He expected her to ask what exactly he was interested in or why he was asking about it. But she just stood there with her mouth open and a stupid expression on her face, as if she really had not received a proper education.
Spencer couldn't raise his son like this, so Jules wondered if this was a fictional image.
- What exactly are you interested in?
- The fate of the damned dead man.
- Why is this...
“I wonder if the same will happen to me if I die.”
Adi blinked at the unexpected answer.
The Duke and death seemed somewhat distant from each other. Although members of the upper class are constantly in danger, somehow it seemed that this did not apply to this man. And it wasn't just his youth. There was something strange about this man. He truly was a man whom time had passed by.
- There were many damned people. Their deaths were also recorded.
“But there is no record of a curse like mine.”
-......
- Well, of course, the curse does not concern your honor.
“According to them, I’m damned too.”
- But your grace survived.
“And your lordship also survived.”
Juls laughed at Adi’s words.
The weight of them "surviving" is different, but yes. Both survived the curse. At least they didn't die.
Jules, in any case, ordered to say something and again turned his gaze to the documents. What can I say... Adi was confused. Tell me about yourself? Or about Adrian? The two memories seemed to be confused.
Maybe because they are twins? Sometimes memories remained, as if she saw not with her own eyes, but with the eyes of Adrian. The long blond hair was hers, but in a strange way it seemed that she saw it through someone else's eyes. It was as if the memory of the deceased Adi remained in her head.
- Death…
Yes, he then asked if it would be the same if she died.
“She seems to be equally fair to everyone.”
She remembered "blue Adrian". And thin, like a golden thread, hair that covered it. Did it seem to her that it was herself?
“He was just sick for a long time, and then he died.” He was in poor health from birth.
“I heard that your honor was born weak,” said Jules. The expression on his face was as if he was checking to see if he had made a mistake. “And everyone blamed your sister for it.”
-...Yes, it was so. But it was my twin who was ill for a long time and died, not me.
— Did you experience something like a feeling of guilt?
- I?
- Yes.
- Well, I don’t know.
Guilt? Why should there be a feeling of guilt? Adrina had never experienced such a feeling. People said that her existence cursed Adrian, but Adrian never said that. Adrian...
— Memories of Grimaldi are unclear. To the point where I wonder if such a place even existed. Everything that comes to mind is vague.
He said he was glad I was there.
- Except for winter.