“Getting along” is an unusual expression for Adi. It almost sounds like they are friends. And Adi had no friends. The only close person was my brother.
Not knowing how to cope with this strange new feeling, Adi stared into the space in front of her. In the end I threw this feeling aside. The main thing is not what she feels.
— By the way, I also have a question.
“Besides, where is the training ground?”
- You said you would show me.
- Well, what's the question?
- Why even...
Why was Roy Gagliardo so eager to come here that he even showed up in person? They seem to know the Duke, but there is clearly some kind of relationship between them that Adi is not aware of. It would be strange to ask directly about the goal.
Roy, who had been waiting for her answer, looked away. The inner door opened and the Duke and Bert came out. Roy nudged Adi and whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”
- Your Grace.
— Sir Roy Gallardo, thank you for your service.
Roy bowed his head. The Duke turned around:
- Adi.
- Your Grace.
— Afternoon plans are cancelled. Continue what you were doing yesterday.
-...
- You are also participating.
What's more boring - standing still or sitting and looking through documents? Given a choice, Adi believed that documents were still better.
* * *Closer to the time of the shift, Bert Dean came in with a tense face and asked the Duke to talk. The two went into the inner room of the living room - what they were talking about was unknown to Roy. Judging by the expression on Bert's face, the situation is serious. Roy hoped it wasn't about him.
Leaving only Adi Grimaldi and the Duke in the living room, Bert and Roy went out and returned to the knight's chambers. Although Roy had achieved his goal by getting here, it was awkward to be alone with Bert.
Bert Dean. Once one of the best knights of Palesa. Let him then settle with the Woodpeckers.
- Well, how did you like your first time?
“Thanks to the care of His Highness the Duke, everything went smoothly.”
- What a concern - keeping it in the sun.
Bert tsked.
- He didn’t do it on purpose. They planned to receive it in the living room, but the servants decided it was a good day and prepared everything outside.
- Yes, I heard.
- You wanted to get into security.
- Yes.
“But Kenneth wasn’t going to send you.”
“I don’t think he had ulterior motives.”
The lie is obvious.
— Adi Grimaldi is a newcomer, he was sent according to the regulations.
The fact that Kenneth Max introduced a new person into the Second Order at such a time means one thing - he does not intend to give this place to Roy Gallardo. Although Roy approached Adi with a request, he hardly thought that he would actually come here.
Bert thought the situation was developing funny. Has that side finally decided to act?
- Okay, let's say.
Bert sat down and said:
-What is your goal?
Bert looked up at the standing Roy. Then he motioned for me to sit down. Like, looking up is uncomfortable for the neck. Roy pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Bert. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward.
- Revive the family? Is this what you want?
- From the moment my name was returned, the existence of the family has already been restored.
“Then maybe you want to take revenge on those who destroyed your family?”
-...
- If you came here because the Duke's enemies are the same as your enemies...
— Sir, my intention is—
- Greetings.
Roy didn't expect this answer. I thought I would hear a refusal or that such unclean motives were not needed. While Roy hesitated at the unexpected answer, Bert continued cheerfully:
“The enemy of my enemy is my ally, isn’t it?”
- Is this enough?
- Is there a problem?
- No, but...
- Then it's okay. In any case, we also needed someone.
Looks like the Woodpeckers have some kind of plan.
And if he needed Roy for this, he believed that he should seize this opportunity.
— Adi Grimaldi turned out to be an unexpected figure.
Bert continued:
“Kenneth didn’t seem to have any intention of letting you go, and that’s why the Duke accepted Adi Grimaldi into the Second Order.” But for some reason Adi sent you to us.
Bert cocked his head to the side, puzzled. It was unclear in which direction to look for the answer: either Count Grimaldi was planning something of his own, or Adi Grimaldi herself rebelled.
- Besides...
The words about strengthening security sounded significant.
Warning? Or just by the way?
Asking directly what this means is unlikely to get an answer. Ask them to openly lay everything out - no one does that. You just have to guess the intentions. But once such words were spoken, they clearly had some meaning.
Adi Grimaldi or Spencer Grimaldi.
It’s unclear which of them is, but what are they up to?
There's still plenty of time. By continuing to observe, it will be possible to unravel Grimaldi's intentions. The first priority was Roy Gallardo standing right in front of him, Burt decided.
“So, Sir Roy Gallardo, what's your plan?”
Now we need to think about how to use it, how to direct its actions and what effect it will have on Woodpecker.
* * *It is still unclear what exactly the Duke is looking for. Adi was sorting through documents when the Duke said:
“They say you suggested to Bert that he strengthen his security.”
Adi raised her head. The Duke didn't even look at her, his eyes remained glued to the list of gifts.
- Do you know anything?
- No.
- Then why such words?
-...It seemed too peaceful.
Juls asked: “Is it peaceful?” - and looked up in bewilderment, expecting an explanation.
“When you relax, things happen that you don’t expect.”
- Do you think I'm too careless?
“That's not what I meant.”
— The Council took note.
“I wouldn’t dare give advice.”
- Adi Grimaldi.
- Yes, Your Grace.
- Don't argue, look for things.
-...
Adi is looking for them, but he was the one who spoke first. Moreover, if this continues, it is unknown when it will all end. Finally Adi, who was leafing through the papers, said: “Your Grace.”
- What?
- I don’t know if I dare say this...
Having reached this point, Adi suddenly fell silent. If it were Duke Spencer, the very fact that she said such a thing would not go unpunished. Maybe it's better to remain silent? - she thought, but Yuls raised his head and looked at her.
- Speak.
Suddenly. Spencer wouldn't even respond.
“If this continues, there will be no end.” Could you at least describe what approximately what you are looking for looks like?
- Yes.
-...
No different from Spencer Grimaldi? Deciding that she had opened her mouth in vain, Adi heard Juls speak again:
- I don’t even know what it is.
- Sorry?
- I don't know what I'm looking for. I only know that I have it.
- How do you know that you have it?
- The witch told me.
- Witch?
— The Last Witch of Dalcatir.
So who was he visiting then? Adi thought it was just a fortune teller. But why is the witch here... Even though the days of witch hunts had passed, Dalcatir still remained a dangerous country for witches.
“She knows how to break my curse.” Not completely, but he knows.
“...She can’t lift the curse herself?”
- Maybe only the witch who cast it.
“But if she cast it, don’t you know who it is?”
In response to Adi’s question, Yuls looked at her silently, then answered: “I know.”
- But she's dead.
-...
“She told me how to break the curse, but it’s impossible, so it’s not even considered.”
- What is this...
- Classic way.
- If we are talking about the classic method, then it is to kill the witch... but if she is already dead, and the curse has not been lifted, what else remains?
— Kiss your loved one, for example.
-...
- To this child's body?
Saying this with a grin, Yuls ran his hand along his body. Twenty-six years old, but looks barely half.
“Unless you are a vile pedophile, this is impossible.”
- Oh, yes...
- I hate pedophiles.
- Yes...
“So I need another way to break the curse.”
So the Duke has only one goal? Remove the curse and maintain your position? Or is there something else? Why then did Spencer warn about the killers?
- And you?
- What?
-What about your curse?
For some reason I suddenly felt a Grimaldi atmosphere. A cold that stings your nose and constricts your lungs, as if taking your breath away.
“My curse is dead and lies in the grave.”
Instead of the steam that seemed about to burst out of the parted lips, only a heavy voice sounded.
- Although it’s possible...
Adrian, I'm talking about you.
“I myself am the curse.”