Nausea set in. She hadn't eaten that much, and it was unclear why her stomach hurt. It seemed like the pain was even below the stomach. Adi, who was stroking her lower abdomen, shuddered.
-......
For a moment, one word flashed through my head.
But menstruation stopped a long time ago. While she lived as Adrian, trained and exhausted herself day after day, her body seemed to become Adrian itself: menstruation stopped, and the muscles grew.
-What kind of bastard is this?
- You know it yourself. Lef Zid.
- That's not what I asked.
Roy spoke in a tone that urged people not to play dumb.
- What do you mean “not yours”? Did you bet on something?
“If there was a dispute, it would be better.” Adi said: “I don’t want to answer.” - And Roy shrugged. If she didn't want to, he wasn't going to ask anymore.
Adi and Roy were sitting on the sofa in the hostel lounge. Roy always checked his schedule with Bert in the mornings. Adi was sometimes present, sometimes not. She wasn't there yesterday.
Bert opened the door to his room and went out. The beard had grown into unkempt stubble, and his hair was disheveled. Although Bert started work late, because of the morning meeting he always got up at this time. It happened that, after looking at the morning schedule, he went back to bed, and sometimes he didn’t go to bed.
- Good morning.
- Sire.
Adi and Roy greeted each other.
- Adi, you came early. Although yes, today’s schedule allows for that. Have you already had breakfast?
- Yes.
- What's for breakfast?
- Rabbit meat. Ooh, the stench was terrible.
- That’s right... Perhaps this morning I’ll make do with something light, without meat.
Growling that the Palesian people don’t know how to handle meat at all, Bert scratched his head and opened his knight’s notebook. “Nothing much has changed in the schedule,” Bert said quietly, then turned his head to Adi and asked:
— Adi, in three days will you be able to go on day duty?
- If this is an order, of course.
- They say that this is just a proposal, but in reality it is an order. Okay, then I'll assign you by then.
- May I know what the matter is?
“His Lordship and Count Grimaldi have received an Invitation.” It's in the Inner Palace, so not too far. The place is more secluded, so it won't be that difficult to work.
- Where is it more secluded?
— Invitation from the Crown Prince.
Claude was his name. The man who was looking for her. So that’s why he finally said, “See you.” Did he intentionally appoint the guards this way?
— Has he arrived yet?
Roy asked this because if the Crown Prince arrived, there would already be a noise in the palace, but there was no special reaction.
“It looks like he arrived incognito.”
“But he should have had security with him.”
“They say he broke away from them and came on horseback.”
-......
Look, you. And this is the Crown Prince - is he allowed to behave like this? Roy thought about it, but who would dare to tell the Crown Prince? Except perhaps the king himself.
However, the king probably wouldn’t have been able to say anything worthwhile. If, of course, he knew about everything the same as Roy knew.
— Has the Crown Prince arrived alone? What about the rest of the royal family?
- They'll catch up soon. You will probably find out about this even before us. Go to the Second Order of Chivalry and ask - that's all.
-...Ah, well, yes.
The commander of the Second Knightly Order would hardly have told him, but if he asked his fellow knights, it was possible to find out the approximate time of arrival.
- We should find out.
— If you find out, share the information.
- Just like that, for beautiful eyes?
“I just recently gave you two gold coins.”
- So it was a lost bet, Bert.
It seems that while he was not looking, the two had managed to become quite close. In general, if Gagliardo moves to the Woodpecker family, there is nothing wrong with them getting closer, but there was still a strange feeling that he was left out.
- A feeling of alienation, of course.
A feeling she had never experienced in her life; it was unclear why it had come right now. My stomach began to ache again with a dull, stabbing pain. You can’t tell – it’s either the stomach or below. If it doesn’t go away even after sleep, perhaps you should go to the first aid station.
Bert leafed through the knight's notebook, said: “Well, I have nothing more to say,” and stood up. Yawning widely and frantically scratching his stomach, he went to his room. And then snoring began.
- Just head to the pillow - and he’s already asleep. Maybe it's age?
— Bert is actually a light sleeper.
- Come on. He and I are already close enough to joke like that.
Since when did they become such friends? No matter how you think about it, Roy's sociability is something incomprehensible.
- By the way, Crown Prince, that means...
- Do you want to go instead of me?
- No way.
Roy replied. With emphasis on each syllable. From the sincerity that sounded in his voice, Adi involuntarily nodded. Roy added: “Yes, and the Crown Prince too...” and fell silent. It was clear on his face as if he wanted to say something, but knew that he shouldn’t. Clicking his tongue, he still said:
- No, he himself is the royal house.
It's not clear what he's talking about.
- The royal family does not mean that they are all at the same time.
Under Adi's questioning gaze, Roy hesitated to answer.
Did Count Grimaldi raise his own son to be a complete klutz - he doesn’t understand at all how everything works? Were they really not even hiring home teachers? After all, home teachers travel from house to house and at the same time convey news from the life of the nobility - and this guy seemed to be deprived of even this.
Damn twin - maybe they humiliated and bullied not only the dead girl, but him too?
Roy looked at Adi with sympathy. He himself also grew up in unenviable conditions, but it didn’t seem to be any easier for him.
- Go get some sleep for now. When we finish our work, we’ll play chess.
- That conversation... I want to continue.
- What conversation?
— About the Crown Prince. About the royal family.
-...
For a moment, Roy wondered whether he should tell or not. What he knew was neither too much nor too little. The Woodpecker family probably knows a lot more. Some of this was known to most of the nobles, but whether Adrian knew about it is a question.
You can tell her as much as others know. At the very least, she can't be allowed to say anything inappropriate in the current situation. Especially at the meeting with the Crown Prince.
Most likely, she won’t have to tell her, but if the Crown Prince suddenly turns to her, and she answers something disrespectful and her head is cut off, then she will have bad dreams. After all, we spent some time together.
- If something is unclear, I’ll tell you then.
- Anything?
- I'm not cheating. You know.
Roy said. Adi nodded affirmatively.
Yes, Roy is exactly that kind of person. He pretends that he is probing and is not going to tell anything, but he answers any question asked without hesitation. Of course, there is also a “you give me, I give you” attitude in this, but even this degree of Adi’s generosity was enough to be grateful.
- Roy.
That's why she didn't understand.
- Why do you treat me so well?
At Adi’s words, Roy couldn’t help but chuckle. How did she have to live if she calls it a good attitude? Although yes - even in the Third Order of Knights, all she did was get into trouble and get into fights.
-......
These guys there looked at such a fragile guy - and decided to fight him? No, wait, they said that everyone lost. How can you possibly lose in a fight to someone like that? It was a mystery. Just as Adi had no idea what Roy was capable of, Roy had no idea what Adi was capable of.
- We are comrades.
Roy said.
- At least for now.
Just comrades - and for the sake of this we have to do so much? Adi was perplexed. What comrades are, what camaraderie is, Adi didn’t really understand. Thinking it was probably just because he was a Southerner, Adi replied, “Okay.”
Roy shrugged and went into his room. His shift was just starting. Adi also returned to her place. Soon it was time to sleep.
But sleep did not come. Both because she returned earlier than usual, and because of the pain in her stomach. And yet, maybe if you lie down, sleep will come, - with this thought, Adi changed her clothes, went to bed and fixed her gaze on the portrait of Adrian that came into view.
- Adi.
Half of it frozen forever.
- What would you do if you were me?
Adrian, who promised to take her with him. Adrian, who died. The Adrien she wanted to become.
Crown Prince, Grimaldi. Woodpecker, Gallardo.
King Dalcatir and High Treason.
Red-haired Duke, thick eyelashes and soft lips.
The Duke, who said that it would be better if Adrina remained alive.
- I.
Why?
- I will definitely see you.
Words swirling in my head.
- I will help you escape from the hands of Count Grimaldi.
Was it really for my sake? Or for your sake?
Then for whose sake is what I am saying now?
Adrina picked up Adrian's portrait. The wind flying through the open window, the sky, the colors of which seem unusually bright, wild grass and floating clouds. There is a sharp contrast of blue in the spring, and an unfamiliar floral aroma is felt in the warmth.
Placing the portrait of Adrian at grass level, Adi imagined how he, as if stepping out of a canvas, stood in the middle of this landscape. Adrian Grimaldi, who should have stood on this earth. A pointless assumption.
“You would respect my choice, wouldn’t you?”
Adi lowered the portrait as she spoke these words.
- Isn’t it true?
Adi, sitting on the edge of the bed, covered her face with her hands. It has not yet been possible to fully understand the situation, but some assumptions could already be made. No - it was possible to find out for sure.
Use Roy.
- Adi.
Adrina spread her fingers and looked at Adrian's portrait. Light brown eyes sparkled. Like a cat predator hiding in the bushes just before the jump, the whole body is compressed into a spring.
- We'll betray the count.
As if she was ready to rush at any moment.