When Adi returned, the atmosphere in the Reception was tense. The reason for this, apparently, was Duke Woodpecker. Looking at Yuls, whose mood seemed to have sunk like a stone, Adi asked Roy in a quiet whisper:
- What happened?
The answer came from somewhere else.
- No need to whisper; if you have something to say, say it directly.
-...
Hadrian had no special words for the Duke. In addition, his position and status did not allow him to ask “why are you behaving this way” to the one who himself created this atmosphere. When Adi just stood there, not giving any answer, Juls ran his hand through his hair. He himself could not understand the reason for his mood.
...I can’t understand?
- Adrian.
- Yes, Your Grace.
No, he knows. He realizes that the feelings he is experiencing have manifested themselves in a different way. He did not plan this at all and did not even imagine this, but for some reason it began to bother him, and now, seeing her in the company of another man, he is irritated.
Jules knew himself well enough. He couldn't help but recognize the feeling, even if it was his first time encountering it. However, despite this awareness, he could not understand it.
It's a guy, after all.
He may behave quietly now, but he is the son of Grimaldi, the same Adrian Grimaldi, who was called a dog in Pales. And just because he has curly hair, sweet as honey, rosy cheeks, eyes like a high-quality cat’s eye, and a pretty face, a man does not become a woman.
Of course, gender doesn’t matter to lift the curse, but you can’t just let him live with himself.
And yet.
“Today I must get my due.”
He didn't like that anyone else could claim it.
- Right now?
Adi asked again in confusion. Juls demanded a kiss every day, but now it was the height of the day. Servants and knights-bodyguards gathered here, and soon they had to go out to meet the king, and he wants to kiss in such an environment?
To prying eyes it would look somewhat inappropriate. Of course, some have already gotten used to it, but still...
When Adi hesitated, Juls narrowed his eyes.
- Follow me.
All the bodyguard knights and servants of Yuls also began to move.
- Only Adi.
However, she froze at the next words. Adi was also confused. With a face expressing agonizing thoughts about what to do, Adi finally, as if she had no choice, headed into the room where Juls entered.
Juls looked down at Adi as she entered and closed the door behind her.
Her face expressed complete incomprehension. In the current situation, he would not be able to object, even if she considered him a crazy duke who, as usual, demanded a kiss to lift the curse. After all, that’s how it really was.
But the situation is changing strangely. Adrian hasn't changed. Only Jules himself has changed. They say that the ability of servants is to capture the mood of the master without words, but in such a temporary relationship as Adi’s, this will not be easy to understand.
First of all, is he content with just a master-subordinate relationship?
- Adi.
- Yes, Your Grace.
Hardly. If he had been content with this, such questions would not have arisen. He wouldn't have followed her when she was about to meet someone, and he wouldn't have been annoyed that there was so much he didn't know about Adrien.
Thanks to various books, he only had a rough idea of what this feeling was, but he did not expect that it would overtake him in this way.
- Count Grimaldi said he would kill you.
Jules Woodpecker was going crazy with the desire to know everything about Adrian.
- And today you talked with Lef Zid.
As soon as he admitted this, literally everything caused irritation, even the smallest trifles. Until the dinner we ate today, which suddenly seemed somehow suspicious, although it served only modest concoction from the knights' dining room.
- How did you know...
-What were you talking about?
- Nothing important.
- Since it’s nothing important, then you can talk about it.
With these words, Juls took Adi’s hand and raised it. His feet were small, but his hands seemed to be small too. Perhaps this is only because he himself has grown and become stronger. However, this hand was not feminine at all. It was the hand of a knight: a little rough, with residual marks from the sword.
Beautiful.
Juls silently held Adi’s hand, looked at her, and then pulled her to himself and touched her with his lips. Adi, already accustomed to contact with Duke Woodpecker, relaxed his fingers and simply looked at him. The Duke's thick eyelashes fluttered. With height and build, he could easily be mistaken for a woman.
If you look closely, only the formal suit made you perceive him as a man; dress him in a dress, and no one would doubt that in front of him is a woman. The longer I looked, the more beautiful he seemed. Adi had not noticed this before, perhaps because of his bad, disgusting character.
Jules kissed the back of his hand several times. The sound of lips smacking caused some embarrassment, but Adi did not attach much importance to it. However, when something unexpected, wet and soft, touched his skin, he quickly pulled his hand away.
- For what?
Just now it was the language...
Adi rubbed the back of his hand, looking confused. Jules pretended as if nothing had happened. Having settled down on the sofa, he raised his chin and said:
— Tell me what you talked about with Lef Zid.
- ...That I will return to the Grimaldi estate.
- I didn’t hear. Come closer and tell me.
Adi approached the sofa where Juls was sitting. He suddenly grabbed her hands. "What is this?" - Adi said quietly, looking at her hands tightly clenched in his palms:
“I said I was returning to the Grimaldi estate.”
-Are you coming back?
- Yes.
“Wasn’t this mentioned earlier?”
There was simply no time for this. Adi herself did not expect that the Count would make such a decision. It is unknown what exactly he talked about with the Crown Prince, but for sure, as soon as the Duke leaves and the affairs are completed, she will be sent back immediately. Unless, of course, someone else appears during this time.
However, there was already one very suitable candidate. Crown Prince. If he stayed at Pales a little longer instead of returning immediately to Ionades, and if Adi was near him, perhaps she wouldn't have to go straight to Grimaldi? But is this even feasible?
To understand the situation, it was necessary first of all to meet with the Crown Prince, but there was not the slightest opportunity to do this, and she also could not appear to him at random.
However, there was still a chance. Today all the aristocrats and members of the royal family will go to meet the King, and this could be taken advantage of...
“Does the count really mean that he will eliminate your lordship after you return to Grimaldi?” - asked Jules.
Instead of answering, Adi looked down at him. Oddly enough, there was concern on that face.
“You don’t want to go back to Grimaldi?”
-...
- Answer.
- Yes, I don’t want to go there.
When Adi answered honestly, Juls smiled broadly.
- That's good.
It was completely incomprehensible. Why did he smile when he heard this answer? Looking at the Duke, who immediately asked: “So this is your Desire?”, Adi just grinned.
- No.
In an instant, the laughing face becomes serious. The atmosphere in the room seemed to thicken, just like in the reception room. Is it really about the pressing force that comes from a person? Few people are able to change the mood around them just by their presence.
“So you’re still going to Grimaldi?”
- I'll make sure this doesn't happen.
- How?
Jules asked.
- Do you have anyone else to turn to?
She didn't answer yes or no, but that silence was enough for him to understand. She has someone else. Not him.
- Adi.
Who could it be?
— Adrian Grimaldi.
And this despite the fact that there is not a single living soul next to her.
“You cannot waste your desire on something whose outcome is unknown.”
Adi said this. Jules frowned. Although he had just asked himself if it was a wish, he didn't mean to use it right now.
- This is my last stronghold.
But thanks to this conversation, he understood why Adi does not ask him for a favor.
- So the number of Desires is not enough?
- Yes. After all, this is a precious thing.
“Then you just need to increase it.”
Juls grabbed Adi by the hand and pulled him towards him. The balance was lost, and Adi, collapsing into Yuls’ arms, rested her palms on his chest. The pectoral muscles turned out to be surprisingly well developed. At that moment, when Adi, having said: “Your Grace,” tried to straighten up, Yuls grabbed her by the chin.
- One Kiss - one Desire.
Their breaths intertwined in the light touch of their lips. My mouth felt ticklish. Not knowing how to deal with this unfamiliar feeling, Adi grabbed onto Cravat Yuls and pulled. As soon as I applied force, the fabric slid, unraveling. Yuls's hand grabbed Adi's head. The fingers buried in her hair sent a tickling sensation through her scalp and the back of her head. It became difficult to breathe.
In the end, Adi, unable to bear it anymore, began to drum on Yuls’s shoulder. Understanding the sign, Yuls pulled away. Adi began to breathe convulsively.
Jules, who was also new to this, was breathing heavily. His reddened face was visible.
- Well, how?
-......
What does he expect in return? Wants to hear about my feelings? Or impressions?
— Help you get out of Grimaldi?
From these words, Adi, as if realizing something, opened her mouth and exhaled: “Ah.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll be happy to do it.”
Juls wiped the saliva from Adi’s lips with his thumb and continued:
“We can go to Woodpecker together.” No one can reach you there. Neither Grimaldi nor the Royal Family.
What could this mean?
- So think carefully.
Adi herself guessed what it was about, but she couldn’t believe it.
“After all, no one needs you as much as I do.”
Did the Duke really fall in love with her?