Early in the morning, Roy stood in front of the door. Siglsey opened the bedroom door. Adi stood at the window; his swollen face showed no signs of subsiding. Dried blood and bruises were visible.
Jules said to Roy, “Call Bert.” “Then he looked at Adi and shook his head, telling him to leave.
Adi bowed his head and walked out with Roy.
- Everything is swollen.
Roy said this and Adi touched his face. It was a little awkward to open my eyes.
“It’s like a fist fits in your mouth.”
- Is it really that bad?
- Let me see, have even the blood vessels in your eyes burst?
Roy said this while lifting Adi's face. He deliberately grabbed his chin so as not to touch his cheeks, but even this made Adi’s eyelids tremble slightly, apparently from pain.
— Has the Count done this before?
- No, I have never met such an enemy.
- It's because of me, right?
At Roy’s words, Adi muttered: “What else.” There was no point in pretending that nothing had happened—everyone already knew. Roy Gagliardo knew best. He understood that Adi's technique was good, but he did not realize that this was the main technique of the family.
- We're talking about fencing.
- It was worth it.
- Was it worth getting such a beating?
Everything happened far from being so simple as to get away with the word “thrashing.” Roy couldn't even imagine that a person could be beaten like that. It seemed that the Count put all his strength into the blows - perhaps even serfs were not tortured this way. Everyone who witnessed this scene was speechless with horror.
Even among the nobility, not everyone is equal. Their position in the clan depends on gender and age. Yet it is rare for an adult man to be beaten so mercilessly. They may kill each other, but in front of others they do not deprive anyone of their human dignity so rudely. However, Adi seemed to be used to it.
Why? How can you get used to this?
- Only Grimaldi can defeat Grimaldi. Plus, if your opponent underestimates you and then loses using your same techniques, it will be even sweeter.
- How much should you hate Lef Zid...
- About ten times stronger than you think.
Roy already assumed that the Count's hatred was great, but since it had reached such proportions, how strong must it really be?
Although, it’s true, Roy didn’t understand why he had such a triumphant face, because he revealed the family’s fencing style to a stranger and for this he was beaten like an animal by the Count. It would seem that he is the Future Earl, but no one seems to treat him as the heir to the title.
- Roy.
Adi said. Roy flinched as if caught in his thoughts and asked, “What?”, to which he received the answer: “Be careful.”
“Count Grimaldi may not leave you like that.”
This goes without saying; anyone would do that if his family's fencing style leaked out. Knights are generally prone to this.
- As soon as the festival is over, quickly head south. Understood? And ask that the Transfer Order be issued quickly.
-...Did you value me so much?
-What are you talking about?
- Knowing that everything will lead to this.
-...
What kind of nonsense is this?
Of course, Adi did not harbor any particular malice towards Roy and even found his sociability pleasant, but he did not consider him someone truly dear. So much self-confidence that sometimes it seems arrogance, but looking at his eyes, full of tears, you can’t help but think that he is not so much arrogant as soft-hearted...
- Medicine? Did you apply it?
- I did.
— Do you want to go to the Temple? Or to a magician? It's better to cure it quickly.
- It's not worth it. The Count will not like this even more.
Roy nodded.
“You can’t show yourself anywhere with that face.”
“I’m on duty at night anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
Having said this, Adi opened the door. Bert, decently dressed for the first time in a long time, was reading a newspaper.
- Sir, His Lordship is looking for you.
Roy said this, and Bert asked: “Is that so?” - before getting up. Bert looked at Adi silently. There seemed to be sympathy in his gaze. Putting his hand on Adi's shoulder, Bert said:
- Let's go. Adi... rest today. I'll tell him myself.
- Everything is fine.
- Rest when you are told to rest.
Adi pressed her lips tightly. Roy, who was standing nearby, supported the idea of rest and began to persuade him.
“What about that past killer, what about you, my lord... it seems you get injured too often.”
“I will take better care of my body.”
That's exactly what he didn't mean. Bert, whose face expressed difficulty, said: “If you get hurt often, those around you begin to worry,” but Adi only nodded with the air of a man who did not understand anything.
Bert and Roy left. Adi stood alone in the lounge for a moment, then sat down at the table. The sky was still gloomy and there seemed to be a thick dampness in the air. Thanks to this, the smell of the grass became even stronger.
Something was wrong. Yesterday's Duke turned out to be much stranger than one might have expected.
Adi thought that if he found out about her feminine nature, he would behave differently, but the Duke hardly changed. He only ordered her to sit on the sofa and watch, then, apparently unable to sleep and tossing back and forth, finally ordered her to be in the next room. It was ridiculous. Order the knight to sit in the next room.
And one more thing.
- It was you.
Adi spoke these words into the void. Exactly the same words that the Duke said yesterday.
What the Duke said after the kiss.
- What does it mean.
* * *When Bert and Roy returned, the Duke was already fully dressed. The servant collected his hair from behind and tied the cravat in front. Due to the humidity in the air, the fabric of the clothes became very thin.
Bert handed Jules the newspaper he had brought. Jules accepted the newspaper and nodded his head. This meant going into the living room. Having passed the corridor and reached the living room, Yuls sat down on the sofa and said:
“I’m thinking of taking Adi to Woodpecker.”
Bert was skeptical about this. Not because he was against taking Adrian Grimaldi, but because he believed that Adi would not want to go to Woodpecker. However, judging by what happened yesterday, it seemed that he could be taken away.
“If he doesn't like Woodpecker, he'll have to send him to Jonad first.” But Claude can’t be trusted, so for now we’ll decide that we’ll take him. Prepare transfer documents to Woodpecker.
- I obey.
It was not uncommon for the nobility to take guard knights from Palesa into their domains. Roy has already applied for transfer. Adding one more person will not change anything. It’s just unknown whether the Second Order of Knights will meet him halfway and let him go without any problems.
- It's better to finish this quickly. Until the Count began to act.
Jules said. Bert signaled to Roy. Roy instantly understood and left. It was necessary to bring the transfer documents as quickly as possible, fill them out and submit them.
Jules, who had been watching Roy leave, raised his head and looked at Bert and his servants. Contrary to expectations that he would be out of sorts after yesterday's mood, Jules looked great.
Seeing the smile on his lips, Bert asked:
— Did any pleasant thoughts come to you?
Jules shook his head.
- Do you believe in fate, Bert?
“What are these other vague hints?” - Bert thought and shook his head negatively.
Sometimes people worship the Goddess of Fate, believing that a person only follows a destined path, but Bert thought differently. A person's life is the result of his own actions. Julius agreed with Bert on this issue.
— I'm talking about Adrina Grimaldi.
- Do you mean that Adrina Grimaldi's fate passed to Adrian?
To these words, Bertha Jules, who had previously been staring intently into emptiness, replied:
- Yes.
The pause that hung seemed to refute Bert’s words, so the affirmative answer sounded especially unexpected.
“I think I’m starting to believe in fate.”
At that moment, the servants' gazes met, as if they were asking each other if they had heard correctly. “Is this really our duke? He’s not the type to say things like that.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m the son of a Witch?” Sounds romantic, doesn't it?
"...Who is this?"
It seemed that he had not slept much last night, and confusion reigned among the servants, wondering whether he had suffered a clouding of his mind.
“It didn’t seem like she hated me.”
“If by “her” you mean the Witch of Red Oak Grove, then even though she cast the curse, you were quite dear to her.
That's what Bert said. Little Jules did not agree with this.
“The thought often came to me: if I had been born a girl, would she have abandoned me?”
Maternal inheritance is the way of witches. They conceive from the seed of other races, and only women are born to them. As one whole, the witch takes on the form of her mother, and she takes on the form of her mother. That was until Julius Woodpecker came along.
- Of course, I understand that in human society a man has a better life. But with witches everything is different. I thought she would hate me because I was born as a Mutant (anomaly).
Son of the Witch of Red Oak Grove.
- But just in a different sense.
There was no rejection. After all, it didn’t exist in the first place.
“It even seems to me that everything turned out as well as possible.”
And therefore there was no recognition.
The witch did not recognize the child she had born as her own. After all, he was born a man.