Adi, without opening, put the letter from Countess Grimaldi in the box. She didn't want to read it now. No, she never wanted to read it. When she saw this letter, it sometimes seemed to her that Adrian was still alive. And then she felt like a monster who had taken over his body and was living his life.
Closing the drawer, Adi took out the knight's notebook.
The relationship between the Crown Prince and the Count is not mutually beneficial. I don’t understand why exactly the Count stays close to the Prince. Above all, one thing is clear: their goals are the same. Do not send reinforcements to Thuringia.
Thuringia...
I heard that this is a country with developed art. I don’t know exactly what it is like, because I’ve never been there. If an uprising breaks out inside, it means that the country is in total chaos. People are fleeing from there, and homeless strangers may pour there too.
War is fought not only with weapons and troops. Need money. No state without funds has ever started a war. Therefore, those who are chasing gold inevitably hide there. First of all, these are mercenaries. The penetration of foreigners there will also not cause much suspicion.
At worst, it would allow me to escape, even if I was taken by force to the Grimaldi estate. All you have to do is get over one cliff. It is unknown whether the count himself will pursue me or not. Even if he sends someone else, I have every chance of leaving. And if that someone turns out to be Lef...
Kill him?
He loved Adrian. He considered my brother his own brother. They say there is such an attachment between foster brothers. I don't know. Baroness Zied did not feed me milk.
...Then who took care of me as a child?
Probably, some compassionate soul was found, thanks to whom I survived. It doesn't matter who it was. It's no use now. For me, it is much more important to decide what to do next.
The first thing to do was to trust either Jonad or Woodpecker. She couldn't trust the Crown Prince. But so does the Duke. In addition, an unexpected variable arose.
The Duke guessed her gender. He realized that she was not Adrian, but Adrina.
- Adrina.
Adi said her name out loud. Now it seemed foreign to her.
Adi took off the cameo that secured the scarf around her neck and untied the cravat. The Duke took her by the neck. Not to threaten, but as if wanting to check something.
Adi also put her hand to her neck. Her palm easily covered her whole. The neck was thinner than the man's, but just when she thought there wasn't much difference, a guess dawned on her.
- A.
She realized exactly what the difference was.
She didn't have an Adam's apple.
Nobody paid attention to this before. Since she always wore a cravat that hid her neck, no one even saw her, and therefore did not notice the flaw. The fact that the Duke untied the cravat meant only one thing: he was already sure of it.
She showed carelessness.
At that moment, a knock was heard from outside. The door opened before she could invite her in, and Joel called out to her.
- Sir?
- Yes.
Adi answered and quickly tied the cravat around her neck. Joel didn't seem to notice anything strange and continued:
- Your Grace asked you to come at night. You can come at the usual time.
- Fine.
Having answered, Adi began fiddling with her cravat. Even though it was getting hotter, there was no way she could take it off.
* * *Late at night, Adi carefully set out on her way. Due to the dim light, the corridor was plunged into darkness. As soon as Adi arrived, the servant immediately opened the door. Roy and the Duke were in the bedroom. The Duke ordered Roy to leave. Roy bowed and left.
The Duke rose from the bed. A faint light shone through the thin nightgown, outlining the contours of his body. Although no one had ever seen him exercise, the Duke's body was filled with defined muscles. Like someone who has been training for a long time.
- Yesterday there was no time for that, so I didn’t have time to say.
Jules said:
- Adrina.
At this moment Adi shuddered. It was a name she had not been called by for a long time. No, even the fact that someone addressed her by name was in itself a rarity. It feels strange. It was as if a hot wave rose from my chest, which made me feel uncomfortable.
- ...... I will allow myself to be insolent, Your Grace. I would prefer if you didn't call me that.
At Adi’s words, Yuls looked at her for a while, and then said: “So be it.” There are no extra eyes and ears here, but the courtyard is a place where it is unknown where and how rumors can leak out.
- Don’t stand so stiffly, sit down.
According to Yuls, Adi went to a chair by the window and sat down. There was nowhere to sit besides this place except the bed, but sitting there seemed disrespectful.
The distance between the bed and the chair was quite large, so Juls himself approached Adi. His figure towering over her looked quite menacing. She never found men intimidating, but when he was right in front of her, for some reason she felt nervous.
— How long have you been living under your brother’s name?
—……Do I have to talk about this?
“Because I need to properly understand your situation.”
- If you don’t like the fact that I deceived you, you can return me to the 2nd Order of Knighthood from this very moment.
“Did he do this on purpose?” Juls clicked his tongue and said:
“You can’t help but understand that that’s not what I meant.”
Yuls's gaze dropped. Their eyes met. What Adi was thinking could be understood without words. Juls said:
“It seems like I don’t inspire your trust?”
Adi didn't answer. He did not confirm or deny, but in this pause it was not difficult to read his intentions. Sighing for a moment, Julius walked away from Adi and opened the door himself. From the outside, surprise was evident when the door suddenly swung open.
- Roy, call Joel.
Roy nodded, wondering if they were going to treat his wounds. Seeing that Roy had left, Julius closed the door and approached Adi again.
“Although he is a healing magician, he also has administrative magic, so he can do magical notarization.” If we sign a non-disclosure agreement, will you talk?
-......
“Why does he go so far?”
“Besides, what if I told you I could help you, sir?”
“I don’t understand Your Lordship’s intentions.”
Julius crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at Adi. Does he really not understand? Looking at that confused face, it seems like he really doesn't understand, but at the same time it's hard to believe that he does.
- It seems he is not devoid of insight, so why doesn’t he understand?
Julius muttered this quietly under his breath.
“Maybe it’s because you’ve never accepted such kindness from others?”
- I'm sorry?
Adi asked again. Jules didn't answer. There was a knock from outside and the door opened. A breathless Joel appeared, apparently running very quickly.
- Your Grace, I have arrived.
- We need to conclude a contract. Take out the parchment.
With these words, Jules pointed to the adjacent room. “Why is there parchment there?” - thought Adi. Joel blinked a couple of times and asked, “...With Sir Adrian Grimaldi?”
- Yes.
- I'm sorry, but what is the purpose...
— Non-disclosure obligation.
— Documents sealed by magic cannot be terminated without mutual consent.
- I know. This is necessary to inspire confidence.
What the hell kind of trust does one have to instill when even the magic of reassurance is required?
Magical notarization is different from ordinary legal notarial deeds. It cuts into the very soul. That is why it is not used unless absolutely necessary. Even aristocrats and royal blood resort to it only when concluding inter-clan treaties or marriage alliances.
- Come on.
Julius hurried. Joel eventually emerged from the next room, parchment and quill in hand. When Joel asked what exactly should be written, Julius ordered to draw up the usual oath of fidelity to a secret. The conditions should be the same for everyone.
“You can’t make contracts like that...” Joel wanted to object, but he couldn’t disobey his master.
As a result, Joel drew up a document, and Adi and Julius signed it. Looking sadly at the signed contract, Joel cast a spell in a quiet voice. Adi couldn't make out a word. It sounded like the speech of a foreign country.
Soon, light erupted from the document, flashing in the air. Then the heat spread somewhere inside the body. Adi looked at the tip of the little finger of her left hand. An unfamiliar sign was drawn there. Julius also looked at this pattern, probably the same one that appeared in the same place.
“Now come out, Joel.”
Joel pouted. This meant that he did not want to leave, but remaining in such a conversation would mean violating the terms of the oath of fidelity to secrecy. “Such things should only be done with the full and explicit consent of all parties,” he wanted to grumble, but there was nothing to be done.
In the end, swallowing his insult through tears, Joel left. Julius watched the door close. Only after making sure that it was tightly closed and not a single sound would leak out did he speak again.
- Tell me, since when have you been living under your brother’s name?
-...Since the day Adrian died.
- Are there many in the Grimaldi family who know about this?
After a pause and looking at Julius, Adi spoke. Magnolias were blooming.
“Everyone in Grimaldi Castle knows about this.”
The snow, lying heavily on the white flowers and branches, could not bear the weight and sagged. Under a gust of wind, the magnolia petals fell off, and the snow-white leaves, whirling along with the snowflakes, got dirty on the dirty ground.
- Everyone knows that Adrian died in the snow.
The skin of her twin, who lay in the coffin, was bluish.
“Everyone knows that Countess Grimaldi cried.”
Withering flowers and golden hair covered his body.
“Everyone knows that the Count, looking at my brother, said not to worry about the death of some girl.
The earth, saturated with despair and grief, fell onto the lid of the coffin.
- Everyone knows this.
- This means that Lef Zid is also aware.
- Yes.
Hearing this, Jules frowned. He also had something to hear. The way Lef Zid treated Adi Grimaldi was not suitable for demonstration to the overlord and his family.
A cursed twin and a girl who is useless outside of a marriage alliance between houses. The Count could not like this. Usually, I at least somehow care about the opinions of others, and provide at least the appearance of decent treatment, but judging by what was happening in the Grimaldi House, she was apparently accustomed to such treatment from childhood.
She may not have even realized it was discrimination. That's why Lef Zid allowed himself to treat her like that in front of everyone.
“...Perhaps we should give a warning.”
- What?
- No, nothing. But what do you mean that if you go to Grimaldi, you will die?