- After all, I am truly a dead person.
- But you live like Adrian.
“Adrian was frail in body, so his sudden death would not have surprised anyone.
Be that as it may, this...
“Your Grace believes that the Count will demand that I continue the Grimaldi family?”
Judging by the Count’s character, since he decided to raise his daughter like a son, this definitely won’t happen. Besides, no matter how much I wear a man’s dress, I won’t be able to pretend to be a man all my life. Over time, this will inevitably come out. Even if I'm still at that age when I'm growing up.
- No.
“If he had the opportunity to have another child, the Count would make him heir.” Neither me nor Adrian.
- But the Count can no longer have offspring.
- Yes, and that’s why I exist.
- ...What?
- Because I'm a woman.
He knew that she was a woman, but it was unusual to hear this from the lips of Adi herself. Yes, she is a woman. Even in this form she remained a woman. On the contrary, now that he knew the truth, Julius even wondered how he could not have noticed this before, because Adi Grimaldi is...
- I can quite possibly conceive a child. And if this is my child, he will undoubtedly become a true Grimaldi. Whoever his father was.
Julius raised his hand, closing his eyes, and said: “That’s enough.” He considered a kiss between men only a sign of intimacy and believed that as soon as the curse was lifted, he would no longer care about it, but now that he found out that she was a woman, his soul felt strange.
Is it worth leaving her in the Knight's Dormitory? Wouldn't it be better to give her a separate room? However, granting privileges only to Adi may raise suspicions.
While Julius was wondering what to do, Adi continued: “Count...
— I decided to give me to Lef Zid. Then Adrian will die, and I will have to give birth to the heir the Count wants.
Julius exhaled noisily at these words. He didn't know what to say, but his heart felt bad.
- How dare he.
- What?
- Nothing. Continue.
-...For starters, that's all. I don’t really know anything else myself.
They never gave Adi any reliable information. There was already a lot of what she managed to find out on her own. Noticing the sincerity on Adi’s face, Juls said: “Then it’s over.”
- Let's talk about the killer.
-......
- It was Claude who sent that killer.
— Your Highness, Crown Prince?
- Yes.
- But...
“Did he say he trusts me?”
Adi nodded.
“Claude really trusts me.” Let him send killers periodically.
- How can he do this if he trusts?
“If he doesn’t send them to me, the other cousins and his brothers will suspect something.”
-......
“I don’t know exactly when he sends them, but they come regularly.” However, I want to ask this.
Jules narrowed his eyes. Thanks to Bert, he learned that Adi was already in the know. And even if Jules had not said this out loud, Adi would still have guessed that the Duke knew everything.
“Count Grimaldi must have given you instructions.” What did he say?
Adi moved his lips.
- Did you tell me to protect you? Or get rid of it?
-......Ordered to protect.
“So you obediently follow the Count’s words.”
“I would protect you even if he ordered me not to.”
- Do you want me to believe?
- You may not believe it.
His gaze was direct. It doesn't look like he's lying, but perhaps he only thinks so because the Count's order to save him has already been given. And if not, would Adi defend him? Jules couldn't know for sure.
And yet it is strange, but it does not cause disgust. Adrian Grimaldi, who may not defend himself.
“I thought about why you were saving the Desire.”
No, Adrina Grimaldi.
- About how you kissed me without hesitation to break the Curse.
Where was she going to spend her Wish? The thoughts didn't last long.
“It seems you want to escape from the Count.”
There seemed to be only one answer.
“Would you like to go to Woodpecker with me?”
“...Does Woodpecker need me?”
- Who knows.
Woodpecker doesn't need anyone. Unless others may need Woodpecker's strength. So Adi may not be needed there. Even if she is an outstanding knight, there are plenty of such craftsmen in Woodpecker. Moreover, it is unlikely that a person with the surname Grimaldi will be able to get a good job there.
And yet.
“People at Woodpecker may not know, but I need it.”
— To lift the Curse?
- Including for this.
Adi fell silent. Crown Prince and Woodpecker, Claude and Jules.
Judging purely by strength, the Crown Prince is more profitable, but he has his own difficulties. Duke Woodpecker, it seems, will not seek revenge even if she goes to Jonad. The Crown Prince, although he said that her departure to Woodpecker was acceptable, apparently had something else in mind.
“What will you do if I go to Jonad?”
“I will have to go to Jonad too.” I need you.
“I’ll probably have to look after her diligently again so that she comes to me.” There's nothing complicated about it.
When this festival ends, summer will come. The lords are discussing laws at this time. Jules usually didn't participate in this. In any case, he would have to visit Jonad in the fall on tax matters. After this period, winter came - the time of the secular season. During the cold winter, the nobles, with nothing to do, were left to either attend to the affairs of the estate, prepare for the next year, or go to Jonad and enjoy the winter.
- But Adrina.
- Please call me Adi.
- Adi.
Juls doesn't like the cold winter in Jonada, but if Adi is there, he's willing to go there at least once. Although in this case he will definitely have to take her with him.
“Even the Count can easily gain access to Ionad.”
-...
“The Count will not kill you for the sake of his descendants, but he may well kidnap you or arrange your disappearance.”
It wasn't a lie. Palesa was not in the Count's power, but in Jonad he could do a lot. After all, in Jonad he spent years of service as a page, was a knight and raised the king to the throne.
- Grimaldi. I've never been there, but like all northern castles, it probably has tall spiers. Almost no sunlight penetrates inside, so the windows are long and the castle itself is gray. Just like your name.
He was never interested in what Grimaldi was like. It was just a place where someone damned lived, or the Count's homeland.
But when he thought that this was the place where Adrina lived, he became a little curious. How did she describe him? I think she said something about magnolia flowers. Or not. Resisting the urge to ask again, Jules started talking about more realistic things.
“You know that when aristocrats are taken into custody, they are kept not in dungeons, but in towers.”
At Yuls’s words, Adi remembered the small tower of Grimaldi Castle.
“At least for the sake of dignity, to be able to choose death for myself.”
The space in the spire on the high stone walls was very cramped. Adrian said that someone was locked there once. The two of them sat in the grass and looked at that tower.
If Adi and he were of the same gender, wouldn't one of them be trapped there?
If so, who exactly?
- But will the Count show you such respect?
-...
There was nothing to object to Yuls Adi’s words. Usually they would be locked in such a tower, but if we are talking about the Count, then he would probably hide the current Adi somewhere underground.
Jules further asked:
- What exactly did Claude promise to do?
Adi didn't answer. Claude hasn't yet said what he will give her. He only ordered to come to Jonad.
“No matter what he promises, I will do more for you than Claude.”
One could tell him about this conversation, but silence promised the opportunity to hear more favorable terms.
- So tell me what you want, Adi.
- I...
What can I say? Adi hesitated for a moment. Perhaps she herself did not know what she wanted at that moment. There was a catastrophic lack of time to organize the thoughts swarming in my head. But one thing was certain.
“I won’t do what the Count wants.”
- What does he want?
- So that I give birth to an Heir.
She will betray the Count.
“I will put an end to the Grimaldi name.”
She will not allow him to achieve what he values above all else.
“This is what the Count fears most.”
- Yes, many aristocrats are afraid of this. That their name will be suppressed.
What kind of insignificant name is this? And yet everyone is so clingy to him. It's not just people who are like this. The witch is most obsessed with her name. That is why the Witch left her name to Yulsu.
- But, Your Grace...
Kaspras, The Witch of the Gallic Oak Forest.
- This is something I can do myself. It doesn't matter whether Your Lordship favors me or helps me - that's completely different.
It was a woman with red hair and black eyes. Even when the former Duke grew old, her appearance did not change, remaining unchanged. The silhouette of a woman who wanted to return to the forest surfaced in my memory. The former Duke built a greenhouse for her, although he knew that such things could not hold the Witch.
“I haven’t decided yet whose hand I will accept.”
Jules narrowed his eyes at Adi’s words. That's it.
“It seems you don’t just want to end the race.
Adi moved her lips.
- What else do you want besides this?
-...Free yourself.
After a short silence, Adi said.
- But you’re already free, aren’t you?
- Adi.
Adrina, who calls her brother Adi.
- Adrian.
And the same name he would undoubtedly use is Adrian.
“Get out of there and find freedom.”
At that moment, Jules realized that something was wrong. But he still could not clearly understand what exactly. Although what was hidden in Adi’s words, like a disturbing fragment, had already declared itself, sparkling in the light.
- I will return my Soul.
Then he did not attach any importance to it.
- I'll help.
What he actually had to endure.
- Return your Soul.
And that he had to win.
“And in return, you will remove the Curse from me.”
That he's dead.
- Isn't it good?