She woke up later than usual. The Duke, apparently, did not intend to wait long and demanded a quick answer. She agreed, but now doubted whether she had done the right thing.
All night she tossed and turned, thinking. If there had been another choice or method, she would have considered it, but right now there was no other option in sight. Since she said she would do this, then she had to be with them.
Around nine in the morning Adi left the room. Roy seemed to have gone to work, and Bert was in the living room reading the newspaper.
Seeing Adi coming out, Bert asked:
—Are you awake?
Adi nodded. Bert folded the newspaper he was reading, put it on the table and, crossing his legs, looked at Adi.
- Yes, I heard about it from Your Lordship.
Last night, only after Adi had agreed, half of her own free will, half of coercion, had the Duke smiled with satisfaction. He was a person whom you seemed to understand, but you didn’t.
- So will you come with us?
- It looks like it will be so.
- It's clear.
This was beyond Bert's expectations. Jules Woodpecker, it seemed, was indeed going to take Adrian from Grimaldi. Judging by the actions of the count, Adi might have already become disgusted with this, but for the duke to take her to his domain... Even if this is the person he serves, the duke was truly extraordinary.
One way or another, now they were in the same boat, which meant there was nothing more to hide.
“Come on, I’ll officially introduce you,” Bert said, getting up.
Why another official presentation? Adi, puzzled, followed Bert.
Bert led her inside the mansion, to a place Adi had never been before.
The premises for pages were arranged no worse than the barracks for knights. Where the pages lived, there was also a road for the servants. People walked by in thin shirts and pants, and not in formal clothes; Apparently, these were servants assigned specifically to the noble pages, and they bowed as they passed by.
Bert knocked and opened the door. Pages, like knights, had their own common living room. There were three pages inside. Adi had already seen the faces of all three before.
“Sir,” one of them said.
“Oh, thank you all for your efforts,” Bert responded.
He motioned for Adi to come in. When she crossed the threshold, Bert put his hand on her shoulder.
- So, this is Adrian Grimaldi. It seems he will be with us.
-Have you finally made a decision? - Joel exclaimed, looking at Bert with joy.
Hearing that she could now speak calmly and openly, Adi pretended that she did not understand what she was talking about. The faces were all familiar to her, and even before their conversations did not seem forced to her at all.
Bert grabbed Adi's shoulder tighter, turned her around and introduced her to each of those present in turn.
- This is Gavin. In the past he was a knight-page from Palesa, and now serves as a valet. His skills are not inferior to mine. Therefore, even if your retinue does not accompany you, with Gavin alone you are in no danger.
-...
“We are finally in the same boat, my lord.”
Gavin said. Being a native of the Palesian pages, he was one way or another Adi's senior comrade. Seeing Adi standing stiffly, Gavin patted her on the head soothingly, saying that everything was fine, and, saying that he needed to go away on business, he left.
- And this is Joel. As you already know, he is a healer and magician. Also has administrative magic to work with contracts. Have you ever encountered him?
It happened just yesterday. She already knew that he was both a healer-mage and a master of administrative magic, but like this, with the official introduction, he seemed an even more impressive figure.
Usually magicians were limited to their narrow specialization. And in this case they were valued much more.
Both areas of magic in which Joel specialized were held in high esteem. Mages of administrative magic were indispensable at the royal court, in noble houses and courts. The same applied to magic healers. The very fact that the ducal house employed such a person as a simple servant eloquently testified to the status of this family.
- And this is Ivan. You probably haven't seen him much. He's a former assassin.
- Former... murderer, then?
She was definitely told that he had many brothers, which made him weak in front of women. A killer who is weak in front of women? This sounded like a complete contradiction.
- I'm from the East. That side is finished.
Ivan extended his hand, inviting him to shake it. This is not the custom of Dalcatir; This is how it is done in the neighboring Empire.
However, judging by his Eastern origin, he could have come not from the Empire, but from even more distant lands. It could not be ruled out that he really was a former murderer. They said that such people are able to so skillfully disguise their past, culture and place of birth that it is impossible to understand where they come from and what world they belong to. Former killer...
- Although it is not striking, it is Ivan who carries out most of the secret affairs.
In that case, perhaps everything Adi did was stupid. It is likely that the Duke did not need her help at all.
- And also, let me think... Where is Billy?
— He is together with Your Grace.
Billy was the servant Adi saw most often after Joel. She was already beginning to wonder what kind of servant this was, when Bert suddenly spoke:
— Billy is an ordinary servant. He is an expert at dressing up anyone.
-...
- They say that he is learning tailoring lately.
It seemed that of all the Duke's servants who arrived with him in Palesa, only Billy was a real servant.
- And finally, our Adi Grimaldi.
Bert introduced Adi. It seemed pointless to introduce it to those who already knew everything.
“You know: a native of the House of Grimaldi, who received a knighthood from the Crown Prince, served as a knight in the Palais.” Special Feature: Supposedly associated with Your Lordship's curse. Looks like he'll be coming back to Woodpecker with us.
— Will there be any objections from Grimaldi? - Ivan asked.
- Hardly.
“As long as it doesn’t get Woodpecker in trouble, I don’t care.”
In the gaze of Ivan, who uttered these words, there was a feeling of detachment. Adi also felt this distance in relation to Ivan. Former killer. This thought couldn't get out of her head.
“Ivan, you shouldn’t be so wary,” Bert said, giving Ivan a friendly push in the side.
- I know. It's just nonsense.
Having said this, Ivan looked down at Adi and said casually:
- Let's get along.
-......Please.
* * *Billy poured tea into a cup. Roy was standing nearby. Jules, who had been reading the report, looked up at Gavin's words. His own life was predictable, but once variables intervened in the form of other people, it was unknown how everything would turn out. This is exactly what was happening now.
— Is Luigi coming?
“Yes, they say that four days ago he set off in a hurry by sea.”
Luigi Frankopan. While still the King's Grandson, he received the title of Marquis; by all rights he should have become the legitimate crown prince, but after the current king ascended the throne, he retained only the title of marquis, not prince.
There was still a place for him in the palace of Jonad, and he was a member of the royal family who could come to Palesa without conditions, but after ten years he mostly wandered in foreign lands. Although his mansion was built in Tuberose, it was known that he had now been living in Thuringia for several years.
— He asks for a meeting tomorrow, since his arrival is expected tonight.
“I thought he was living safely in Konya.”
— A major incident recently occurred in the capital of Thuringia. It is believed that this was a magical terrorist attack.
“I thought something like this would happen, but the timing is too suspicious for a mere coincidence.”
Jules spoke. Gavin was thinking the same thing. Initially, the fact that he remained for several years in Thuringia, which was spoken of as a dangerous place to travel and live, was strange, but the fact that a magical terrorist attack occurred right now and he was returning to his homeland raised questions.
“Now it must be the height of the festivities in Thuringia too.”
- Yes, that’s why there are rumors that they will be disrupted. For now, one can only guess what the local royal court will do, but Marquis Frankopan, apparently, has already chosen the path of returning to Dalcatir.
“But why is he going to Palesa and not to Jonad?”
“Apparently, the sea route to Jonad would have taken longer.” In addition, at this time of year, many noble nobles come to Palesa.
“Does he really intend to take this opportunity to gain someone’s support?”
Jules snorted.
“He is also a representative of royal blood, so he has a more than weighty excuse to set foot on the soil of the old capital; and everything is in order with his legitimacy, so his plan is not hopeless.
Gavin nodded in response to Jules' words. Luigi's true intentions were still unclear. If he were now within Dalcatir or maintained close ties with the local nobility, there would be many ways to shed light on his plans, but Luigi was never able to ingratiate himself with the Dalcatir aristocrats.
Or rather, I couldn’t.
“My aunt must be delighted.”
Luigi's very presence was extremely disadvantageous to the current king and Claude.
“Claude definitely won’t like this.”
They did not want anyone to approach Luigi, and he found himself isolated at the royal court. Only one person was still supporting him.
This personne was the Marchioness of Conolly. Unlike Jules, Luigi remained her only true blood relative. Although he was further away from her than Juls in terms of kinship, she sought to return her nephew - the son of her cousin - to the throne in order to restore its former glory.
She acted on many fronts, but so far not a single soul had taken the side of Marchioness Conolly and Luigi.
Of course, Jules could take on this role, but there was one condition.
His Curse.
“I thought you were having a great time relaxing carefree in Thuringia, but apparently things aren’t going well there either?”
— Details remain to be determined.
— What is already known about the general situation?