Adi looked at Yuls. His face was unusually serious. In any case, there are variables that can cause things to go wrong, but judging by his expression, this was not just a run-of-the-mill complication.
-What problem are you talking about?
- They say you killed Luigi.
“……Excuse me, may I know who this Luigi is?”
She couldn't help but know who she killed. Adi knew for sure that she had not killed anyone, since she had been here all this time.
— Marquis Luigi Frankopan, Third Heir to the Throne.
Yuls said this, brushing his hair from his forehead.
— If we are talking about the Marquise Frankopan...
Adi showed with all her appearance that she needed more information. Jules continued:
- He is the son of the previous king who died early. He was given the title of Marquis as a child and is immediately behind the Crown Prince and Princess in line to the throne. Besides, he is my cousin. As a teenager he lived in Jonad, but after the current king ascended the throne, he wanders around different countries. He himself claims that this is because of the threat of assassination, so he returns at most once or twice a year.
Luigi didn't plan to come here this time. But it seems that he fled the capital of Thuringia due to the fact that the situation there had worsened. If so, why didn’t he go to Jonad, but came specifically to Palesa?
However, from Thuringian Konya it is easier to get to Palesa than to Ionad. Apparently, it was a matter of the sea route. Given the festival, he probably intended to stay in Pales before traveling to Jonad. It was a wrong choice.
- Luigi was accompanied by a knight from Ionad, and it is rumored that this knight is quite close to Lef Zid.
Now the mood among the Jonadian knights was not the best. The aftermath of the fight between Roy Gallardo and Lef Zied on the first day of the festival was still being felt.
While the knights and pages from Palesa behaved confidently and established connections with the aristocracy, those from Jonad were losing influence. Moreover, they were on foreign soil and lacked strength. They must have needed something that would turn things around.
Nevertheless, it is unlikely that the Palais knights could seriously plan to kill the marquis, who had the right to the throne. No matter how much they were at odds, both sides belonged to the knighthood of Dalcatir.
“I heard that Zid was also nearby at the time of Luigi’s death. Looking after the fleeing mercenary, he shouted your name.
Someone is behind all this.
- Adrian Grimaldi, you are a criminal.
That's what Julius said. Adi looked at him silently.
“At least that’s what they will think in Pales.”
Having Adrian's name called out so loudly was tantamount to making an official statement. Here he is - the killer. And what’s more, it was not some hostile family, but the house of Grimaldi itself that declared the count’s son guilty.
Strange thing. Lef Zid and Adi Grimaldi are foster brothers, and not only does he not protect him, but, on the contrary, makes him out to be a criminal? A situation that defies logic.
“There are many who don’t think so.” Those who know that you weren't there. There are plenty of eyes and ears here, right?
“But it will be more convenient for everyone if I become a criminal, so they will prefer to remain silent.”
Adrian Grimaldi is the scapegoat. And the one who planned all this...
- Exactly.
- …I understand.
There's a good chance it's Spencer Grimaldi.
- And what did you understand?
“Your Grace, you can leave me.”
“Aren’t you thinking about taking advantage of your wish?”
Julius asked. Adi thought about this herself. He promised to fulfill any wish, and in the current situation only Duke Woodpecker can save her.
— When else to use a wish, if not now?
But Adi didn’t believe it. She did not believe the words that he would fulfill “any” Desire. People always change their decisions. Will the Duke fulfill this Desire, even if it promises him losses?
Adi moved her lips. Whatever happened, she needed to survive. She was ready to fall at his feet, kiss them and beg for salvation. Perhaps then he would save her life. At that moment, when this thought flashed through her head, Juls approached and lifted her chin.
Their lips met in an instant. It didn't feel like a kiss, but more like she was being devoured. Flesh cut unceremoniously into flesh, penetrating inside.
Adi didn’t even have time to close her eyes; She looked at him with half-open eyes, but shuddered and tried to move away when Yuls opened his eyelids and met her gaze. However, she could not escape - his hand tightly, but without causing pain, squeezed her hair.
The kiss lasted longer than she expected. Adi, who did not know how to breathe and was suffocating from lack of air, pushed the Duke on the shoulders. Only then did Jules pull away and, with a straight face, wipe the saliva from her lips with his thumb.
- Well, now you have one more Wish.
-......
What is he thinking about? Only one thing was clear in his actions: he was interested in her. Perhaps it was about lifting the curse, but behind this there was an interest that went beyond it. Was this a fallacy or the truth?
- Say it. Ask to be saved.
- Please save me.
- Safe and sound, so that not a single hair falls.
—……Safe and unharmed, completely safe.
- So be it.
Jules smiled with satisfaction.
- However, the method will be somewhat different than you think.
His wide palm rested on Adi’s head. Jules stroked her rather gently and tucked a stray strand behind her ear. While Adi, unable to utter a word, just blinked her eyes, Juls turned around.
As soon as he opened the door, a servant appeared waiting outside. Behind him stood Bert and Roy Gagliardo. Juls asked:
-Where's Billy?
- I'll check it right away.
“Tell him to come here as soon as possible: we need to get women’s clothes.”
- I'm sorry?
- Women's clothing. Dress, Corset and Wig too.
Having said this, Yuls turned his head and looked at Adi. Most northerners had blond hair, but Adi's hair was an unusually pale golden hue. Many people liked this hair color, but it was too conspicuous.
- Golden... perhaps not. Something ordinary is better. For example, a brown wig.
A golden wig would be easier to find than a brown one. However, if an order is received, it must be obtained at any cost. That's just what the Duke demanded...
- Your Grace, is what you are planning...
- They are looking for a man in Pales. Not a woman.
This was true, but no matter how fragile and pretty he seemed, the man remained a man. Moreover, not a boy whose gender could be confused, but an adult youth.
“We won’t get caught,” Julius snapped.
In the imagination it might sound complicated, but as soon as you dress it up, everything will surely change. "It's going to be damn hard." Everyone thought the same thing.
- Roy, help Joel bring Billy.
- Yes, Your Grace.
- Bert, Gavin.
- Yes, Your Grace.
“Tell Ivan to prepare the corpse of a blond man about Adrian’s height.”
It is unknown what the count will do, but this case of regicide will not end so easily. Certain sacrifices should have already been made. It doesn't matter whether Adrian Grimaldi is guilty or not.
The king also won’t believe that Adi Grimaldi did this. However, if the Count admits this fact and apologizes at the cost of the death of his own son, the matter may end well. After all, Luigi initially posed a threat not only to Claude, but also to the current king.
Therefore, the Count has most likely already found someone to replace Adi. But the one the Count found will be a man, while Adi is a woman. Since the Count's goal will be to take Adi alive, he needs to find a person similar to her and dress her in her clothes. If the hair color matches, the rest can be adjusted.
- Hair is slightly curly. The length should be the same or slightly longer. So that they can be trimmed.
Gavin and Bert nodded at Jules's words at the same time. Juls looked at them for a moment, and then said in a low voice:
- A woman.
So quietly that Adi wouldn’t hear.
-...Sorry?
- Prepare the woman.
Gavin and Bert fell silent. It was still possible to come to terms with other demands, but the last one was strange. Prepare a woman, why...
Bert's gaze darted to Adi. She was sitting in the corner of the bedroom and was hard to see. Then Bert turned his gaze back to the Duke and, as if an incredible insight had struck him, frowned.
Really... no. Is this really true?
Has the Count really gone that far?
Bert and Gavin looked at each other. They both seemed to be thinking the same thing.
- Yes, Your Grace.
The Duke's words meant that Adi Grimaldi was a woman.
But how is this possible? This would be impossible unless the gender is concealed from birth. And then one name came to mind.
Adrina Grimaldi.
It turns out that it wasn’t a girl who died a few years ago.
- So it was the son.