The barracks of the Second Order of Knighthood were distinguished by their special sunlight. The difference was like heaven and earth compared to the constantly immersed in darkness of the northern outer palace. The room in which Adi lived faced east, so the morning sun immediately flooded it. Here the windows were also north-facing, but the spacious courtyard was well lit.
Satin curtains fluttered through the open windows. Adi was cleaning her sword, looking outside, when she suddenly felt that something had changed and turned her gaze inside the room. While looking for what had changed, Adi noticed a letter on the floor.
Adi stood up, placing her sword on the bed.
The letter, as if someone had slipped it through a crack under the door, bore the family seal imprinted in wax. Adi opened the envelope. The words written in elegant handwriting turned out to be not at all what was needed.
Holding the letter, Adi sat down at the desk, lit the candle that stood on the side, and brought the back of the sheet to the fire. With the paper on the verge of being burned, Adi decided enough was enough and turned the sheet over. The count's order was written down there.
[Confirm receipt of the email. Get close to Julius Woodpecker. Report those who approach him.]
Suddenly? With Woodpecker? Strange content. Adi immediately burned the paper in the flame of a candle.
-...
Looking at the burning leaf, Adi wondered what Spencer Grimaldi was up to. He never revealed his thoughts to others, so Adi could neither understand the true meaning nor even speculate.
* * *At nine in the morning, Adi headed to the reception room where Juls Woodpecker was staying to take over for his shift.
Usually, exhausted from fatigue, Bert, patting himself on the shoulder, would complain that this was a mockery of the old man and that it would be nice if someone stretched his shoulders, but today he stood in full ceremonial uniform.
Today he brought his beard, which he usually shaved roughly, into complete order, and his stooped posture was properly straightened. In this form, he really looked like a knight of the Second Order of Knights of the Palace of Palesa.
Although he was older, his experience compensated for his physical strength, so he could not be underestimated. Having pacified the unexpectedly flared rivalry, Adi approached Bert.
- Isn't it time for you to go to bed?
- I’ll receive the guest and go.
Then, adding: “Today’s guest is capricious,” Bert nodded to the servant standing next to him. This was the same servant who first appeared to Adi. Judging by the dissatisfied expression on Duke Woodpecker's face, the guest was of very high position. Perhaps comparable to the royal family, or maybe even a member of the royal family.
There was tension in the reception area. Adi also stood next to Bert, straightening up. Soon there was a knock. Outside, a servant said, “The Marchioness of Conolly has arrived.”
Marquise. Then it would be really difficult to refuse her.
The door opened and a lady entered. The marquise, who had styled her curly red hair and decorated it with feathers, was dressed a little lighter than the official reception required. Holding a fan in her hands and accompanied by servants with boxes, the Marquise, as soon as she saw Duke Woodpecker, joyfully exclaimed:
- Kat!
...Kat?
The Marchioness of Conolly walked inside, looking around at those present. She noticed Bert and put her hand on his forearm. Saying “My Lord,” the Marquise looked at Adi and unfurled her fan. Covering her nose and mouth, she smiled with her eyes and said, “Looks like there’s a new handsome guy.”
Handsome.
Goosebumps ran across my skin. Frozen in confusion with a petrified face, Adie heard the Marquise giggle and slowly walk towards Duke Woodpecker. The maids slowly followed her.
Adi looked at Bert. The look said: who is this lady who just called me handsome? But Bert couldn't say anything either. He just put on an awkward smile, as if hoping that this situation would end soon.
So this man also has something he doesn’t like. Adi was unpleasant that she was called handsome, but for some reason she took a liking to the marquise because Bert was afraid of her.
- Kat, you are still beautiful.
But still, Kat. Where did the cat suddenly come from?
Duke Woodpecker was called the Duke or Woodpecker King.
Since the royal title could not be applied to him in the Palace of Pales, Woodpecker was simply called Duke. And Bert familiarly called him Jules. Well, the name Julius is long, so that's understandable.
But Kat... Adi tried to remember the Duke's name. Until the second day, she remembered exactly, but now, when a lot of time had passed, she could not remember what the middle name was. Julius Woodpecker. Julius Ka...Woodpecker.
Cassius? Caspar? Or Kaspras?
In any case, if you took "Kat" out of it, it sounded too sweet and devoid of dignity to address the Duke. If we talk only about how suitable it is.
The Duke truly looked elegant and arrogant.
And yet who dared to call the Duke Cat? Even as a marquise...
“Auntie,” said the Duke.
Well, if they are related, then there is nothing to object to, Adi thought.
- Long time no see.
- A whole year, isn't it? You came and didn't even visit me.
“Since you’re in the palace anyway, it won’t be difficult to meet.”
“The Duke is always so busy that even when he is in the palace, it is difficult to meet with you.” So I came myself.
The Marchioness of Conolly said this, standing opposite the Duke. The maid next to her extended her hand. The Marquise took her hand and plopped down, handing the fan to the servant. The maid began to fan the marquise.
- So, have you thought about my proposal? - asked the marquise.
- Well... I can’t give an exact answer yet.
After saying this, Duke Woodpecker glanced at Bert and Adi. Adi didn’t read anything in this look, but Bert seemed to catch the Duke’s intention.
Bert nodded to Adi to follow him and opened the door. Then she realized that they would talk about something they shouldn’t hear. Adi followed Bert. The sounds leaking through the closing door did not reach as they should.
Marchioness of Conolly. Marchioness of Conolly.
Did Count Grimaldi foresee that such a situation would happen?
With a calm face, Adi asked Berta:
- Is this a break?
Bert shrugged.
- How long will you need to be away?
- Well... Judging by previous cases, two hours will be enough.
Adi nodded at Bertha’s words.
“Then I’ll rest and come back.”
Bert looked after Adi. Looking at the figure moving away along the corridor, he noticed servants approaching from afar. Their hands were full of gifts. Among them were real gifts, and those that were wrapped just for show. The latter probably contained documents.
Opening the door for the procession of servants entering, Bert took another look at the corridor where Adi had disappeared, and then entered the living room.
The gifts that the servants brought filled an entire wall of the living room. To tell where this gift came from, who sent that gift and how it was delivered - all this was the duty of the servants.
The Marchioness of Conolly gestured this way and that to her maid fanning her, and raised the cake in front of her. After biting about half of it, she broke it crisply. She indifferently put the rest back on the plate and said:
- Sir Bert Dean, sit down comfortably.
- I feel good here.
Bert did not leave the door.
“Then as you wish.”
Having said this, the Marchioness of Conolly dismissed the servants with a gesture. When all the servants had left, Bert closed the door and stood in the middle. So you can hear if someone else comes up.
The Marchioness of Conolly, glancing at Bert at the door, leaned back on the sofa and said:
- So.
The subsequent words were still the same.
“How long do you intend to continue like this, Duke?”
They had been having this conversation, it seemed, for ten years.
“I understand what you mean, Auntie.”
Jules' answer is also always the same.
“I can understand that until now you have done nothing.” You needed a base. But, Duke, ten whole years have already passed.
What about our promise?
- I intend to fulfill it.
“Duke, you seem to be outside the flow of time, your idea of it seems to be different from mine.”
Time is given to everyone equally fairly. Juls, too, although outwardly remains the same due to the curse, does not cease to feel the passage of years.
“I don’t have much time left, Kat.”
- It’s the same for me, auntie.
On the contrary, precisely because he himself does not grow up, he more objectively senses changes in others.
- Why do you think I come and live in this vile Pales every time? - said Yuls.
It wasn't a question. Just a reminder.
- In any case, our goal is the same, and it is unchangeable, so I don’t understand why there is such haste.
- Duke, do you really fall asleep calmly, looking at how they smile with an innocent face?
He slept well. Because he gets tired. When his head becomes completely disorganized from many thoughts and endless calculations, he, as if wanting to forget about everything, instantly falls asleep.
On the contrary, the very act of falling asleep proved his rest: Jules slept excellently. Unlike the Marchioness of Conolly, who spent the entire day in peace, and when she fell asleep, she trembled, thinking about her past actions and possible future events.
“I want to see them cry, full of despair.”
“So it will be,” said Jules.
- It needs to be done this way.
He wants to see it even more than the Marchioness of Conolly.
- But for me this is not the main thing.
The Marchioness of Conolly pulled her lips apart and pouted. The maid was embarrassed seeing her dissatisfied face.
“Didn’t I speak clearly myself?”
But Yuls was not going to remain silent out of respect for her or the maid.
“Until I get mine back, I won’t be able to act.”