Chapter 101
The Ionad Palace was more spacious than Palesa. While Palesa had been expanded from its original structure, resulting in varying wall designs and a clear boundary between outer and inner courts, Ionad’s palace maintained more consistency, having been built in a single period. The vast palace was grand and ornate, with small gardens scattered throughout. It seemed designed to allow free passage not only for nobles but also for court administrators and knights.
Lev moved naturally through the Ionad palace. There were many people in knight’s attire in this area. Perhaps the knights’ quarters were nearby. Some tried to greet him but hesitated upon seeing Adi behind him. There was lewdness in their eyes. Adi’s face twisted into a scowl, causing them to avert their gaze and move along. Having lived as a knight, Adi could easily guess what they might be saying behind their backs. Men in groups sometimes become more base than beasts.
They arrived at a courtyard in the middle of a garden. Summer roses bloomed profusely in pink, their fragrance wafting upward. Though different in both scent and color from the pure white roses at Grimaldi, they strangely reminded Adi of that place. It didn’t matter where they talked, but why did it have to be in such a setting?
Though the clear sky and green garden were undeniably beautiful, the company made it impossible to enjoy.
“Adrina.”
“Don’t call me that, it’s disgusting.”
“What else should I call you then?”
“There’s the title ‘Lord.'”
Adi said “Lord Lev Jid,” while maintaining distance. Lev frowned, clearly displeased about something.
“What do you want to say?”
“You changed your name.”
“What you really want to say.”
“Do you think that will help you escape from Grimaldi?”
“Lev.”
Adi spoke. Lev was about to continue but closed his mouth upon seeing Adi sigh. Lev kept beating around the bush. He had done the same in Palesa, and in Grimaldi too. Perhaps he had always been this way. After a moment of silence, Adi asked.
“What is it you really want to say?”
“…Adrian is dead, but you refuse to be happy.”
Lev said, his voice and expression distorted. This was likely his true feeling. Adrina knew well how much Lev had loved Adrian.
“I hate that you’re living somewhere else under your own name, that you’re smiling.”
And how much he hated Adrina.
“Then you shouldn’t have called Adi’s name back then either.”
That’s why the betrayal stung.
“What?”
“That day when the royal died.”
At Adi’s words, Lev’s face showed sudden realization.
“Back then, you shouldn’t have said Adrian. If you loved Adrian so much that even seeing me live like this displeases you.”
Adi felt deeply ashamed of that situation.
“Why did you call Adrian’s name then and tarnish that honor?”
The shame of having to leave that way, the tarnished honor, that moment of choosing to survive alone. The act of killing the dead once more.
Though deeply ashamed, Adrina hadn’t acted alone. Lev Jid and Spencer Grimaldi were just as culpable.
“Why?”
“…”
“I heard Adrian’s head was mounted on Palesa’s walls.”
At the time, escape had been the only priority. After arriving at the Woodpecker estate and hearing about it, it felt like everything would collapse. But Adrian, dare I say I suffered more than you?
“It must have been someone else’s head, neither Adrian’s nor mine.”
The head on the wall.
“But people will believe it was Adrian.”
An innocent person sacrificed to tarnish that honor.
“Adrian’s honor.”
Adrina had contributed to that too.
“That child’s life.”
But was it really just Adrina alone?
“Do you think I alone destroyed everything?”
These weren’t actions taken alone.
“Why did you participate?”
At Adi’s question, Lev’s expression hardened. Lev always blamed Adrina. Pretending he alone was innocent and pure.
“Why did you leave Adrian in that state?”
At Adi’s question, Lev’s face turned deathly pale. It was as if all color had been drained from that spot alone, leaving it uniquely pallid.
Had he not known what his actions meant? Even if so, Adi didn’t think that should be taken into consideration.
“Why did you do it, Lev?”
Because ignorance too can be a sin.
“Was it because Spencer ordered you?”
“Don’t speak His Excellency’s name like—”
“What do I care, you fucking bastard.”
Adi said. Even at this moment, Lev mentioned Spencer Grimaldi rather than Adrian. Adi wondered if perhaps what Lev had loved wasn’t Adrian at all, but Spencer. If he had truly loved Adrian, he couldn’t have done what he did.
Lev fell silent. Had he finally noticed his own contradiction?
“…”
Even so, his expression and actions appeared utterly detestable to Adi.
“The Count’s children are all dead now, so it has nothing to do with you anymore.”
As Adi said this and turned to leave, Lev grabbed their wrist. His grip trembled with force.
“Nothing to do with it?”
Adi looked down at the wrist. Lev’s fingers had turned white, and it felt like the bones might crush under his grip.
“You must pay the price.”
“Whether I pay any price or not, you have no say in it.”
Adi answered, yanking their hand away.
“You’re not a Grimaldi.”
The skin that had been white from his fingers turned red.
“Just because your mother was the Countess’s maid, just because you were born and raised in the mansion, just because you’re close to the Grimaldis doesn’t mean you can become one.”
Though it was such an obvious statement, Lev looked shocked, as if he had never considered being excluded from the Grimaldi life.
“Know your place.”
Then adding “And,” Adi lowered their gaze. Lev’s eyes followed Adi’s downward. Lev immediately understood what Adi was about to say. That day, he had suffered a humiliating defeat in his duel with Roy Gaillard.
“Even if that weren’t the case, your blood will never mix with the Grimaldis.”
“You never know.”
“No, I’m certain.”
Could she really be more certain than him? True, he had been caught off guard then, but the healing mage had assured him afterward that there were no lasting problems. Just in case, he now wears protection during training and duels.
“The Grimaldi line is finished.”
Adi said. Lev felt puzzled by their confident tone.
Why?
Even if not him, Count Grimaldi must have other candidates in mind. No matter how she changed her name or where she went, she couldn’t escape. So why?
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because.”
Adi opened their mouth, then closed it.
Shortly after Adrian’s death, Spencer Grimaldi had ordered her to be made into a knight, and Lev had trained Adrina according to the Count’s orders.
Adrina had never done any physical activity beyond walking. The day after first running and holding a sword, she could barely get up. But Lev showed no mercy. After more than three months of such training, while her stamina improved, her menstruation stopped.
At first, it had been sporadic over several months, but eventually, it stopped completely. Whether this was due to the training or that curse, she wasn’t sure.
“I can’t tell you that.”
The Grimaldi son died young, and the daughter became infertile.
“It’s one of the cards I hold.”
The bloodline was cut off. She was the last Grimaldi.
That’s why Adi couldn’t be dragged back there even more so. If Spencer Grimaldi found out, her usefulness would end. If she could have escaped by just bearing one child, she would have done so long ago.
Adrina knew she lacked maternal instinct. Perhaps, like her mother, she might come to love a male child. But could that really be called maternal love? Being kind and smiling only when it suited her, then pawning the child off to maids and servants while shutting herself away in her room?
She had no confidence. Rather, it frightened her.
Not only could she not have children, but she never wanted to have them for life. Just as she saw Spencer Grimaldi’s revolting traits in herself, she feared seeing Yvette Grimaldi’s revolting aspects emerge in her future self, making her want to run away.
Whether she came to love the child or not. Just imagining that unknown moment was horrifying. So this was actually for the better.
To be able to end the Grimaldi bloodline.
To be granted such an opportunity.
Could this really be called a curse?
If this was indeed caused by the curse, could anything be more perfect?
Adrina smiled. In contrast, Lev’s expression grew increasingly rigid.
“Adrina.”
Just then, another voice called from behind. When Adrina turned, Dimitri was standing there. In the bright rose garden, Dimitri in his pitch-black formal uniform stared at Lev with a sharp expression.
Lilina
Dimitri 🥹🥹 I haven’t loved you more than I did now
Save our lady from that creep