Chapter 31
The Woodpecker King has gone mad.
Such rumors didn’t spread. They couldn’t spread. All the servants present were loyal to the Duke.
Adi couldn’t spread such rumors either. Adi had no friends. Still, they wished everyone would recognize that the king had gone mad. But…
“Remember the daughter of House Lintew?”
“Lintew…”
“The one interested in His Grace the Duke. Apparently, she’s completely smitten after seeing his changed appearance.”
She had acted friendly before too. Not just because of his looks, but likely because of his status.
“I heard their guards keep asking if there’s any way to arrange ‘accidental’ encounters.”
“You’re friendly with their guards?”
“We’re in the same knight order.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“Well, of course you wouldn’t.”
“Even in the same knight order, not everyone is close.”
“…That’s just you.”
Was that an insult? Though it contained no explicit curse words, it certainly didn’t sound like a compliment.
“What’s wrong? Your face is completely white.”
“I’m naturally pale.”
Grimaldi is a place where sunlight rarely reaches. Though southern Dalkatir has endless plains beneath oak forests, except for the central basin and western sea, the east and north are filled with mountains and forests.
“You’re paler than usual, that’s why I’m asking.”
Despite being from the north, how does he never tan? Must be tough for him too, Roy thought. Looking at him now, no, he’d noticed before too—Adi was rather delicate and fair, really giving off a feminine impression. Not even carrying that typical male roughness.
In truth, Roy had no intention of evaluating Adi’s appearance. Looks meant nothing—even in the Third Knights, nobody would have cared about the looks of Palesa’s mad dog. They would just avoid, ignore, or pick fights with him.
“…Am I…”
Adi began. As Roy wondered what they were about to say,
“Am I pretty?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
Roy couldn’t help but react this way.
“…”
He hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but it just burst out. Seeing Adi’s dejected look, Roy carefully asked.
“Do you want to be called pretty?”
“No.”
“Right?”
Being called pretty was the last thing they wanted. Strong, handsome—those would be different. Roy shuddered. Scratching his neck as goosebumps rose, he asked why Adi would say such things, and after some hesitation, Adi spoke.
“How much do you know about His Grace?”
“Not much, really.”
Julius Caspras Woodpecker, age 26.
His duchy encompasses all the southern territory including the oak forests, to the point where some call it a principality.
With the famous city of Epéché where the ducal family resides as its center, there are other renowned cities like Ilot, Ruzgoz, Guillieri, and the free city of Grail which has treaties with nine countries. A place overflowing with glory and wealth, ruled by the boy king.
“I’ll get to know him better from now on.”
Just the divisions under his command number in the tens of thousands in each city, with the most famous being the special unit directly under the Duke, commonly known as the ‘Night Watchers.’ They got their name from primarily moving through the forests at night, and they’re said to be Woodpecker’s most powerful military group, answering only to the Duke.
Roy’s ultimate goal was to join those Night Watchers.
“Why, are you interested in the Duke too?”
Roy asked. Adi started to deny it but stopped. A man was approaching from across the corridor. Though it wasn’t strange to encounter others in this commonly used corridor, this man’s position made him impossible to ignore. Adi and Roy stood waiting until he passed, saluting as he drew near.
“Sir Roy Gaillard, Sir Adrian Grimaldi.”
The man, Kenneth Marx, called to them.
“You seem to have become close.”
His tone was flat. Typical Palesan accent. Both Palesa and Ionad have almost no inflection. Perhaps because it’s considered refined, this way of speaking became fashionable among nobles. Thus, most nobles now speak this way, but…
“Adrian.”
Marx.
“Yes, Sir.”
Not an old family name, but one granted to him. He must have received his title upon becoming a knight.
“You haven’t collected your letters for several days. Get them from the administrative office.”
“…Understood.”
After saying this, Marx looked them up and down before continuing on his way. Adi, who had expected to hear something else, watched Marx’s retreating figure with confusion and asked.
“Does the Commander care about mere letters?”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never received any.”
“You’ve never received letters?”
“No. My family is all dead.”
While everyone has their own circumstances, such an abrupt revelation was startling. Roy smiled at the taken-aback Adi and asked, “Who do you think did it?”
“Whoever did it must be on bad terms with His Grace the Duke, judging by how you ended up here.”
Quick to grasp the situation. But something feels off, like there’s no one providing information. Well, how much could one learn this way?
“You’re right. They’re enemies. The Knight Commander is part of that too. So maybe you’ll become enemies with all of us—me, His Grace, and Bert.”
“…”
So even if Adi were interested in House Woodpecker, it probably wouldn’t work out. Grimaldi is a royalist. Not simply because of the king, but because they and certain others put their prince on that throne.
“Is His Grace perhaps…”
Honestly, having a fox like Grimaldi on their side wouldn’t be bad, but the Count wouldn’t reverse his choice. So Roy couldn’t be friends with Adi Grimaldi—
“Interested in men?”
Couldn’t…
Roy lost his words. His thoughts stopped. Unable to process what he’d just heard, he stood still. Soon Adi’s words registered in his mind and repeated several times.
Interested in men?
Interested in…
Men…
There could only be one reason for such a question. Roy quickly reached a conclusion.
“Don’t tell me you like men?”
“…”
Adi didn’t answer. No, liking men is, well, that’s fine. But wasn’t the Duke about twelve years old until recently? No, though his age was older, still his appearance, his appearance!
“It’s not pedophilia, is it? If it is, I’ll cut you down right here.”
“Don’t say such disgusting things.”
Adi said seriously. Roy felt relieved. As long as they weren’t a pedophile.
“There’s no indication His Grace has such preferences. Besides… he was a child until recently. Don’t tell me you’re into his grown-up form or something? Ah, I have no prejudice about such things, but…”
After all, in knight orders and battlefields where only men gather, such relationships are inseparable. Roy, remembering his cute squire days, had always faced such threats. All those from the Second Knights must have.
To protect himself, he had to run harder than others, train later than others, and be sensitive about his sleeping arrangements. He could easily notice when someone approached. You could say he’d been trained for it since his squire days. Thanks to that, Roy had managed to protect his chastity. This part was indeed about presence.
“If you touch my behind, I’ll kill—”
“I have no interest in your behind.”
Adi cut off Roy’s words seriously. While Roy felt relieved, he paradoxically thought it made no sense that someone wouldn’t be interested in a handsome man like himself.
* * *
Roy headed to the training grounds, while Adi went to the administrative office. They wondered how many letters could have accumulated for Kenneth Marx to mention it.
While there were certainly more letters than what usually came from the Count’s estate, it wasn’t enough to warrant the Commander’s personal intervention. At most five letters—two from mother, three from father.
Adi returned home with the letters. Bert was nowhere to be seen, presumably spending the whole day with the Duke.
Entering their room, Adi opened the letters. Those from mother always contained similar content. They were filled with longing for Adrian. Asking if that place was alright, telling them to dress warmly because it’s cold.
Though summer was approaching, she seemed still trapped in winter. And she seemed unable to distinguish who had actually died.
Putting those aside, Adi looked at the ones from the Count. Opening the one with the most recent delivery date, Adi smirked at the single sentence it contained.
[Heard the news. Well done.]
He must have heard about saving the Duke.
But from whom? The Duke’s side had kept it secret. Did they know because the assassin never returned?
There was no need to mention being poisoned. That would only invite comments about weakness.
Adi set that letter aside and opened another.
Strictly speaking, it was from the estate’s head servant, not the Count.
[The Count plans to visit Palesa for the festival. We will contact you once accommodations are arranged.]
“Festival.”
Right, the May Festival is held in Palesa every year. It’s an ancient tradition. Even the king and princes return to Palesa then. And the Count as well.
“He’s coming to Palesa.”
