Chapter 37
It felt like showing something that shouldn’t have been seen. Or perhaps more accurately, being “caught.” A strange queasiness stirred inside. Joel’s comfort, or pity, didn’t reach them at all. Had they reported to the Duke?
Of course they had.
Checking the time, it was past midnight. Time for work. Joel opened the bedroom door and stood in front. As if only Adi was permitted to enter. Adi stepped inside. Under the dim light, the Duke was looking at documents.
“Your Grace.”
Yuls looked up. Their eyes met.
“I heard you called for me.”
“Yes.”
He lowered his head again, looking at the papers. What was he always reading?
“It’s time to work.”
Adi said nothing. They merely stood by the door. When no response came, Yuls raised his head again. Then he smirked.
“I expected you weren’t on good terms with the Count, but it seems worse than I thought?”
So they had been listening. Perhaps he had called them not because it was work time, but to help them escape that situation.
…Was that really it?
Having recently experienced so much kindness, Adi found themselves laughing at their own assumption that he would be considerate of them.
“You look pale.”
At Yuls’s words, Adi raised their hand to their face, then quickly lowered it. Watching this strange behavior, Yuls suddenly said:
“The hair. Keep it.”
When Adi looked at him with an uncomprehending expression, he continued.
“Don’t cut it.”
“…Do you prefer long hair?”
Adi’s gaze moved to Yuls’s red hair. It had grown long with his sudden growth. Unlike what they had expected, Yuls had kept his hair long. Though he tied it back as if it was cumbersome, the red suited the Duke well.
“I haven’t really thought about it particularly.”
What did it matter if someone’s hair was long or short?
But Adrian Grimaldi’s hair seemed better long.
It would be a shame to cut such honey-colored hair.
“Come here.”
Adi approached the bed. Yuls reached out. His hand, from the middle of the large bed, couldn’t reach Adi no matter how far he stretched. Yuls’s hand beckoned. At his look that seemed to ask why they weren’t coming closer, Adi clenched and unclenched their fist.
“Adrian.”
Adi placed their knee on the edge of the bed. As they put their palm on the bed, Yuls pulled them closer. Then he placed his hand on Adi’s cheek.
At first it was near their ear, then his hand moved to the back of their head. His large hand explored their entire scalp. Then he placed his hand on the crown and stroked their hair. No one had ever touched their hair like this.
“Your head shape is pretty, so short would suit you too.”
“…”
“Are you going to cut it?”
“If it’s an order…”
“My order? Or your Count’s order?”
Adi couldn’t answer. Whose orders should they follow here? Seeing Adi hesitate to answer, Yuls smiled wryly.
Yuls’s hand fell away. Adi, who had been awkwardly perched on the bed, quickly stood up. Yuls picked up his papers again with an unbothered expression. Though there were creases where Adi’s knees had touched, he didn’t seem to mind. Yuls spoke:
“I noticed Lev Jid among the knights and servants the Count brought.”
“Yes.”
“I heard he was your only friend.”
“…That was when we were children. Well, since Lev’s mother was the head maid…”
“House Jid holds a baronetcy, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The Count seems to favor him quite a bit. Enough to make him his guard.”
The Count had once been the Crown Prince’s guard. He wouldn’t need separate protection. Even with age, his skills wouldn’t have diminished.
“He’s the most skilled in Grimaldi territory.”
“I see.”
As Adi answered, Yuls watched them quietly, then narrowed his eyes as if displeased about something and suddenly extended his hand.
“Kiss it.”
“We already did that this morning.”
“The sun has set. It’s a new day now.”
How long would they have to keep doing this?
The Duke of Woodpecker, who watches and demands kisses. The Duke of Woodpecker, who’s on bad terms with Grimaldi. But there are many differences between north and south. How did they become enemies?
And why would the Duke force kisses from an enemy’s child, all for this curse?
“Adrian.”
At Yuls’s call, Adi put their knee on the bed again and took the Duke’s extended long hand. But just as they were about to press their lips to it, the Duke pulled them in. He was stronger than expected. The Duke, who had pulled Adi down and climbed on top, pressed their lips together.
Adi didn’t know how to react. They just blinked blankly at the soft lips pressing against theirs. The Duke’s long eyelashes came into view. His eyelashes and eyebrows were red too.
Yuls opened his eyes and raised himself up. Adi was still pinned beneath him. Their lips moved as if wanting to say something, but nothing came out. Yuls wiped Adi’s lips with his thumb.
“Usually curses break with a kiss on the lips.”
Saying this while stroking his smooth chin, Yuls muttered quietly, “I suppose it didn’t work.”
“Witches…”
“…”
“Isn’t it romantic? A curse that breaks with a kiss.”
“Your Grace’s curse hasn’t broken.”
“I know.”
If any time had passed, at least some stubble would have grown. His nails remained short too. By now it seemed like it might have been a lie, but Yuls had definitely experienced a moment when the curse had disappeared.
What could be wrong?
Was it the lack of love? Or because there were no tears?
It couldn’t be simply about bodily fluids touching. If that were the case, saliva would have caused a reaction.
What should they do about this curse? No matter how much they thought about it, no answer emerged. Seeking an unsolvable answer would only waste time.
Yuls raised himself and said, “How long are you going to stay like that?” Adi quickly got up and climbed off the bed.
“By the way, what did you talk about with Claude?”
“I don’t know anyone called Claude.”
“Gavin said he saw you with Claude?”
“Pardon?”
Gavin? When, where… The question was quickly answered. There had been a man with him when Gavin came to find Adi at the training grounds.
“Ah, at the training grounds…”
“Yes. What did you talk about?”
“He said he was looking for someone, but I told him I don’t know anyone in the Second Knights.”
“…You don’t know who Claude is?”
“Is he someone important?”
Though they knew about not recognizing faces, he hadn’t expected them not to even recognize the name.
“Important indeed. He’s the Crown Prince.”
To Adi, who seemed frozen in thought, Yuls continued:
“The one who granted you your knighthood.”
The title that Count Grimaldi had brought and passed to the deceased Adrian.
“The person Claude is looking for must be you.”
The Crown Prince of Dalkatir. That person? Watching Adi fail to maintain their composure, Yuls narrowed his eyes. He always made that expression when something made him suspicious or displeased.
“Well, leaving Claude aside, what did you talk about with the Count?”
“Nothing in particular.”
Hadn’t he heard everything anyway? But how they had heard was questionable. The frame that wouldn’t open, inside the painting? It was a landscape with many dark areas. They could probably make holes to look or listen through. Had someone hidden there?
“Adi.”
Then what the Duke was asking about must be Spencer Grimaldi’s whispered words. About there being many listening ears. Really useless, meaningless words. Even if they told the truth, Yuls wouldn’t believe it.
“I won’t say anything about you hiding what you know, but if I get caught up in this awkward situation and hear words like treason, I won’t stay quiet.”
“Pardon?”
“No, the same goes for you. If you’re caught up in something like that and it interferes with breaking my curse, I won’t let it slide.”
Treason? Spencer Grimaldi?
“Remember this, Adrian Grimaldi.”
Yuls’s gaze fell heavily. His red eyes, the same color as his hair, felt like flames. It felt as if they could burn away all outer veils and read what lay beneath.
“…On my soul.”
Adi said.
“I will ensure nothing interferes with Your Grace.”
“Swear on your twin’s soul.”
Adi silently looked at Yuls.
“Adrina Grimaldi’s soul.”
“That soul has already left this world.”
“I know.”
What good would swearing on a dead soul do? As Adi thought this, they suddenly realized the soul he spoke of was their own.
“Yes, I swear on Adrina’s soul.”
Whichever soul they swore on, it was their own anyway.
Adi answered. At those words, Yuls narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“It would have been better if that one had lived.”
Adi’s gaze fixed on Yuls’s face. For a moment, Yuls’s expression showed he realized his slip, but it quickly changed to one of resignation.
—
