Chapter 50
The servants in the reception room were familiar. They were faces from the Count’s household, after all. But they had ignored Adrina’s existence, and when she took Adrian’s name, they showed their disgust. Though their faces now showed nothing after time had passed, they were still uncomfortable—just as Adi knew.
The Count arrived shortly after. Handing his wet outer coat to a servant and receiving fresh clothes, he sat on the sofa. Adi, who had remained standing until then, sat across from him at his gesture.
“Adrian.”
“Yes, Father.”
“When the festival ends, you’ll return to the estate with me.”
“Pardon?”
“Your role is finished.”
“…”
Role? Has there been such a thing? During their time in the Third Brigade, Adi had only engaged in street fights. In the Second Brigade, they had only prevented one assassination attempt on the Duke.
“I haven’t done anything here.”
“No, you’ve complicated things. You’ve attached Roy Gaillard to the Duke.”
“…”
“Plans have changed.”
“Is it because I introduced Roy to Duke Woodpecker?”
For a moment, interest flickered across Spencer Grimaldi’s face.
“If not that, have you found another way to bridge your rift with the King?”
“Another way, you say.”
“The Crown Prince won’t satisfy you, will he?”
“You make quite interesting guesses for someone with no information. Wrong, though.”
“…”
“When you were born—”
Spencer said. As he had never spoken of the past before, Adi wore an indescribable expression. Wasn’t their existence taboo?
“I wished that if they had to be twins, they could have both been boys. Then I could have chosen the more capable one.”
“…”
“I might have chosen you then.”
If they had been male, if they had been born male. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t had such thoughts.
“The other one was too weak-hearted. So if only it had been you, if you had been male.”
They hadn’t expected Spencer Grimaldi to have the same thoughts. Whatever the case, Adrian would be sad to know this. In a way, perhaps Adrian hadn’t been fully loved either. So in his place at least—
“It seems Adrian Grimaldi should enter the grave as well.”
…at least they would live well in his place. That’s what they had thought, but Spencer Grimaldi’s thoughts seemed different.
“Do you wish for my death?”
“What I need is a future seed to continue the Grimaldi line, not someone who causes discord or blocks my path.”
Spencer’s gaze moved to Adrian’s face.
“A proper one.”
His gaze slowly moved downward before rising again.
“A child with my blood flowing through them.”
His gaze, resting on the curly blonde hair, trembled briefly. Perhaps because they hadn’t heeded the order to cut it.
“You understand what I mean?”
When they return to the family—
“Lev says there’s no need for an engagement ceremony. We won’t announce it publicly either.”
Adrian would die too.
“To outsiders, we’ll say we adopted a distant relative’s child.”
And their life would drift like a ghost.
“If…”
Adi asked.
“If there had been no Crown Prince, how did you plan to use me?”
“…”
“You must have made plans for when His Highness hadn’t invited you to Palesa.”
“Yes, then…”
Spencer smirked and said,
“I thought installing a new king might be good.”
The current king, and the Crown Prince. Woodpecker. Others with succession rights.
“Making a king isn’t difficult. Someone more legitimate, more obedient.”
Spencer likely emphasized obedience over legitimacy. Though uncertain if the Crown Prince would be obedient, Woodpecker didn’t seem likely to be either. Then the question remained: why had the Count ordered Woodpecker’s protection?
What was his purpose, who was he trying to use?
Thunder rumbled again outside. Lightning flashed through the window. For a moment, they saw the Count smile. As if seeing through their thoughts.
Adi finally changed their thinking. There was no time to consider such things, the Count’s intentions or the future.
“I see.”
Though their initial goal had been to betray the Count, if that was impossible, they needed to survive first. Yes, they needed to escape. There would be opportunities.
The Count would dislike not having them, not being able to control them even more.
“If those are your orders.”
In this situation, if someone could help them…
“And it would be best to burn that outfit once the job is done.”
The Crown Prince, or Duke Woodpecker.
❖ ❖ ❖
The distance from the Count’s quarters to the Duke’s reception room wasn’t far. On the return journey, they pondered how to overcome this situation. The Duke had promised to grant one wish. So if they broke the curse, would that solve everything? Could they escape from Grimaldi then?
Servants about to greet Adi flinched and stopped at their stern expression as they walked in.
They knew Adi had gone to where the Count was staying and wondered if something had happened. Though it wasn’t quite business hours yet, Adi headed for the reception room where the Duke was. Bert, coming out just then, asked, “You’re back already?” Adi nodded.
“Is His Grace the Duke inside?”
“He is. Why? Something to say?”
“Yes. Are there any other visitors…”
“He’s alone. You can go in.”
At Bert’s words, Adi nodded. Then, after knocking, they quickly entered and shut the door. Bert looked at the closed door wonderingly before turning away.
Yuls was somewhat flustered. It was a brief rest period after finishing his schedule. There were no expected visitors, and it was time when even the attendants could rest. Bert had gone to do as ordered, so who would enter like that—it was Adi Grimaldi.
There was still plenty of time before work would begin. Yuls was about to ask why they had come. More precisely, he only got out “Wh—” before stopping.
Adi approached and grabbed Yuls’s cravat, pulling him up. It happened in an instant. After meeting the Count, had he ordered their death?
Though much smaller in build, they felt threatening. The body, with its changed eye level, still felt awkward and bumped into things when moving, making it seem difficult to stop Adi in this state.
His thoughts stopped there. Adi’s lips pressed against his.
What could Adrian Grimaldi be thinking?
After kissing several times, Adi exhaled and pulled away. Yuls looked down at them with an uncomprehending expression. Adi reached up to stroke his cheek. There was no rough feeling of beard. He hadn’t grown.
“I’d like to understand what this situation is, Adrian Grimaldi.”
“How did you manage to grow, Your Grace?”
“What do you mean?”
“I must break the curse.”
“Indeed you must. Though neither of us knows exactly how, it’s something only you can do.”
“…”
“But you didn’t believe.”
“Now that I’ve seen with my own eyes, I believe.”
That day, Adi had seen it. The sleeping Duke changing little by little. The growth didn’t feel like magic. Unlike humans who change very carefully and slowly, imperceptibly day by day, his flow of change was visible to the eye. Without any light or magical traces, it seemed as if only his time was slowly moving forward.
“I need the curse broken, but why are you trying to break it?”
“Because Your Grace promised to grant a wish.”
“Breaking the curse for a wish? What wish could be worth that?”
“I’m trying to save a life.”
“Who’s trying to kill you?”
“Yes.”
“Who would dare?”
“Count Grimaldi.”
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
Surely he wouldn’t go that far.
“When the festival ends, I will die.”
But the following words were so specific that Yuls narrowed his eyes. Had they found some other bloodline somewhere?
“Very well.”
Though to say that—Adrian Grimaldi was quite a valuable talent. Worth keeping alive rather than killing.
“It would be troublesome if you died before breaking the curse.”
At the Duke’s words, Adi realized their mistake again. This was the second time. Was it because they didn’t know this world well?
Like the Count, the Duke had no intention of helping them kindly. Because conditions aligned, he spoke of wishes and such, intending only to use them.
So if they broke the curse, if they broke it before being dragged back to Grimaldi—
“Good.”
An unfavorable situation would come for Adi.
“How can I help?”
Because if they died, there would be no need to grant the wish.
The Duke might want Adrian to quickly break the curse and die. Adi stepped back one step.
Foolish Adrina Grimaldi.
“What’s wrong?”
They couldn’t rely on the Duke alone.
