Chapter 66
They woke up later than usual. The Duke seemingly had no intention of waiting long, as he pressed for a quick answer. Though they had agreed, Adi wondered if it was the right decision.
They had tossed and turned all night with thoughts. They might have considered other choices or methods if any existed, but for now, no other path was visible. Since they had already agreed, joining them was the right choice.
Around 9 AM, Adi left their room. Roy had apparently gone to work, and Bert was reading a newspaper in the lounge.
Seeing Adi emerge, Bert asked, “Awake?” Adi nodded. Bert folded the newspaper he was reading, placed it on the table, crossed his legs, and looked at Adi.
“Well, I heard from His Grace.”
Last night, after Adi had agreed, half willingly and half under pressure, the Duke had smiled with satisfaction. He was someone who seemed both knowable and unknowable at the same time.
“That you’ll be coming with us?”
“It seems that way.”
“I see.”
It was outside Bert’s expectations. Yuls Woodpecker really did intend to take Adrian away from Grimaldi. Though it was understandable given the Count’s actions might have disgusted Adi, bringing them to his own territory was something else. Though he was the person Bert served, the Duke was quite remarkable.
In any case, now that they were in the same boat, there was no need for reserve.
“Follow me, I’ll introduce you properly.”
Bert stood up as he spoke. Were there more formal introductions to be made? Adi wondered as they followed Bert.
The place Bert led them to was within the residence. However, it was somewhere Adi had never been before.
The servants’ quarters were as well-appointed as the knights’ quarters. The servants’ area included passages for attendants. Perhaps there were separate attendants assigned to serve the noble servants, as people wearing light chemises and trousers rather than formal attire passed by and greeted them.
Bert knocked and opened a door. Like the knights’ lounge, the servants also had such a space. Inside were three servants. All were faces Adi had seen before.
“My lord.”
“Ah, everyone’s working hard.”
Bert spoke and gestured for Adi to enter. As Adi stepped inside, Bert placed a hand on their shoulder.
“This is Adrian Grimaldi. It seems they’ll be joining us.”
“Finally decided, have you?”
Joel brightened at Bert’s words. Adi looked confused at the mention of being able to speak comfortably now. They were all already familiar faces, and it didn’t seem like they had been speaking particularly formally before.
Bert kept his hand on Adi’s shoulder and turned them around to introduce each person.
“This is Gavin, formerly a knight from Palesa’s pages, now working as a servant. His skills are as good as mine. That’s why there’s no problem with just Gavin around, even without the knights’ escort.”
“…”
“Finally in the same boat, my lord.”
Gavin said. As a former Palesa page, he was in any case Adi’s senior. Seeing Adi stiffen formally, Gavin patted their head as if to say it was fine, then left saying he had work to do.
“And Joel, as you know, he’s a healing mage. He can also perform administrative magic for contracts. You’ve experienced it?”
Just yesterday, in fact. Though they knew he was both a healing mage and administrative mage, receiving such a formal introduction made it seem even more impressive.
Usually, mages specialized in just one field. That tended to earn them better treatment.
Both types of magic Joel practiced were highly regarded. Administrative mages were essential hires for the royal family, noble houses, and courts. The same was true for healing mages. The fact that such a person served as a mere servant spoke to the Duke’s status.
“This is Ivan, you probably haven’t seen him much. Former assassin.”
“Former… assassin?”
They had certainly heard he was weak to women due to having many brothers. An assassin who was weak to women seemed contradictory.
“From the East. I’ve cut ties with that side.”
Ivan spoke and extended his hand. He was requesting a handshake. Not in the Dalkatir style. It was more commonly used in the neighboring empire.
But given his eastern origin, he might have come from even further away than the empire. The possibility that he was a genuine Assassin couldn’t be ruled out. They were said to fabricate their origins and culture so thoroughly that no one could tell where they belonged or came from. A former assassin…
“Though it’s not apparent on the surface, Ivan handles most of our covert operations.”
If that was the case, perhaps what Adi had done was foolish. Maybe the Duke hadn’t needed their help at all.
“And, let’s see… Where’s Billy?”
“With His Grace.”
Billy was the servant Adi saw most often after Joel. Just as they were wondering what kind of servant he was, Bert said,
“Billy is an ordinary servant. He’s good at dressing people.”
“…”
“I hear he’s learning tailoring these days.”
He seemed to be the only true servant among those who came to Palesa with the Duke.
“Finally, our Adi Grimaldi.”
Bert introduced Adi. It seemed unnecessary to introduce them to people who already knew them.
“As you know, from Grimaldi, received knighthood from the Crown Prince and served as a knight in Palesa. Notable point is the suspected connection to His Grace’s curse. Likely returning to Woodpecker with us.”
“Will there be no opposition from House Grimaldi?”
Ivan asked.
“There probably will be.”
“As long as it doesn’t harm Woodpecker, it doesn’t matter.”
There was a sense of distance in Ivan’s gaze as he spoke. Adi felt the same distance from Ivan. Former assassin. The thought wouldn’t leave their mind.
“Ivan, don’t be so wary,” Bert said, giving Ivan a light punch.
“I know. It’s nothing major.”
Ivan looked down at Adi and said casually,
“Let’s get along.”
“…I look forward to working with you.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Billy poured tea into the cups. Roy stood not far away. Yuls, who had been reading reports, raised his head at Gavin’s words. While his own life was predictable, when the variable of others entered, the flow became uncertain. This was such a moment.
“Luigi is coming?”
“Yes, he reportedly set sail hastily four days ago.”
Luigi Francovan. He had received the title of Marquis while Crown Prince, and though he would have been the legitimate Crown Prince originally, after the current king ascended the throne, he retained only his title of Marquis rather than becoming Crown Prince.
Though Luigi still had quarters in the Ionad Palace and could come to Palesa unconditionally as a royal, he had spent most of his time after his teens wandering other countries. He had built a mansion in Tubrosa, but was currently known to be staying in Türingen for several years.
“He requested a meeting tomorrow, expecting to arrive tonight.”
“I thought he was doing well in Konya.”
“There was a major incident in the capital of Türingen recently. It’s suspected to be magical terrorism.”
“I thought something like this might happen, but the timing is too suspicious to be a coincidence.”
Yuls said. Gavin thought similarly. It was strange enough that he had stayed in Türingen for years despite warnings about the dangers of travel and residence there, but now a magical terror incident occurred and he returned home at this particular time.
“Türingen should be in its festival period now too.”
“Yes, there’s talk they might cancel it. We’ll have to see what their royal family decides, but His Grace Francovan seems to have chosen to return to Dalkatir for now.”
“But why come to Palesa instead of going to Ionad?”
“It’s presumed to be because the sea route here is faster. Besides, many nobles gather in Palesa this time of year.”
“Perhaps he’s trying to use this opportunity to make allies?”
Yuls showed a slight smile.
“As a royal, he has sufficient reason to set foot in the old capital, and with his legitimacy, it’s not a bad move.”
Gavin nodded at Yuls’s words. Luigi’s exact intentions were still unclear. If he were in Dalkatir or communicating with the nobles here, there would be various ways to investigate, but Luigi hadn’t built many relationships with Dalkatir’s nobility.
More precisely, he hadn’t been able to.
“My aunt will be pleased.”
After all, Luigi’s existence was unfavorable to the current king and Claude.
“Claude will hate it.”
They didn’t want anyone attaching themselves to Luigi, and Luigi became isolated from the royal family. There was only one person who still took his side.
Lady Connolly. Unlike with Yuls, Luigi was Lady Connolly’s only remaining true blood relation. Though more distant than Yuls in terms of family ties, she wanted to restore Luigi, her cousin’s son, to his former glory.
Though she was moving in various ways to achieve this, there was still no one supporting Lady Connolly and Luigi.
Of course, Yuls could play that role, but there was a condition.
His curse.
“More than that, I thought he was living peacefully in Türingen, but it seems the situation isn’t good there either?”
“We’ll need to confirm the details.”
“What’s the general situation you’ve gathered?”
