Chapter 83
A lizard no bigger than a finger scurried past. As it crawled across the marble floor, Adi moved their foot to make way. The animals here seemed to guarantee they wouldn’t harm anyone.
Yuls Woodpecker sat at a table in the orangery filled with plants. Three servants stood behind him. The man in the middle, a servant named Dimitri, seemed to hold a position similar to Gavin’s. Curiously, Adi had never seen the head servant. Perhaps he had too many other things to manage.
When Bert yawned beside them, Dimitri shot him a disapproving look. His face clearly said to show proper respect before the Duke.
Yuls sat at the table, reading a letter that Dimitri had opened and handed to him. His red hair stood out like a flower among the green plants, creating an unfamiliar sense of tranquility.
One of the few new things Adi had learned was that Yuls was beloved by nature.
They had thought it coincidence when butterflies circled around him in Palesa, but surprisingly, animals followed Yuls well. When he simply stayed still, paying no attention, small birds and beasts would linger near him.
Today was no different. Adi quietly observed the snow-white bird perched on Yuls’s shoulder and the two kittens at his feet.
Had animals always been so close to him like this before? That sight must have been quite adorable.
“It seems Lady Connolly is planning to make a move.”
Yuls said. One of the servants behind him tensed their expression. Its meaning was hard to discern. Servants were good at hiding their expressions.
“She’s asking if her adopted daughter can stay at the residence in Ionad.”
Saying this, Yuls smiled slightly and set down the letter. His face showed amusement.
“Now that Luigi is dead, is she trying to push this side? Since Claude would be difficult?”
Though demanding, Claude wasn’t actually a bad match. The problem was that the two disliked each other. Yet they had seemed fine once—it wasn’t clear where things had gone wrong.
“It would be better for her to support a princess than reach out to me.”
“Serving Her Highness the Princess would be difficult, and her chances of ascending to the throne are lower.”
“I know. Even without that, there are others. I don’t understand why she’s trying to join hands with me specifically. She must have other thoughts.”
There would always be other thoughts. The key would be whether she moves within predictable bounds. Yuls pulled out a small portrait enclosed with the letter.
“What’s her name?”
The face was familiar but he couldn’t remember exactly who it was. He only knew it was Lintew. Though familiar from seeing her several times…
“Lea Lintew, second daughter of House Lintew, soon to be Lea Connolly. Though royal approval hasn’t come through yet, I heard House Lintew sent House Connolly a deed.”
“What kind of deed?”
“They say they transferred one of House Lintew’s mines. It produces rare metals.”
“…House Lintew transferred a mine? Where is it?”
“In the southwest, Your Grace.”
Yuls frowned. That was Woodpecker territory. Whatever else, transactions within Woodpecker territory were problematic. Of course, it wouldn’t matter between nobles within Woodpecker, but House Connolly was near the royal capital.
“House Connolly doesn’t pay taxes to Woodpecker.”
“No.”
“They must know having Connolly territory within Woodpecker lands would be disadvantageous to us, yet House Lintew thought this would benefit them?”
“House Lintew might have thought there would be no issues given House Connolly’s connection to Woodpecker.”
“That’s their perspective. The documents?”
When Yuls asked, Dimitri handed over recent mine transaction records and reports as if he’d been waiting. Yuls sighed and checked the contents. The mine seemed quite valuable, accounting for a large portion of the taxes paid by Lintew until now. However, from now on, the property tax and mining revenue tax would go to Connolly.
“This is troublesome. We’ll need to get it back.”
“Your Grace, House Connolly won’t like that.”
“Do I need to worry about such things?”
“We might still need Lady Connolly’s power.”
At Dimitri’s words, Yuls smirked. Isn’t it they who need our power, not the other way around? Looking at him as if asking if he was serious, Yuls said “Never mind that” and changed the subject. There was no need to assign tasks to someone who opposed it. There were plenty of others who could do the work anyway.
“Schedule the knighthood ceremony before we leave for Ionad.”
“Your Grace, we depart in two weeks—we can’t schedule a ceremony that quickly.”
“This was originally planned for around this time. Since the decision to go to Ionad was sudden, there should be existing preparations. Moving the schedule up by a week shouldn’t be difficult.”
The Duke wasn’t wrong. Summer knighting ceremonies were one of the major events. It wasn’t something prepared in just a year or two, and moving it up by a few days wouldn’t be a problem. Dimitri’s only complaint was that someone unexpected had been added to it.
Adrina Din. The woman said to be Bert’s niece looked nothing like Bert or his wife, and her skills were suspiciously good.
He had heard enough to know what she was like. Whether Bert had trained her or not, though her movements could be cruel, they said she wielded an impressive sword.
But a woman? For Dimitri, who believed women had women’s work and men had men’s work, Adrina Din was an unthinkable variable.
“Right?”
Moreover, his master seemed to be infatuated with this young woman.
Just why…
Dimitri, who had been overjoyed and moved by Yuls’s return as an adult, felt his stress rising daily due to this unexpected figure by his side. Setting aside the Duke’s fondness, she had received the Din surname, meaning she was originally a commoner. A commoner woman who was good with a sword. Only one thought came to mind.
She must be from mercenary stock.
He’d heard mercenaries were naturally good at fighting. Though Dimitri hadn’t seen Adrina’s swordsmanship himself, he could make some guesses from what he’d heard.
It wasn’t that having such a person around was bad. But having them as a guard was bad. It was a position that required facing and dealing with numerous nobles. No matter how much the Duke liked them…
“Come here, Adrina.”
This woman was a hindrance to the Duke. That was Dimitri’s conclusion.
Adi approached the Duke. Though their distance was too close, no one said anything.
Yuls brushed back Adi’s hair. Thinking he should have the head maid arrange for something to tie back hair in Adrina’s quarters next time, Dimitri checked the time. There were still about five minutes before they needed to move.
“The others’ swords are ready, but yours isn’t prepared yet.”
Yuls said. Swords for knights were prepared at the forge at least a year in advance. Naturally, there wasn’t one for Adrina since she was added suddenly. Adi understood this.
“If you have a preferred sword style, I’ll give you one.”
“…”
At Yuls’s words, the air suddenly felt cold. Offering an unprepared sword meant he would bestow an existing sword. Not just any sword given to ordinary knights, but one made for Woodpecker.
Was this a sword that could be accepted? If they were a vassal here, they wouldn’t like it. Yet it wasn’t a situation where the Duke could be refused either.
“Any would be an honor.”
At Adi’s words, the servants’ gazes sharpened. As Yuls’s hand fell to Adi’s cheek, Dimitri said, “Your Grace.”
“It’s time to move.”
Then a servant approached and seemed to tell Yuls about the next location and schedule. Adi couldn’t hear. Though part of the guard knights’ division, there were limits to what they could know as an unofficial knight. Yuls nodded, then spoke to Adi as he stood.
“Come tonight. Around eight.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Yuls looked down at Adi’s response with satisfaction before turning away. The servants except Dimitri followed behind him. Bert also followed the Duke while gesturing to Adi. It meant to go inside.
Adi and Dimitri remained silent until the servants following the Duke were out of sight. Then he spoke.
“Who knows where you came from.”
He said to Adi. Adi looked up at Dimitri. Though he was in Woodpecker, the man had a northern feel to him. His height, features, hair color, and such. Though they thought he must have his own circumstances…
“Whatever you want, know your place.”
“Dimitri.”
Adi had no intention of being nice to people who disliked them. Looking for a moment at Dimitri, who frowned at being called, Adi smiled brightly.
“I don’t like you either.”
“…”
“I’ll take my leave first.”
Saying this, Adi turned and left the orangery without looking back.
Dimitri watched Adi leave with a dumbfounded expression.
