Chapter 100
==================================================
The scale of Ionad Palace far surpassed that of Pallesa. While Pallesa was a patchwork of historical expansions—its walls and architecture shifting styles to mark the transition from the old exterior to the inner sanctum—Ionad was a triumph of singular design. It had been erected within a single era, possessing a seamless aesthetic that was both massive and opulent. Throughout the grounds, pocket gardens broke up the stone expanse, creating a layout that encouraged the free movement of aristocrats, bureaucrats, and the military alike.
Lev navigated the corridors with the confidence of someone who knew the layout by heart. They passed through a section teeming with soldiers in uniform, suggesting the Knights Order’s headquarters was nearby. Several men began to offer Lev a casual greeting, but their words died in their throats when they spotted Adi trailing him. Their expressions shifted, eyes gleaming with a greasy, suggestive curiosity. Adi’s features twisted in immediate loathing. Noticing her sharp reaction, the men quickly looked away and moved on. Having spent her own time within a military order, Adi didn’t need to hear their whispers to know the filth they were likely trading. She knew all too well how men in large groups could devolve into something far less than human.
Their walk ended at a stone courtyard nestled in the center of a lush garden. Summer roses in shades of deep pink were at their peak, filling the air with a heavy, floral perfume. Though the vibrant colors and rich scent shared nothing with the snowy white blooms of Grimaldi, the sight of them brought her home territory to mind with startling clarity. She had no preference for where this confrontation took place, yet she found it ironic that they had ended up in a setting like this.
The brilliance of the sky and the lushness of the greenery were breathtaking, but the presence of such a repulsive companion drained all the beauty from the view.
“Adrina.”
“I told you not to use that name. It makes my skin crawl.”
“Then what would you prefer?”
“I have a rank. You can call me Dame.”
Adi used the formal address for Lev Zid as well, making the emotional gap between them a physical wall. Lev’s brow furrowed, his irritation palpable.
“State your business.”
“My business is that you’ve taken a new name.”
“Get to the point, Lev.”
“Do you honestly believe a change of name is enough to sever your ties to the Grimaldi line?”
“Lev.”
She cut him off mid-sentence. He fell silent, his jaw tightening as he watched her exhale a long, weary breath. He had always been like this—circling the issue, never striking directly. He’d done it in Pallesa and during their time in the North. Perhaps it was simply his nature. After the silence stretched thin, Adi spoke again.
“What are you actually trying to say to me?”
“Adrian is in a grave,” Lev hissed, his voice cracking under the weight of his resentment. “And the thought of you finding happiness is unbearable.”
His face was a mask of raw, ugly emotion. Adi didn’t doubt his sincerity for a second. She was acutely aware of the depth of his devotion to her brother.
“I can’t stand that you’re living your own life, using your own name. I hate that you can still smile.”
She was equally aware of how much he loathed her existence.
“If you felt that way,” she replied, a sudden wave of betrayal crashing over her, “you should never have shouted his name that day.”
“What?”
“The day the royal family member was killed.”
A flicker of shock crossed Lev’s features, the look of a man whose secret had been dragged into the light.
“If Adrian meant that much to you, and if you hate me this much for surviving, you never should have called for him then. You shouldn’t have used his name.”
The memory brought a burning sense of degradation to her chest.
“Why did you drag his reputation through the dirt like that?”
The flight from the capital, the ruined honor, that frantic moment where her only goal was self-preservation—it felt like a second execution for the dead. It was a source of profound shame, but she wasn’t the only one responsible. Lev Zid and Spencer Grimaldi had been right there with her, pulling the strings.
“Tell me why.”
“…”
“I was told Adrian’s head was put on display on the walls of Pallesa.”
In the chaos of her escape, she hadn’t been able to look back. It was only after reaching the safety of Woodpecker territory that the news reached her, nearly shattering her spirit. She felt a pang of guilt even now; how could she claim to suffer when he had lost everything?
“That head belonged to someone else. It wasn’t Adrian’s, and it wasn’t mine.”
The trophy on the battlements had been a lie.
“But to the rest of the world, that was Adrian.”
A stranger had been butchered just to destroy a dead boy’s legacy.
“His honor.”
Adrina knew she was an accomplice.
“That child’s entire life.”
But she refused to be the only one blamed.
“Do you really think I’m the only person who destroyed him?”
She hadn’t carried out those sins in a vacuum.
“Why did you participate in it?”
Lev’s face turned stony at the accusation. He had spent so long pointing the finger at her, acting as though his own hands were clean.
“Why did you just discard him like that?”
The blood drained from his face until his skin was deathly pale. It was as if the world around him had lost its vibrancy, leaving him in a cold, white void. Had he truly managed to hide the weight of his own choices from himself until now? Adi didn’t care. She wasn’t going to grant him the mercy of silence.
“Why did you do it, Lev?”
Ignorance was no excuse; it was a sin of its own.
“Was it simply because Spencer told you to?”
“How dare you use His Excellency’s name so—”
“I don’t give a damn, you pathetic bastard,” Adi barked. Even now, Lev’s first instinct was to defend Spencer Grimaldi over the memory of Adrian. A dark realization took root in her mind: perhaps Lev had never truly loved the son. Maybe his devotion had always belonged to the father. If he had actually cared for Adrian, he never would have allowed that desecration to happen.
Lev fell silent. Perhaps he was finally seeing the hypocrisy in his own heart. To Adi, every twitch of his face and every movement he made was sickening.
“The Count has no more children. This doesn’t involve you anymore.”
She turned to walk away, but Lev’s hand shot out, clamping around her wrist. His grip was bone-crushing, his hand shaking with suppressed rage.
“Doesn’t involve me?”
Adi looked down at where he held her. His knuckles were white with the force of his hold, and she felt as if her arm might snap under the pressure.
“There is a price to be paid,” he growled.
“Whether there is or not, you aren’t the one who gets to collect it,” Adi snapped back, wrenching her arm from his grasp with a violent jerk.
“You aren’t a member of the Grimaldi family, after all.”
The white marks left by his fingers slowly began to redden.
“It doesn’t matter that your mother was the head maid, or that you grew up in the manor, or how close you think you are to the family. You will never be one of us.”
The statement was a simple fact, yet it seemed to strike Lev with the force of a physical blow. He looked stunned, as if the idea that he was an outsider had never once occurred to him.
“Remember your place.”
Adi shifted her gaze downward. Lev’s eyes followed hers instinctively. He knew exactly what she was thinking of. During his clash with Roy Gallardo, he had taken a blow that should have been devastating.
“And besides,” she added, “your blood will never be part of the Grimaldi legacy.”
“You can’t know that for certain.”
“Oh, I am absolutely sure.”
Lev was baffled by her confidence. He had taken a hit, yes, but a healer had checked him and found no permanent harm. He had been cautious ever since, wearing protection during every bout.
“The Grimaldi line ends here,” Adi stated. The sheer finality in her voice left him reeling.
Why was she so convinced? Even without him, the Count would find a way to continue the name. She could hide and change her identity, but the blood remained. Why did she sound so certain?
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because—”
Adi stopped herself before the words could escape.
After Adrian’s death, Spencer had commanded her to train as a knight, and Lev had been the one to enforce that order. Adrina had never been athletic; she had lived a sedentary life. After her first day of running and sword drills, she had been unable to even stand. But Lev had been relentless. After months of that brutal regime, her body had changed. Her strength grew, but her cycle had vanished.
At first, it was just irregular, but eventually, it stopped entirely. She didn’t know if it was the physical trauma of the training or the weight of the family curse, but the result was the same.
“I won’t tell you why.”
The son was dead, and the daughter was barren.
“It’s the only leverage I have left.”
The lineage was broken. She was the final branch.
This was the reason she could never return. If Spencer Grimaldi learned the truth, she would lose her value. If she could have bought her freedom by producing an heir, she would have done so years ago. But she knew she lacked the heart for it. She saw her mother in herself—a woman who was affectionate only when it suited her, who abandoned her children to servants the moment she felt overwhelmed.
She didn’t trust herself. She was terrified of what she might become.
It wasn’t just the physical inability; she had no desire to bring a life into the world. She saw Spencer’s cruelty in her own reflection and feared Yvette’s coldness would manifest if she ever became a mother. She just wanted to be gone.
Whether she ended up a loving parent or a monster didn’t matter. The mere thought of that future was a nightmare. In a way, her condition was a blessing.
To be the one to finally end the Grimaldi name.
To have that power.
Could something so perfect really be called a curse?
If this was the price of the family sins, it was the most beautiful thing she had ever known.
Adi began to laugh. Across from her, Lev’s expression turned to stone.
A new voice cut through the air from behind them. Adi turned to see Dimitri approaching. Dressed in a sharp, black formal uniform that stood out against the colorful roses, he fixed Lev with a look of pure, unadulterated coldness.
