Chapter 114
The banquet had only been underway for two hours.
A sense of alarm had gripped Ivan, leading him to report that Adi had vanished rather than simply stepped out. The reason was clear: he could no longer sense her presence nearby. A similar incident had occurred at Pallesa Palace, which Ivan had dismissed as a fluke until Spencer Grimaldi used that window of time to entrap her.
The current setting was far more treacherous. Ionad was unfamiliar territory for Adi, making her vulnerability even greater than before.
“Pardon the interruption,” Yuls announced, his voice cutting through the atmosphere. He refused to let the situation stagnate. “I must insist that we conclude this dinner immediately.”
Rapid action was essential, regardless of the facts. A cold weight of anxiety settled in his chest. If the Count had successfully abducted Adrina, Yuls was prepared to do whatever was necessary to reclaim her before she was lost to the Grimaldi lands forever.
“I ask that you all depart now. A matter of extreme urgency requires my attention.”
Though Yuls maintained a polite curve to his lips, the raw aggression shimmering in his gaze was impossible to ignore. None of the gathered aristocrats dared to probe the source of the Duke’s sudden wrath. They knew better than to linger and risk his permanent enmity. With hurried, silent nods to one another, the guests prepared to leave.
“You shall all receive invitations to a future engagement to make up for this,” Yuls added.
“We understand, Your Grace. We shall await your word,” Macauliffe replied, acting as the group’s spokesperson. As the nobles stood, Yuls watched the Escort Knight Division fall into step behind their respective masters. A heavy, oppressive quiet took hold of the Dining Hall.
The remaining staff stayed silent, nervously monitoring the Duke’s volatile temperament. Despite his attempts at composure, his fury radiated through the room. Yuls stared at the abandoned feast while rubbing his jaw, then finally stood.
“Move out.”
The head chamberlain and the knights snapped to attention, prepared to follow his lead instantly.
“Adrina’s quarters first,” Yuls commanded, his tone dropping to a dangerous register.
A crowd had gathered at the gates of the Crown Prince’s Palace, including several individuals who clearly served the King rather than Claude.
The King’s decree of house arrest was specific to the Crown Prince; it didn’t legally bar the Count or his staff from moving about. However, the badge around Adrina’s neck was a glaring liability. The Woodpecker insignia was unmistakable.
As Adi stepped out from the palace, she felt their eyes boring into her. She knew her presence would be reported immediately.
She maintained a mask of indifference as she walked. Let them puzzle over her later; they would eventually realize a person who never officially entered had just departed. Even if they challenged her now, their orders were to block entry, not to detain those leaving.
Adi navigated toward Yuls’s temporary residence. The Ionad court felt eerily hushed. Having grown accustomed to the midnight energy of Pallesa Palace, she found this stillness unsettling.
The landscape was entirely different—manicured, labyrinthine gardens and rigid, straight boulevards that spoke of Ionad’s superior wealth.
The overpowering aroma of the Rose Garden signaled her approach long before she saw it. To Adi, the lush blooms and thick, sugary scent felt suffocating and alien. She cast a look of distaste at the flowers as she hurried past. However, as the Duke’s residence came into view, the silence vanished. The area was a hive of frantic activity, illuminated by the orange glow of many torches.
Had there been an intrusion?
That was her immediate fear. The Duke’s quarters were usually the quietest spot in the palace; such a commotion suggested a crisis. Adi broke into a trot. She remembered how easily the Count’s spy had slipped through their defenses once before.
In such a secluded location, an attack would leave them isolated from reinforcements. Her trot turned into a full sprint. The moment she burst into the clearing, every head turned her way.
The initial tension in the crowd snapped. When they recognized Adrina, a collective wave of profound relief—bordering on desperation—swept through the guards.
“Adi!” Joel cried out, rushing toward her. His shout acted as a signal, silencing the frantic whispers of the other servants.
“Where have you been?” Joel asked, struggling to catch his breath. He looked like a man who had been searching for hours, yet Adi found it hard to believe she was the cause of such panic.
“Someone sent for me, so I—”
Joel stared at her, finding her excuse flimsy at best. “You don’t know anyone in this city, Sir…”
He caught himself. Officially, she was a Grimaldi, now using the name Dean. Reconnecting with her past acquaintances was a recipe for disaster and suspicion. He suspected she hadn’t considered the political fallout, but more importantly, there was nowhere safe for her to go alone. Still, his heart slowed its frantic beating. She was back. Now, he just had to face the Duke.
“So, your travels led you to the palace,” a freezing voice stated from the shadows. Adi and Joel turned as one. Yuls stood in the torchlight, his features looking as though they were carved from ice.
“Who summoned you to that place?”
His eyes were far from cold; they burned with a predatory intensity.
“It was Count Grimaldi,” Adi answered.
“And you were at the Crown Prince’s Palace?”
“Yes.”
“I assume your meeting with the Count was productive?”
“It was interrupted,” she explained. “Prince Claude arrived.”
“You encountered Claude as well?”
“How?”
“He simply appeared while I was with the Count.”
The idea of the Prince ‘appearing’ in his own home was logical, yet the implication weighed heavily on the air.
Yuls tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white, then forced himself to let go. Adrina was incapable of deception; if she couldn’t speak of something, she would simply refuse. Her safe return meant she hadn’t been harmed, but the stress was taking its toll.
A heavy sigh escaped him—a mix of irritation and profound relief. He couldn’t hold her responsible for his own internal turmoil, even if his emotions were currently fraying. He should never have let her out of his sight.
“We are going inside,” Yuls said, pivoting on his heel. The knights and the chamberlain followed in his wake, with Adi trailing behind. At the doorway, Yuls paused and looked over his shoulder.
“Sir Adrina Dean.”
Adi stiffened under his gaze.
“With me.”
She noted that she had been ordered to follow people quite a bit that day. She expected him to lead her to a formal drawing room or his private study.
Instead, the Duke marched directly to Adi’s own room. She was surprised he even knew where she slept, given her quarters were separated from the male knights. Yuls entered without hesitation and took a seat on the small sofa, his expression dark.
“Your Grace,” she began. He had been rigid with tension since she arrived. She knew she was the source of his mood. “Are you upset?”
“Even a knight as oblivious as you can tell I’m furious?”
Adi gave a small nod. His anger was impossible to miss, though the specific nuances of it escaped her.
“You went to Claude’s home because the Count called,” he summarized.
“Is this about me leaving without notice?” she asked.
“That palace isn’t a place one just walks into.”
“I used the hidden tunnel,” she admitted.
“You what?”
Yuls’s voice snapped like a whip. Adi held her ground, sensing that retracting the statement would only escalate his temper.
“…”
Yuls’s brow furrowed as he processed this. Adi watched the flicker of emotions across his face, trying to read his thoughts. Finally, he spoke.
“You understand that knowledge of those passages is restricted, don’t you?” He leaned forward. “Only the royal bloodline, their most trusted allies, or those as close as a spouse are ever told of them.”
“The Count said my Grimaldi blood made it acceptable.”
“You belong to Woodpecker now.”
“I know that.”
His features softened slightly at her words. It was the confirmation he needed.
“Come here,” he ordered. Adi moved into his space. When he offered his hand, she assumed it was a gesture for a formal kiss of loyalty. She took his hand and pressed her lips to his skin. Yuls gave a short, dry laugh before his face turned grim again. That wasn’t what he wanted.
Adi released him. Yuls kept his hand raised, reaching out to stroke her cheek. Her skin felt cool against his palm. He traced a line down to her throat, his fingers catching on the silk of her cravat.
He unfastened the cameo brooch with a clinical slowness. It hit the floor with a soft thud. He then gripped the fabric of her necktie, pulling it free. He brought the silk to his nose and took a deep breath.
“You smell of Claude.”
He opened his fingers, letting the cloth fall.
The cravat drifted through the air until it settled on the floor.
