Ch#136
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The shivering gradually faded, replaced by quiet sobs that eventually vanished into the silence. Looking rather self-conscious, Adi pulled back from Yuls and used her sleeve to roughly wipe her face. Redness rimmed her eyes, but other than that, she looked like her normal self again.
“Do you feel better now?”
“…Please forgive my outburst.”
Her voice was perfectly level. He found it painful to realize she hadn’t even learned the proper way to let her emotions out.
Adi looked down, scrubbing at her nose with a sense of lingering shame. To spare her feelings, Yuls pretended not to notice. “Did something happen back there?”
She remained silent. After a brief pause, he tried to bridge the gap.
“It must have been a shock to see your brother after so many years.”
“…Yes, that played a role. But it was more than that.”
Adi’s forehead creased. “It just felt… different…” Her voice trailed off into nothing. Yuls didn’t push, simply giving her the space to find the right words. She went through a cycle of frowning and relaxing, her lips parting as if to speak before closing again, until she finally managed to give voice to her confusion.
“To be honest, I don’t even understand why I was crying.”
The reaction baffled her. She had expected a sense of liberation after speaking her mind. By revealing a secret she knew the Count would despise, she had anticipated a cold sense of triumph at his reaction. She had long since considered him a total stranger, so she believed she was beyond being hurt by him.
“I thought saying those things would bring me peace, but instead, I just started weeping.”
The logic escaped her. She looked at him with an expression of pure bewilderment, unable to reconcile her actions with her intentions.
“Is it because I’m a coward?”
“People are complicated,” Yuls replied gently. “We all possess hidden vulnerabilities alongside our strengths. We just choose which parts to put on display.”
He understood her struggle intimately. He had always loathed how the previous Duke Woodpecker wavered, constantly desperate for approval, yet a part of him still sympathized with the man. Even the Witch, who had treated him with nothing but malice, was someone whose motives he felt he could almost touch. Some bonds were simply too complex to resolve with pure hatred, and it was easy to feel disappointed in oneself for failing to be completely indifferent.
Even the strongest resolve could crumble in an instant.
That was the state Adrina was in. She had spent so long masking her pain, acting as though she were untouched and cold, but it was all likely a shield to keep herself from shattering.
“I actually appreciated that you let me see that side of you,” he added.
The forest represented many things to him: his mother’s memory and the heart of the Woodpecker estate. It was his sanctuary. He had tried to tell himself it was just land, but seeing it ruined had felt like a piece of his own soul was being torn away.
“Trying to be invincible all the time is a heavy burden to carry.”
He knew the exhaustion of maintaining that facade better than anyone. Adrina was no different; she had surely sacrificed a great deal of herself just to keep standing.
“If you ever feel like you can’t hold yourself up…”
Yuls reached out and took hold of her sleeve. Feeling the dampness where her tears had soaked the fabric, Adi quickly jerked her arm away. Yuls let go immediately, wondering if he had overstepped. However, Adi reached out and grasped his hand herself.
“It’s messy,” she whispered.
“…What is?”
“My sleeve is wet.”
“That doesn’t bother me.”
“…Well, I’m embarrassed about it.”
A small smile tugged at Yuls’s lips. She was remarkably blunt. Despite the confusion regarding her own heart, Adrina was almost excessively transparent. As his smile lingered, she looked up at him. “Your Excellency.”
“I’m not certain if I’ve mentioned this to you before, or if I kept it to myself…”
Before she could finish, a sharp knock cut through the air. Yuls instinctively moved back, putting distance between them. He felt a flash of irritation at his own guilt-ridden reaction, but the moment was broken. They both turned toward the door as Dimitri entered.
“Your Excellency, we must begin the preparations.”
“…Understood.”
Yuls kept his gaze on Adi as he answered. He was desperate to know what she had been about to say—some forgotten detail or a confession she wasn’t sure she’d shared.
He wanted to press her, but the look on her face told him the window had closed. The opportunity was gone.
“Are we leaving?” Adi inquired.
“No, there is a formal dinner. We have to dress appropriately to receive the Count. And you, Sir…”
Such an event required extensive planning. Invitations and replies had been traded between the households for days to ensure every guest’s needs were met. The documents sent from Woodpecker had specifically noted Adrina’s requirements.
“You are expected to attend as well.”
Calling them ‘requirements’ was a bit of an exaggeration, since Adrina was easy to please as long as the menu featured meat.
“How do you wish to present yourself?”
Yuls had intended for her to be treated as a guest of the highest honor by his side.
“Will you go as a Knight? Or would you prefer to wear a gown and attend as a noblewoman?”
Given her emotional state earlier, he had his doubts.
“If you would rather skip this entirely, you may.”
He worried that facing the Count again so soon would only cause more pain. Perhaps it was better if she stayed away.
“The choice is yours.”
“In your opinion, what would provoke the Count the most?”
The question caught both Yuls and Dimitri off guard. They hadn’t considered spite as a primary motivator. The idea of choosing her appearance specifically to ruin his night was a novel, if effective, strategy.
“Well…”
It was a line of thinking Yuls rarely explored, given that he usually had the power to do as he pleased regardless of others’ moods. Dimitri looked equally stumped. As Adi prepared to speak again, Yuls had an idea. “Claude might have some insight on that.”
“His Highness…”
She clearly wasn’t thrilled at the prospect, but she couldn’t deny the logic.
*
“What does the Count despise?”
Claude was currently making himself at home in Grimaldi, looking entirely too relaxed. He commented on how much he enjoyed the cool, dry summer air as he reclined on a couch, lazily eating fruit. He seemed to relish the lack of oversight here, a far cry from the stifling atmosphere of the court in Ionad.
In the capital, his every misdeed eventually found its way back to the King. Here, there was no one to report his behavior.
When Adi and Yuls arrived, Claude—still sprawled out in luxury—mused that while being born into this family would be a nightmare, visiting was much better than the royal palace. Yuls ignored the chatter and got straight to the point, asking for the best way to get under the Count’s skin.
“What he hates, you say?”
Claude actually took a moment to consider it.
“The list of things that man hates is quite long.”
The Count lived with a quiet, pervasive disdain for the world, acting as though nothing brought him joy. It made one wonder if he was hiding a secret ambition or if he was simply empty. He was a man of predictable patterns but unpredictable depths. However, one thing stood out.
“He hates what he cannot dictate.”
This was common knowledge. They had come looking for specific examples of what the Count found uncontrollable. It was unclear if Claude was being dense or if he was intentionally being vague.
“He is your father, yet I seem to understand his temperament better than you do,” Claude teased.
“You grew up together,” Adi countered. “It’s only natural you would know him better.”
She realized he was playing games.
“If that’s the case,” Claude began, “it would be far more effective if you went as a Lady.”
“I’ll be going as a Knight,” Adi interrupted before he could finish. She found herself wanting to do the exact opposite of whatever he advised. Claude blinked in surprise, his mouth hanging open. “Wait, I was going to—” He tried to push his suggestion again, but she cut him off firmly.
“I can manage this on my own, Your Highness. I appreciate the thought.”
It wasn’t a thought he’d actually had, but he was effectively silenced.
The audacity of her.
However, Claude noticed the calm expression on Yuls’s face and decided it wasn’t worth the fight. He needed to keep his cousin’s favor for more important matters, so he let the slight go.
“I’ll let you have your way this time,” Claude remarked. Right then, a knock signaled the arrival of a servant. The man looked surprised to see the Prince and the Duke together, but he quickly regained his professional mask.
“The tables are set, sirs. I am here to lead you to the hall.”