Ch#143
The ducal residence was a hive of frantic activity as the staff prepared for their departure. Amidst the chaos, the gift intended for the Countess sat untouched in its original spot. Julius remained paralyzed by indecision regarding its delivery. He considered that, in a worst-case scenario, he could simply entrust the task to Adi, but a significant obstacle remained: her current whereabouts were a total mystery.
“Where is Adrina?” he demanded.
By his calculations, she should have concluded her duties and retired for the evening, yet she had vanished completely. Inquiry after inquiry yielded the same result; no one had caught even a glimpse of her.
“The search hasn’t turned up anything yet, sir,” came the report.
“Is she hovering near the Count?”
“Negative. His people are actually hunting for her as well, which confirms she isn’t on their perimeter.”
“Has anyone checked on her brother?”
“We sent someone to Adrian’s resting place. She wasn’t there.”
Dimitri was at a loss for other possibilities in the local area. He wondered if she might have retreated to her old quarters from her years at Grimaldi, or perhaps the room her brother once occupied. However, he lacked the specific locations for those chambers and couldn’t justify a blind, aggressive sweep of the Count’s private estate. He tried to rationalize that as long as she wasn’t with the Count, there was no immediate cause for alarm.
Still, the silence weighed heavily on Julius.
“To think she’s just… gone,” he murmured.
Logic told him she wouldn’t simply desert, but a cold knot of dread tightened in his chest. A terrifying thought took root: if he didn’t find her now, he might lose her to this place forever. He feared she might choose to reclaim her life in Grimaldi and never look back.
“Roy,” Julius called out to the knight stationed by the wall.
“At your service, Your Excellency.”
“Did you notice anything off about Adi? Any shift in her mood?”
“Nothing at all, sir.”
Julius remained silent, prompting Roy to continue. “To be fair, she isn’t the sort to wear her heart on her sleeve. Even if something were bothering her, she’s far too guarded to let it show.”
The observation was accurate. Adi rarely allowed anyone a glimpse behind her mask. Oddly, the realization that she treated everyone with the same stoicism offered Julius a flicker of comfort. It suggested that when she was with him, she actually lowered her defenses more than with anyone else.
Noticing the Duke’s heavy sigh, Roy spoke up again with careful deference. “If I may speak freely, Your Excellency… I believe our best option is to trust her and wait for her return.”
Julius turned his gaze toward the knight.
“Speaking as a fellow soldier, I have absolute confidence in Adrina’s capabilities,” Roy insisted. “Instead of viewing her as a person who requires constant oversight, perhaps we should view her as a woman whose very calling is to safeguard others.”
The conviction in Roy’s voice was unmistakable. It was a bond of professional respect and shared identity that Julius could never fully share. While a small spark of jealousy flickered within him, it was dampened by the relief that she had found genuine companionship among her peers. If her own brothers-in-arms believed in her, his own frantic doubts felt misplaced. He resolved to align his heart with that logic, however difficult it might be.
“Very well,” Julius conceded.
“Mind you,” Roy added with a dry edge, “I still expect her to provide a full written explanation for this disappearance once she shows up.”
“On that, we are in complete agreement,” Julius said, a sentiment echoed by a sharp nod from Dimitri.
While they searched, Adrina stood looking down at the slumbering form of Yvette Grimaldi. The Countess was sleeping far later than anticipated. Adrina found it remarkable that the woman could rest so peacefully with the morning sun blazing into the room, especially without the aid of a sleep mask.
She wondered if Yvette was accustomed to being pampered and woken by servants. Adrina had been standing there, lost in these silent observations, for three full hours. Finally, Yvette stirred. As the woman began to wake, Adrina stepped closer. When Yvette’s eyes snapped open and met Adrina’s face, a piercing scream tore from her throat.
Watching the Countess scramble away in a panic, Adrina realized that the woman was, in fact, capable of feeling genuine terror.
Yvette’s eyes darted around the room, her mind struggling to catch up with the nightmare before her. Her gaze landed on her personal maids, who were currently bound hand and foot, their cries silenced by gags. She recognized the fabric used to tie them; turning her head, she saw that the heavy window drapes had been violently shredded.
“What is the meaning of…”
“I’m here because I need an answer,” Adi interrupted, moving to swing the window wide.
The biting northern air flooded the chamber. Adrina had almost forgotten how sharp and revitalizing the mountain chill could feel. As the wind whipped her hair, Yvette was struck by a sudden, haunting memory of Adrina as a girl, back when her hair had been long and flowing.
The sight of wind-blown petals entering the room dragged Yvette back to a day of freezing sleet, remembering how white magnolia blossoms had been crushed into the mud by passing boots. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to banish the ghost of the past.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Yvette hissed.
“Just letting some air in. It felt far too suffocating in here,” Adi replied.
She mused internally whether the room’s gloom was a choice or simply a reflection of the woman’s spirit. Looking at her own reflection in the window, she was reminded once again of how much she physically favored Yvette.
After securing the window, Adi pulled a chair to the bedside and sat. Yvette huddled under her quilts, trembling as if the breeze were a physical assault.
“Countess Grimaldi.”
The older woman glared, her entire posture radiating hostility.
“I was informed about the wild raspberry,” Adi said. “It allowed us to save the Duke’s life. For that, I am grateful.”
The unexpected thank-you caught Yvette off guard, her stony expression faltering for a split second. Adi didn’t give her time to recover.
“What I can’t wrap my head around is your motivation. Why tell me?”
Yvette remained silent, staring.
“I have countless questions, but that one burns the most. Why would you reveal such a secret? Was it because of our biological connection?” Adi paused, then shook her head. “No, that doesn’t track.”
“Was it out of some lingering loyalty to the Duke? Doubtful. A sudden burst of morality? Unlikely. Were you just worried about the political fallout of a Duke dying on Grimaldi soil? No, that’s not it either.”
Adi leaned forward. “To be honest, the Count puzzles me just as much. If his goal was assassination, he should have just hidden the raspberry wine in a departure gift. He could have poisoned the Duke on the road or in his own home, far from here. Was he scared the Duke would be cured too quickly? Or that he wouldn’t drink it at all?”
The logic simply didn’t hold up under scrutiny.
“The Count’s erratic choices and your decision to warn me… it’s a riddle I can’t solve. I need to know why.”
That was the primary reason she had come, though perhaps there was a deeper, more personal curiosity driving her as well.
“What was the point of it all?”
Yvette let out a short, hollow laugh that revealed nothing. “You wouldn’t believe the truth even if I told you, so I won’t bother.” She glanced toward her captives. “Are you planning to murder my staff?”
Adi looked at the terrified maids. Their eyes were wide with a primal fear, and they went out of their way to avoid looking at her, as if eye contact alone would trigger an execution.
“Everyone acts like I’m some blood-soaked monster,” Adi observed dryly. “I only restrained them because they wouldn’t stop screaming. I wanted a quiet conversation, and they were making that impossible.”
She told herself she might have spared them if they had remained calm. Probably. She had checked the strength of the curtains the moment she entered, just in case, and the situation had simply unfolded as she expected. They had forced her hand.
“The Count’s people were the same way,” Adi continued, ignoring Yvette’s confused expression. “The servants were desperate to keep me away from him. Were they afraid I’d kill him? Or were they terrified I might finally say something out loud after all these years?”
She had spent hours dissecting that fear.
“I’ve realized it’s because they were all part of what happened to me. They were complicit.”
She saw Yvette flinch. “I suppose ‘abuse’ is a strong word for your comfort level. Let’s call it ‘total neglect’ instead.”
Yvette’s face twisted. During their previous meal, the woman had been as cold and unmoving as a porcelain doll, which matched Adrina’s childhood memories perfectly. But seeing this visceral reaction, Adi realized the woman was more human—and more fragile—than she remembered. Memories, she noted, were often unreliable.
“This isn’t an accusation,” Adi said calmly. “I’m just stating the reality of the past. Honestly, I’m happy with where I am now. If I had stayed here in Grimaldi, I never would have found this life.”
She watched the Countess’s face, which seemed to be crumbling.
“Don’t look at me like that. We never had the kind of relationship where love was an option, did we? So…”
Adrina searched for the right way to end it. The realization hit her with sudden, piercing clarity, and the words came out with effortless conviction.
“I’ve reached a point where none of you can hurt me anymore.”
It was a declaration of independence. She had carried the scars for years, but she refused to give them the satisfaction of knowing she had been broken by this house. If she admitted they still had power over her…
She stopped. Yvette’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“I see,” Yvette whispered.
As the tears finally tracked down her cheeks, the Countess stared at Adrina with a look that was a haunting mixture of murderous rage and profound grief.
“That is a great relief.”