Chapter 65
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The sun was already high when she finally drifted awake. The Duke had been relentless, demanding a swift resolution as if his patience was a finite resource. Though she had given him her word for the time being, a shadow of uncertainty still darkened her mind.
Sleep had been elusive. She had spent the dark hours wrestling with her thoughts, searching for any possible alternative, but the horizon was empty of other choices. Having already committed herself, she realized that fully embracing this path was the only logical progression.
Adi emerged from her quarters around nine in the morning. Roy had clearly already started his shift, but she found Bert in the lounge, occupied with a paper.
“Awake at last?” Bert noted as he saw her. Adi gave a small nod. He folded the news away, resting it on the furniture before leaning back with crossed legs to study her.
“The Duke filled me in on the latest developments.”
The previous night, it was only after Adi surrendered—a mix of her own choice and his undeniable pressure—that a look of triumph had crossed the Duke’s face. He was an enigma to her; she felt she knew his patterns, yet his true nature remained entirely out of reach.
“So, you’re officially joining our ranks?”
“That appears to be the case.”
“Good to hear.”
Bert found the situation surprising. It was evident that Yuls Woodpecker was intent on tearing Adrian away from the Grimaldi influence for good. While the Count’s behavior made Adi’s desire to leave perfectly rational, the Duke’s decision to bring her to his private lands was a bold move, even for him.
Since their fates were now intertwined, there was no point in maintaining a distance.
“I’ll introduce you to the rest of the team. Come along,” Bert said, rising to his feet. Adi followed, wondering if there were truly any faces left she hadn’t already encountered.
He guided her through the manor to a wing she had never visited.
The residence for the head chamberlains was quite impressive, matching the quality of the knightly quarters. It featured a network of corridors designed for service staff; she noticed several attendants in casual tunics and trousers who paused to offer respectful bows as they passed.
Bert gave a sharp rap on a door and pushed it open. This communal area mirrored the lounge the knights used. Inside sat three men, all of whom Adi recognized from previous sightings.
“Sir,” one greeted.
“Carry on, everyone,” Bert replied, waving Adi inside. As she crossed the threshold, he dropped a heavy arm over her shoulders.
“Listen up. This is Adrian Grimaldi. He’s one of us now.”
“You finally decided to take the plunge?”
Joel’s expression brightened at the news. He remarked that they could finally drop the formalities and speak naturally, leaving Adi slightly confused. She had seen them all before, and they hadn’t exactly been acting stiffly in her presence until now.
Bert tightened his grip slightly, turning her so he could present the others individually.
“This is Gavin. He’s a former Page from Pallesa Palace who climbed the ranks to become a knight and now serves as a head chamberlain. His prowess rivals my own. Even without a full knightly escort, you’re safe as long as Gavin is on duty.”
“……”
“Glad to have you on the team, Sir,” Gavin said. Given his history at the palace, he was technically Adi’s senior in service. Noticing her rigid posture, Gavin offered a friendly pat on her head before excusing himself to return to his duties.
“And you know Joel. He’s a specialist in Healing magic, but he’s also a master of Administrative magic for legalities and contracts. You’ve seen what he can do, haven’t you?”
She recalled the events of the previous day vividly. Knowing his dual specialties was one thing, but hearing it confirmed so casually made his talent seem even more formidable.
Mages usually guarded their specific niches with pride, as specialization typically led to higher status. Both of Joel’s disciplines were elite; Administrative mages were vital for the crown and high nobility, and healers were just as prized. The fact that the House of Woodpecker kept such a talent in a chamberlain’s role was a testament to the family’s sheer power.
“Then there’s Ivan. You likely haven’t crossed paths much. He’s a reformed assassin.”
“An… assassin?” Adi repeated, stunned.
She remembered hearing he was awkward around women because of a childhood spent with many brothers. The image of a shy man with many siblings clashed violently with the idea of a professional killer.
“I hail from the East. That life is behind me now,” Ivan stated, extending a hand. It was a handshake, a custom more common in the neighboring Empire than in Dalkatir.
Given his Eastern origins, he might have come from even further afield. True assassins were known to rewrite their entire identities so thoroughly that their origins became impossible to trace. A man of shadows…
“Ivan manages the darker, more sensitive tasks that don’t go on the official record,” Bert added.
Adi felt a pang of doubt. If they had someone like Ivan, perhaps her efforts had been unnecessary. Maybe the Duke had never truly required her assistance at all.
“Where’s Billy?” Bert asked, looking around.
“Attending to His Excellency,” came the reply.
Billy was the one she saw most frequently besides Joel. Just as she began to wonder about his specific talents, Bert chimed in.
“Billy is our traditional head chamberlain. He’s an expert in aesthetics—grooming, fashion, that sort of thing.”
“I heard he’s taken up tailoring recently, too,” someone added.
Among the Duke’s inner circle at the palace, Billy seemed to be the only one holding a conventional role.
“And lastly, our new addition, Adi Grimaldi,” Bert announced. Adi felt the introduction was redundant, given they already knew her.
“A member of the Grimaldi line, knighted by the Crown Prince himself at Pallesa Palace. Note the potential link to His Excellency’s affliction. She’ll be traveling back to Woodpecker with the rest of us.”
“Won’t the Grimaldis cause trouble?” Ivan inquired.
“Almost certainly.”
“As long as Woodpecker isn’t compromised, it’s of little concern to me,” Ivan said, his eyes reflecting a cold, professional distance. Adi felt a reciprocal wariness. The label of ‘assassin’ was hard to ignore.
“Ease up, Ivan,” Bert said, giving him a playful shove.
“I’m perfectly calm. It’s fine.”
Ivan looked Adi over one last time before speaking with a casual tone.
“Let’s aim for a peaceful coexistence.”
“…I look forward to it,” Adi replied carefully.
*
Billy moved with practiced grace, filling a teacup. Roy stood nearby, a silent sentinel. Yuls looked up from his documents as Gavin delivered the news. His own actions were predictable, but the choices of others always introduced a chaotic element to his plans.
“Luigi is on his way?”
“Yes. Reports say he took to the sea in great haste four days ago.”
Luigi Francopan. He had held the title of Marquis since his days as the Crown Prince’s heir, and by rights, should have ascended to the position of Crown Prince himself. However, when the current King took power, Luigi was sidelined, left with nothing but his title.
Though he maintained a residence in Ionad and had the right to visit Pallesa Palace as royalty, he had spent his adulthood as a wanderer. He had a home in Tuberosa but had spent the last few years residing in Thuringen.
“He arrives tonight and wants an audience tomorrow.”
“I was under the impression he was enjoying himself in Konya,” Yuls mused.
“A major incident occurred in the Thuringen capital recently—suspected magical terrorism.”
“I expected trouble there eventually, but the timing is far too perfect to be random,” Yuls observed. Gavin nodded in silent agreement. Living for years in a place as unstable as Thuringen was odd enough, but to return home exactly when a crisis erupted felt calculated.
“Isn’t it festival season in Thuringen?”
“It is. There are rumors the celebrations might be scrapped. We’re waiting to see how their royals react, but Marquis Francopan seems to have decided Dalkatir is a safer bet for now.”
“Why come here to Pallesa instead of the capital?”
“It’s a faster route than sailing all the way to Ionad. Plus, the palace is currently teeming with influential nobles.”
“So he’s looking to build a power base,” Yuls said with a dry laugh. “He has the bloodline to justify being here and the legitimacy to make people listen. It’s a clever play.”
Gavin agreed. Luigi’s true goals remained a mystery. Had he been active in Dalkatir or kept in touch with the local lords, his motives would be easier to read. But Luigi had no real allies among the domestic nobility.
In truth, he had been systematically isolated.
“My aunt will be thrilled,” Yuls added. Luigi’s presence was a constant irritation to the King and Claude.
“And Claude will be livid.”
The crown had worked hard to ensure no one supported Luigi, leaving him an outcast within his own family. Yet, one person remained steadfast in his corner.
Marchioness Connolly. Unlike Yuls, Luigi represented the only pure bloodline she had left. Despite the distance in their actual kinship compared to Yuls, she was obsessed with restoring the son of her cousin Camellia to a position of power.
She had been working in the shadows for years to achieve this, yet no one had been willing to gamble their future on her or Luigi.
Yuls could have been that ally, but there was a significant hurdle.
His curse.
“I thought he was living a quiet life in Thuringen, but I suppose things are falling apart there too?”
“We’ll need more data to be sure.”
“What’s the current consensus on the situation?”
