Chapter 5.1

“I told him that you were busy, but he still insisted on meeting you. What should we do?” asked Heinz.

Countess Crimson Rose and her son would have been taken, but they came here at the height of the interrogation. The fact that the younger brother of the Empress came in person, not the Blue Knights, means that the purpose is not to punish their “crime of gambling.”

“I’ve guessed since the Knight Commander of the Blue Cloak was flustered,” Melchor muttered. He didn’t know what their purpose was, but he was glad he brought Roseline. “Where is he now?”

“We can’t keep him in the hall,  the butler led him to the drawing-room on the first floor.”

Roseline was staying on the third floor. Before they can find her, they must acquire access to the corridors and stairs.

“Heinz, you take care of this place. I’m going to see Count Wigelhofen.”

“Yes, sir.”

* * *

After having sat still for long, silent hours, Roseline finally rose from her seat when she heard a knock. As she opened the door, a man whose radiance cannot be concealed by the black cloak he wore, entered with a polite smile.

“Lady Crimson Rose. Is everything okay?” asked Heinz.

“Oh, it’s okay…” Roseline was not sure if she was permitted to call his name, so she only nodded.

“This is Heinz Kleich Allenscus. You can call me Heinz.”

“Oh, yes, Lord Heinz.” Roseline greeted him awkwardly and asked, “What will happen to me from now on?”

She had nothing to do as the Grand Duke finished the interrogation on his own. As evident through the windows, the sun would set soon. Will she be kept waiting? Since the interrogation for today was already over, will she be imprisoned and then questioned the following day?

“Lady Crimson Rose, you can stay here,” spoke Heinz.

It was a better option to be stranded in a homey interrogation room than rot in a prison cell. Besides, the room included a sofa she could sleep on. It would be better to stay here, she thought.

“Then can I sleep on the sofa?” Roseline asked.

“That’s impossible,” Heinz chuckled, which surprised Roseline. He then pointed toward some part of the room, “You can enter the bedroom by opening the door in the back. There’s a bathroom in it.”

Heinz approached the red door decorated with silk and guided Roseline. The room was quite spacious, inclusive of a large bed. The bathroom was beyond the gold-decorated partition. It was more luxurious than her room in their Crimson Rose mansion.

“If you want to change clothes, the closet is over there. I’ve arranged it urgently because I think you’ll need it while you’re here,” said Heinz.

“What?”

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s dressing for women, of course. I didn’t prepare it myself, but I ordered a maid to prepare it for you.”

Roseline only listened as Heinz continued his explanation with a gentle smile, the tension between them finally disappearing.

“I’m sure you’re not as comfortable as you were at home because I was in a hurry to prepare this room, but please understand for a while. If you ask the maid, she will prepare what you need.”

Roseline was speechless.

“Of course, you can tell me now, Lady Crimson Rose.”

Heinz smiled again, but Roseline could not be moved purely by his kindness.

“Is this how the Duke handles interrogations?” she asked.

At her question, Heinz raised an eyebrow, “Hmm? What do you mean by interrogation?”

“I have been arrested as a person involved in the gambling case of my father Count Crimson Rose.”

Although she claimed to be innocent, Roseline was ordered to be captured together with her family. Roseline thought she would have to stay in prison while she was under interrogation.

“Well…” Heinz’s features were slightly distorted with embarrassment. But it was only for a moment that his expression faltered, and he soon smiled warmly and denied her assumptions. “The Duke brought Lady Crimson Rose here so that you will not be taken to the Blue Knights.”

“What?” Roseline could not grasp her situation.

“This is neither a captive’s room nor an interrogation room. It’s the Postenmeyer family’s capital villa.”

“What?” Roseline’s eyes grew bigger as her voice grew smaller. Didn’t she get caught because she was an alleged sinner? Was Heinz saying that Duke Postenmeyer is hiding the accused? “Then should I not be here? Her Majesty…”

There was an order to arrest the Crimson Rose family. No matter how great the Duke’s authority was, defying the order of the Empress may seem like a challenge to the authority of the Emperor.