It was only for a moment that he felt proud of the fact that she had chosen him next after the great Duke Cardia.

Her attitude of changing the object of her affection as easily as turning her palm was also incomprehensible.

Even if it was because she truly came to like him, there was still another question.

Because he and she had met for the first time today.

Of course, in the end, the reason he followed her was for a different reason…

And to Frederick, the Count who was deep in thought alone, the words of Duke Amaterasu’s daughter added to his confusion even more.

‘Do you think this is all just a coincidence?’

In fact, Count Frederick was secretly investigating the inside story of Princess Trinity’s murder case.

With her death, the loss to the House of Count Frederick, which was at the center of the faction supporting the princess, was immeasurably great, and personal anger was added to it.

Certainly, there were many suspicious aspects to Princess Trinity’s death in various ways.

Count Frederick moved quickly before the evidence completely disappeared.

After investigating Princess Trinity’s bedroom, which was the scene of the incident, he went to the underground prison to meet Baroness Oppenheimer.

As he expected, it wasn’t easy to meet Baroness Oppenheimer due to thorough surveillance, but after various twists and turns, she expressed her resentment when they finally faced each other.

‘I’m really innocent. Think about it, Count. Why would I have done that? It would be found out immediately. Besides, you know, don’t you? How much I respected Her Highness Princess Trinity…’

Although they couldn’t have a long conversation because Baroness Oppenheimer broke down in tears, it didn’t seem like she was shedding false tears.

Count Frederick considered the possibility that Baroness Oppenheimer might not be Princess Trinity’s murderer.

That she might have been falsely accused, and there might be a mastermind who manipulated it to be so.

Of course, definitive evidence had come out that she couldn’t be said not to be the culprit, and there was no way to overturn it in court right away.

In that situation, Duke Amaterasu’s daughter appeared.

Saying that Princess Trinity’s death should be investigated.

‘I want to meet Baroness Oppenheimer in person and talk to her. Count Frederick, I think you could make it possible.’

Count Frederick furrowed his brow, recalling the request Duke Amaterasu’s daughter had made earlier.

He was already planning to visit Baroness Oppenheimer once more before the trial anyway.

That day, he had to leave immediately because Baroness Oppenheimer raised her voice, so there was more to confirm.

Meanwhile, the carriage of the House of Amaterasu that had left Count Frederick’s mansion soon passed through the wide square and turned into the townhouse.

Jieselgrante’s gaze was fixed on the view outside the carriage window, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

‘Will Count Frederick accept my proposal?’

Somehow, she felt that he would already be investigating Princess Trinity’s death.

So she deliberately followed him carelessly when they encountered each other at the Grand Temple. So that he could notice he was being tailed.

Afterwards, she intended to obtain the information he had gathered.

Furthermore, she planned to join his investigation herself.

In the end, Count Frederick said he would think about her request to help her meet Baroness Oppenheimer.

It was fortunate for her that he didn’t outright refuse.

But she couldn’t just wait and rely on Count Frederick alone.

‘If there’s no answer from Count Frederick in a few days, I’ll have to find another way…’

By the time she finished pondering, they had already arrived at the Amaterasu mansion in the townhouse.

“Welcome back, young lady.”

“Father?”

“The Duke and young master Mikhail haven’t returned yet.”

“I see. I need to rest a bit.”

“Yes, young lady.”

Jieselgrante, who had finished her long outing from the Grand Temple to Count Frederick’s mansion, lay down on the bed.

It was when she was on the borderline between falling asleep and staying awake.

Tok.

The sound of something hitting came.

“…?”

At first, she ignored it thinking it might be her imagination, but again, tok, tok. The sound of small objects hitting glass rang out.

Jieselgrante got up from the bed and immediately lit up the bedroom brightly.

‘Ah, it was the sound of tapping on the window pane.’

Jieselgrante hurriedly approached the window and looked outside.

Outside stood a tall man.

It was dark outside so she could only make out his silhouette, but she soon realized it was Count Frederick.

This was because in the past, he had used this method when he had something urgent to tell her.

Jieselgrante opened the window and poked her head out slightly. Then Count Frederick gestured as if to say move aside.

No sooner had she stepped back than a small pebble rolled into the bedroom.

Jieselgrante hurriedly unfolded the note tied to the pebble.

「If you still want to meet Baroness Oppenheimer, let’s hurry.」

Jieselgrante signaled to Count Frederick outside the window that she understood and hastily put on her outer clothes.

And before leaving the bedroom, she left a short memo.

Just in case she was late, so that Lindsey wouldn’t go rummaging through the entire mansion.

Her steps were urgent as she left the bedroom.

It won’t be easy to secretly meet Baroness Oppenheimer, who has been imprisoned for first-degree murder.

That’s probably why Count Frederick came to find her in the middle of this night.

As she exited through the back door of the mansion, Count Frederick was waiting for her.

“As it’s a trial that’s garnering the attention of the imperial citizens, I thought we couldn’t afford to waste time, so I hastily set up a schedule. Let’s talk as we go for now.”

“I understand.”

Jieselgrante looked alternately at the two horses next to Count Frederick and mounted the smaller horse.

“Do you have a hobby of horseback riding?”

Count Frederick asked, awkwardly lowering his hand that he had extended for an escort.

“A little. It’s nothing to ride to the nearby imperial palace.”

“Then that is fortunate.”

With those final words, Count Frederick swiftly mounted his horse. And pulled the reins.

Likewise pulling the reins, Jieselgrante glanced at Count Frederick’s shadowed profile.

‘What could be the reason he suddenly decided to help me?’

At present, she couldn’t know that reason, but it wasn’t very important.

Although Count Frederick was quite hot-tempered, his character itself was upright and good.

She had faith that he wouldn’t harm her if she didn’t greatly offend his sensibilities.

“They’re not dead, are they?”

Jieselgrante, entering the prison, looked back at the guards sprawled on the stone floor like wet laundry.

“They’re not dead. They’ll be sound asleep until the next shift change, so don’t worry.”

Nodding at Count Frederick’s words, she walked down into the damp underground prison.

“It’s here.”

Inside the ice-cold iron bars was Baroness Oppenheimer, looking so haggard it was difficult to recognize her face.

Baroness Oppenheimer, who had been sitting with the back of her head against the hard stone wall, slowly turned her head as she sensed their presence.

Watching this, Count Frederick let out a quiet sigh.

“……”

Even at a glance, she seemed to have suffered greatly.

Baroness Oppenheimer merely looked beyond the iron bars with tired eyes, neither speaking nor approaching closer.

“We meet again. We’ve met once before, haven’t we? …I’ve come because there are a few things I’d like to ask Baroness Oppenheimer. Could you tell me truthfully about what happened that night?”

“……”

There was no answer, but Jieselgrante continued immediately.

“I want to help you. For that, I need to know about what happened that day. It may be difficult, but please, I ask you.”

Despite approaching with a fairly sincere attitude, Baroness Oppenheimer slowly shook her head.

“……”

Count Frederick whispered quietly in Jieselgrante’s ear.

“It seems she may have been tortured to prevent her from speaking freely about that day’s events.”

Seeing Baroness Oppenheimer’s current state, anyone would likely think the same, so Jieselgrante hesitated a little.

But she needed to know.

Something that only Baroness Oppenheimer, who had been there that day, knew. Furthermore, something like evidence.

“You said you were wronged, didn’t you?”

“……”

“If you want even a chance to overturn the trial, you’ll need help. Don’t you think so?”

Jieselgrante’s voice rose slightly.

This wasn’t just because she was angry at Baroness Oppenheimer for choosing to keep silent out of fear.

If Baroness Oppenheimer was suffering such hardships while bearing a false accusation, Jieselgrante had a duty to help her.

She felt a sense of responsibility in her own way.

Because Baroness Oppenheimer was someone she had chosen and decided to keep by her side.

Even if she had been discarded after her usefulness to the Empress had ended.

Of course, at this point, it was impossible to know whether Baroness Oppenheimer had sided with the Empress or if she had met with misfortune while protecting Trinity.

“……”

But Baroness Oppenheimer once again slowly shook her head.

“Wait, my lady. Something is strange.”

At Count Frederick’s words, Jieselgrante held her breath and listened intently to any sounds.

‘Have the sleeping guards awakened?’

But she could neither hear any particular sound nor sense the presence of others.

Unlike prisons housing multiple criminals, this place held only Baroness Oppenheimer.

“Baroness Oppenheimer. Perhaps……”

Count Frederick furrowed his brow deeply as he chose his words.

“…?”

“Have you become unable to speak?”

At Count Frederick’s question, Baroness Oppenheimer nodded with a sorrowful look in her eyes, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

“……!”

Jieselgrante gasped, covering her mouth.

However, her shock was only momentary.

“Did they cut out your tongue to prevent you from pleading your innocence at the trial?”

“……It seems so. If that’s the case, even if it takes some time, we have no choice but to communicate through writing……”

Before Count Frederick could finish speaking, Baroness Oppenheimer shook her head again.

‘Is this an expression of refusal, not wanting to communicate?’

At first, that’s what they thought.

But with a sudden realization, Jieselgrante lowered the lantern Count Frederick was holding slightly.