INTERROGATED

"MISTRESS! HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS—Oh." Someone suddenly barged inside the room, opening it widely with a slam that made both Noctua and Rachelle flinch and glare at the person who just burst the door wide open. 

"Olivia!" Rachelle yelled frustratingly. That was so loud early in the morning!

"Forgive me Mistress but I went here as soon as I could after hearing the news but it seems that you already knew. Tsk." She explained, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth, disappointed that she wasn't the one delivering the news. 

"Sorry, but I am not sorry about it," Noctua replied, letting out a cackle in a bird-like voice, laughing at Olivia who felt miserable for being late. It's annoying how much this bird mocks her. 

"Oh, you bird brain. If I ever catch you, I will surely cook you and feed you to everyone." She snarked, growling at him which Noctua just shrugged and continued to annoy her with his bird laugh, making Olivia groan further. 

"Stop, you too. I'm sure those couples will point me as the mastermind especially since I was the one who gave them money." Rachelle suddenly said, leaning against the pillows piled behind her, making herself comfortable. 

"Then what are we going to do, Mistress? Surely with Helena, she will push you further into this mess just to get her revenge on you." Olivia commented, walking closer towards her Mistress who just calmly laid on her bed.

She's not even looking guilty or affected by the sudden news that involves the death of the person she disgusted the most yesterday. 

"Helena is incomparable, Olivia. Besides, it'll be easy to solve problems like this. I just have to deny the allegations. And if he were to push me that it was the case, then I'll just answer that I came because I was invited by the Baroness." She answered, her smile turning into a lopsided grin, confident about it. 

"But what if the Baroness talks about it? It was a public space after all. Some might testify that the cash indeed came from you." Olivia argued, biting her fingertips to show how anxious she had become. 

"Relax. Olivia." She confronted her, her gaze then turned towards Noctua who was just observing the two of them. "What was the state of the Baroness before you left the seen?" She asked as if she might find an escape from this. 

"She looks lost and completely deranged. She had lost her mind after witnessing her child's death." Noctua replied. "Then she wouldn't be able to give her testimony knowing that the death traumatized her, shutting her brain to everyone. All that is left alone is the words of the Baron who's not even in the picture." She concluded.

"The Baron has a lot of history, including his debt acquired from his addiction to gambling. It is enough for the court to declare him as a criminal. Plus the charge of murder, then it wouldn't be a problem anymore." She added, explaining their current situation. 

"But what about the Baroness? If the Baron will get imprisoned—"

"No, he'll never be imprisoned. He'll be subjected to death already after killing a noble person, that is his son. Murder is against the law and is punishable by death so he has already ruined himself. Even if it were to point out that I was the one who gave them the money, then it won't still do anything from the fact that he must face death."

"As for the Baroness, who knows what will happen to her? She'll either be imprisoned alongside other criminals or be banished from this country, stripped of her privileges as a noble, and her assets being taken away by the Empire." She explained the outcome. 

Noctua and Olivia just nodded their head, trying to process their outcomes after pulling a stupid act for their greed. But at the same time, it just felt so sad knowing how Rachelle just didn't feel anything about it. 

Even Olivia is wondering if Rachelle would feel saddened about it since despite Manny's wrongdoings, they were close to each other before. But seeing her Mistress acting nonchalantly then it simply means that she didn't care anymore.

"Now then, shall we try and look forward to what may come?" Just as Rachelle said, a light knock could be heard behind the door, followed by a girl's voice asking for permission to enter the room. 

"You may come," Rachelle commanded, looking through the door busting quite normally, unlike earlier when Olivia flung the doors wide open as if she was damn mad about something.

"Your presence is required at the Duke's office. The knights are here to interrogate you." The maid informed Rachelle, bowing her head in accordance with the rules they had to follow everywhere. 

"For what purpose is the interrogation?" Rachelle asked as she shifted her body to face the woman, her legs on the edge of the bed, sitting up straight while facing the woman who kept her eyes low. 

"I have not been informed about the purpose of the interrogation, my Lady. The Duke just called me to get you." She answered truthfully. It seems as if she had predicted the event just now. 

The Baron made his move. 

"Well then, who am I to decline? Olivia, can you find me a shawl? I have no time to dress up right now." Rachelle asked as she finally dragged her ass to stand up, slipping into her comfortable slippers while fixing her hair. 

She can't just present herself in front of the Duke with her hair resembling the nest of a bird and her face looking like she's a ghost. 

Olivia acted fast, found her a nice shawl and wrapped it around her body, preparing her for the interrogation that would happen today. 

"Now I'm ready, shall we go?" Rachelle asked towards the maid who then looked up at her and nodded her head, leading the way first followed by Rachelle and Olivia. 

It seems that this didn't see Noctua and Noctua was fast to act after realizing another one's existence inside the room. The poor thing still needs to hide as his aura and his existence are a curse for everyone in this country. 

As they reached the Duke's office, guards stationed outside of the office opened the door for Rachelle and Olivia to step right inside, meeting the gazes of the Duke, Alexander and it must be the head of the Knights, looking at her like prey. 

She suddenly shivered, he looked intense and was looking intently at her. His eyes clearly held suspicion against her despite being not linked to the crime that the Baron committed. 

"Good morning, For what do I owe the pleasure of being called, Your Grace?" She asked, bowing her head in the presence of the Duke and Alexander. The good thing is that Helena isn't here to interfere with her. 

"The Knights here have told me an interesting story. That somehow, you are one of the accomplices from the crime that just happened earlier or last night maybe. The head of the third Division Knighthood wants to interrogate you." The Duke said, sighing as another drama was happening. 

"Oh, but how can the leader of the Knight point me as one of the accomplices when I hadn't done anything wrong?" She asked back, turning her head towards the leader of the knight with a crooked smile on her face. 

They were taken back by the Lady's response. They thought she would cry in front of them as they viewed this as a disgrace to their honour. "Apparently my Lady, the Baron told us that the money that he took from his wife—the counterfeit money came from you." The leader informed her, staring blankly at her. 

"He said that his wife met you in a local café with a bag filled with gold. He said that the money comes from you, the reason why you are being interrogated for spreading the use of counterfeit money." The Leader added throwing an icy glare at her. 

"Explain yourself, Felicia. This is a serious crime right now." The Duke demanded an explanation. Rachelle eyed everyone inside the room, the Duke had an intimidating aura, Alexander had confusion, and the Knight looked cold at her. 

She sighed, her palm creeping into her cheek as she looked at the knight before her. "But how could that happen? Why would I bring a stash of money around when I can withdraw it to a bank nearby? Why would I carry a bag full of money if I can write a check to purchase something?" She asked back, shaking her head in disappointment. 

"I do not understand where the Baron's idea came from but my Nanny Hildegard invited me to meet his son together with her and my maid. Everyone even saw me fighting with her son after he disrespected me." She confidently said in front of them. 

She had this calm illuminating aura on her face, despite the tension being so serious and downright scary, she remained still and argued calmly at them, without bursting into some sort of overreacting. 

"But everyone saw you carrying a bag, the same bag that the Baron had when we captured him with the bills identified as counterfeit money." The Leader argued back, glaring at her. 

"So in your logic, just because I carried a bag, it means that I am already linked to this crime." She uttered, letting out a soft chuckle that rippled on her lips.

 "But why would I give them some stash of money when they have their own money? Are we forgetting the fact that the Baroness earns as much from being one of the tutors here? Are we also forgetting the fact that the Baron is involved in an illegal partake of gambling which could be the reason why he has many counterfeit bills?" She asked them, her chin going up, her hands folded against her chest while one of her eyebrows raised, looking at them with amusement flashing in her eyes. 

"It is already common knowledge that the Baron's family contains the blood of gambling addicts. Therefore it is already not suspicious that they were to take bills to pay off their debt or indulge their greed in gambling."