Count Wigelhofen was speechless. The gambling case was handled by his sister, the Empress herself. Hence he was aware of the incompetence of the investigators hired by his sister.

“Ha,” Wigelhofen scoffed, “but you can’t ask the deceased Count of Crimson Rose, can you? Even after investigating this far, the tail of the culprit has not been caught. It would be impossible to find out who his opponent was!”

“Not necessarily,” the Duke muttered.

The Count of Crimson Rose was an aristocrat. He would not dare to brag about his win nor his fortune, especially when they came from gambling—an illegal activity. Furthermore, both gambling activities and participants were kept a secret. Despite that, they had the late Count of Crimson Rose murdered, at the risk of leaving evidence of gambling.

“The gambler must have had a different reason for not giving up the stake, obviously.”

Even if the Count of Crimson Rose claimed that the money was not obtained through gambling, the source of the money must be revealed.

Tax, Melchor concluded. The murderer was in danger of being defeated by the Count of Crimson Rose by betting on taxes.

If the stake is private property and keeping one’s mouth shut, it can hide the fact that someone was engaged in gambling even if the money was lost, but if the money was coming from the tax, it was another story. The source of the money must be divulged, and if so, the identity of the person who gambled by evading taxes would also be caught.

So if you lose, there is only one way: kill the Count of Crimson Rose, collect the money, and return it to the treasury as if nothing had happened. The circumstances led to the murder of the Count. The loser had no choice, even if he didn’t want to.

“Did the first report come to your Majesty the Empress?” Melchor asked.

“Melchor! Are you suspicious of my sister now?” Count Wiegelhofen exclaimed. His face reddened with anger and his breathing became rough, but Melchor didn’t care.

“I did not say that her Majesty is suspicious. However, she stumbled upon the aristocratic gambling house by chance, and there is evidence that Count Crimson Rose was there. I thought that it would be a bit reckless to conclude the trial on that alone.”

“It’s none of your business! The judge will decide on his own. Besides, Your Majesty, the Emperor, has allowed my sister to take care of this matter! No matter how much the Emperor trusts you, you have no more right to interfere!”

That was it. The Emperor did allow Melchor to bring the Crimson Roses despite the Empress’s will, but he did not allow Melchor to confront the Empress.

If the Empress is so desperate that she has to deal with it herself,  the Emperor will pressure me to let go of Roseline.

How much does the Emperor know? Although he may not know that the Empress was involved in the gambling scandal, he will know that she wants to end the case by punishing the Crimson Roses.

If the emperor condones that, it means that they are on the same page.

It was a felony equivalent to treason, but the Empress wants to cover it up. Only Count Crimson Rose, who was certain to be guilty, needs to be punished, but since he is already dead, his family is punished instead.

The justification for the family’s capture was simple: “There’s no way the family didn’t know what the head of their family was doing.” Since the Count of Crimson Rose was already confirmed as an offender, there would be no one to defend him. Most of the time, those who broke the law would not be able to hire a lawyer as their property would be confiscated. It was unreasonable, but it happened often.

They were stripped of their rights, even if they were charged unjustly, creating speculations as if they were true. But there is no need to retaliate with honesty.

Even on the battlefield, Melchor annihilates the enemy’s army with no expression. He has never even lost his temper since becoming an adult. He has never been frightened by anything, never swayed by emotion. He thought he was very cold-hearted.

“So that’s for the judge to do! It’s the order of the Empress, for what reason are you going against it?” Wiegelhofen cried out.

However, the truth was Melchor often cannot make a rational decision.

“As the head of Postenmeyer, it is my responsibility to protect the members of the family. So I can’t give it away without clear evidence.”

“A member of the family? What are you suddenly saying…”

Before he could think of the consequences of what he was about to say, the cold-hearted Grand Duke spoke with a firm voice:

“Roseline is my wife.”