Alone in the wastefully spacious room, Henriette was gazing at the void with nothing to do but stare into the void, not being deprived of her freedom, nor was anything done to her in the first place.

　She is not deprived of her freedom, nor was anything done to her in the first place.
　I simply had no time to spare.

　Looking around the room, you can't even look out because there is no window.
　So it was just a matter of looking out into the void.

　Henriette is now in a room in the castle.
　To put it simply, Henriette is now under house arrest, but it's not a room for that.

　It's a guest room, and that's why it's rather windowless.
　It's not because I'm wary of doing something from the inside, but because I'm wary of something being done from the outside.

　However, for now, the room is more suitable for not being able to do anything from the inside either.

　Henriette is here because, simply put, she is still unconvicted of her crime.
　The empire punishes criminals more than necessary, but is basically tolerant of the rest.
　That includes those who have not yet been convicted of a crime.
　Well, that's just a theory.

　But really, it's probably just a thought for what's to come.
　After Henriette's guilt is found out and her punishment is fixed.
　The point is that I've done you a favor, so don't say or do anything unnecessary.

　It's not that Henriette didn't intend to be treated like this, but it's superfluous to say so foolishly and honestly.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to be able to find out what you're going to do with yourself.

...... Well, in the end, though, I think it's still the same.

　No matter how good the room is, it doesn't do anything.
　Then even if the quality of the room is lowered, nothing will change.

　It will only change the comfort at best.

...... No, that's pretty important, but you can get by without ......

　As a matter of fact, the room is not empty.
　The fine furnishings are proof that they have been treated accordingly, and the chair you are sitting in now is of such high quality that it would be able to support a commoner's family for about a year with just one of them.

　But even though the quality is lower, it is still an imperial room after all.
　Then there's not much of a difference.

The only thing I do in my spare time anyway is to mutter to myself like this: ......

　Maybe he can provide you with something to kill time if you tell him, but it would be foolish to do such a thing in this situation.
　In the end, this is what is most appropriate for the current situation, in a sense, is to have some spare time like this.

Hmm ...... If you have a lot of free time, I should say that's a good thing, in a way.　And instead of being a distraction, it seems like a way to pass the time.
"--What?

　Even though I had a lot of time on my hands, I didn't let my guard down.
　Even though it is unlikely, it cannot be said that there are people who are planning to do something wrong to you.
　I was alert all the time, but I didn't feel any sign of them until the moment they called out to me.

　Reflexively turning my gaze, I see a boy near the door of the room.
　There is no way you would mistake this figure for anything else, and you can't help but scream.

"Allen......!
It's been a while since I've seen .......　Well, it's been a while, I guess. I'm glad to see you're doing well.

　A lot of words went through my head at that moment.
　Why here, how here, why in the first place.

　But despite the fact that the mouth is not able to make a single sound as it opens and closes with a crunch, Henriette is also aware that she is not surprisingly surprised.
　The fact that you are able to get a good idea of what you are looking for is certainly a surprise, but the fact that ...... Allen appeared was not so surprising.

　You'll be able to find out why, but you'll soon figure it out and smile.
　It's nothing.
　It's just that I really thought that Allen would come, no matter how much he'd faked it on the surface.

...... You, how did you get here? Is that a meaningless question. You have gone out of your way to deceive me with your eyes as well, haven't you?
I thought you'd be surprised. Well, if I'm serious, I'm just being cautious because of the high security. It was pretty impressive, actually.
It's not a good thing for you to sneak in here, though: ......

　I let out a sigh as I calmed myself down.
　Trying not to let anything unnecessary show on my face, ...... but the tilting of my head was also from the heart.

　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.
　It's not just a matter of self-delusion, it's also a matter of meeting yourself.

"By the way, Allen, what the hell are you doing in this place?
What am I doing here, of course, to see Henriette, but?　You've been caught by the Kuro Wolf Knights as the main culprit in the assassination of the Emperor, right?　Isn't it natural to come to see me curious?

　Unfortunately, the only person who could really come to see me there was Allen, but there were a couple of things I was curious about.

　First of all, how did Allen know about this?
　The fact that the Kuro Wolf Knights were looking for the assassination of the emperor is now an open secret.
　The stage of concealment is long overdue, so knowing that Henriette was captured by the Kuro Wolf Knights will inevitably lead to that.

　But that's why the capture of Henriette should be hidden until the very last minute.
　This still makes Henriette the head of the marquise family.
　How could such a person be involved in the assassination of the emperor, even if only nominally, without causing confusion.

　And if that were to happen, it would be the failure of the Kuro Wolf Knights.
　Therefore, the Kuro Wolf Knights must have seriously tried to cover up the truth.

　You'll be able to find out more about this.
　I know that Henriette used the gift of the Connect against the city.

　I don't want to go into details, but as a result, whoever was in that town at the time knew that Henriette was captured by the Kuro Wolf Knights, but it was impossible for them to talk about it.
　That is why there is no way that Allen knew about it.

　But, well, that's Allen.
　Even if by some coincidence, there is no way to say that it's impossible for him to know.
　It's also a question of how he came to the imperial capital even if he knew, but again, this is something that Allen can do whatever he wants, so we'll leave it at that.

　There was also one thing I was most curious about.


　Another question I learned earlier.

　Why did Allen bother to sneak into the imperial castle?
　There was no reason for him to do so.

Just because I'm curious about you doesn't mean you have to try to see me, right?　Well, maybe it's not impossible for you, but at least sneaking into the imperial castle is too risky. Considering that we'll be able to see each other normally in a while anyway, there's no need to do it," he said.
"......?　Can I see you normally?
"......?　I don't think there's anything to wonder about, is there?
No, no, no, you were caught as the main culprit in the emperor's assassination, right?　Then you're going to be punished heavily, aren't you?　Or worse, the death penalty.
No, there's no such thing as the death penalty. --Because it's a false conviction.　You know as well as I do.

　Yes, as it turns out, Henriette was wrongly caught.
　And most of us understand that.

　So this is, to put it bluntly, a half-tragedy--

Now, the top brass are talking about all kinds of things, but they're just trying to figure out how to make a soft landing. It's just a matter of time, but maybe in a few days I'll be released.

　Then Henriette shrugged her shoulders toward Allen in front of her.