Time went back to a certain night.
Within ten seconds of the alarm in Franz's room being pulled, Zoche rushed inside. About thirty seconds later, the guards responsible for interior security and Colonel Bordeaux charged into the room together.
Within the next minute, more than twenty people had crowded into Franz's room. As candle after candle was lit, the faint, sweet scent of burning whale fat drifted through the somewhat cramped space.
But it did nothing to change the awkward atmosphere. No one spoke. Only a somewhat heavy panting could be heard, struggling in vain.
The guards and servants exchanged glances with Colonel Bordeaux for a while, then silently filed out of the room one by one.
Zoche even seemed about to snuff out the candles on the candelabra. Clearly, everyone thought that someone had moved too vigorously in the room and accidentally touched the alarm cord.
Bordeaux couldn't help wondering whether the alarm cord should be positioned higher, so it wouldn't be so easy to trigger by mistake. Otherwise, how embarrassing would it be if this happened again?
It was one thing to ruin the Archduke's mood, but if it left any aftereffects, that would be troublesome.
Meanwhile, Franz suddenly grabbed Zoche by the ankle. She looked at him in confusion. After noticing what was happening in the room, Bordeaux "tactfully" closed the door from the outside.
The atmosphere in the room was awkward. Fanny Cotte, dressed in a tight black outfit, was struggling beneath Franz, trying to flip him over with a sudden fish-like spring. But the human body was simply not built to generate much force while lying down.
So the Duchess's resistance only served to further stimulate certain parts of Franz's body.
Franz looked helplessly at Fanny Cotte, who was wearing a masked outlaw's eye patch.