May 5, 1801.
Vienna.
Inside an inconspicuous building two streets south of Schönbrunn Palace, Earl of Ulfeld bowed to the middle-aged man seated across the table, his face wreathed in smiles:
"Director, you know Gloria must merely have grown curious while passing by and gone over to take a look.
"She is a very well-bred child. There is no way she could have taken part in something like that..."
At noon today, Gloria had been arrested by the Secret Police at a gathering of Liberals, so he had rushed over at once to "clear up the misunderstanding." "Please, take a seat, Your Excellency," Bell, the head of the Secret Police in Vienna's East End, said, gesturing toward a chair. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Forgive my frankness, but you may not know your daughter well enough."
"What do you mean by that?"
Bell handed him several sheets of paper. "This is your daughter's statement. Oh, please rest assured, she was not harmed in any way. She volunteered all of this herself."
Earl of Ulfeld's eyes swept rapidly over the pages, and his expression darkened in an instant.
Gloria's statement claimed that everyone should enjoy freedom and equality, that the Emperor should convene a true Parliament as soon as possible, and other such nonsense. At the end, she stated that she had not been coerced, but deeply sympathized with those Liberals. That was why she often attended their gatherings and had even helped distribute their pamphlets...
Earl of Ulfeld slammed the statement onto the table and shouted, "No, this cannot possibly be what she truly thinks! She must have been deceived! Those damned swindlers!"
Director Bell nodded and pushed another document before him. "This is a list of some of the leaders of the Stilz Society. Oh, they are