Kaiser chose a detour to avoid any unwanted attention. After a discreet crossing of the city, he stopped in front of a modest hotel. He booked a suite, settled in, then wrote a brief message. Once the letter was sealed, he called a driver and handed it to him. "Deliver it personally to Duchess Irene," he insisted in a low voice. "No one else must see it." The man bowed his head and left immediately.
On her side, Irene was sitting in front of her mirror, the comb gliding slowly through her long hair. Since her son's departure for the academy a few days earlier, the residence felt deserted. Kaiser's absence, unexplained, made the atmosphere even more stifling.
Moreover, her husband, the duke, had not been the same since his injury in the confrontation against the Spectrum. Recovery had left him impotent and distant; he now spent most of his time away from the domain, avoiding prolonged contact.
