"No, madame. I am a free man, owing allegiance to none."
"Not to the Emperor?"
"To the Emperor, of course, but to none other."
"Where did you come from, and how long have you been in Treves?"
"I came from Frankfort some three or four days since, and never saw Treves before."
"You came to seek service with the Archbishop perhaps?"
"No, madame. I am a student as well as soldier. I came merely to inform myself regarding the manners and customs of so celebrated and ancient a city as Treves."
"Know you who I am?"
"You are the Countess Tekla, ward of the Archbishop of Treves and niece of Count Heinrich, to whose Castle of Thuron you are now betaking yourself."
"You are well informed. For what object did you gather this knowledge?"