«Ah! Finally! What on earth are you doing hidden down here? Gee! I didn't remember the castle was so big!» exclaimed the Count panting. He simply could have screamed, as usual, to obtain the presence of the butler in the space of a few minutes but now that the new girl was going around in the area, it was better for him to keep a grip on himself and to possibly act less childish than usual. And so it was that he found himself sweeping the castle far and wide, to find then Igor in the "Chapel", absorbed in doing the spring-cleaning in the wrong month.

The "Chapel" was the grotesque parody of an holy place, a little room that, as for the structure, recalled the typical orthodox church but, rather than elevate and pacify, it oppressed and unsettled: there wasn't any furniture, but for a large oriental carpet occupying all the pavement and two mahogany chests, placed to the sides symmetrically; the space, already lacking per se, appeared even more narrow due to the walls' considerable tallness and to the heavy presence, all over them, of nightmarish frescos that submerged freaky from the skirting board, like evil spirits, filled each centimetre of plaster in a suffocating way climbing up the walls, and than perched on the cross vaults, frightfully looming over the head of the bystander. They were interrupted only by six stained glass windows, three on the left side, three on the right side, too tight and dark to allow a bit of light to the gloomy place; alongside the axis of symmetry there were two huge baroque wrought-iron chandeliers, very low-rise; at the bottom, a broad dark wooden wall, with three openings covered by heavy black velvet curtains adorned by golden embroideries and red gems, hid a reserved area, just like an iconostasis.

According to Igor, that place used to be the scene of hideous ritual crimes. One, among these, was particularly dear to the butler: with the advent of a specific astral conjunction - which use to happen once a century, thank goodness - after the fulfilment of a certain ritual, to which a few lucky members of the descent could have the honor to participate, a person, accurately chosen by the Count, was brought from the latter behind the profane iconostasis and than changed into a vampire, so as to become a new member of the family.

The Count couldn't stand that place: to the other ones he was accustomed. The prisons, the torture chamber, each macabre detail, each object in poor taste, every single bloodstained brick… he could have stood them by now, but not that "chapel" and especially not that damn secret chamber: celebrating the undeath warrant of a person, clothing the damnation in sacred vestments… it was the divinization of the inhuman, the apotheosis of the impiety. In the very rare case, he went down there, he used to feel like a child venturing in the cellar of his home despite believing that that was the hideout of the bogeyman.

With a sense of annoyance, he advanced a few steps toward Igor, who was all intent on shining the branches of the chandelier, on the top of a short ladder.
«What am I doing down here? The preparation of the late October rituals, you yourself remind me about it right some hours ago»
«Ah! Yes yes yes… I had already repressed it! I can't see any reason for you to do such a hard work since, in any case, you'll perform them alone, like you do every year: you know I wouldn't be caught dead in… well… never ever… in that stupid junk room back there»
The Count folded his arms and stole there, observing his servant frowning at him, expecting a line about the fact that he was already dead.
«Did you need something? Why didn't you scream? Do tell me, please», encouraged instead Igor, seeing that the other didn't come to the point.
«Ehm… well», he still hasn't decided what to pretend to need. The final aim was naturally to ask for explanations about the strange, unexpected and suspected choice of hiring such a sweet and sunny girl. However, he couldn't let on that he wandered around the whole castle just to ask about her! Better not to show he was so involved, for the moment.
«Well, I came in person because I feel like taking a stroll! And yes, sure I had to ask you about… about my voter registration card»
«Voter registration card? But…»
«Shortly the elections will occur and, if you allow, I'd like to participate too! After all, I'm a Romanian citizen like the others… and abundantly of age, I daresay!»
«But sir, you don't have a voter registration card and the Duckula never used to be in favor of democracy…»
«I suspected as much»
«And in addition, there are no elections in the imminence»
«Ah… are you sure about this? I could have sworn that…»
«No Milord»
«Oh. Maybe I got confused with… I was reading about… well… way better. But I'd like to have a voter registration card, anyway…» he muttered, and then he fell silent for a bit, pretending to watch something on the ceiling, wondering how to continue the conversation leading it to the hot topic.
«Did you appreciate your breakfast, Sir?»
«Yes! I must say that the idea to separate the carton from the muesli is very clever» he answered, hiding the skipped heartbeat provoked by the question.
«The carton? Well… actually, I was referring to something else», told Igor, keeping on buffing the chandelier and hiding a half smirk behind an arm. The count, in answer, remained silent.
«Come on, don't play dumb, I was referring to the maid!»
«So, this means she must have been my breakfast? Very funny! Just know she's still hale and hearty!»
«I didn't mean this, I hired her for helping Nanny, as you told me to do. I only wanted to be check if she was to your liking, sir…from a professional point of view»
«Yes yes, I know… only I was expecting something different»
Igor kept on mopping up, even if on the chandelier there wasn't dust anymore.
«Different? But… she had a good curriculum, I don't understand»
«Yes, of course..», commented sarcastically the count.
«It seems to me she works well»
«Come on Igor! Stop beating around the bush!»
«But I really don't understand, what's the matter with her?»
The count snorted of impatience and then, with a low and bothered tone, slurred:
«The matter… It's that she's my type, here what's the matter»
«What? I didn't understand!»
«She's my type! She is my type, ok?», confessed the vampire annoyed, raising up his voice «and this seems very strange to me because I perfectly know that the last thing you want is to persuade me to get a crush on a woman! I wonder if you're plotting something because, if you're playing with my feelings, you should know that I wouldn't like it at all!»
Finally the butler stopped pretending to clean up the already cleaned object: «You are right, Milord, I must admit», he told with placid tone, climbing down the stairs and getting closer to his master, «at the job interview I was intentioned to hire quite another kind of woman, but then I talked with her and she seemed to me… peculiar»
«What do you mean?»
«Apparently she likes the Castle… for what it is»
«Bah! Let alone! Who can be able to like an eyesore like this?»
«But I assure! In these firsts workweeks, I spent much time with her and I have the confirmation of what I thought!»
«First work… weeks!? Are you telling me that she's here from weeks and didn't notice!?»
«Almost three weeks, Milord. I made her settle in the dépendance of the servants»
«I'd like to know WHY you didn't tell me, in the first place, and, in the second place, what did you tell her!? What did you show her?! Three weeks…» repeated the count disbelievingly shaking his head, then, like if something had just pricked him: «Did you tell that…? Igor, while Carmen was in my room, at a certain point I tried to approach to her and she looked terrified! Her hands were shaking! I heartily hope you didn't…»
«I've never told her you're a vampire»
«Ssh! Be careful! She could be everywhere!»
«I don't think she's in the nearby, she was outside, at the entrance a minute ago. Anyway, I'm pretty sure she might be even fascinated by your nature»
«Fascinated!? I mean, are you going crazy!? If she'd know it, she'd hit the trail, just like every other person would do! So, you won't say a word!»
«If she already suspects something it's not my fault, anyway, it will be impossible to hide the fact forever: too many things suggest it and she's not stupid, moreover it seems the peasants already told her something before the job interview… and she turned up anyway, more curious than before, according to what she told»
«Igor, I've more than a thousand years' experience in the field of "how to remain single forever", I think it's enough to say I knew a thing or two»
«How can I blame you, Milord? The ones who approached the Duckulas usually came to a bad end. Who knew their reputation always make sure to avoid them» confirmed the butler with a satisfied grin.
«Right. They make sure to avoid them…» repeated the Count sadly.

Through the slightly matte glass, in the distance, the Count could recognize Carmen talking with someone at the entrance, but the angle didn't let see with whom. Igor laid a hand on his shoulder as a father or a good friend does:
«I feel like confessing something, Milord: you perfectly know I will never approve your choices… But I'll always be your faithful servant», he recited with mellow and convincing voice. «Believe me if I say she really is fascinated by the castle, by its dark sides. I led her to the picture gallery and told her many anecdotes related to some members of the family - never saying they were vampires - and she listened, she asked questions… This makes me feel… content. When I met her the first time I immediately understood she wasn't mediocre than her peers. She doesn't look afraid, despite figuring out that there's something obscure… she looks interested. When I hired her, I thought I was making a choice that could be good for both of us, for once».
«Your choice is good for me Igor but, in spite of everything, I can't believe she could go as far as loving a vampire», he said, although embarrassed: he wasn't used to talking with Igor in that way.«I don't think it's impossible, you'll see. To be honest I believe the real problem is tha-»
«What the…»
At the entrance, Carmen and her interlocutor had moved a little now and it clearly appeared that the latter was Von Goosewing. The Count interrupted the conversation and rushed at the doorway. Igor followed him.