Cap 18
The Dimitrescu family's table was big, very big. Perhaps in the past there were great and stately banquets in which various feudal lords and nobles participated.
However, the huge table is now occupied by four users most of the time. From time to time one of the Lords or Mother Miranda herself came to visit and consequently ate at the same table as the hostess, the Lady of the castle.
The maids were setting the table for the family. Each one playing a specific role. Anna prepared the chairs. Elena, the new maid, brought flowers and candles for the harmony of the dinner. Martha cleaned the table and put a tablecloth and another of the maids opened the windows, but despite the fact that the contract specifically said that the windows would be completely closed, this time, the Lady of the castle herself allowed the windows to be opened.
"Winter is finally over." - Said one of the maids when opening the large window.
"It seems so. Spring promises more sun." - Said another one of them.
A couple of minutes passed when Olga arrived in the room.
"You and you, come with me. Anna and Martha, you two will welcome the family." - Olga quickly arrived in the room, pointing to Elena and the other maid in the room. However, she would leave the other 2 to receive and listen to the orders of the family.
A few minutes passed and the two daughters of the family would arrive.
"Miss Cassandra, Miss Daniela. Please come in." - Said Anna, who was at the door waiting for the family.
The young ladies did not respond, they simply walked over to the huge table, thus ignoring the courtesy of their servants.
"I'm so hungry I think I would eat a whole lamb." Cassandra said as she caressed her stomach.
"I'm the same. I'm very hungry. I think Mom said we would eat an imported meat from the East, a certain 'Kobe', I don't know." Daniela said, remembering when her mother had told her that the Duke had bought her fine meats.
"I hope so." Cassandra said when she took a seat.
A few more minutes passed when Bela herself would arrive.
"Why did it take you so long Bela?" - Daniela asked
"Sisters, I have very good news." Bela said as she ran over to her two sisters.
"What could it be? Will more hunters attack us? Because I really would like to stretch my muscles" - Cassandra said in a cheerful tone to which Daniela also nodded.
"No, it is much better." - Said Bela. - "The man-thing will dine with us at the table."
"Oh ... is that the final hour for him? Too bad, I was starting to like him." -Cassandra said changing her smiling face to one with disappointment.
"No stupid." - Said Bela. - "Mom invited him to have dinner with us."
"Wait, are you saying that he will have dinner at the same table as Mom?" - Daniela said, surprised by such a fact, since it is well known by the daughters of the castle that no one apart from the Lords and Miranda eats with them.
"Yes, Mom, she invited him to join us. It's not exciting." -Said Bela as she looked at one of her servants.
"Hey Anna, add another plate for mom's guest." - Bela said to the closest maid.
Anna was present listening to the conversation of the young ladies. She was surprised that Erron was invited by the Lady of the castle. However, she hid her emotions from her and just nodded and left the room.
"Well, I see no problem ... although of course, if he puts the pints of his own blood it would be more than satisfactory." - Said Cassandra.
"And that's not all. Daniela, do you remember the pocket book from the other day? I found several things more than interesting." - Bela continued with the news. - "Today we will make him sing."
"Wow, he asked me in the morning about the paperback." - Daniela said remembering the conversation in the morning with him. - "Did you find any embarrassing secrets?"
Then Bela's smile widened.
"Even better." Bela said, and at the same time, her mother's heavy heels were slowly heard. Soon the women separated from the group and took their seats.
The great door opened in two, and through that door appeared the Lady of the castle. Walking gracefully, she made her way to the table with her beloved daughters.
"Good evening, Lady Dimitrescu." Said the maid with her head down Martha, the only maid in the room.
"Good evening Martha." - Lady Dimitrescu said to this maiden. Education was one of the great treasures that Lady Dimitrescu can appreciate from mortals.
Lady Dimitrescu approached the table and looked at the smiling faces of her daughters. They clearly loved her mother, as she loves her daughters.
But before Lady Dimitrescu said a word, Daniela spoke.
"Mother! Mother! It is true that the cowboy will eat with us." - Daniela said with great joy.
"That was about to say." Lady Dimitrescu said to her daughter.
"The man-thing will dine with us today, so I order you to behave as you are, respectable ladies of excellent education." Lady Dimitrescu said to her three daughters with a soft voice but that she maintained certain nuances of discipline.
"Sure mother, I don't see any problem." -Daniela said with her characteristic smile.
"If you want, it's fine." - Cassandra said, not caring.
"Oh, of course I do." -Said Bela smiling at her mother's order with double intention, after all, she saw her mother's reaction to her sister's joke, when her mother appeared she had some interest in Erron .
Lady Dimitrescu was happy with that, she thought that her daughters would react negatively, however, she found the reaction of her daughters positive.
Then at that moment, the door opened and she revealed the guest. It was him, it was Erron Black. He wore his hat as he had always liked, but he wore his servant outfit, except for the black bow tie and white gloves.
"I can pass?" - Erron said to the women sitting at the table.
"Of course, you are my guest." The Castle Lady replied, pleased to see her guest. She thought that he would show up in the full maid outfit, however, he was there, with the hat that Daniela gave him and without the butler outfit pieces.
Then Erron advanced. Near him there was a coat rack and there he left his hat. He started walking towards the table. The large table was immense. However, he would take a chair near and at the same time away from his daughter and mother.
"Sit next to me. I don't bite." Cassandra said, showing her vampire teeth affiliated with hers like ivory.
"Cassandra ..." Said the Lady in a serious tone at her daughter's joke. Lady Dimitrescu feared that her night would be ruined.
But against all odds, Erron rose from his position and walked over to the part of the table where the women had gathered. He took the chair next to Cassandra and said.
"And I tend to keep my word." Erron said with a confident smile, alluding to the fact that Dimitrescu's daughters were keeping his word.
Cassandra was speechless, really this man who came out of nowhere has put the daughters of the dragon under control, and even the dragon herself. He certainly wasn't afraid of them at all.
Seconds passed when the front door opened, and from there the maids appeared carrying the food carts. Mariana led the maids with the luxury dishes already prepared.
"Good evening, my Lady." - As she arrived with her entourage of servants who acted with their heads bowed before their mistress.
Despite Anna notifying Mariana about the guest, other servants did not find out until they saw Erron at the lady's table. The maids who did not know about this, had to hide their faces of surprise under the mask of their servitude before the family.
"Good evening Mariana, I see and smell that you have done a splendid job." - Lady Dimitrescu said, pleased that her servants managed to prepare such a banquet.
Mariana just smiled and made her curtsy. Then she and the other servants would begin to distribute the food, a soup to whet the appetite was the common thing. The soup would be noodles and mushrooms, the usual for the Lady, but the most delicious and tasteful for Daniela.
The first to receive her portion was the Lady, it was a large plate, for obvious reasons.
Then the daughters received their bowl of soup. And finally Erron was the last to receive food, but this time it was served by Anna herself. The two collided glances and Anna was surprised that Erron dined at the family table as a guest.
Once the diners had their food, the maids left, leaving only Mariana and Olga, the highly trusted maids, and a couple more maids including Elena and Anna.
Like Cassandra, Erron was very hungry, despite having recovered from work with the horses in the afternoon, his body demanded that he be fed.
"Let her of the first spoon." Erron thought to himself. Just like some wolf packs do, where alphas come first and betas second, Erron thought something like that would work at the table.
She passed the silver spoon on the plate to pick up a piece of mushroom and after tasting it, she chewed her food gracefully and politely and then passed it down her throat.
"Delicious as always, Mariana." - Lady DImitrescu said to her maid who was on the other side of the room.
After she gave the compliment, the rest of the diners would start consuming their respective soups. Then Erron would join them in tasting the soup.
"What do you think cowboy? This is really a treat." -Said the young Daniela while she was still chewing her food, something very unpleasant for all to see.
"Yes it is." - Erron said after having eaten his first soup tests well, not only satisfying Daniela's question, but also because the soup was quite good.
"Daniela, please don't talk with your mouth full." - Cassandra said when she saw how Daniela spoke like that.
Then Daniela turned to her mother, who looked at her with disapproving eyes at such an unpleasant mischief. Daniela just finished chewing and then returns to her plate with her head down.
Lady Dimitrescu felt that her daughters would ruin her evening, as their antics and attitudes could make her dear ... Guest uncomfortable. But it was the opposite, he didn't flinch or get angry, he just continued like nothing.
At first, she thought that such behavior from her daughters would not bother him, since he would suffer some kind of punishment as a consequence of complaining about her, however, that was not the case. He he It seems that he does not fear them much at all. That appealed to her a lot.
But now, she watched him with her golden eyes as he ate mushroom soup, the hardest and strongest way to chew. She liked watching him eat like this. But when she looked at Erron, she didn't notice the mischievous, conspiratorial look from her golden-haired daughter who was looking at her mother.
Time passed fast. The family ate for the most part in silence, a silence that was interrupted by the conversations of Daniela and Cassandra in their entirety, but the daughters' gazes fell on Erron at times. But the look Lady Dimitrescu gave her guest was the one that interested him most. Erron felt it too, that heavy gaze of the Lady on him. He did not much care for the daughters' glances, but the mother's were something else. He didn't dare look at Lady Dimitrescu even though a part of him told him to do so. Such a thought had no reason to do that, but he was there, pressuring him in vain.
As if it were a coordinated work, the 5 diners finished their dishes almost at the same time. All that was left were empty plates with nothing of content. The maids noticed this and soon came to collect the dishes for the others. They finally retired to bring the main course for the diners.
Once again, silence at the table was present, but not for long.
"Hey Erron, where exactly are you from?" - Asked the young woman with golden hair, Bela.
"I'm from Texas." - Erron answered without hesitation, if that brat was going to tell them the whole truth about him, so be it.
"I think the answer was very obvious, Bela." - Daniela replied as she leaned back in her seat.
Bela smiled at her sister who was next to her, then gave Erron a wicked smile.
"So, what is a Texan man-thing doing in the cold lands of Eastern Europe?" - Bela asked Erron lively.
"I'm sorry Miss Bela, that violates my professional ethics." Erron replied with her singular confident smile that at the same time hid her growing anger at every question she asked him.
"Professional ethics? What do you work on or what?" - Daniela asked. She was the only one of the three daughters who did not pay attention to the fact of Erron's arrival. She just thought that he was a random traveler who came to town and managed to enrage Uncle Heis.
Lady Dimitrescu listened carefully to the conversation. It was pretty clear that Bela already found out what she already knew about Erron. At first, she thought about stopping this "friendly" questioning, but the speed and self-confidence with which Erron answered the questions made it clear that Erron did not need support. Perhaps tonight the daughters will receive the news of the "blue prince."
"I remember you said you were from private security, or something like that. But the way you fight and your tools leave more questions than answers on second thought." - Cassanda said to Erron, who was still next to him.
Meanwhile, the front door was opening, and the maids arrived with the main course with the long-awaited main course.
As the maids set the plates with the luscious, juicy meat, Erron thought carefully about his next move. First of all, her mother knew this beforehand, so the risk of being killed by her was low. Second, Bela already knew the truth from reading her paperback, so she wanted Erron to tell it all.
Erron thought things through very well, he was determined to tell the truth of everything because this case would not be the same as the mother's case, it would be a complete truth.
"Well, since you ask me, I am an unemployed mercenary." - Erron said as he buried his knife in the soft meat of the plate.
Those in the room were speechless, except for Bela and the mother.
"Are you a mercenary? But you said you were from private security." - Asked Cassandra surprised to hear that answer. Although she hoped that he was some kind of murderer who came to town to try to finish the work of the idiots of last week. But her assumption was not beyond question.
As Cassandra asked her question, Erron was tasting the piece of soft meat.
"If you think about it, as a mercenary I look after my client's safety." - Erron said as he looked at Cassandra.
Bela smiled upon hearing Erron's response. He couldn't lie, as she had all the evidence against Erron in case of lying to Bela.
But then Lady Dimitrescu spoke.
"Well my daughters, I think it is time to tell you something very important, and it has to do with the appearance of our guest here." - Lady Dimitrescu said to her daughters, while she focused her vision on Erron, to which this time Erron looked back at her. Despite being the great lady of the castle who made decisions and orders without consulting anyone, a small part of her asked her to get Erron's approval.
"Oh well, it will be a long night." - Erron said to himself while at the same time looking into the Lady's golden eyes. It seemed like she was asking for approval to tell the story. Erron just nodded.
"My daughters, do you remember the story of the train? In recent days I have been reminded of it and of course, the presence of our guest." -Lady Dimitrescu said as she clasped her hands on the table.
"Of course, I'd already forgotten about it until I saw the man-thing with Uncle Heis at the Arena games and we found out his name." - Cassandra said remembering that incredible fight.
"Yes, it was my favorite story you told us before we went to bed." -Daniela said when she remembered when she was younger.
"Of course I remember it well. But what does it have to do with the guest?" - Bela asked strangely, because this was strange to her.
Lady Dimitrescu took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, during that second that her golden eyes were closed, she thought well what she was going to say.
"That man who saved me from the train in 1887 in Texas, he's sitting at the same table with us tonight." said Lady Dimitrescu, as she took the cup of Sanguinis Virginis. She pretended to be calm as she took the glass of wine from her, but inside her she felt an inner emotion to show them the true unprecedented of Erron before her daughters. Soon, the reactions were immediate.
"Wait, mother ... are you saying this man-thing is the same thing that saved you from the train over 150 years ago?" Cassandra asked, who showed a surprised expression on her face.
"That's it, my daughter, this man is the original Erron Black." Lady DImitrescu said, responding in disbelief to her daughter's question.
Then Daniela said.
"It's a joke, right mother? It is not possible that a normal man can be alive at this moment." -Daniela said, and like her sister Cassandra hers, she was incredulous at this. She thought her mother was trying to prank them for the comments about the real hero. It was at that moment that she remembered a part of the story. - "Besides, you told us yourself that this hero was hanged a few years later."
Lady Dimitrescu found her daughters' expressions of astonishment and confusion adorable. It was not surprising, such news was incredible for her daughters as incredible as it was for her in her day, when she reviewed the files of that forgotten investigation.
But before Lady Dimitrescu, she spoke. Erron spoke.
"You are wrong Miss Daniela, I am not like other normal men, I am Erron Black." - He said to her while he showed her self-confident smile. - "Besides, the one who was hanged was still an authentic" man-thing "as you say. Believe me, that idiot wanted him for stealing my name."
Everyone in this room, including the maids, was impressed. Mainly the maids, only Olga and Mariana knew about this story, because in her youth they had seen Lady and her daughters talk about the "blue prince" very few times.
"But how? Mother are you really ..." - Cassandra asked her mother and then she was interrupted by her own mother.
"It would be better if he told us his story. For my part I am completely sure. In my room there are several documents that verify it and that can confirm it." -Lady Dimitrescu answered the shared doubt of her daughters.
"Erron Black, could you tell us your side of the story at this dinner?" Lady Dimitrescu asked her dearest guest.
Then Erron Black sighed and thought "it really will be a long night" before saying ...
"Okay, I think that's appropriate, but before we begin, could I have a shot of Whiskey? This wine is very good, but I'm more adept at Whiskey."
Lady DImitrescu motioned for one of her servants to comply with this request. Although she or her daughters do not drink that vulgar drink, hers other guests of hers did, they drank whiskey, vodka or even beer, as is the case of the brute Heisneberg. Having those drinks was more for courtesies than for own consumption.
As one of the maids opened the door to fetch that drink from the pantry, Erron proceeded to count.
"Once upon a time, in the warm Texas of 1876, there was a handsome marksman. One Erron Black ...
Beautiful people who follow me. This chapter originally planned to publish it in its entirety, but it is better to consider that it would be best to divide it in half, so it will be two parts in a row since it was a lot of text. Anyway, the next one will be out very soon. See you later : D
