Joseph made his way down the stairs towards the room the Duke was supposedly in. He had heard all about this man from Cassandra yesterday, and was quite interested in meeting him. Apparently the Duke had been working with Alcina for quite some time, and there was nothing that he couldn't do or get for someone. Joseph was amused by this as it was quite a bold claim, but he was willing to give Cassandra the benefit of the doubt.

As he made his way to the door, sure enough it was open, and sitting behind a table was who he could only assume was the Duke. He was a surprisingly large man who wore a blue suit over a white undershirt. He was currently reading a book in one hand while he had a cigar in another.

Almost as if he sensed Joseph's presence, he turned his head towards him and smiled while he put his book down.

"Why, hello there! You must be Joseph, the new homestay of this castle!"

Joseph gave a smile in return and walked in.

"I am, and you must be the Duke. It's very nice to meet you!" He said as he reached out and shook the man's hand.

"Countess Dimitrescu told me all about how you saved Lady Cassandra. That was quite brave of you, taking on a large brown bear like that." The duke said.

Joseph chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I didn't exactly do it unarmed. I had a weapon with me that really helped."

The Duke raised his eyebrows.

"Even still, no minor feat, especially considering the situation you yourself were in. You are truly something Joseph."

Joseph chuckled again and waved his hand.

"I wouldn't go that far. I mean, I'm not a superhero or anything. I was just someone who was in the right place at the right time to help Cassandra. I'm just happy she's okay."

The Duke's smile grew even larger at these words.

"And you are very modest too! It's no wonder the Countess thinks so highly of you. In fact, you're the first man she's ever trusted."

Hearing this, Joseph's smile faded and was replaced with a look of confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Perhaps I should back up. Countess Dimitrescu doesn't exactly have the best history with men. In fact, until you came along, she viewed them as nothing more than, to quote her, 'vile creatures who care for nothing but getting rich and reproducing.'"

Joseph sighed and nodded.

"Well there certainly are men like that in the world, that's for sure. And they disgust me too, but not all men are like that. In fact, some of them are even better people than I ever will be."

"Don't sell yourself short Joseph. You've already lifted the spirits of so many people here." The Duke said with a smile.

"What do you mean by that? Have Alcina and her daughters not been happy in recent years?" Joseph asked

The Duke let out a hearty laugh which surprised him.

"My, she even lets you call her by her first name? You really have made an impression!"

Joseph blushed a bit at that compliment. The Duke suddenly adopted a slightly more serious face.

"To answer your question, yes, but the Countess has insisted on telling you everything herself once Lady Cassandra has fully recovered."

"That makes sense." Joseph replied. "She probably wants to put all her attention on that before worrying about something else. She is a mother after all."

The Duke nodded in agreement.

"I was given permission to tell you the basics though. You no doubt have noticed Countess Dimitrescu's impressive stature, yes?"

"Well yeah, but I didn't want to ask about it. That would be rude."

The Duke gave another hearty laugh.

"Trust me. She isn't as sensitive about it as you may think, but you were certainly polite in thinking that. Anyway, as you might expect, she wasn't always that tall. Tell me. Have you heard the word 'Cadou' from anyone yet?"

Joseph frowned in confusion before shaking his head.

"No I haven't. What's a Cadou?"

"Well to put it simply, it's a unique organism that was implanted into Countess Dimitrescu when she first arrived here. This organism can improve the host's body, but can also cause mutations. In the case of Countess Dimitrescu, she grew significantly taller and gained a remarkable healing ability. Her daughters, well, they can dematerialize themselves into insects to fly around."

Joseph's eyes widened.

"Wait, what?!"

The Duke just smiled.

"I assure you, it's true. Ask them to demonstrate it for you at some point."

Joseph stood for a moment to process what he had just heard before speaking again.

"So this Cadou, is it like a parasite? Similar to the Las Plagas that were used in Africa a while back?"

"Precisely. However, the Cadou has no relation to Las Plagas. It's its own unique thing that was created by Mother Miranda."

Mother Miranda. Joseph had heard that name the night he arrived at the Castle, but he had completely forgotten to ask about it. Well, now was a good chance to do so.

"I've heard of this Mother Miranda, but who exactly is she?"

The Duke sighed.

"Nobody knows the full answer to that, I'm afraid. All that's important though is that she's the ruler of this village, and has been that way for many years. Four lords serve under her. One being Countess Dimitrescu, and you've already met Lord Beneviento from what I understand."

"Yes I have, but only briefly. I've heard though that she's a talented seamstress."

"She most certainly is. She also owns a successful doll making business."

Again, Joseph's eyes widened.

"She does?"

"Indeed. She inherited it from her father a little while back as well as her favorite doll, Angie. Oh, you will just love her when you meet her."

Joseph didn't know why the Duke spoke of Angie like a person, but he didn't question it and let the man continue.

"The third lord is Moreau. He was affected by the Cadou the worst, sadly. He was horribly deformed and doesn't come out often due to people fearing his appearance, though he wouldn't hurt a soul."

Joseph felt really bad for this Moreau. Judged for his looks and not for who he was. Suddenly, something he remembered hearing from the maid Olivia came to mind.

"Is that why Lord Beneviento also doesn't come out and wears a veil?" He asked.

The Duke's eyebrows raised.

"You catch on quick, but I will say no more to respect her privacy."

"Of course."

The Duke snuffed out his cigar before continuing.

"Last, but certainly not least is Heisenberg. He's quite the character, that one. He also has the ability to control metal."

Joseph laughed out loud. This was starting to get absurd.

"Wait, you mean like Magneto from the X-Men?"

"I know it sounds outlandish, but it's true. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to show it off when you meet him."

Joseph composed himself before speaking again.

"It's not that I don't believe you Duke, I just wasn't expecting to hear that."

"Oh, this village is full of the unexpected Joseph. You'll see in time."

"I don't doubt that. Thank you for telling me all of this Duke. You really helped me understand things a lot more."

The Duke gave a warm smile.

"Of course, Joseph. Like I said, Countess Dimitrescu will explain the rest when she's able to, but I'm glad I was able to be of assistance."

Joseph smiled back.

He really seems like a nice guy. He thought, but suddenly, he remembered the other reason he came there.

"There is one other thing I want to ask you. I have a list of things that I would like to get for the girls, and I was wondering if you could help me with it."

"Well, let's have a look." The Duke said as Joseph handed him the list. After going over it, the Merchant looked back up.

"I'm glad to say you're in luck. Some of these things I do have in stock. The others though will take some time to arrive in if that's okay."

Joseph was speechless. Cassandra wasn't kidding. The Duke really could get anything.

"That's totally okay, Duke. Thank you so much for doing this." Joseph said, but then he realized, he would have to pay for everything.

Embarrassed, he excused himself to go fetch Alcina. And after a few minutes he returned with the Countess. The Duke gave her the list and as she was reading through it, Joseph spoke up.

"I know some of these things are expensive so I understand if you don't want to get them."

Alcina turned to him and smiled.

"Joseph, you keep forgetting that you are part of this castle now. This means that part of the money made from the winery is yours. I haven't fully set you up yet, but once that happens you can use the money however you like. It won't be ready for another few days though so I will pay for this. No need to worry."

Joseph was about to protest, but Alcina put her hand up to silence him.

"Don't you dare say it's too much. I won't listen."

The Duke was very amused at the scene going on in front of him.

"If I may be so bold Countess, you seem to be treating him as if he were one of your own." He said.

Alcina smiled in response.

"He is a member of House Dimitrescu Duke, so he will be treated as such. He's already done so much for my family, and it looks like he wants to do even more."

It warmed Joseph's heart to hear Alcina say that. He really had found a home after so long. Before he let his emotions show, he decided to humor the Countess.

"Well that and I have a bet to win."

Alcina froze and scrunched her face while the Duke raised an eyebrow.

"With Lady Cassandra I presume?" He asked.

"Unfortunately." Alcina said with a sigh.

This caused both Joseph and the Duke to burst out laughing.