Author's Note:
Honestly, I wanted to write a chapter for another story, but I had a moment of inspiration.
Then, I started writing, writing a lot.
This is one of the longest chapters I've written in recent times, so long that I had to split it into two parts.
XXX
Story Arc: Welcome to Hogwarts
Episode 1: A teacher for the DADA class (III)
Chapter 3: Midnight Express
Plot: Zelretch and Dumbledore, after a turbulent elevator ride, reach the Occult Detective's office and discover that he has a Golden Diva with him.
XXX
POV Narrator
Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, has seen it all and been in every situation in his 114 years. But being in an elevator with his old friend, Zelretch, and two charming and frightening young men is something new.
The elevator continued to descend, until it reached 50 meters below ocean level.
"How deep is this elevator going?" asks Dumbledore, sure that he's been inside the elevator for several minutes and is starting to feel claustrophobic.
"Respected guest, we're almost there." Lancer informs stoically.
At that moment, four grab handles emerged from the ceiling of the elevator, as if it were a bus or a train.
"Hold on to the handrails, Dumbledore. Now the fun part of this race is about to begin." Zelretch exclaims, gripping one of the grab handles.
Suddenly, the elevator swerves sharply to the left with a pneumatic hiss, then rears up diagonally.
Dumbledore grabs one of the grab handles roughly with both hands, dropping the welcome case to the floor.
The elevator began executing a series of frantic zigzags through a system of tracks.
"Zelretch, what's happening? Are we in an elevator or a runaway train!?" asks the Headmaster of Hogwarts, his stomach churning in yet another ninety-degree turn.
Zelretch bursts into a hearty laugh, enjoying the spectacle.
"Blame Willy Wonka and Roald Dahl, Belmont saw the movie and decided that an elevator that only goes up and down is awesome," Zelretch explains, treating this turbulent elevator ride like a roller coaster.
The elevator makes one final lateral lurch, a sharp movement that seems to cut through reality itself, and stops with a pneumatic sigh.
The doors slide to reveal a minimalist, sterile underground station, one of many "ghost stations" in this secret subway network that pulsates beneath Boston.
But there is a little touch of Belmont's eccentricity: against the brushed metal walls are rows of elegantly designed vending machines, similar to those in Japan.
For fun, there's even a blue British telephone box.
"We have to get out." Archer said, his voice stern.
The first to come out was Dumbledore, followed by Zelretch, who kindly took his briefcase, and finally, Lancer and Archer.
"Zelretch, can you tell me exactly where we are? I've never heard of Boston having elevators that travel in four directions and an underground subway system like this?" asks Dumbledore, looking at his old friend.
"Before I answer you, I need to tell you a little story. When Belmont was 14, he created his first artifact, a Black Cube, capable of many tricks. He called it the Daedalus Cube." Zelretch tells all this for a reason.
"Daedalus, after the famous wizard, architect, sculptor, and inventor of Ancient Greece? Famous for building the Minotaur's labyrinth in Crete." Said Dumbledore, knowing the legend of the individual who existed between myth and reality.
"Yes, Belmont had grand plans and ambitions from the beginning, both of which grew alongside his prowess. Look what he's accomplished. He's taken the myth of Daedalus's Labyrinth and updated it to the twenty-first century in the form of an occult railway network that wraps around the city like a noose." Zelretch said, as if he were a teacher praising his now-famous student.
"This place is ironically named Ariadne's Circuit. Except, unlike the myth, the wire isn't there to get you out: the tracks are essentially the strands of a huge steel spiderweb that stretches everywhere. A bit of an exaggeration, but it's much more comfortable than walking for miles in a dank, dark dungeon." Zelretch provides the answer to Dumbledore's question and adds a few small tidbits.
"When can I meet the famous Belmont who keeps talking, or should we take a ladder up or down?" said Dumbledore, not knowing what to expect.
"My Master should be here any moment." Lancer said, able to figure out the Occult Detective's location due to their Master-Servant connection.
ZUUUUM!
ZUUUUM!
The sound of an approaching train can be heard in the underground subway.
"Little advice, Dumbledore, let me speak first and no smoking, no drinking, no words like 'For the greater good' or 'How old are you?'" Zelretch said, knowing the things the Occult Detective does not tolerate.
"I hope you know what you're doing, it would be sad to return to Hogwarts empty-handed, after all the traveling we've done." Dumbledore said, wanting a positive outcome.
In front of the group of four individuals, a bullet train, with an aerodynamic and aggressive aesthetic, consisting of a locomotive and five carriages, stopped.
The train is dark purple in color, with obsidian black sections, decorated with silver lines.
For some unknown reason, this train has no windows or glass of any kind; instead, it has a sort of advanced-looking mechanical armor.
Sure, with the push of a button the train would become more of an armored tank with defensive turrets than a lightning-fast train.
On the locomotive there is a silver metal plate that says: Midnight Express.
Each carriage is 25 meters long, 3 meters wide and 4 meters high.
In total, the train is 125 meters long, 150 meters if you count the locomotive, although it would be more correct to call it the motorized head carriage.
'This is the most normal thing on this journey, a train on tracks.' Dumbledore thinks, happy to see something familiar.
Obviously, the Hogwarts Express, based on a GWR 4900 Class 5972 "Olton Hall", is no comparison to the Midnight Express, which looks a little like the L0 Series Maglev.
But for Dumbledore, a train is a train.
The door of the first carriage, which is located in the middle of the length of the carriage, opens by itself, as if inviting those present to get in.
"Guests, come in, the Master is waiting for you." Lancer said, standing behind the pair of elderly wizards.
"Time waits for no one," Archer said sternly, urging the guests to move.
"I am very curious to see what kind of man this Belmont is," said Dumbledore, walking towards the first carriage.
"You'll be speechless, everyone does when they first meet him." Zelretch said, expecting a funny reaction.
The small group of four individuals entered the first car of the Midnight Express, which can be considered the mobile office of the Chief Investigator of the B&L Detective Agency.
XXX
The interior of the first carriage appears to be slightly larger on the inside than on the outside, the width is six meters, a height of eight meters and a length of thirty meters.
The place is elegant, tidy, with a marked symmetry, almost obsessive-compulsive.
The colors of the whole are mainly black, red and gold.
The design gives an old school feel, with a touch of Steampunk.
As if a library, an armory and an office made a child together, then he was sent to study engineering.
On the ceiling are five glass lamps that illuminate the carriage, but instead of electricity, the light comes from small crystals inside them.
In addition to the light bulbs, you install neon tubes, spending per hour, and thin gold/bronze metal tubes, which run the entire length of the ceiling.
Crawling upside down on the pipes is a whole flock of bats made of metal, gears and gems for eyes.
The floor is covered with high-quality red carpet, as if it belonged in a Hollywood movie theater.
In both south corners, there are L-shaped red Italian leather sofas, with luxury round poker tables in front of them.
The base features a complex helical shape created by overlapping several lacquered rings.
It features a motorized pop-up mechanism, operated by a button, which raises the central part of the table revealing an internal bar compartment for bottles and chips.
Above and to the side of each sofa are glass-doored cabinets displaying alchemy flasks, statuettes, precious gems, antique vases, small animal skulls, and jars filled with viscous substances and eyes.
In each corner to the north, there are four
Library shelves, arranged in an L-shape, filled to the brim with books. These shelves are taller than normal, reaching a full six meters in the air. Hence the incredibly high ceiling.
At the top of the shelves are glass cases containing models of various vehicles from different eras, model spaceships and mecha, even action figures of cute girls in sci-fi armor (Frame Arms Girl).
Next to the library shelves are full-sized black wooden drawers and cabinets, likely containing valuable/dangerous instruments.
In the free space between the two corners of knowledge, there is a wall on which a veritable arsenal of weapons have been hung, from medieval weapons to modern ones, some of them clearly high-tech.
Among the weapons is a large round mechanism, composed of gears and clock hands, practically the most complex wall clock in the world, which tells much more than the passage of time.
In front of this small display of weapons and a single clock-like mechanical work, there is a futuristic black metal desk in the shape of a U – or rather, it would be more accurate to say that it is shaped like the ancient Omega (Ω) symbol.
The surface of the desk is shiny and smooth, as if it were glass or a huge touchscreen, although probably only one part has this capability.
On the left side of the desk is a three-legged silver stand from which rises an exquisite silver staff in the shape of an inverted J, from which hangs a silver birdcage.
Inside the cage is a female crow with silver claws and beak. Her name is Carmen the Crow, and she is a Familiar, a creature magically bound to a person as their servant.
Behind the desk are two luxurious armchairs fit for a king or queen.
On the left, a red, black, silver-decorated armchair.
On the right, a blue, white armchair, decorated with gold.
On the floor in front of the desk, there are seven large metal circles, the largest at three meters, each circle becoming smaller than the last. Each is made of a different material to emit a defense with a different property. This is obviously a magical containment trap.
XXX
Once the small group of four individuals entered the carriage, Lancer and Archer wasted no time in reuniting with their Masters.
Karna stood to the right of the chair where Bruce Bel Bahamut Belmont, the Occult Detective of Boston and holder of numerous titles, some good, some bad, is sitting.
Bruce, at first glance, looks like a teenager in late puberty, even though he is 31 years old on paper and has lived many more in spirit.
He is 175 centimeters tall, has a slim, thin, graceful physique, an androgynous build.
Her skin is milky white, smooth and free from imperfections.
Her face features soft, delicate features, thin eyelashes, and a facial structure almost identical to her antenna, Morgana Le Fay.
On a positive note, she resembles Artoria Pendragon, Morgan Le Fay's Half-Sister.
In the present, her very long hair is pitch black.
Her hair is kept in a hairstyle inspired by a certain Mei Mei (Jujutsu Kaisen).
Her hair is tied in a long side braid that reaches down to her waist and a fringe that covers the left side of her face.
The right eye is light gray in color.
Because of his slender physique, Saberface-like face, long hair and soft, androgynous voice, Bruce Belmont is very often mistaken for a woman, something that has served him well on several occasions and has caused many amusing misunderstandings for observers.
If anyone is wondering, yes, Bruce Belmont gets along very well with: Astolfo, Chevalier d'Eon, Enkidu and Rama.
Bruce is dressed like an old-time predator.
His long, dark red coat billowed like a cloak of blood over an impeccable suit: a tight-fitting black waistcoat, a crisp white shirt, and a crimson tie that matched the intensity of the overcoat.
The red belt breaks the continuity of the black trousers, marking a slim waist that deceives the eye as to its real strength.
Metallic details punctuate his figure: the wallet chain shines against the black of the fabric, while the tie clip and pocket watch suggest an obsession with order and time.
At the end of her raven braid, three silver beads tinkled faintly, an almost delicate detail that contrasted with the aura of danger she exudes.
Above the sleeve of his coat, like a mark of an era not yet come to pass, stood out that golden C-shaped device. Simple, essential, but visibly alien to the rest of his noir style.
That technological jewel seems to pulsate with a silent threat: anyone who had the time to notice it up close and discover its function, would not have lived long enough to tell the tale.
The Occult Detective has two animals with him, one special and one common.
The special pet can be described as a strange ferret that resembles Kudamon, a character from the old Digimon cartoon.
This creature is a pseudo-demon accidentally created as a result of a series of unique and rare circumstances.
Its basic name is Vritra, like the colossal serpent/dragon of Hindu mythology, which personifies drought and chaos by blocking the waters of rivers.
Vritra wrapped itself around the Occult Detective's neck like a silk scarf, interrupted only occasionally by a sudden, vibrant yawn from the fur.
The standard animal is a Doberman, a medium-sized, elegant and muscular dog, with an athletic physique and an almost square structure.
The head is wedge-shaped, with dark, expressive eyes that convey a lively intelligence. The coat is short and glossy, black with well-defined brown markings.
The Doberman was standing next to the legs of the chair, ready to obey his master's command.
Arjuna stood to the left side of the chair where Adeline Wu Jones was sitting.
She is Belmont's younger twin sister, a Hollywood Golden Diva whose brilliance and talent hide multiple identities and abilities that have no place on the big screen.
Adeline is a beautiful, tanned woman who is 31 years old, but looks about 18; looking younger than she should is a family trait.
She has short, straight, light platinum blonde hair and long bangs that cover most of the right side of her face.
A new thing for her, she's kept her hair long until now.
Adeline's left eye is a golden yellow, like polished gold.
Adeline is 175 centimeters tall and has the body of a super swimsuit model: slender legs, ample breasts, a narrow waist and a perfectly curved bottom.
Its three dimensions are: L92, D60, H92.
Overall, Adeline resembles Artoria Pendragon (Lancer), but with more feminine and elegant features.
Half of Adeline's success as a model, actress, singer and dancer is due to her captivating looks.
Adeline wears a sexy and bold dress.
Adeline's dress was a gravity-defying, strapless silk puff. The cut flowed boldly along her décolleté, stopping boldly at mid-thigh, allowing her every step to capture the light and the gaze.
Adeline's short, low-cut dress was framed by sky-high white boots that climbed up her legs and disappeared beneath the hem of her skirt, elongating her figure with sharp heels.
The matching gloves, which reached above the elbow and were finished with an impeccable cuff, added a touch of old-world class to her sass.
To top it all off, his iconic French blue beret, tilted with studied nonchalance.
Adeline, like her brother, wears her share of accessories.
On the left side of the blue cap, almost defying gravity, shone an intricately crafted golden badge. Its shape, a hybrid between a geometric snowflake and a stylized flower, held at its center a small, pale blue gem, a spark of ice that caught the light with every tilt of the head.
At the neck, a soft blue velvet bow matched the color of the hat, held in the center by a precious golden gem that shone with every breath, adding a touch of mischievous grace to the deep neckline.
On her white-gloved fingers, Adeline sported ten heavy gold rings, one on each finger. Each setting held a gem carved in the shape of a flickering flame, each a different, vibrant color. Engraved within the stones, Chinese trigrams shone like ancient secrets, transforming her every gesture into a play of chromatic light and arcane symbols.
The Golden Diva doesn't have a small team of animals with her like the Occult Detective; next to the legs of her chair is a Margay, a small wild feline native to Mexico.
Its fur is brown and marked with numerous rows of dark brown or black rosettes and longitudinal streaks.
The underside is lighter, ranging from beige to white, and the tail has numerous dark bands and a black tip. The backs of the ears are black with white circular markings in the center.
In front of the desk, above the seven rings on the floor, are Zelretch and Dumbledore.
'Have Americans always been this attractive?' Dumbledore thinks, raising an eyebrow.
Ever since the Headmaster of Hogwarts set foot in the Blackport district, he has only met people with beauty beyond the norm.
"Hello, Adeline, short hair looks surprisingly good on you." Zelretch said, stepping forward, starting the conversation with a compliment to the lady.
"I know, no matter what I change, my beauty is unmatched." Adeline replies in a vain voice, while touching her hair.
"I prefer long hair, it's a lot more work, but the beauty and fun make up for it," Bruce comments in a stoic, serious voice.
"Don't worry, Brother, I'll make you love short hair, that'll be my mission for this year." Adeline said in a flirtatious voice, turning to her other half.
"Did you take a sabbatical from your career just to stand over me and drive me crazy?" Bruce asks, touching his temple, as if the Diva's words might give him a headache.
Watching this little bickering between the twins, Zelretch can't help but smile, he's heard some great news.
"This will come in handy, Adeline is free. Ideally, I'd like to take both, but if that doesn't work out, I'll settle for the Spider Priestess who pulls a thousand threads with one move." Zelretch thinks, knowing that Adeline could be an excellent teacher for the Defense Against the Dark Arts subject.
Adeline is not an atomic bomb like her brother, she is more of a biological weapon that can spread rapidly.
"My goal is to allow my two Stars, Kong and Ying, to be with their favorite uncle and their beloved female cousins." Adeline said sincerely, stating her goal for this gap year.
"You're just a stalker-type, brocon, meikon, cupicon, pro-Chinese, hedonistic, exhibitionist Yandere female." Bruce declares, not entirely believing Adeline's motives.
'I barely understood anything they said. Was it some kind of spell in a lost language?' Dumbledore thought, unable to understand this kind of language.
"And you are my beloved brother, kuudere, tsundere, sharp-tongued." Adeline replies, with a huge smile, as if she had received a compliment.
"One day I'm going to cut out your tongue so you can stop saying stupid things." Bruce said, crossing his arms and shaking his head in the opposite direction.
"For me, your insults and threats are a sign of love," Adeline said, knowing how her brother's mind works.
Zelretch could have watched Belmont and Adeline argue with each other for hours, but he has a job to do.
"Hello, Belmont, haven't seen you in a while." Zelretch said, stepping forward.
"What do you want, Zelretch?" Bruce asks, his voice unfriendly.
"Esther, you told me you were in a good mood?" Zelretch said, surprised by the Occult Detective's hostility towards him.
"I was, enjoying a slice of cake," Bruce said, pointing to a small plate with a slice of cake on it, next to a fork, on the desk.
"Then you showed up and my good mood vanished." Bruce said, looking Zelretch straight in the eye.
"Are you still angry about what happened last time?" asks Zelretch, accustomed to a less intense attitude from the Occult Detective.
Bruce remains silent but his good eye seems to glow faintly in a menacing way, the grey has turned silver.
"My brother can hold a grudge for a very long time, it took him ten years to forgive me for my mistakes since I was 15," Adeline said, joking about things that happened in the past.
"It'll be a little more challenging than expected, but I know how to handle it," Zelretch thinks, confident that he'll gain Belmont's services, but he'll have to pay a higher price than expected.
"I have a little job for you, Belmont." Zelretch said, maintaining a confident expression.
"I know, you only come to me when you need my skills, never a courtesy or pleasure visit." Bruce said, continuing to express his displeasure.
"Once a year, I come to give you a gift for your birthday." Zelretch said, speaking of a good thing he does without asking for anything in return.
"Sometimes a day or weeks late or early." Bruce said, finding a flaw in Zelretch's defense.
"Punctuality can be difficult for me sometimes." Zelretch said, raising his hands in apology/defense.
Traveling through parallel worlds can easily alter an individual's sense of time.
"Also, choosing gifts isn't your strong point, half your gifts are basically bombs ready to explode under the most unexpected circumstances," said the Occult Detective, clearly not enjoying this year's gift.
"Unfortunately, I agree with Mr. Belmont," Dumbledore thinks. He himself has received his share of gifts from Zelretch's father. Some of them have given him a few nightmares.
"You're too serious, Belmont, you should laugh every now and then." Zelretch said, trying to change the subject of the discussion.
"I agree with Zelretch. Brother, you work too hard, you should use all that money and resources to live the good life." Adeline said, nodding at the Mage Marshal's words.
"Aniki, Aneki is not entirely wrong," Vritra declares, speaking in a sleepy tone, as if he were a sloth.
'A talking animal, I wonder what magical breed it is.' Dumbledore thinks, not entirely surprised by what he's just heard.
"Vritra, are you against me?" Bruce asks, looking down at the creature lying on his shoulders.
"I would never do that, simply
I'm all for extra food and rest." Vritra said nonchalantly.
"Then go to sleep." Bruce said, less as a suggestion and more as an order.
"With great pleasure." Vritra said, closing his eyes and... falling asleep in an instant.
Now it looks like the Occult Detective is wearing ferret fur as a scarf.
"Zelretch, why did you come looking for me this time?" Bruce asks, wanting to know if this is serious or trivial.
"Because you're the best at what you do, and this job is suited to your particular talents," Zelretch said, not specifying which talents he was referring to.
"Is all of creation in danger?" Bruce asks, referring to situations so dire that they threaten to destroy everything… on a scale spanning multiple realities/multiverses/timelines—in short, everything.
"No, by the Throne of Heroes, such a situation never exists." Zelretch said without hesitation.
"Is the Multiverse threatened by an Eldritch-type entity?" asks Bruce, having the displeasure of knowing what lurks at the edges of this reality.
"Not at the moment, maybe in the future." Zelretch said, knowing that those foreign monsters are always trying to cause harm.
"Is the universe about to be decimated by a new madman with a glove who wants to collect gems?" Bruce asks, referring to a past enemy who caused a lot of trouble for Earth-2126.
"No, those gems won't be returning for a long time to come." Zelretch said, confident in his words; he did, after all, help hide them.
"Is the Galaxy about to be invaded by alien death machines?" asks Bruce, knowing too much to sleep soundly at night.
"No, it's true, there are people better equipped for this kind of thing." Zelretch said, shrugging.
"Is the world in danger of being torn in two?" Bruce asks, finally getting to the point of talking about local issues.
"No, it's a smaller thing." Zelretch said, quite certain that what happens at Hogwarts can only affect the United Kingdom.
Perhaps, in the worst case scenario, even Ireland or Northern France could be affected to some extent.
"Did someone break time?" asks Bruce, having solved a long list of temporal-spatial anomalies over the years.
"Luckily not, that particular kind of problem gives me a headache." Zelretch said, being an expert in travel through parallel lands, not time travel.
"Heaven and Hell want to start a war?" Bruce asks, pointing his index finger up, then down, both places where there are entities that want him dead.
"No, and by mentioning this possibility, you risk bringing bad luck." Zelretch said, not wanting to interfere in this biblical feud.
"Are vampires planning to take over the world and reduce humanity to mere cattle?" asks Bruce, speaking of matters concerning the Belmont family's business.
"Not this time, but if they try anything, you'll be the first one I call." Zelretch said, knowing that the Belmonts are the best when it comes to dealing with creatures of the night.
"At least someone died!?" Bruce asks aloud, standing up.
"No one so far, but it's possible someone might die," Zelretch said, not knowing what might happen at Hogwarts; last year, Cedric Diggory was killed.
"You said no to everything I said, that means you don't need me specifically, find someone else!" Bruce exclaims, pointing to the exit of the train car.
The Doberman positions himself as if preparing to pounce on Zelretch, Karna remains stoic and silent, but his body is ready to move at the slightest sign.
Dumbledore decides to step forward.
The Headmaster of Hogwarts can see that on the desk, in addition to the plates of cake and a plate of half-empty tea cups, there are two unique objects.
The first is a statuette of a naked woman wearing a lion mask and holding an hourglass.
The second is an authentic human skull, smooth and of a pure white, almost ivory color, covered with runes and engravings.
"Good morning, Mr. Belmont, I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." said Dumbledore, introducing himself by his full name and title.
The Occult Detective's attention shifts from Zelretch to Dumbledore, as if he had flipped a switch and his hostility has vanished.
"Inhuman self-control, one moment pure fire, in the next arctic freeze." Adeline murmurs, watching with interest what is about to happen.
"Hello, I hope the trip wasn't too rough for a man your age. Most of my clients are younger." Bruce said, speaking coolly and calmly, but without a trace of emotion, just pure professional friendliness.
Dumbledore is slightly surprised by the Occult Detective's abrupt change of attitude, but does not refuse such an advantage.
"I'm fine, but those elevators should go slower," Dumbledore said, rubbing one of his elbows; he wouldn't be surprised to find he'd gotten a bruise or two.
"Why are you polite to him but not to me?" Zelretch mutters, pouting, as if he were an overgrown child.
"Zelretch, you forgot, the more hostile my brother is to you, the more he loves you inside... or he wants you dead or far from his city." Adeline explains the two possibilities.
"You've arrived at a bad time and in bad company. Zelretch and I have a history of ups and downs, and we're currently at a low point." Bruce explains, casting a quick, piercing glance at the Wizard Marshal.
"I'm also having my family visit from Los Angeles," Bruce said, nodding toward Adeline, who returned the gesture with a smile and a wave.
"No problem, this is an unannounced visit." Dumbledore said, preferring to speak civilly.
"I understand you've come a long way. I don't know what Zelretch promised you, but I'll give you ten minutes to tell me your story." Bruce said, giving the Headmaster of Hogwarts time to explain.
"It's not fair that you treat outsiders better than your close allies," Zelretch comments, pouting.
"Once I'm done speaking to Dumbledore, I'll have Lancer throw you out of the carriage." Bruce said seriously.
Lancer's gaze lingers first on Zelretch, then on the clock-like mechanism on the wall of the carriage.
"That won't happen. I signed up for patronage, the house rules grant me protection within your estate, and you will never break a pact." Zelretch said, his expression like a sly old fox.
Adeline smiles amused at Zelretch's reply.
"Brother, the Wizard Marshal knows you well, he knows that you are a man of your word and that you cannot hurt him." Adeline said, before taking one of the teacups in her hands.
"Zelretch, I excommunicate you for misconduct, I will take the Midnight Express out of the city of Boston so there are no problems with the house rules, and then I will personally throw you out of the car," Bruce said, already having prepared a clause for hurting someone without going back on his word.
"Can he do that?" Zelretch asks Adeline, who is currently his only ally against the Occult Detective.
"I'm not sure about excommunication, but he can definitely throw you off a moving train. He's made that threat to me a thousand times," Adeline said, not knowing the house rules in detail.
"Don't exaggerate, I've only threatened you 357 times," Bruce states, apparently keeping count.
"He only threw me off the train seven times, but always into the water and not too far from our final destination," Adeline said playfully.
"For a hound that loves to hunt, he barks a lot and bites little," Zelretch said, with an amused expression, understanding what Adeline meant.
"Don't feel safe, Zelretch, you are not my blood, not even the mother of my nephews or the favorite aunt of my heiress." Bruce said, his voice cold.
The temperature in the carriage dropped as if winter had suddenly arrived.
Continues ...