Otto has lived with the Ehrhart family for more than two decades, keeping track of their finances without fail from the first day he started until the present day. He usually follows the head of the family on his business trips. This time he remained to organize the birthday party. Otto has his own office in the archive room and is one of the two people who have the key to open it.
The head of the family considered him to be a key advisor, his influence over the lord was so great that his opinion almost every time was always listened to or at least considered.
The servants looked at him with respect, he was the one who made sure they got their money every month, and the children, the children loved him, and also he was the one who taught them history and math when they were little.
With a warm voice, a shiny bald head, gray mustache turned slightly at the tips so large that it almost covered his upper lip, always dressed in 4 pins.
In his eyes, Konrad was a boy with a burning passion for whom he had immense respect, but who did not see him as the leader his father would have wanted.
Never interested in the family business, not caring what the family name and the fact that he despised doing his father's bidding did not help.
And now he could see the same young man descending the bifurcated staircase, descending into the living room, waving his hand.
"Hi Otto, can you still stand?"
"Good afternoon, young lord, aren't you ready for the party yet? Or do we need to change the theme and location of the party? Time is running out. And remember, it's just moving forward."
"Now I was going up the stairs and saw you asking for more bottles of red wine and wanted to ask for your help for a few moments if you're busy ...."
"They can manage without me unfortunately there are still a few details that need my utmost attention."
"You think they will have something to celebrate or are just addicted to our wine, and when it comes to being free, you think they won't know how to stop like usual."
"I wish it to be the first but the second is a certainty."
"Put them less wine anyway they will receive a few bottles as a gift after the party."
Otto turned his mustache, laughing a little under his lips, closing his eyes and wiping them with a white handkerchief.
"Hæhæ! Young lord, one day I'll die laughing with you."
"I didn't even try to make a joke. I'm dead serious. Eh, probably already knows. I think he laughs at the absurdity of my words."
"If you can't, send someone else to please shave me if I do it alone I don't think I'll succeed without cutting myself."
"Arrange a few more tables if the number of guests is higher than confirmed. I can come in about 30 minutes if possible."
"Very well then I'm waiting anyway, Thomas told me that my mother is waiting for me in y room, I'll see what she wants until you come.
Do you think that someone else will come? We will be at the central table, the Meyers and the Kelvases. The rest of the tables are enough for the rest. I saw the guests list, just by looking into the room with certainty, there are enough tables."
"It's better to have them there, makes the unannounced guests wait less outside. We put them at the exit in the inner courtyard, bring a few glasses, fill them with wine and cake plateaus for those who want to getaway. Take a breath for a couple of minutes, from the music the dancing, and of course the gossip. "
Most of the time, the parties should last until the end of the night, but not everyone keeps their feet up after the first hours, constantly going out to catch a breath of fresh air and not coming back. The servants picking them up like weeds from the flower garden. Happily tonight, the party will not be past midnight.
"You always organize what goes on behind events like this, so I don't worry that everything will be perfect."
"I am glad to hear these words, young lord."
"I'll be waiting for you in half an hour then."
"Surely."
Konrad climbed the bifurcated staircase to the first floor, stopping for a few seconds in front of the family portrait.
It could be seen even from the ground floor. The immense portrait, his biggest project was last summer's work. Then climbing to the second floor without stopping, greeting some of the servants passing by him.
When he reached the door of his room, the door was wide open a loud melodious voice could be heard.
"The green one is nice but I melt after this blue and I do not know how this material will look later when the sun goes down. Maybe this orange costume is made of wool, he will melt while wearing it, especially tonight. I am sure he will be full of emotions.
Ahh, so many options... I wonder what he will choose, all look so good. He has so many good clothes, surely he takes after me when it comes to choosing clothes."
"I think you must wait until tonight to see what I'm wearing like everyone else."
She was so focused on the clothes laid on the bed by the maid and did not notice Konrad staring at her in silence.
"Konrad, my dear, you have come to visit your poor mother? Do you know how long I have been here?"
"I finally got here, mom. Thomas did his job so you don't have to be mad at him."
"He is so sweet... He ran to you with such a speed when I asked him."
"I think he knows that you are pretending to cry."
"Believe that is the case ?"
"The crying is convincing, but you always calm down too fast, in a second you cry in the second you smile as if nothing happened. You are no longer on a theater stage changing emotions to the minute, however, it will still work on him, I don't think he wants to see your expression when you're mad at him."
"Of the three of you, the least worked for you. I remember one night when I said to you to stop reading and go to bed. Tried to make you go to bed by saying that if you do not mother cannot either and you looked at me you took a book from the table you gave it to me and said so seriously 'Read if you can't fall asleep.'
You were so sweet you had such a round face but you were so interested in that book that I let you read it all night and you would have slept the whole next day. "
"I would have slept if the old man woke me up before lunch, saying, 'You're training archery today, dressed up I don't have room in this house for the lazy'. He didn't stop nagging me for the rest of the week."
"I do not think the training hurt you. You were so chubby and you ate more than everyone else."
"Laura liked to laugh at me first until she got to train more than me."
"Sometimes I do not understand what I did wrong with you two are completely upside down. When she struck Stefan with a wooden sword that she did not want to marry him, Nikolaus was fuming thinking he would go and slap her to the ground.
Hopefully, it did not happen. Now they cannot wait to meet each other. "
"Long-neck to get up and ask for a duel with her, asking for her hand in marriage."
"So romantic."
"At least one of us will have an end to his liking."
"You do not think her situation is happening to you and Julia now."
"Don't think so. No. Long-neck liked her from the beginning. He proposed to Laura, even without his father's permission. In our case, neither of us had any intention we had the engagement even before we saw the eyes of each other."
"A beautiful love story, yours will be the same you just can not see it now."
"Mary, go out a little and make sure nobody listens."
"Do as he tells you."
Mary was the maid who always followed the lady of the house to assist her constantly, now she left closing the door behind her.
"What do you want me to say that no one should hear?"
"I talked to the old man about marriage in the carriage after we left the Meyer last week. It feels like signing the business of the century."
"Your fathers are friends with childhood. Do you want to break your father's heart?"
"I told him."
"You told him what exactly, my dear."
" I told him...I told him that I don't want to marry Julia, she is too young, that Thomas is a much better choice closer in terms of age, they get along way better, that I do not need a wife, and reconsider things with her father.
Thomas is seen much better by the Order than I am. He proved his powers from the first attempt at the age of seven Julia at nine, the only reason I participate is to fail the yearly test."
"You're the eldest. Everything will be yours after we pass away.
Konrad, he wants to make it easier for you with the Meyer family connections and wealth and Julia is far from ugly, do you know how jealous other people are of you?"
"I know. I have Toothless blowing in my neck. I don't want to think about the rest. "
"Thomas is your brother, do not be so paranoid. We will find someone for him too, no less than Julia."
"Almost the same age, they played together, learned together, grew up together.
So I told him I wanted to take a step back from the position of heir and leave Thomas in my place. He is interested in the family business perfectly to dad's liking and probably is better at acting than you will ever be, a true diplomat."
"Konrad—"
"I didn't get anywhere. He told me I want to bring shame to the family name. I've already done it several times. As long as I'm an Ehrhart, I have to do as he says.
He had a choice that all I see is the fruit of his work as his father left him nothing but a damn wine cellar, all I have is his work and when he gives it to me I should accept it with tears in my eyes not to turn up my nose. "
"You may not understand his decisions, but he's almost always right, he's thinking about our family's well-being and your well-being too."
"I see, he was talking to her father that said he wanted grandchildren as soon as possible and the old man said he didn't have to worry that he wanted at least two. They talked like he was doing it, talked about which estate territories to receive as a start after the wedding. I was watching and the old man was expecting me to nod and smile like a fool and that foolish girl all she had to say was 'Yes dad' or he beat her harder than butter or that girl does not know how to say no. "
"Konrad, you cannot speak that language. They treat her well, Monique takes such good care of her, Michelle considers her a gift from God."
"Maybe they do she does the same with me if I ask her to stay in a corner for the rest of the day she will go in the corner without question and stay there until sundown."
"You would not do such a thing to her."
"No mother. Of course not."
Konrad would go way further than that evilly thinking what to do with his over the throat shoved princess.
"I would put her to mix paints and clean my brushes until she would be fed up. To hear her screaming she had enough will make my day I am sure of it. Then I don't know, I can send her off to play or what she usually likes to do..."
Indeed a truly evil plan for a medieval despot.
"Let's change the subject. I should thank you."
"What for my dear?"
"When you sent the servant, you told him to bring me some food."
"You have nothing to thank me. You have not eaten anything since yesterday, I do not understand how your body functions with so little, and you can stand on your legs for more than half a day."
The sudden knock on the door draws their attention.
"Come in!"
"Come in!"
Getting his door open by Maria, holding a nicely decorated wooden box and a white towel on his left arm, Otto made his way inside the room.
"I've arrived, I'm sorry for the inconvenience, I hope I didn't interrupt you."
"Otto, don't worry, you didn't interrupt us we just finished talking. Now we were just chatting." Christina said, clapping her hands together and smiling.
"I came to shave the young lord, I talked downstairs, and bathing water will arrive in a few minutes."
Many of the things that were needed on the upper floors but were on the first level were transported using a system of pulleys and manual elevators, hot and wastewater, food, clean and dirty clothes, and other objects that could fit.
"Perfect then, Mom, please excuse me, but I'll see you at the party."
"Will you be there in time, my dear?"
"Should I lie to my mother?"
"Do not worry, you do not have to hurry. Otto, make my boy more beautiful than he already is."
„Hard to do such a thing but I will do my best," said Otto lowering his head a bit while Christina passed the doorway.
"Otto, it's just the two of us left, let me take off my shirt and get started."
Konrad tossed his dirty shirt on the back of one of the chairs letting his hairy pale chest breathe, putting himself in front of the oval silver mirror that hung on the wall.
In the meantime, Otto opened the wooden box and took a razor and a small whetstone, and with a bit of water from the bucket that sat in the corner of the room sharpened the blade for a couple of seconds on each side.
"Don't you want to wait until the hot water comes?"
"For the little beard I have, cold water will just to the thing."
"Would you like me to help you choose your clothes after the bath?"
"I can manage just fine by myself. Go down talk with the guests, flirt with the widows."
"Very well, then let's begin, the mustache remains?"
"No, and shave the sideburns to the middle of the ear leaving a horizontal straight line."
"Very good then, please look at the mirror no sudden movements and no talking only if necessary."
"Understood Otto. Shave away."