The doors, probably leading to the castle kitchens, opened and three more undead appeared, still with those gray, dry, decayed faces. But no damaged peasant rags for them. They had been dressed in dark blue tunics and black pants, cleaner and more proper, making them look like butlers, although with their gruesome faces they looked rather grotesque, even almost comical. That's what Mathias thought as he looked at them, but preferred to keep this comment to himself.

The first of the zombies held a silver tray in his hands, containing tonight's meal: a poultry, a chicken surely, surely from the personal henhouse of the castle, cooked to perfection and bathed in its juice, sprinkled with a little parsley and surrounded by a garnish of vegetables such as carrots, small round potatoes and red peppers. The smell emanating from the dish caressed Mathias' nostrils, and he had to admit that it smelled really good. His stomach was of the same opinion, he felt it clearly, the stale piece of bread and the pitcher of water clearly not being enough to quench his hunger. He was surprised at such food, however, expecting in such a place to see dishes of raw, bloody meat, severed heads bathed in blood and fresh tripe.

The second undead brought a large cup containing fruits like red apples, bunches of grapes, pears, and put it in the center of the table, next to the roasted chicken. And the third and last zombie came to stop in front of Lady Dimitrescu to show her a new bottle of wine selected from the cellar. The Countess looked at the label, and seemed satisfied with the choice, nodding and motioning for her servant to put it on the table, which he did.

While one of the zombies was busy cutting the pieces of the chicken to serve them, Lady Dimitrescu crushed the rest of her cigarette in the small glass ashtray placed next to her, and taking her white napkin in her hands, placed her on her knees, like a true noblewoman. Mathias watched her do it, almost having the impression of seeing another person, but quickly turned her head when she glanced up at him.

Obviously, the mistress of the castle was served first, receiving a reasonable piece of meat roasted as it should and covered with juice, accompanied by vegetables, and was served another glass of wine. Despite their apparent fragility and awkwardness when walking, zombies were quite effective in serving their mistress.

Then it was Mathias' turn to receive his share, and he was surprised to see that he received a share equal to that of Lady Dimitrescu. He almost expected her to order a tiny slice for him, just to torture him psychologically. While being served, Mathias constantly watched the zombie who stood next to him, for fear that the latter would have the idea of wanting to bite him.

_ "They won't do anything to you ... at least, not as long as I order them to." Lady Dimitrescu then said, not to reassure Mathias, but to make him clearly understand that here she was making the law and her word was absolute. Mathias swallowed of horror, just thinking of the idea of being covered and devoured alive by zombies, as happened in the movies.

Once the dishes and glasses were served, the three zombies went to position themselves in a corner of the room and remained motionless, like statues, waiting for the next order that would come from their mistress.

Lady Dimitrescu took her cutlery and then began to cut, in a very clean way, a first part of her piece of roasted meat. She brought the morsel to her mouth and ate it, still in that same genteel manner, and seemed rather satisfied with the taste.

_ "W ... Why?" Then dared to ask Mathias, more than confused, breaking the silence that had just settled. Immediately, Dimitrescu's eye rested in his. Mathias' heart leaped, telling himself that he might not have the right to speak and had just made a mistake. However, the countess remained calm.

_ "Mother Miranda gave clear instructions. Dead, you will be of no use to me, not even as a servant ... now eat, and no more questions, unless I allow you to." she said, calmly, but cold and firm.

Mathias, feeling a cold sweat in his neck, chose to obey and did not speak any more. He shyly took the knife and the silver fork in his hands, and first tasted one of the baked potatoes on his plate. As he ate it, he immediately felt the savory taste, the pleasant warmth descend in his throat ... a real relief for his stomach. Finally, a hot, hearty meal, he told himself. He finally decided that staying alive was his best option and too happy to finally be able to quench his hunger, this time tasted a piece of chicken, then a piece of fresh bread which he took from the wooden board that had been brought by a servant.

Lady Dimitrescu, from her chair, without a smile and her face neutral, observed the young man eating and visibly happy to finally be able to do so.

_"You appreciate?" she asked then.

_ "I ... yes ... thank you ..." answered Mathias looking at her and nodding.

Then, very calmly and still without saying a word, Lady Dimitrescu rose from her chair without finishing her meal. Mathias, out of the corner of his eye, then saw her walking slowly behind the back of her chair, where he could feel her presence, her gaze and her shadow on him. She leaned gently towards him, her head now right next to his. With one of her hands in the black velvet glove, she delicately came to feel the skin of Mathias's throat, who no longer dared to move and let her do it, again feeling fear dominating him. Lady Dimitrescu showed a smirk as she saw that Mathias' throat was still marked with red marks ever since she had grabbed him by the throat when he was trying to flee.

While continuing to feel his throat a little more insistently, she brought her face closer and gently inhaled the scent of his hair, then of his cheek, even coming, with the tip of her tongue, to touch the cheek. Mathias was trembling, not daring to look at her and let her do it.

_ "Hmmm ... your skin is so young, so soft ... and your blood ... I can feel it running through your veins ... I can hear your vigorous heartbeat... and all of this is mine now." she whispered to his ear, in a very teasing and dark way.

She then turned her attention to Mathias' bandaged hand, and undid the dried blood soaked bandage, to look at the showy scar on the palm. She admired this cicactress with the same smile, as if she was admiring a good memory.

Then her manner suddenly became a little more brutal as she lost her smile, and again with her gloved hand gripped Mathias by the throat, locking him against the back of the chair.

_ "From now on, you will be able to move free in the castle, but I forbid you to go to the north tower. At nightfall, you must have returned to your cell, or I would inflict the punishments on you, myself. And above all, don't even think about trying to escape ... even if you don't see or hear them, my daughters and my creatures will constantly have an eye on you ... if you try to escape again, I'll let my daughters tear you into pieces and give what's left of your carcass to my servants. Understood?"

Caught in the superhuman grip of the countess, Mathias could not help but nod gently and accept her law. What else could he do? With a simple wave of her hand, she could rip his throat out. Feeling that the young man had understood well, Dimitrescu released her hold on him and returned to sit in her chair, in order to continue her meal as if nothing had happened. Mathias rubbed his throat, still feeling the pain of the grip burning him, and had to wait a few seconds to catch his breath, his heart was beating so fast in his chest.

Lady Dimitrescu took a sip of her specially created wine, which she had literally named "Virgin's Blood" in Latin.

_ "Now tell me a bit about yourself, Mathias Derune." she said, resting her gaze on him again.

In the first place, Mathias did not know what to say or react. A few seconds ago, she was threatening him with the worst torture imaginable if he tried to run away, and now she was asking him that question like nothing had happened? Obviously, Mathias was having a hard time understanding this attitude which made her even more intimidating and unpredictable.

_ "I ... you know, there is not much to say ..." stammered Mathias, who did not really want to initiate this conversation and almost wished to become invisible.

_"Nonsense!" suddenly interrupted the countess firmly but without getting angry, which made Mathias jump in his chair. "Everyone has a story to tell, and I'm curious to hear yours ... and most importantly, don't lie to me ... you know how rude it is to lie to a lady."

She had warned him well on those last words, taking on a deceptively friendly and gentle voice, but actually suggesting that he do what she said, for his own good. Once again, Mathias chooses to do what it takes not to risk being tortured or killed and decided to speak, at the goodwill of the countess.

_ "Well ... to be honest, I'm an amateur writer, and I write mostly fantasy or horror stories. But frankly, I never really managed to get noticed. I always had this feeling of lack of self-confidence for a long time, maybe related to the fact that I was belittled all the time during my schooling and that I didn't really have any friends ... but that never stopped dreaming, imagining and writing to express my passions and be able to do whatever I want, because after all, the only one who could truly judge me was myself."

Lady Dimitrescu listened to him with some attention, while keeping a neutral expression and continuing to sip her blood wine.

_ "A writer then? Hmmm, very interesting ..." she commented. "I admit I sometimes love reading on long winter evenings, by my fireplace and read to my daughters before they go to sleep. I even own a typewriter, but I haven't used it for years ... anyway, tell me about your family. Do you have someone you miss a lot?"

Mathias looked at her, wondering if she was asking this question out of sadism or if she really cared to know about his personal life?

Mathias thought inexorably back to his mother who had passed away only two weeks ago, and showed a sad look, which the Countess noticed, raising an eyebrow.

_ "Not really ..." replied the young man sadly, lost in thought. "Two weeks ago my mother passed away from cancer. She was the last family I had left, and now I'm completely alone and lost, unable to predict what my future will be like..."

_ "I think I've heard enough." Lady Dimitrescu cut him off, putting her empty glass down next to the plate. Mathias was puzzled, but noticed that the countess's expression had grown darker, and that she too seemed lost in thought.

_ "M ... madam?" asked Mathias timidly, but immediately she motioned to him to shut up, which he did without insisting, not wanting to risk losing his tongue for one too many words.

_ "You can leave the table and go back to the living room. Wait for me there and don't move until I arrive, is that clear?" she said, to which Mathias nodded in understanding. Seeing that the mistress of the castle wanted to stay a little alone to think, Mathias got up from his chair and left with a lightly hurried step by the door which he closed gently behind him to enter directly into the large living room.

Once in the living room, Mathias, while waiting for the countess to come, admired the many paintings, the knight's armor and the tapestries which decorated this sumptuous living room. But he soon noticed that he was not alone, recognizing a cluster of feminine and familiar laughter. Bela, Daniela and Cassandra were all gathered on the sofa and the leather armchairs, by the soft warmth of the fireplace and seemed to be discussing various things with each other. Daniela, or the crazy one as Mathias called her in his mind, was sitting on an armchair, her legs bent like a child and holding a sort of rag doll in her arms. Judging by her almost childish demeanor at times, despite looking like a twenty-year-old young woman, she looked like the youngest of the three. Even her way of laughing was more childish than her other two sisters, which might make her adorable if she weren't a mad killer.

Beside, on the second armchair, sat Cassandra, or the most sadistic of the trio. And finally, Bela, the more mature of the three, and therefore the big sister, was sitting on the sofa in front of her sisters and holding a book in her lap, reading it to others. A horror tale obviously, but one which made the three witches laugh with amusement, especially the more gory and dark details of the story. This did not really surprise Mathias, who preferred to stay in the background, the three girls not noticing him for the moment.

_ "Pfff, how hot it is in this living room. It's heavy." Cassandra then commented in annoyance and waving her hand a little in front of her face to act like a fan.

Mathias recognized that the heat in the living room was a bit heavy. He then looked towards one of the windows and had the idea to open a little bit to let in some fresh air. Who knows, maybe with this helpful gesture, he would manage to gain their trust a little?

He undid the latch which closed the shutters ... but what he had not foreseen at all, was the force of the wind outside ... No sooner had he released the latch when a violent squall of wind hit the window that opened wide and knocked him back to the ground. Immediately, the violent, wintry wind swept through the living room, causing the flames of the fireplace to flicker. The three Dimitrescu daughters then began to scream and curl up against each other, but not out of fear ... rather out of pain.

_ "No! Not the cold!" screamed Daniela in pain.

_ "Close the window, quickly!" Bela cried in turn, who desperately tried to cover her two sisters to protect them in vain from the cold.

Seeing them thus, and with a beating heart, Mathias got up hastily, and after having struggled against the force of the wind, succeeded in closing the window and putting back the latch, then the shutters. He leaned against the wall, breathless and covered with a little snowflakes on his face and in his hair.

In the middle of the living room, still on their knees, the three girls seemed to regain their strength and Daniela, almost in tears, was snuggled up against Cassandra who was hugging her and trying to comfort her a little. Bela, on her side, stood up and immediately turned her gaze more than furious towards Mathias, who immediately knew that he had perhaps just made the fatal mistake of his life.

_ "You fool! I should ..." Bela began to shout fiercely, making her sickle appear in her hand.

But she was interrupted by the sudden opening of the dining room door.

_"WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE?!" Lady Dimitrescu asked in an angry, loud voice as she leaned to pass the door and enter into the living room.

Immediately, she noticed the tears of her daughter Daniela, comforted by Cassandra, and the few traces of snow which now covered the floor. Bela ran to her mother.

_ "It's him, mother!" she said angrily and pointing to Mathias with her accusing finger. "He opened one of the windows!"

On the accusations of her daughter, Lady Dimitrescu then raised her eyes. A fierce angry expression formed on her face, and she stabbed the young man with her gaze. Mathias, always near the window, was paralyzed, trembling like a leaf. This time I'm dead, he told himself.

Ringing her heels on the floor, Lady Dimitrescu walked with a rapid step towards Mathias, who could not even say a word as he was so petrified by the fear of seeing the tall lady approaching him with this furious expression. With a strong, firm hand, she grabbed him by the hair, making him suffering a lot, and made him look her straight in the eye.

_ "You wretch! Do you realize what could have happened to my daughters ?!" she yelled fiercely in Mathias's face.

_ "I ... forgive me ... I ... I didn't know that they feared the cold at this point ..." Mathias stammered in terror and pain, feeling the countess's grip pull even more on her hair.

Not being convinced, and rather annoyed by the young man's words, Dimitrescu scowled even more and then dragged him by the hair to the middle of the living room, and let him fall violently to the ground. Lady Dimitrescu then ordered her three daughters to step aside, and then leaned over Mathias, locking his arms with her knees and keeping him firmly to the ground, completely at her mercy. Bela, Daniela and Cassandra obeyed and stood by the side of the fireplace, watching with sadistic little chuckles what was to happen, gradually recovering from the effect of the winter cold on their bodies.

Lying on his back on the cold hard floor, arms spreaded in cross and locked, Mathias was dominated by fear and panic, breathing uncontrollably and seeing above him Lady Dimitrescu, the air filled with hatred, who was about to punish him for such a mistake.

_ "When I told you that I will inflict the punishments on you myself, it was not empty words!" she declared angrily.

_ "No! Please! I won't do it again, I promise you ..." Mathias begged completely helpless.

But he couldn't finish his sentence, panting with terror as he saw Lady Dimitrescu transform her fingernails into long claws, her gaze still hateful towards him.

To begin with, with the sheer force of her other hand, she grabbed and tore Mathias' t-shirt, throwing the ripped garment to the side, and leaving the young man completely shirtless. Seeing him like this made the three daughters laugh even more, who were looking forward to the show.

Very slowly, Dimitrescu placed the point of one of his claws on Mathias' bare chest, who then felt this sharp claw on his flesh, ready to tear it.

_ "No ... please, no ..." Mathias begged once again.

But the countess remained completely deaf to his pleas, and even showed a certain contempt.

_ "This is for my daughter Bela!" she said firmly.

With these words, with a sharp and quick gesture, she slashed Mathias' chest who screamed in intense pain, seeing a bloody, shallow line forming on her flesh.

_ "For my daughter Cassandra!" she said then, forcing a second equally painful scratch next to the first. "And for my daughter Daniela!"

The third and final scratch was made, three equally sized and bloody lines marked on Mathias' chest, in tears and in terrible pain. The suffering was so great that he almost wished to die for it to end at last. But Dimitrescu didn't even give him a break, grabbing him by the hair again.

_ "And let that serve as a lesson to you. Next time, I will do a lot worse." she whispered fiercely in his ear, before letting go of him abruptly and straightening up, leaving the young man completely broken and in pain on the floor.

With his chest bleeding, which would forever bear these three scars, Mathias found it very difficult to move, barely getting to his knees and coughing strongly, and finally, because of the too much pain, fainted. Lady Dimitrescu saw him thus at her feet, but only showed anger for him.

_ "Now bring him back to his cell!" she ordered with authority, to which, two zombies arrived and came to grab Mathias by the arms to drag him to the dungeons.