Calm and Calamity

Chapter 11

Day: 287

Days Left: 5193

Lives Saved: 1

"This is ridiculous! Utterly absurd!"

Henry Best stared blanky back at Count Rittenhouse who was a mere inches away from his face, spit spraying after every word. Having seen the count's bottles rage during the broadcast, Henry had mentally prepared himself for the inevitable storm. Though Henry had gotten accustomed to being yelled at and insulted by the nobility from his job, his throat would still dry up, his face reddened, and his eyes ever so slightly watered. Other than that, no one could tell that he hated being yelled at.

The count continued on his rant using the usual cliches that Henry had heard numerous times before such as threatening that he would lose his job and the classic line 'do you know who I am?'.

"I paid good money for that blasted dog to never be shown!" continued Count Rittenhouse.

"And I am afraid, Your Grace, that you have been outbid by someone else," explained Henry. "They have exceeded your offer to show Reginald the dog during the broadcasts."

"Who was it!" The count span around and confronted the rest of the auditorium, where the other nobles had been delightfully watching the conflict whilst sipping their drinks and hiding their smiles and giggles.

"Who was it!" Count Rittenhouse once again shouted, addressing the room. "Who was the bastard!"

Henry knew exactly who it was, even if he didn't know prior, it wouldn't take a detective to reach the correct conclusion of the culprit being Countess Mottershead. The old woman could barely hide her amusement even with her paper fan. She had always revelled in others being humiliated and exposing their secrets. Count Rittenhouse's biggest humiliation was his dog Reginald, though unfortunately for him, he was unable to keep the 'incident' a secret.

After suffering years of abuse, the rottweiler finally retaliated against his owner and bit off Count Rittenhouse's genitals. No magic, no matter how powerful, could have healed the damage fully, and thus the count was unable to father an heir. Putting the rottweiler down was not near enough fitting punishment, Rittenhouse had thought, and so paid for Reginald to be imprisoned in the Eternal Abyss.

"Who was it!" The count returned his attention back to Henry as no one else was answering. "I demand to know!" He slammed his fist on the podium that Henry stood before. A drop of Henry's red wine spilled as the glass shook.

Henry cleared his throat before beginning, "I am afraid, Your Grace, that the bidding, all biddings, are to remain anonymous. I cannot reveal the identity of who-"

Rittenhouse slammed his hand once again on the podium and even more of Henry's drink spilled out of the glass. "Fine! If I have to endure seeing that mutt on the screen, then I want to see it suffer for what it did to me! I will pay to extend its sentence even more!"

Henry glanced down at the small splashes of red wine on the podium before returning his gaze back to the count. He sighed, "I am afraid, Your Grace, that you can no longer extend Reginald's sentence any further."

"What the hell are you talking about! I can extend it as much as I want! Do you know who I am!"

Allowing a sufficient length of a pause before answering, Henry straightened his back and cleared his throat, steeling himself for the count's reaction. "A law has been passed. It was announced before the last broadcast. A prisoner's sentence can no longer be extended to more than fifty per cent. You have already extended Reginald's far beyond that."

Count Rittenhouse's face twisted into a snarl, his face reddened. "Who...." His voice shook, resonating into a deep growl. "Who passed that ridiculous law? I demand to know! They'll regret ever crossing me!"