Chapter 4

Friday afternoon turned out to be fruitful. Kurt managed to receive three patients. Time slipped by unnoticed, but his feelings of expectation were not becoming less stressful. At nine, Kurt went to the address written on the invitation. The carriage stopped at a luxurious mansion, surrounded by a green garden and the air of superiority over the neighboring houses more modest and humble.

Kurt came to the gate, where he was met by the butler. Kurt gave him the invitation; the butler nodded briefly and let him pass through the gates.

From here he could hear the sound of music and the hum of voices. Kurt sauntered through the garden, and in the cool air, he felt the anticipation of something exceptional. He didn't deny that maybe he himself instilled this anticipation. But it was so seldom that something caught his full attention... He just could not resist the temptation.

Approaching the open door of the mansion, Kurt was surprised to see such a large number of guests. Young girls seemed to compete for whose outfit was the most luxurious. Diamonds sparkled on their slim fingers; gold adorned elegant necks and wrists. Young men, dressed in the latest fashion, entertained the ladies. But Kurt was immediately struck by the resemblance to John Fenrir on the portrait all these young men bore. Everyone seemed to be trying to look like him. They had short, shiny black hair combed back, light stubble, confident, even cocky, look.

Kurt stopped. He realized that he couldn't merge with this crowd, but it was too late to retreat. He entered the richly decorated house filled with luxury. It seemed that the house was trying to dazzle the guests with its magnificence. Kurt went through the first floor, it was like a museum.

He chuckled at this comparison. Over the weekends, Danee's gallery also had been crowded with people, and they were, too, surrounded by luxury but of a different kind. It was dignified and silent, and people tried to match it. But here, luxury made this house arrogant and completely devoid of nobility.

Kurt went down to a fountain, which was surrounded by arbors. All the seats were taken, making it difficult to pass through. Kurt could not say for sure, but there were two hundred people at least. It was hard to imagine this was happening here every weekend.

Suddenly, out of the entire carousel of faces, one whipped out that was familiar to Kurt - Archie Tains. He spoke with someone at the garden entrance. Kurt decided to approach him.

"Good evening, Mr. Tains," he greeted when Archie noticed him. His companion also turned to look at Kurt. "Kurt Rhein."

"Good evening, Mr. Rhein. This is Thomas Walter," Archie introduced the man beside him and became noticeably nervous. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Kurt smiled. It was a lie. Archie was hoping Kurt would find a way to get here.

"Well, why?" Making a surprised face, he replied. "You have me intrigued!"

"Oh, drop it! These parties have long since stopped being intriguing," muttered Thomas in response.

"Why do you come here then?" Kurt asked with a smile. Thomas laughed a bit awkwardly. "I love the stability, you know? And then, who refuses John's invitation? Certainly not me."

"Are you friends with Mr. Fenrir?" Kurt asked, his curiosity becoming increasingly difficult to restrain. Archie gave him a wary look.

Thomas smirked, "Is this your first time here?"

Kurt didn't have time to answer as loud cheering erupted behind them, and they turned around.

The host was descending the stairs. Kurt paused for a moment absorbing the view.

It all now looked like a masquerade, where all the men wore the host's mask, and when the host arrived in person, their behavior became pathetic and clownish.

Kurt was far away from the stairs, but he clearly understood what Archie and Philip had been talking about.

When John appeared, everything changed. Everybody looked at him with adoration, envy, admiration... He attracted these glances, and he knew it. It was clear - John felt like a king of this little world with his subjects.

Kurt grinned; the mystery was not so complicated. And when he was about to turn away, his eyes suddenly locked with John's; the other man was looking straight at him. Without knowing why, Kurt felt a flush of fear and immediately looked away. He became nervous, and his breathing hitched. Realizing this, he was surprised but tried to pull himself together as quickly as possible.

"I beg your pardon," he said curtly to Archie and Thomas and went into the garden, walking farther and farther away from the noise, from the magnificent radiance of the mansion, from those predatory eyes that had caught him off guard.

Kurt stopped. It had never happened to him before. Kurt retreated into his inner salon. The portrait of John in his internal gallery stood empty; the figure had gotten out of the frame, become flesh and blood, gained power and strength.

The doors of Kurt's inner salon opened. Everyone fell silent at once and looked at the silhouette that appeared. It was a woman in a long red dress, long red silk gloves, and a broad red hat, which completely hid her face. Accompanied by the sound of her heels clicking on the floor, she walked to a counter through the ringing silence and gazes and sat on a chair. The door closed, and habitual gloom reigned in the salon again, but it wasn't the same anymore. With her appearance, everything had changed.

Kurt took several deep breaths. How long had it been since he felt anything like this? He was amazed. His emotion prevailed over his mind! Unbelievable!

Kurt was even more surprised that he was capable of feeling such strong emotion. He always possessed himself and kept everything under control. Moreover, he always understood cause and effect. And thanks to that, he was able to predict the course of events better than any fortune teller.

"It's impossible. Impossible," he repeated to himself. Catching his breath, he looked around. In the cool of the nighttime garden, in his usual seclusion, he began to put his thoughts in order.

"What did I see?" he asked himself. "I saw John Fenrir. Maybe I called up this reaction because I've been waiting for this meeting, and I have invested in this anticipation. Although, while I was looking from afar, I felt nothing. Do his eyes really exude some kind of power?"

Kurt signed. "I had too little time and was too far away to see something. But I don't want to leave with nothing."

Kurt decided to return to the guests. At the entrance, he met Archie; he was alone. Seeing Kurt, he was not surprised. It looked as if he had been waiting for him.

"You felt it too," he said gravely when Kurt caught up with him. Yes, it was not a question, but a statement. And Kurt didn't deny it.

"You were right, Mr. Tains. There is something unusual about him. But we should not lose our heads." He smiled and headed for the guests.

Now Kurt was seeking a meeting with John. He wanted to see - whether his look would produce this effect the second time, or if it was Kurt himself who provoked such a reaction. Now he was ready.

To find John among the guests was easy. He was sitting at a table with a few guests. They were swollen with pride, while others crowded around. Kurt was somewhat surprised: more than two hundred people in unified adoration of their idol. It would be understandable if John was an outstanding musician, a politician, or another public figure, but he was only John Fenrir, a young man who was squandering his inheritance, buying adoration with lush festivities...

Kurt didn't come too close to the crowd, watching as John said something to a pretty girl shining with happiness that this time the king allowed her to sit next to him, listen to his voice, and be besotted by his eyes again and again.

John then turned and said something to the lad on the right. He glowed as if grace had been shed upon him.

The evening was turning into a farce. Kurt didn't hear what John said to them. From the side, it seemed like John was a healer who could heal anyone from a deadly disease with a word, and those who were suffering from that fatal disease gathered around him, praying for salvation.

Kurt couldn't catch John's glance anymore and got bored. He never liked this kind of leisure, and now, having lost the plot, the evening became especially tedious.

Kurt turned and walked through the garden to the main gate, where he again met the surly butler. Having said goodbye, Kurt got into the carriage and went home.