One moment, he was tallying the ledgers. The next, Burne Ward found himself in a dimly lit room, stripped naked and bound to a chair.
"What… who… who are you?!" He blurted out, his eyes flashing with terror. "What have you done?! Do... do you know who I am?!"
"I know who you are, young man." Nilrem appeared before him in a puff of smoke.
With a snap of his fingers, he summoned a wooden stool and took a seat. He gazed at the Count with a gentle look on his face, and that scared Burne Ward down to his core.
"If you know who I am, then let me go!" The Count roared, his body trembling incessantly. "I-I know the Prince! He's a friend! If he hears of this—"
"He won't." Nilrem shook his head, a faint smile on his face. "He won't need to."
The elderly man leaned over and said in a soft voice, "If you answer all of my questions, I promise I'll let you go. It will be like none of this ever happened."
Nilrem gently stroked Burne's blond hair. "Won't you answer my questions, young man?"
