Me: "I don’t take kindly to being called that."

  Grand: "So you’re arrogant, too."

  I shake myself as if I could shake off his words.

  Me: "If you're going to insult me, at least let me out of the car."

  Grand: "Don’t act like you couldn’t have run away anytime you wanted."

  I sink into the shadows and reappear on the hood.

  Me: "At least the old man isn’t just muscle."

  I hear the car door click—Grand got out, too.

  Grand: "I’ll take that as a compliment. But if leaving is so easy and you hate this situation, why are you still here?"

  Me: "Hm… Where would I even go? If I stay in Germany, you’ll find me anyway. And abroad? No thanks—no ID, and with this look?"

  I stretch my legs out across the hood.

  "Besides, as long as I get food, purpose, and interesting tasks here, there’s no real reason to run. And if it gets too stupid, I can still disappear."

  Grand: "That’s it? I thought you had higher standards."

  Me: "Whatever."

  I slide off the hood with a swing.

  Me: "Can we go inside now? Oh, is there anyone I should be careful around—someone who had bad experiences with dogs or something?"

  Grand: "No worries. Aside from soldiers and informants, we’re alone on the estate. And after 6 p.m., even they’re gone."

  A shiver runs down my spine, all the way to my tailtip.

  Me: "Why is being alone with you supposed to be reassuring?"

  Grand: "You know exactly..."

  Me: "I meant ghosts and stuff. They could totally haunt this pce. Wait—what did you think I meant?"

  Grand gives me an incredulous look: "Seriously? Ghosts? That’s what you’re scared of?"

  Me (slightly mocking): "Hey! After everything that happened today, the odds that ghosts are real just went up like 200%. And yes, they’re creepy. Everything else, you can bite or hide from. Ghosts? Good luck."

  Grand: "This building’s never been haunted. Don’t be dramatic."

  A soldier approaches us.

  "Welcome back. Is she the reason for your absence?"

  Grand: "Yes. She’s the stepdaughter of an old friend who recently passed. I agreed to take her in."

  Soldier: "And the fox ears and tail? They look so real."

  Before I could say anything, Grand cut in:

  "She’s a fairly well-known cospyer and a big fan of biology. Her realism standards are… intense."

  Just as I was about to protest, I caught Grand’s expression. It clearly said: We’ll talk ter. So I just nodded and stepped slightly behind him.

  The soldier now looked awkward, like the meaning of Grand’s words was just catching up with him.

  Soldier: "I’m sorry... I didn’t mean... you must still be grieving... (to Grand) May I take my leave? My shift ends in two minutes."

  Grand (stricter now): "Go ahead, Berthold. We’ll see you tomorrow... noon, right?"

  Berthold: "Usually, yes. But I’ve been moved to the early shift tomorrow. So I’ll be back at 07:10."

  As the door closed behind us, Grand exhaled deeply.

  "So... your existence is off the record for now. At least until the researchers release the experiment data."

  Me: "Wait—WHAT?! The how is going public?"

  Grand: "Calm down. It’ll only be shared within the scientific community as a failed experiment. Of course, with falsified values."

  Me: "And what’s the point of that?"

  Grand: "So you can move freely within the allowed zones. That should hold until the end of the week."

  Me: "How’d you even pull that off? And I don’t mean that it went wrong."

  Grand: "I don’t know much. But apparently, during fusion experiments, element 129 was discovered. It remains stable for a few days and was created by bombarding gold foil with tin atoms. When 129 is electrified, it starts to decay almost completely—but in a somewhat controlled manner, producing aggressive radiation that causes extreme mutation. That’s all I know."

  Me: "Wow. That almost sounds scientific. And then it slips right back into total bullshit. But hey, if that’s all you’ve been told, no use digging deeper."

  After that, Grand left me alone, and I got to explore the building. And it was a dream—no matter how many doors you open, there’s always another behind them.

  The rooms, despite their size and number, are so richly detailed that it’s easier to list what isn’t there than what is.

  The wood paneling is adorned with antique and imaginary patterns. The furniture is covered with figures of fantastic creatures, soldiers, and vehicles.

  The color palette is warm and inviting—lots of reds and browns.

  The parquet floors are covered in rugs, so footsteps make no sound. The massive beechwood shelves, cabinets, and dressers absorb every bit of noise—even the ticking of the pendulum clocks seems to vanish.

  But what truly makes the rooms feel uninhabited is the ck of seating. The whole pce feels more like a museum than a home.

  Hi I got one more chaper ready after this so I will bring that in a View days. And do Not be shy giving your opinion.