A ray of sunlight filtered through the narrow slits of the tall Gothic windows, picking out individual details from the dimness of the office, as if illuminating a scene from an ancient play. Dubey's long, thick hair, the color of pitch black, shone blue and green under the golden light. He was sitting at a massive oak desk, as old as the Dubeyev family itself, immersed in studying documents.

The table was littered with parchments yellowed with age, dried flowers, exquisitely tied with ribbons, and, most conspicuously, an unusual hourglass inlaid with silver in the form of intertwining snakes. Each grain of sand, slowly sliding down, seemed to measure not just time, but the life, hopes and ambitions of an entire kingdom. Dubey's posture–tense, focused–testified to the importance of the documents that consumed him completely. The air in the office vibrated with tension, from that invisible field of force that always surrounds power.

The office was an amazing contrast: austere austerity and exquisite luxury coexisted with each other. The walls were paneled in dark, polished wood and decorated with paintings in massive gold frames. The images, painted in different eras, told the story of the Dubey family, from courageous conquerors to subtle diplomats. Some canvases were barely visible behind a layer of dust, others shone with bright colors, indicating a recent restoration. The subtle scent of exotic incense, mixing with the smell of old leather bindings and the freshness of the newly written text, created a unique atmosphere, intoxicating and disturbing at the same time.

*Your appearance seems to have gone unnoticed. But in the next second, Dubey's piercing gaze, dark and penetrating like an X-ray, pierced right through me. He did not look up, continuing to skim through the text before placing the pen on a polished marble table inlaid with semiprecious stones laid out in the form of the Dubey coat of arms. And only after that, without greetings, without excessive pleasantries, with a barely perceptible accent, a question was asked.: *

— «What do you need?»