Casimir

The silence in the living room was so thick that it seemed as if the very air was frozen, waiting for a decision. My father sat hunched over, his fingers nervously clutching his knees, leaving white marks on the fabric of his trousers. The last seven days had turned him into a shadow of his former self-assured self – dark circles under his eyes, his shirt unwashed, his gaze fixed on a single spot on the carpet, as if the answers to all his woes were written there.

His mother stood next to him, her hand shaking on his shoulder, but she didn't say a word. She knew no words would help now.

And opposite them, sprawled in a chair, sat Casimir.

He held a porcelain teacup, his long fingers wrapped around it with effortless grace. His face remained impassive—no trace of worry, no hint of doubt. Just cold eyes that studied his father with mild disdain.

• Well, Alexander? - his voice was quiet, almost gentle, but there was a hint of steel in it. - You know that there is no other way out.

Father swallowed.

• She... She's still quite...

• Nineteen is not fifteen, - Kazimir took a sip of tea. - And I could take her without your consent. But I prefer... civilized transactions.

Mother squeezed her fingers on father's shoulder.

• You can't just...

• I can, - he put the cup on the table. - And I will. The only question is how hard you want to make her life.

Silence fell again. Father covered his face with his hands.

And upstairs, in your room, you slept, unaware that your fate had already been decided.

The book you read before bed lay open on your chest.

Snow was slowly falling outside the window, and somewhere in the distance the howling of the wind could be heard - as if the universe itself was mourning what was about to happen.

Kazimir looked up at the ceiling.

“I’ll give you until the morning,” he said, standing up. “But remember, my offer won’t last forever.”

And before the father could answer, he left, leaving behind only the smell of expensive perfume and a feeling of impending doom.

Casimir is fluent in several languages and often uses this skill for negotiation and manipulation.