Orion was no fool to see that his move had not been warmly welcomed by the only person who really mattered. Not only had Daphne left his side, but also had the young woman looked for Eirene, her lover and protector. And she did it right in front of the eyes of her mother and father.  Humiliation? Maybe for a weakling, not for Orion who stood up as proudly as before. Orion watched the saddened expression in Daphne's eyes, as if they had known it for long and had finally given up. Particularly upset was Daphne's father, whose surprise with Daphne's bold move was hard to describe. In order to avoid further embarrassment, he approached Orion.<br/><br/><strong>"Orion, I have to..."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"No, sir. You don't have anything."</strong>, Orion said.<strong>"I am proud of what I did and I would do it again. I am fond of your daughter and one way or the other"</strong>, Orion paused just to gaze his adversary enjoying the physical contact with Daphne's fingers,<strong>"I am also fond of Eirene."</strong><br/><br/><strong>"But..."</strong>, Daphne's father insisted.<br/><br/><strong>"There is no but, Sir. Please take Daphne to your home. We will think a way out tomorrow"</strong>, Orion said as if he were already Daphne's Master.<br/><br/><strong>"Thank you, my son"</strong>, her father replied, hugging Orion, who kept staring at Eirene. Daphne seemed to have little attention for Orion.<br/><br/>While Orion watched Daphne's hand grappled with Eirene's fingers, he smirked only proved that the old Macedonian methods of divine trial were wrong and led to the victory of the strongest. By then, his secondary target Eirene was not in his thoughts. For a brief moment, Orion thought he had played the role of a Barbarian ignorant. Even though those traditions were clearly Hellenistic in their nature, using violence to kill was a bit too much. On top of that, Daphne showed no gratitude.<br/><br/>However, that was going to change. As Daphne left Eirene's hand behind, she walked towards Orion, who no longer was hugging her father and thanked him. Her hand touched his strong arm for the first time and Orion felt a shiver. That girl had to be his, even though Orion was definitively convinced that there was still a way to go. His gallantry and gentleness did not seem to work. This was proved when Daphne returned the rose to his lapel. Was that a sign of breach in their relationship? Daphne's attitudes were cloudy and contradictory. A goodbye kiss, which could show an ardent passion, resembled like an innocent brother-to-sister kiss.<br/><br/>These thoughts and doubts never showed up. Orion's face continued to convey the same cold confidence of a man who killed Agamennon with his bare hands. He even smiled at Daphne's condescending attitude, wondering how long that chess match should last. Without touching Daphne at all, the only thing that Orion could reply was a quite cold, bureaucratic<strong>"Sleep well, my dear. We will talk soon"</strong>.<br/><br/>Orion was about to leave the mansion with Daphne's family, when he turned to Eirene, who was seating in the pateo next to the one where Agamennon had been killed. Orion grabbed two silver cups, filled them with what was left from the red wine and walked towards the elegant woman, who once had embodied all his idealized memories about Athens. She was a far cry from the fresh teenager, but even so her semblance reminded him of that blonde girl. Handing the silver glass to Eirene, he pulled a stool close to the woman and sat without being invited.<br/><br/><strong>"I know you disliked what I did. You are not a very good actress"</strong>, Orion smirked.<strong>"Luckily you are not a lawyer"</strong>, he continued, hoping to break the ice with a joke.<strong>"I did not stay to apologize either"</strong>, Orion sipped the wine for the first time.<strong>"I am sure that Themis played fool tonight."</strong>Orion looked at the opposite direction.<strong>"Maybe it was the first time she had to made it up for Agamennon's injustices... "</strong>, he halted his voice, just to turn his eyes to Eirene.<strong>"Anyway, I am not here to talk about the divine verdict. The only thing I care about is Daphne's wellbeing and I know you have a role on that. For how long do you think you could keep it a secret?"</strong>