"I am the earl in my domain, and as such, it is my duty to perform to perform the Rituals that are the life of the castle," he says. "Except that I am, of course, an imperfect young man, always making mistakes and fumbling things, something which drove the senior Master of the Ritual, one Mr. Barquentine, to distraction. I had no interest in something which was laid upon my shoulders when I was too young to understand it."