Balzenov (2)

We had passed through the garden and come inside a good while ago, and Ivan’s stride still held the pace it had started at, as if there were still a long way to go.

“The house really is enormous.”
“It’s the best-off neighborhood in Siltrein, and the best-off house in it.”

This was not my first visit to the residence of the house of Balzenov. Even so, the formidable scale of it struck me all over again. For a mere resident to pile up wealth on this scale would have taken several generations, however vast Siltrein might be.

“How does Balzenov...