"Don Francisco de Quevedo gave me an expressive look, which I interpreted correctly, and so I got up from my seat to follow my master. Notify me if there are any problems, his eyes said from behind his Quevedian glasses. Two swords are better than one. Thus, with a sense of responsibility, I also arranged the mercy dagger at the back of my belt and followed the captain, discreet as a mouse, hoping that this time we would reach the end of the comedy peacefully. Because it would be very bad to ruin Tirso de Molina's performance."

"Of course, it was impossible for me to imagine to what extent Maria de Castro would complicate my life and my master's, exposing us both to very serious danger; not to mention our lord the king's crown, which in those days literally hung by a thread. All these things I intend to narrate in this new adventure, proving that there is no madness into which a man cannot fall, no abyss into which he cannot plunge, and no circumstances that the devil cannot exploit when a beautiful woman is involved."