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"EVERYTHING IS READY NOW, doctor Giovanni," Laurence says as all of us went out of the manor, a dozen nurses waiting for us there so they could send us off.

     Claudio nods his head as an answer before heading inside the car where Lino was already in. I looked back and bowed my head to Adie and Laurence. The other nurses bowed to bid us farewell as well as I finally head inside the car to sit beside the master.

     Lino adjusts the rearview mirror for one last time before driving off. As soon as we were out of sight, master Claudio removes his mask, revealing his annoyingly attractive face which doesn't deserve to be owned by someone like him. It's such a waste if you ask me.

     "Excuse me," I say, quickly pulling out my handkerchief and using it to wipe the sweat on his face. Master thanks me right after, then he pulls out a suitcase he's been holding and opens it, revealing a single syringe made of metal. If I remember correctly, this is the same fluid that they injected into Hunter.

     Master Claudio takes the syringe out of the suitcase and hands it over to me. I stare at it for a while before carefully hiding it in the pocket of my coat.

     "Mr. Ludwig is a businessman who's going to be celebrating his 60th birthday. Two of the families I mentioned to you before will be attending this celebration, so it's important that we succeed in our first wave," master Claudio explains to me.

     "And how will I be able to do this task?" I ask.

     Claudio thinks about it for a while. When he was able to think of a plan, I already readied myself for the worse.

     "In their drink," he says. "The formula blends better in liquid so add it to the drinks without getting caught. It's going to be difficult to roam around the party, but use the ID that I gave you just in case," he casually says like it's the easiest task in the world.

     "What about the other guests that will be drinking it too? We're only targeting two families, correct?" I ask next, which I instantly regret because I should have known not to ask him unnecessary questions by the way he answered them.

     "Casualties Bishop, casualties. There's nothing we can do about it," He says in a tone that made it sound like it was common sense. His mindset almost made me laugh. This man really is a psycho. I bet even Krimson would have a hard time cracking him.

     "You say that the two families that you mentioned will be at the party, so does that mean the Winchester and the Ricci family will be there?" I ask next. I should ask questions now so I wouldn't stumble into a problem later. Besides, these are questions necessary for my mission. It's not like they're personal questions.

     "That's right, those families will be there," he answers. I wanted to ask if there would ever be a time where I'll be able to meet his family, which is the Romano's—a family we're also targeting—but I knew that it would be a question that Claudio will no longer answer.

     The car ride became quiet, and I wanted to just stay quiet myself, but then a smirk appeared on my face when an idea crossed my head.

     "Will officer Teo be there?" I finally ask, and Claudio—who was looking out of the window earlier—turns his head to me, his expression completely blank.

     "Teo?" He asks, his voice lower than usual, which instantly sent shivers down my spine from complete pleasure.

      "Well, you gave me a mission that involves him, did you not? Then it would be great if I get to meet him there too," I explain, and Claudio stares at me like he's observing me; trying to read me and my intentions. I bet the reason why he's a little surprised is because I called him Teo. He's probably trying to guess when and where we got to meet to get to the 'nickname' stage.

     When Claudio doesn't say anything, I gave him a sly smile and looked away. I thought it was going to be the end of the conversation and I was successfully able to boggle his mind, but then the master turns his head away from me and says, "Whatever you're trying to do Bishop, you better try harder."

     The way he said it sounded so confident that I couldn't help but roll my eyes in annoyance. "It was worth the shot," I whisper, and I could hear Claudio giving out a low chuckle.

     Well, I knew that it wouldn't be this easy. This is Claudio Romano we're talking about.

     "We're close by master," Lino tells us, and I immediately looked out of the window.

     The place we were at was a bit farther from the town center, so I was surprised to find a large mansion hidden beneath the forest. Unlike the time at the mayor's house, this mansion had lights flashing everywhere and the music was blaring even at a distance. Girls were wearing tight dresses and men with their fancy suits. Thankfully I decided to put Claudio in a less white-tie-themed tuxedo.

     "It looks like a real-life Great Gatsby party," I say as Lino parked at the entrance to drop us off.

     I quickly went out of the car first, and then hurriedly went to master Claudio's side to open the door for him. As soon as he made an appearance, people instantly started swarming him.

     "Doctor Claudio!" A young woman says, draping her hand around Claudio and purposely leaning close so her breast could touch his arm.

     Claudio gives out a charming smile and slowly pulls his hand away from her without any effort. "You look beautiful sweetheart," he says, but I bet he doesn't even know this woman's name.

     "Shall we head inside?" Another woman asks.

     Before giving her an answer, master Claudio looks in my direction and leans close to my ear. "I'll see you inside," he whispers before draping his arms around the girls' shoulders and walking inside the mansion where a large crowd could be found.

     I take a deep breath and adjust my tie before finally going in. As expected, the inside of the mansion smelled like alcohol, cigarettes, and sweat. It was a kind of party that I haven't been to, but judging by the atmosphere, it's a kind of gathering that I think I wouldn't be able to enjoy.

     "Now where on earth is the kitchen?" I ask myself as I walk deeper inside the mansion.

     I could barely hear anything because of the loud music, and I couldn't even find master Claudio anywhere. At this rate, finding the kitchen would be impossible.

     "Sir, a drink?" A waiter suddenly asks, almost shouting. I look at him and found him holding a tray of cocktails. He was just the right person to ask questions.

     "Do you know where the kitchen is?!" I practically shout.

     "Kitchen?!"

     "I'm master Claudio's butler! I have to check the food being served in case he eats something unpleasant because he has a sensitive stomach!"

     "Master Claudio's butler?! You mean doctor Romano?!"

     "Yes!" I shout back, pulling an ID out of my pocket that had the official Romano emblem engraved on it so people wouldn't doubt my supposed identity.

     The waiter inspects it, and then he nods his head and leans closer to my ear, "If that's the case, he's going to be staying in the VIP room with sir Ludwig and the others. The food and drinks being served there are found in a different room. I'll show it to you," he says, and I almost cheered right in front of me.

     The waiter kindly goes through the crowd and leads the way. After a couple more turns, the music slowly starts to dilate and we arrived at a much more secluded area.

     "Behind that metal door is where you can find the kitchen. The red door on the left is the VIP section," he explains before finally taking his leave.

     "Well that was easy," I whisper before heading towards the metal door. Inside was the kitchen, just like what the waiter said, but it was packed with people. One of the chefs saw me and got ready to kick me out, but I quickly showed them my ID and said, "I'm Bishop Lancaster, and I'm here to inspect the food for my master."

     "Oh, you're one of Romano's people? Then come with me, I'll show you the dishes," the head chef says with no hesitation as he leads me to the counter where all the food is being prepared.

     "We're serving a couple of good ones tonight. For the appetizer we prepared..."

     As the head chef continued to give me a list of the ingredients they used for each dish, my eyes wandered around the kitchen, trying to find some sort of punch or even a drink that they'll serve to the VIP guests. When the head chef went to explain the next dish, a waiter bolts inside the kitchen and shouts, "They're asking for their drinks!"

     My eyes instantly widened from shock and I look at the waiter who went to a glass shelf, pulling out a very expensive wine bottle.

     I gulped and tried to think of something as the waiter opened the wine bottle. Before he could leave, my inner selves moved on their own as I told the head chef, "Can I see that wine bottle first?"

     The head chef was surprised, but before he could even answer, I practically ran to the waiter and grabbed the bottle from his hand. "I'll serve this to the guest. Master Claudio is quite particular with who serves him drinks."

     "I-Is that so?" The waiter confusingly asks.

     I look around and saw that there were CCTV cameras in the kitchen, making me curse under my breath. As the waiter left, and as the head chef got distracted because another chef asked for his help, it was time for me to put the poison in.

     But those damn cameras...how will I—

     Wait a minute.

     My eyes fall to a stove that still had fire running. Without any hesitation, I pretended like I slipped and spilled some wine on the stove, instantly creating a larger flame that created smoke that was just enough to cover the cameras.

     As everyone was distracted by the smoke, I immediately took out the syringe and squeezed the content inside the bottle before quickly hiding it back inside my pocket.

     When the smoke was gone, I looked at the chefs and quickly apologized, "I am so sorry, the floor was a bit slippery."

     "It's fine," the head chef says. "Shall I show you the rest of the dishes?" he then asks.

     "Oh, it's fine. I saw the dishes and they all look like something the master can eat. Just make sure that there aren't any peanuts on any of them," I then say, and the head chef bows his head first as I finally head out of the kitchen.

     I didn't act out of character when I walked down the hall because there were guards and cameras there too. With the altered bottle now in my hand, I went inside the VIP room and was welcomed by a group of very important-looking people. I practically sighed in relief when I saw Claudio there, sitting with the girls who we met at the entrance.

     "Bishop," Claudio calls out, acting surprised. "Were you able to do what I asked you to do?" He then asks.

     "Yes, master. I also brought the wine that you have asked for," I say, and the men beside him started to stare at me, practically wondering who the hell I was.

     "Excuse my manners, this is Bishop, my butler. I've been under his care for a while now," Claudio introduces me, and I immediately bowed to them as a form of respect.

     "Oh, so this is the white-haired prince everyone's been talking about. He is quite attractive as the rumors say. My wife shared that she met you at the mayor's party, said you were excellent with your job that she couldn't help but be envious of Claudio," he says, and I bow again to show him my appreciation for his compliment.

     "Wow, where'd you find him? I had one myself, graduated from a prestige butler academy, but ended up fucking my daughter after a week!" Another man says, and everyone at the table started laughing.

     As everyone was enjoying their time, there was another man who was staring intensely at me. He was a bit older, considering his hair and beard were turning grey, but his body looked nothing like his age. He actually looked like he could still break me if he wanted to.

     "Bishop, this is Mr. Ludwig," Claudio suddenly introduces, probably because he noticed how I was staring at him.

     I faced the birthday celebrant and bowed to him. "It is a pleasure to meet you," I tell him.

     "The pleasure is mine," he answers with such a deep voice that it almost made every hair on my skin stand. I don't even know why, but something about him is very intimidating.

     "You look afraid boy," he then says, surprising me. "Don't worry, I don't bite."

     I couldn't say anything as Mr. Ludwig adjusts in his seat and stares at me again. "I guess I was pretty uptight in the past, but after Valentina's death, I think I've grown soft," he then tells me.

     Wait, that name, Valentina...where have I heard of that name before? Why does it sound familiar?

     "Oh, you must not be familiar with her," he then says, reading my mind like it was an open book. "Valentina, she was the mayor's daughter. I was a bit older than her, but we were deeply in love. Things just fell apart between us after our marriage and when we moved into their mansion. Her father was too possessive, I couldn't—"

     "I don't think it's wise of you to say such things to a mere butler," Claudio then says, making Mr. Ludwig stop in an instant.

     Holy shit, that's Valentina's ex-husband? So he's supposed to be Adeline's stepfather? Does he even know what happened? Does he know about Adeline? Does he know she exists?

     "How about serving some wine first so you can take your leave?" master Claudio then says, and I nod my head and quickly pour the wine into everyone's glass. I even poured some on Claudio's glass because I was expecting him to just fake it, but when everyone drank the wine, I almost slapped Claudio's glass away because he drank some too.

     Is he an idiot?!

     "Will that be all?" I calmly ask, and Claudio doesn't say anything and nods his head, so I bow to them again before finally heading out. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It might not have looked that way, but I was very nervous. Not really sure if it's because I'm afraid to fail, or I'm afraid of what Claudio can do if I did fail, but I'm glad I was able to do it in the end.

     "Bishop?" A voice suddenly calls out from behind me. I turned around and a tall man welcomes me there. It was officer Mateo Ricci, walking towards me with his hands inside his pockets. He wasn't wearing his police uniform anymore, but the suit and tie still made him look very dashing.

     "It's good to see you. Looks like Claudio's already here," he says, and I awkwardly cleared my throat and gestured at the VIP room. "The others must be waiting for you," I say instead before walking away from him, but as I turn my back to him, a hand suddenly grabs hold of my arm, instantly making me stop.

     I turn to look at him again, and Teo shows me that darn smile that pisses me off so much because of how unusual it is for me.

     "Would you like to get some fresh air with me? I bet Claudio's already enjoying himself so he probably won't mind," He asks with the softest voice I've ever heard, almost like he didn't want anyone else to hear us.

    I look down at my arm to see his hand tightly holding onto it. Teo must have noticed so he immediately let go, but before he could say something like he was just joking around, I nodded and told him, "Sure, I'd love that."

     "Then follow me," he says right after. He actually said it so quickly that I'd assume he was afraid that I'd change my mind.

     Before anyone could spot us, Teo was already on his way to a much quieter area in the mansion. He must have attended a lot of parties here to be able to know around the place.

     "Here we are," he says as we enter a room. In all honesty, I thought he was going to bring me to a bedroom, but to my surprise, he brought me to this huge balcony that had a great view of the forest just behind the mansion.

     "Wow," I say as I practically run to the edge to get a better look. "This looks amazing," I add, and I could hear Teo chuckling behind me

     "Ludwig's parties have always been this loud and big so I went on a quest to find the quietest spot whenever I wanted to take a break," he tells me before standing beside me, giving me at least a meter of space.

     "You didn't come with Isabella this time?" I ask, referring to the beautiful woman that she brought to the mayor's party.

     "No, Bella's not a big fan of these kinds of parties, and she particularly doesn't like Ludwig," Teo explains, which I can somehow understand after meeting Ludwig myself. The man's pretty intimidating after all.

     The two of us didn't say anything for a while and just enjoyed the moment, but then I pull out a pack of cigarettes from my pocket and showed it to him, "Want one?" I ask, and to my surprise, Teo shakes his head and declines my offer.

     "I don't smoke," he says. "But go ahead, I don't mind."

     "You saying that makes me not want to do it," I reply, putting the pack back inside my pocket, making Teo laugh.

     "So, how have you been? Have you been enjoying yourself so far as Claudio's trusted butler?" He then asks, and believe me, I was moments away from telling him everything that really goes down with me and Claudio, but I refrained myself and gave out a lie instead.

     "It's been alright. Master Claudio isn't always home either way, but the pay is good. The master isn't very strict either so I don't get too strained," I say, and Teo turns to look at me.

     "Well, Claudio's always been the quiet type, but he's sociable when needed. I've known him since we were teenagers, so it's safe to say we're practically childhood friends," he suddenly shares.

     "You've known him for that long? Then does that mean that you know his parents, or the rest of his family too?" I ask, hoping to get something out of this since Teo already opened it up.

     "I think everyone in this town knows who the Romano family is, but they moved to the city a couple of years ago, and Claudio's the only one who's been coming back to this town. Claudio's parents were the best doctors here, and they saved this town from that plague doctor," Teo then explains.

     "Plague doctor?" I ask, hoping he'd explain further.

     "Yes, the plague doctor. My father used to tell stories about him, said he was some sort of mad scientist who housed dangerous criminals. When my father was a teenager, he told me that one of his experiments went wrong and it plagued the entire town. Dr. William, Claudio's father, was the only one who was able to help. He then gathered everyone together and they raided the plague doctor's manor. Even my father was a part of it."

     "What happened after?"

     "Well, they took down the mad scientist, and ever since that day, the town has been in peace, but people believe that the plague doctor still resides in that manor on top of the hill," Teo says before laughing to himself. "But this is just something that the elders say to scare the children. Take this with a grain of salt."

     So that's what happened? Then why is Claudio posing as the Plague Doctor now? His father helped get rid of him, but now Claudio's trying to repeat history. What did Claudio even discover? Is he just trying to mimic the plague doctor for the fun of it, or is there a much deeper meaning behind it?

     No, wait, if I remember correctly, Claudio told me that his grandfather built the manor and he grew up there. It doesn't make any sense if that was where the plague doctor lived. What on earth is that doctor's connection with Claudio?

     "But even though it might be a story to scare kids, don't ever go to that manor. No one has ever gone there, even the police. We believe that it's best to ignore the unknown than to dwell deeper into it," Teo then warns me, almost making me snort.

     How will you react if you found out about the truth Teo? Would you still smile at me like how you always do if you found out what I really do?

     "You said when the plague doctor left, the town has been in peace. Do you genuinely believe that officer Ricci? Do you think Capo di Monte is a peaceful place?" I ask him, and the question probably took him aback since he looked away from me after hearing it.

    Teo takes a deep breath and looks at the scenery, pondering over my question.

     "I became a police officer because my father was considered a hero for helping Dr. William get rid of the plague doctor. For a long time I did believe that this town found its peace, but..." Teo pauses and takes another deep breath before looking back at me. "Justice can only be defined by the people with power. Those who have nothing can only see justice as a word with no meaning."

     When I heard his answer, I didn't think much of it. Maybe it was just his worldview, but when I saw the look on his face, and when I remembered the anger that Claudio has for this town, I could help but realize something, something that might just help me understand the horrors of this town.

     "The plague doctor...when you said they got rid of him, what did your father and Claudio's father actually do?" I ask him, and the look on Teo's face confirmed something to me.

     Justice can only be defined by the people with power.

     And it seems like in this town, that is exactly what they just did.

to be continued...