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I LOOKED DOWN AT my diary, staring at the letters until they became blurry. I felt my eyes burning after a while, so I closed and massaged them before leaning my back on the rails of the chair, giving out a loud sigh.

     "What did Lady mean by what he said? Why was he asking us to leave?" I ask myself in frustration, and such a question has bothered me since yesterday ever since I had a chat with him.

     Claudio has forbidden me to speak to Lady again, so my curiosity has only grown even stronger. What did he mean by that? What did he realize that I wasn't able to realize? I'm dying to know the answers to these questions, but at the same time, I knew that such a statement would end up becoming literal if I really try to seek it out.

     I've always known, ever since Claudio touched me, that he was a dangerous man with dangerous capabilities. He knew how to please people, to capture them, and to chain them without them realizing it. I knew all that, but somehow, I know nothing of what he was planning to do to me. Will he kill me? Will he lock me up like the others? Will he experiment on me?

    To be honest, killing me would feel like mercy on his part. With Claudio, I'm certain that he can think of something more gruesome and disturbing than that. And if his plans really were to kill me, that wouldn't be enough reason to make me run away. In fact, I might even want to stay if that was the case.

     "Bishop," a voice calls out, and a familiar sound of chiming keys could be heard from outside the room.

     I stared at the empty page on the diary and closed it in frustration. I don't think there's anything I can tell Winter. With everything that's happened, I think it's better if I don't tell anything to him at all. I bet the poor child wouldn't understand it anyway, even though he's too smart for his own good.

     The door finally opens, revealing a tall man who was in a military uniform. When he stepped inside my room, I quickly put the diary away and got up from the seat so I could face him.

     Lino's entire face was covered, but I could tell that he was staring at me. The two of us became quiet for a while, but then he tilts his head and suddenly says, "Your eyes..."

    I quickly looked away from Lino and walked towards the bed to get my eye cover so I could wear it. Like I already mentioned before, I don't wear my contacts anymore since my eyes are covered anyway, so when the others accidentally see what it really looks like, it still makes me feel uncomfortable. Maybe I should wear my contacts after all.

     "Eat your breakfast and accompany Laurence in town. The master wants you to fetch his suit at Ms. Sunny's shop. He's going to be using it for the upcoming party," Lino explains while I buckled the contraption in my head.

     "Party? There's going to be another party?" I ask, but Lino doesn't answer, which was something I already expected.

     "Do I have to change my clothes?" I ask him instead.

    "It's fine, you're just heading to Sunny's shop anyway. Just remove your eye cover so you wouldn't grab any much attention," Lino explains as he walks out of my room. And so I adjusted my uniform for one last time before finally walking out of the room, following beside Lino as we walked down the long hallway in Claudio's Hell House.

    While we were walking, I couldn't help but glance at Mr. M. If I remember correctly, Lady didn't mention a gardener. Was it because Lino can handle himself well, or is it because he's way too loyal to Claudio? Is that it? I'm not entirely sure because when I look at Lino, he doesn't look like the type to be loyal to anyone, but maybe I'm just looking into things too deeply again.

     "Is there something on your mind? You've been staring at me ever since I got to your bedroom," Lino suddenly exposes, making me look away from him with my arms crossed.

     "I was just wondering why you look so ugly even though your face is already covered," I say instead, and I could tell that Lino was already glaring at me because of that.

     When we arrived at the dining room, Adeline and Laurence were already sitting at the table. Little Adie looks at me and smiles, while Laurence was reading the newspaper.

     As soon as we got there, the other employees, who were still walking around, immediately got out of the dining room. Claudio had made it a rule that no one is allowed to enter the dining room during our meal time since Lino and Laurence have to remove their masks to eat. Of course, I'm allowed to remove mine as well, but as I mentioned, I don't like it when others look at my real eyes.

     "Good morning everyone," I greet before walking toward Adeline and gently kissing her head, making the girl smile. Laurence then looks at me, so I smirked at him and said, "What? Want me to kiss you too?"

    Father Laurence rolls his eyes and places his newspaper down before removing the mask that covered his mouth. "My mornings are never pleasant whenever you're around."

    "You're welcome," I replied, and Laurence just gave up and ignored me.

    When Lino and I were already seated, the four of us started eating our ever-so-important breakfast. Hats off the master Claudio because even though he's a psychopath, he makes sure that we eat properly. We're literally not allowed to skip meals. I'm just thankful that father Laurence knows how to cook or else I would have died from food poisoning first before anything.

     "Where's master Claudio?" I ask before taking a bite of the meat.

    "He's been locked inside that laboratory all night. I couldn't sleep properly because of how much patient number 4 was screaming last night. At this rate, Hunter's going to have a gravemate," Laurence answers, and my hand instantly stopped when I heard what he said.

     The spoon stops right in front of my mouth, but before anyone could say anything, I quickly shoved the food in and forcefully swallowed it down without even chewing it, thinking if I choke now, it wouldn't really matter. Sadly, my hands automatically reached out for the glass of water, and so I drank the water down before anything bad happened.

     "That's their purpose here anyway so there's nothing much we could do," I lied, and Laurence just nodded his head, agreeing to what I had to say.

    Despite my stomach feeling terrible after that conversation, I finished my breakfast and wiped my mouth with the table napkin. "I think we should go now. Ms. Sunny might be waiting for us," I suggested even though I could clearly tell that Laurence wasn't halfway done with his meal.

    Father Laurence looks at me like I was joking, but I stood from my seat anyway, making Laurence slam his fork down and scoff at me. "Oh yes, of course. It would be so embarrassing to make master Lancaster wait for a mere priest like me to finish his precious breakfast."

     I smiled at him, and Laurence wipes his mouth before throwing the napkin down on the table. Without waiting for me, he wears his mask and then walks out of the dining hall in complete anger.

    "We'll see you later," I tell Lino and Adeline with a smile, pretending as if nothing happened.

     I quickly caught up with Laurence as the two of us got inside the car that was already parked at the front of the manor. Laurence was still pretty angry when I sat beside him, so he didn't say anything and just started driving off. I didn't say anything either as we drove off the manor, but as soon as the manor disappeared behind us, I looked at Laurence and finally told him, "Let's run away."

    Laurence instantly hits the brakes, almost making me hit the compartment in front of me because of the impact. Laurence then looks back at me like he heard the most absurd thing in the world, not even bothered that we almost crashed. "What on earth did you just say?" He asks me, unsure if he was shocked or angry.

     "Let's run away," I repeated without even blinking an eye. "You, me, Adeline; the three of us... let's run away. Let's get away from this manor, from this town, and from that monster we all call our master."

     "Bishop, are you hearing yourself right now?" Laurence asks in an almost panicked tone as he turned to look back at me.

     "Yes, I'm hearing myself loud and clear, and I think we should do it while we still have a chance. We have to do it while our chains aren't tight yet," I try to convince him, but Laurence was visibly against it.

     "N-no...No Bishop! We talked about this, didn't we? We told ourselves that we are not going to be doing anything stupid. We're only going to endure this for a while and—"

    "And what? Wait until he decides to kill us?" I fired back, and Laurence calms down and turns away from me, grabbing the steering wheel and taking a deep breath. He's probably thinking I've finally lost it.

     "I have no problem with dying, I really don't. But if he was going to kill me anyway, what would happen to Winter? I can't let him die," I honestly tell him, but Laurence remained silent. He doesn't say anything for a while, but then he takes a deep breath and looks back at me again. "We are not talking about this anymore. I'm going to pretend that you didn't just say that, do you understand?"

     I gulped and looked away from Laurence. I didn't want to answer him, but then Laurence asked me again with a louder tone, "do you understand me, child?!"

    I flinched at his sudden aggression, and I finally nodded my head as a reply. "I understand," I answer, looking out of the car window, and wiping the tears that streamed down my eyes.

    The drive became quiet after that, and the tension between us only got stronger. I knew that for a second, for a quick second, Laurence considered it too. There might have been a time in his life when he woke up and told himself that he'd run away, but there was always something stopping him. Like me, he's just scared; scared by the fact that if we run away, where else will we go?

     "We're here," Laurence says as he parks the car beside a familiar store. I removed my mask and glanced back at father Laurence for one last time before heading out. There weren't a lot of people, so no one noticed me when I entered Ms. Sunny's shop.

     The bell on the door chimes as a figure appears from the back. She was wearing this magnificent gown that even left me speechless.

    "Oh, Bishop darling. Here to pick up Claudio's suit?" She asks as she approaches me.

     "Y-yes," I answer, still staring at the dress. Ms. Sunny must have noticed me staring, so she smiles and twirls in front of me so I could see the dress better. "Do you like it? I just finished this last night."

     "It looks amazing," I say. "No, you look amazing," I then corrected, and this time, Ms. Sunny giggled.

     "Please, don't flatter me," she says even though it was obvious that she loved the compliment. Ms. Sunny then heads to the back room, probably to take Claudio's suit. While she was in there, she tells me, "It's my first time seeing you wear the uniform that I made for you. It looks absolutely gorgeous on you darling."

    I looked down at what I was wearing, remembering that this was one of Ms. Sunny's creations as well. The suit looked plain from afar, but if you come closer, you'd see the subtle pattern on the fabric. On the back, there was also a beautiful embroidery of a horse symbol, which was something that only a skilled seamstress could do. "Yes, it fits perfectly. And I get to move around without any problem."

     "That's good. After all, Claudio helped me design it," she then says, finally stepping out of the room while holding two garment bags. "He's the type to appreciate functionality rather than aesthetic, but of course, I wouldn't allow a single garment to come out of my shop looking hideous."

    "I can see that," I reply, and Ms. Sunny hands me over the two bags.

     "The white one is for your master, while the black one is...for you," Ms. Sunny suddenly reveals, surprising me.

     "For me? Is this another butler uniform?" I ask since I wear my butler uniform whenever I accompany Claudio to a party.

     "Well, technically no," she says as she rushes to the counter to take something. She disappears for a second, but then she pops back up, holding onto two elegant-looking masks. "The party you're going to be attending is a masquerade ball, and Claudio wanted you to come as his guest and not as his butler," Ms. Sunny explains, making me furrow my brows in confusion. I never went to these parties as a guest, so I'm certain that Claudio is planning something again.

     "I think people would notice that it would be me," I then point out since one of my most distinguishable characteristics is my light hair. But of course, Ms. Sunny looked like she had that covered as well when she gave me this sachet that had a black fluid inside.

     "That is a temporary hair dye," she explains. "You just have to apply it in your hair hours before the party. It would stay in your hair for at least a day, and then you can just wash it with shampoo afterward."

     I stared at the hair dye and didn't say a word. Claudio was definitely planning something again. I have to know what it is. Why is he suddenly asking me to disguise myself? What's his purpose this time?

    "Tell me, Ms. Sunny, who's going to host this masquerade ball?" I ask.

     "Hasn't Claudio told you about it yet? It's hosted by the Ricci family. It's his mother's birthday," Ms. Sunny answers and my entire body freezes in shock.

     "I beg your pardon?"

...

"Doctor Giovanni!" I shouted as I bolted inside the lab, not caring if I was disturbing anyone or not. The room was hot and the smell was terrible. The nurses inside looked at me, while Claudio was wiping the metal bed that was now empty. He doesn't say anything when I got there, and in fact, he ignored me the entire time. He didn't even look startled.

     "Why are you asking me to come as your guest at the upcoming ball?" I finally ask, and Claudio's hand stopped moving. He doesn't give me a reply, but then he takes a deep breath and commands, "You may all leave."

     The nurses wearing gas masks didn't even hesitate as they started walking out of the room. As soon as Claudio and I were alone, I moved closer to him and asked him again, "Why are you making me come to the ball with a different identity?"

     Claudio removes his mask and looks back at me with his almost dead eyes. He looked exhausted since his eyes were red and they were surrounded by dark circles. For a moment I thought he was dying.

     "I thought you were going to do anything I asked as long as I don't make you do the initial task that I gave you before?" he then asks, removing his gloves this time so he could wash his hands. "I have plans, and I want you to fulfill them. Haven't I already made that clear?"

     "Don't give me that bullshit," I dare to say. "The party is hosted by the Ricci family. I could have easily accompanied you as your butler if you wanted me to, but deliberately making me hide my identity...you're planning something, I just know it."

     And what scares me is that I feel like it's something that involves Teo.

     "Oh, Bishop..." Claudio says with a sigh, wiping his wet hands before turning around to face me. Master Claudio then walks closer until he was now inches away from where I was standing. He stares at me for a while, but then he grabs me by the cheeks, his soft expression now changing into irritation.

     "You seem to be forgetting your role here," he tells me, his grip on my cheeks tight until they ached. "I own you," he then reminds me, sending down a chill on my spine.

     "L-let go," I struggled to say, but Claudio wouldn't budge.

     "You don't have the right to defy my orders, nor are you to question them. You do as I say, and you do it right, so don't you dare disrespect me again," Claudio says with such a commanding tone that my entire body started to shake.

     I've never trembled like this before, and I've never felt this helpless, so when did I start becoming terrified of him? 

     "Now remove the thing that's covering your eyes before I pull it off you myself," he then instructs as he finally lets go of my now aching cheeks.

    My hands were trembling, but I slowly unbuckled my eyewear and dropped it on the floor. Now that nothing was covering my eyes, I could see Claudio better. I realized that he didn't actually look well. He was moving strangely too, almost erratically. Was it because he hasn't slept at all, or is it because of something else?

     What on earth happened to him?

     "I have removed it," I tell him, and as soon as I said those words, Claudio looks back at me and suddenly slaps me. The feeling felt electrifying, and for a moment I thought I was going to lose balance.

     "Stand straight you fucking bitch!" He then shouts, and I gulped and held my ground as Claudio slapped me for the second time. And then another, and another.

     My cheeks ached so much that after a while, I couldn't even feel them anymore. When Claudio was done with me, he turns back and washed his hands again. I slowly reached out for my cheeks with my trembling hand just so I could feel them. I then realized that the skin on my right cheek actually tore, which was why blood was dripping down my chin.

     I looked down at my blood-stained hand and slowly looked back at Claudio. Claudio was washing his face, and right after, he turns back to look at me again, but this time, his soft expression was back.

     "I'm sorry," he suddenly tells me, grabbing my arm and pulling me in a tight embrace. "I'm sorry I hit you. You irritated me so I couldn't control myself. You understand, right?" He asks as I rested my chin on his shoulder.

    My body continued to tremble as I felt the unbearable pain in my cheeks. Claudio probably noticed because he started to caress my back, almost like he was trying to comfort me.

    "Don't worry, we'll go to the ball together. I won't allow anyone to hurt you," he says, pulling away from me to look back at my face. When he saw that I was crying, Claudio sighs and reaches out to wipe the tears away, ignoring the fact that I was bleeding because of him.

     "Now now, don't cry. I won't do it again, I promise," he tells me.

     Claudio continues to stare at me for a while, and then a smile appears on his face as he says, "Your eyes really are beautiful. When we go to the ball, don't cover them. I want people to see it. Is that clear?"

     "Y-Yes...master C-Claudio," I tried to say, and Claudio smiles at me again and leans close to kiss my bleeding cheek.

     "Alright, now head back and help out the others. I'll just wrap things up here," he says, letting go of me and turning away so he wouldn't be able to look at me anymore.

    I swallowed the lump in my throat and slowly bowed my head before finally heading out of the room. As soon as I closed the door, I dropped to the floor and started sobbing.

     Laurence was right.

     We can't run away from Claudio.

     Not anymore.

to be continued...