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TODAY WAS THE MASQUERADE ball, the ball where master Claudio was going to release his second plague. I was told that I was going to come with him as his guest and not as his butler, and like the obedient boy that I was, I agreed, as if there was ever an option for me to decline it.

     I washed my face and turned the faucet off before looking in the mirror. I almost startled myself when I saw what I looked like. My hair was now completely black, and my eyes were a natural brown and blue. Claudio said that he didn't want me to cover the other eye even though I didn't want to, but I didn't want to get beaten either so I just did what I was told.

     "I look hideous," I tell myself.

     "You've honestly looked worst," Someone in my head suddenly replies, and I wasn't even sure if it was Autumn or Alice. But based on the tone of the voice, I could guess it was coming from the pretty one.

     "Like you guys could do any better," I answer back as I walked out of the restroom so I could change my clothes.

     On top of my bed was a tuxedo made by Ms. Sunny, and a black mask that perfectly matched it. I'm still a bit confused as to why master Claudio asked me to come with him as a guest, but seeing how the ball is hosted by the Ricci family, I can say that the evil doctor is planning something again. All I have to do now is prepare myself for the worse.

     I stripped and used my shirt to wipe my face, but just as I was about to wear some pants, the door to my room suddenly opens. For a second I thought that it was going to be Lino, but to my surprise, it was the evil doctor himself, master Claudio.

     "Master!" I shout, startled by his sudden appearance. I couldn't help but cover my naked upper body as Claudio closed the door behind him. He was already wearing the white suit that Ms. Sunny prepared for him, and he was also wearing his gold mask that covered his intimidating eyes.

    "Looks like black hair suits you," he says as he approaches me, unconsciously making me take a step back. When Claudio stopped moving, he reaches out to touch my cheek. "It seems like the scar is gone now," he says,and I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked away from him.

     "Let me help you," he then tells me.

     I didn't answer him, but Claudio takes the shirt that I used to cover my body and dropped it on the floor. Right after that, he takes the pants from the bed and hands them over to me.

     "T-Thank you," I say as I wore the pants myself. He then takes the shirt and helped me wear it next, and then the coat that had such a beautiful pattern that it even left me in awe.

     When I was now wearing the suit, Claudio takes a step back and stares at me from head to toe. "Perfect," he says, and all I could do was look away from him again. His words were poison to me, and they stung every time he spoke.

     "Now take a seat, I'll help you wear your shoes," he then tells me. I didn't know why he was doing such a thing, but I sat on the edge of the bed anyway as Claudio took some socks and the pair of shoes that I was supposed to wear.

     Claudio kneels in front of me, and the way I was looking down at him made me gulp. He then takes my left foot and gently grabs hold of it. I thought he was going to put on my sock, but then he brings my foot closer to him, and without any warning, he presses his soft lips on it, making my body shiver.

     "M-Master..."

     "Is there a problem?" He asks, and I couldn't even answer him, so Claudio chuckles and puts on my sock and shoe without saying anything else.

     When I already had my shoes on, Claudio adjusted himself and starts tying the laces for me. While he was doing so, he tells me, "The ball is going to be filled with a lot of powerful people, but our main target is the Ricci family."

    The moment he said the family name, my heart starts beating fast, but I didn't say anything. But sadly, it seems like I couldn't mask my emotion enough because Claudio looked back at me with such a menacing grin that it made the hair on my skin stand.

     "Why? Are you worried about your precious Teo?" He asks, and I looked away from him again.

     Claudio finished tying my lace and stood up from the floor. He then move closer to me and grabs my chin so I could forcefully look back at him. "Don't worry, there's nothing for you to worry about. I'm not going to touch him. In fact, that's the reason why I asked you to come with me."

     "W-what do you mean?" I asked, and Claudio takes my mask and gently put it on my face before saying, "I want you to distract him for me."

     Distract him? What is he talking about?

     "I already have a plan set up, so for the poison, there's nothing else you have to worry about. But what you do have to worry about is that stupid cop. He has great instincts, and it would be troublesome if he notices what was going on. I want you to get him out of the ball before it officially starts and take him somewhere far. Sound easy right? And the best part, he won't even be harmed. It's a win-win for both of us," Claudio explains with a smile, and I couldn't believe that he would even ask such a thing from me.

     Of course, I wanted to decline; I have made it clear to him that I did not want to associate with Mateo anymore. But if I don't do this, there's a higher chance that he'll get caught up with that poison, and based on how Claudio even got fucked up by it while he was testing it, I could safely assume that the poison is stronger than the last one.

     "All I have to do is get him out of the ball, right?" I finally asked, and the smile on Claudio's face turned into a grin.

    "Yes," he answers, adjusting my mask so it wouldn't fall off. "But of course, you're not going to act as Bishop, that would ruin the plan. Get him out of there without him realizing who you are. If he finds out that the two of us came together, then there will be trouble. Is that understood Bishop?" He asks, and I nodded my head to agree to his terms.

     "Good." Claudio leans towards me and gently kisses my forehead before offering me his arm. "Shall we go?" He then asks, and I hesitated for a while but took his hand anyway as we walked out of my bedroom to head to one of the town's most awaited parties, unaware of the plague that will soon fall upon them.

...

Tons of cars were parked outside this mansion that looked more like a city hall than it was a home. It wasn't as big as the mayor's house, or even Mr. Ludwig's mansion, but it was enormous nonetheless.

     "I'll park in front of the entrance master Claudio," Lino says, looking back at us through the rearview mirror before driving towards the mansion, following just behind the other cars that dropped off men with well-tailored suits, and women with their extravagant gowns.

     When it was our turn to park in front of the mansion, a man wearing a navy blue suit opens the door for us. Claudio heads out first, and then, to my surprise, he reaches out his hand for me to grab it. I didn't want to though, but I took it anyway as Claudio and I faced the crowd who were waiting outside.

    The people stared at us as Claudio made me hold onto his arm. Unlike the time when we arrived at Mr. Ludwig's party, the guests didn't storm their way toward us to greet Claudio, making me realize that they probably don't recognize him because of the mask.

     So the two of us walked to the entrance without any fuss. When we got to the main door, a guard then stops us and asks for an invitation, and so Claudio pulls out an invitation and hands it over to him.

     "Good evening sir," the guard says after reading the name on the invitation. "I apologize for stopping you," he then says before looking back in my direction. I thought the guard was going to recognize me as his butler, but before he could say anything, Claudio tells him, "This is my courtesan. He's coming with me as a guest."

     Did he just say, courtesan?

     "Oh yes, of course. Please come in and enjoy the party," he finally states as he opens the door for us.

     Claudio and I glanced at each other before entering the party. Inside, two women escorted us to a hall, and there we were welcomed by dozens of guests, chatting, drinking martinis, and dancing on the dance floor while an orchestra played at the back.

     "Claudio!" Someone suddenly calls out, surprising me because I didn't expect anyone to recognize him that fast.

     Claudio and I turned around and saw this man wearing a deep red suit approaching us. I couldn't recognize him at first, but when I noticed his white hair, I instantly remembered who he was.

     "Mr. Ludwig," he greets, and the two shook their hands together.

     "You actually wore the white suit that you mentioned. If you didn't tell me beforehand, I wouldn't have recognized you, but I think only you would be able to pull something off anyway," Mr. Ludwig tells him, and Claudio laughs at the compliment.  Why would Claudio tell him that he's going to wear white? Did he purposely want Mr. Ludwig to recognize him?

     "By the way, I would like to apologize for the incident that happened at my party. It seem like one of the dishes served to us had some kind of mushroom which made us feel sick. I ended up firing most of my chefs because of how embarrassed I was," Mr. Ludwig suddenly explains, surprising me.

     Mushroom? What mushroom? Did Claudio get lucky or did—

     "Lino," I unconsciously whisper to myself, making Mr. Ludwig stop talking so he could look at me.

     "Wait, who's this? I thought you'd be with your butler, but it seems like you brought someone else," he says, showing me his hand. I glanced at Claudio first, and when he nods his head to permit me, I grabbed Mr. Ludwig's and shook it. But the businessman doesn't shake it at all. Instead, he kisses the back of it, surprising me.

     "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Ludwig Vanderbilt," he introduces, but I didn't say anything back because he might recognize my voice.

     "This is my courtesan..." Claudio then says. "His name is Winter Hollow."

     As soon as Claudio said that name out loud, I immediately pulled my hand away from Mr. Ludwig, startling him. I wanted to say something, but then Mr. Ludwig moves closer to me and suddenly commented, "Oh, how peculiar, I didn't notice your eyes. They're a different color. Very exotic."

     Exotic?

     "Mr. Ludwig, shall we talk about your next project? I heard you're going to donate thousands for the town," master Claudio suddenly says, shifting Mr. Ludwig's attention back to him.

     "Ah yes, I have. Looks like word travel fast. I'm planning to give my donation during the town's 100th anniversary. I think that's going to be more meaningful," Mr. Ludwig answers. While Mr. Ludwig was busy talking about his supposed project, Claudio leans toward me and whispered, "find the cop."

    I nodded my head and let go of Claudio's arm before slowly walking away from them. Mr. Ludwig must have been so enthusiastic to talk about that project of his because he didn't even notice that I was already gone.

     "Now where shall I go?" I ask myself, looking around the hall in hopes to find officer Mateo Ricci. I don't know what others would say, but finding someone is difficult when they're wearing masks. Before I thought it would be easy to recognize them, but I was completely wrong. The eyes really do reveal a person.

    Without any delay, I looked around the hall, searching for Teo. At times I would mistake him for someone else so I'd accidentally bump myself into them, only to be glared at. I had to literally search for every corner of the hall, but it seems like the host of the party is nowhere to be found, so I strayed away from the party and wandered around for a bit, hoping our paths would eventually cross.

    After walking down a long corridor, I stumbled upon a balcony that overlooked the town, similar to Ludwig's mansion.

     I walked towards the balustrade and leaned on it, staring at the town that Claudio seemed to hate so much. It has been made clear to me that Capo de Monti holds secrets that may be darker than I expected.

     Like what Teo had told me before, there was a mad scientist on top of the hill. The mad scientist made an experiment that went terribly wrong, and so the town barged into his manor and killed him, and by the way Teo explained the story, I could tell that they killed him in a very gruesome way.

     But was the mad scientist truly mad? Did he really do something so horrid that the entire town wanted him dead?

     What did this mad scientist do, and how is Claudio related to him?

     "Sir, you shouldn't be here," a voice suddenly says, immediately making me turn around to face them. I didn't know what to expect, but when I saw who it was, I was instantly subjected to her beauty. She was wearing this tight sequinned black dress that shimmered thanks to the moonlight. She was also wearing a mask, yet you could tell how gorgeous her features were. I couldn't help but stare.

    "What are you doing here?" She asks, and I quickly cleared my throat and stood straight. "I apologize, I'm terrible around people I don't know so I decided to find someplace quiet for a while."

     I thought the woman was going to tell me to leave, but then she chuckles and walked towards the balustrade to stare at the view as well. "Looks like we're the same," she says. "I get anxious when people stare."

     "Then I apologize for my action earlier," I quickly say, making her laugh.

     "Oh, don't worry, I do get anxious, but at times I enjoy the gaze of others, especially when I'm being gazed on by such a handsome man like yourself," she then tells me, and I smiled and stood beside her, trying not to stare too much.

     The woman then turns to look at me. And after a while, she says, "You seem familiar, almost like I've seen you somewhere," she then adds.

     "Then I would have been the luckiest man on earth to have been recognized by someone like you," I say, and the lady chuckles, charming me with her smile. I laughed with her, genuinely happy to have met her like this, but as we were enjoying each other's company, someone suddenly arrives at the scene.

     "Isabella," he calls out, and the moment I heard the name, my eyes instantly widened in surprise. Isabella, I remember that name. I met her at the mayor's party, and if my memory serves me right, she's Mateo's courtesan. Then that means that the man who just got here is...

     "Mateo," she calls out, and a tall man approaches us, his presence overwhelming me in an instant.

     "What are you doing here? My mother is about to make her entrance. You should be with the rest of the guests," Mateo tells her, completely ignoring me.

     "Oh please, it's not like I'm needed there. Besides, your older brother would be at the hall too and I'm trying to avoid him," she then answers, and the two of them started bickering at each other, showing their closeness.

     I couldn't say a single thing as I stared at the two of them. I felt like something in my heart was stabbed. Seeing Mateo with such a fine woman felt painful yet right. This is the person who he should be with, not a man with a split personality whose neck is chained by an evil doctor.

     "Anyway, you should head back now. I'm being serious," Teo says, and Isabella sighs but follows him anyway.

    "I apologize, I'll have to leave first," she suddenly says, looking back at me this time. "It was a pleasure to meet you," she then adds before running back to the party.

     Mateo, who looked just as handsome as I expected him to be, looks back at me too before bowing his head as a sign of farewell. He was about to follow Isabella inside, but then he suddenly turns to me and asks, "Have I...met you before?"

     Something inside me instantly sparks when he asked me that question, and I almost smiled if I wasn't able to control myself. He somehow recognizes me. Even with my different hair and eyes, he still recognizes me. But no, Bishop, you can't be swayed. You promised that you won't involve yourself with him anymore. You're just here to keep him away from the ball like Claudio instructed. That's all you have to do.

     "Have I?" He asked again, and I quickly shook my head, trying my best not to speak because I was afraid that he might recognize my voice.

     Mateo continues to stare at me, but after a while, he clears his throat and looks away. "Well then, I hope you enjoy the party." Teo bows his head at me and was about to leave, but my feet instantly moved by themselves and I grabbed his hand in complete panic. Teo stopped walking and turned to look back at me. I could hear music coming from the hall, indicating that the ball is now starting. This was the exact time that Claudio told me to distract Mateo, so without thinking about it, I pretended to faint.

    "Whoa, are you okay?" He asks, grabbing me just in time before I could fall.

     Mateo wraps his arms around me and helps me stand properly. "Are you okay?" He asks me again, but when he stared at my eyes, Teo suddenly stopped, almost like he froze. He doesn't say anything as the two of us continued to stare at each other. After a while, Teo blinked and looked away.

     "I'll bring you to a room so you can rest," he says, taking my arm and draping it around his shoulders so he could help me walk properly.

     Mateo brought me to a guest room and guided me to the bed. When I was now lying on it, Mateo looks down at me and says, "I'll call for someone to give you medicine. Afterward, when you're now fully rested, you can head home."

     Mateo was about to leave, but I grabbed his coat, stopping him the second time. Mateo turns to look at me, staring at my hand that wouldn't let go of him. For a second I thought he was going to get mad, but to my surprise, he chuckles and suddenly takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

     "You keep on making me stay," he tells me. "A suspicious man who won't speak," he then adds before looking at the large window in front of us. "But I guess it's fine, I do need a little peace and quiet. My family has been very busy with this ball. They want everything to be perfect since it's mama's birthday. After what happened at Ludwig's, we've doubled our security and checked every ingredient that would arrive in the kitchen," he explains to me.

     "I guess I could stay here for a while. No one would look for me anyway," he explains further, surprising me because I wasn't expecting him to share such a thing with me.

    "Oh how rude, I haven't even introduced myself haven't I?" he then says, looking back at me. "My name is Mateo Ricci, what's yours?" he asks.

     I tried my best not to say a word, and Teo must have guessed that I wasn't going to speak to him, so he chuckles and says, "Of course, you seem to be the quiet type. I guess you're not too—"

     "Winter," I finally answer, changing my voice a little so he wouldn't be able to recognize it.

     Mateo stopped talking, but then a smile appears on his face, that darn smile that could make my heart beat so fast to the point where I could just faint.

     "Winter," he repeats. "That's a beautiful name. It fits you," he then says, making me look away so he wouldn't notice my flustered reaction. Teo then becomes quiet for a while, but soon after, he reaches out to touch my head. "It perfectly fits your real hair," he suddenly reveals. 

     My eyes widened from shock and I immediately sat up, looking at Mateo with complete disbelief.

     "Don't you agree, Bishop?" He asks, reaching out to remove the mask that I was wearing, revealing to him my bare face.

     "H-How did you—"

     "Eyes don't lie," he says, now removing his mask as well. "I wasn't sure at first, but your reactions made me certain that it was you. Have you not noticed that your cheeks become pink when you're embarrassed?"

     I quickly looked away from Teo, making him chuckle at my response.

     "So, why are you disguised like this? Does Claudio even know that you're here?" he then asks.

     This is bad, I wasn't expecting him to notice so fast. What am I going to do now? Claudio specifically told me that Mateo can't know that I came here with him. I don't want to be scolded by him again.

     "P-please don't tell him," I say in the heat of the moment, making Teo furrow his brows in confusion.

     "Master Claudio doesn't know that I'm here," I lied, immediately thinking of something that would still be enough to keep Claudio's plans from spoiling. If I pretend that Claudio doesn't know that I'm here, then Teo won't suspect anything. And besides, only Mr. Ludwig has seen me with master Claudio. I'll be able to come up with something if a problem occurs.

     "He didn't want me to come with him after the incident that happened at the last party, but when I heard that your family was hosting it, I wanted to—"

     "Wanted to what?" Mateo asks with a serious tone.

     I gulped and looked down, staring at my hands so I wouldn't have to look at Teo's intense gaze. "I wanted to see you," I then tell him, but this time, it wasn't a lie. When I heard about this ball, I really was hoping to see him, and I was willing to just watch him from afar if Claudio didn't ask me to do all this.

     "You must really like me then sir Winter," Mateo then teases, finally making me look back at him.

     "I-It's not like that. I just...I wanted to—" As I try to think of the right words to say, Teo cuts me off and asks me, "Is this you flirting back, or are you just trying to be nice to me?"

     His question made me give out a shy smile, and that made Teo smile back at me too. The two of us became quiet for a while. The room was dark, and the only light was coming from the moon outside the window. For some reason, the ambiance was perfectly calming. I could lie in bed and sleep now, knowing full well that Teo would watch over me if I did.

     "Are you really feeling unwell?" He then asks, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

     "I apologize, I was faking that too," I revealed, making Teo laugh. Afterward, he looks back at me and stares into my eyes.

     "Your eyes, they're..."

     "Exotic?"

     "Beautiful," he corrects, making me look away from him again because no one has genuinely said such a thing to me before.

     Teo reached out to touch my chin, forcing me to look back at him again. When our eyes met, Mateo stares at them, his gaze intense that I could feel my cheeks burning.

    "I've wanted to see you too, Bishop," he tells me, his hand now touching the cheek that was once bruised because of Claudio. Last time, Claudio had slapped me to the point where it started bleeding, but with Teo, his hands were gentle, almost like he was afraid to hurt me. I felt so safe that I couldn't help but close my eyes to feel his warmth.

     "Bishop," Teo softly whispers, making me open my eyes to look back at him. He gently caressed his thumb on my cheeks as the dark and quiet room slowly consumed us. All I could hear was the distant music from the party and our heavy breaths.

     "Bishop," he calls out again. "May I kiss you?" he finally asks.

     His question surprised me, and all I could do was swallow the lump in my throat, trying my best not to give in. I wanted to decline his offer, to look away and pretend like this never happened. But I could no longer deceive myself. I could no longer pretend like I didn't want this man.

     "You ask as if I would say no," I answer him, and Mateo smiles and finally presses his lips on mine, and for the first time, I felt as if I was whole...as if I had full control of myself like twelve years ago.

to be continued...