WARNING: There is a description in this chapter that can be uncomfortable to some. Reader discretion is advised. Remember to enjoy and read responsively. Thank you.

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DESPITE MY GROWING DESIRE to be the last one to go to the attic, I still ended up finding myself walking up the steps of the ladder toward the dark hole found in the ceiling. I glanced down at Adeline and father Laurence who were looking at me with relieved smiles on their faces, making me roll my eyes and continue climbing up.

     "If a rat climbs down my body, I'm jumping," I warned, and I could hear Adeline giggling beside Laurence.

     She's enjoying this way too much.

      I climbed the ladder until I reached the top. I took a deep breath and stuck my head inside the attic. The attic was pitch black, so I tried to adjust my eyes to see better, but I still couldn't see a thing.

     "You have a flashlight there? Or maybe a lighter?" I ask, looking back at the two. Adeline quickly looks through the toolbox, while Laurence searches his pocket. Adeline looks at me and shakes her head, signaling that the toolbox didn't have anything. Thankfully Laurence pulls out a lighter from his coat and hands it over to me.

     "Thank you. This will be such a great help," I sarcastically say before lighting up the small lighter and using it to see. I finally got up the steps and dust instantly welcomes me, making me start coughing. I still couldn't see well, but the fire coming from the lighter was enough to help me watch my step.

     "The attic's pretty big," I say out loud, considering how I'm able to stand straight.

     "You see any deranged man chained up there?" I could hear Laurence asking from upstairs.

     "Funny."

     I continued to look around the attic so I could find any type of switch. While I walked, I could hear the floors creaking, and for a second I thought it was going to break on me. But as I continued walking, my head suddenly got hit by this string that was actually a pull switch.

     I pulled the switch, instantly lighting up the attic. "I found the light! You can go up now!" I announced, putting out the fire from the lighter and shoving it in my pocket. I dusted off the dirt on my hand and turned around, but as soon as I turned around, my heart drops and I instantly fall to the ground.

     I grabbed my chest as I tried to understand what was in front of me, but I eventually took a deep breath when I realized that the thing that I saw was not a figure of a man, but a mannequin instead.

     "Bishop, you okay?" Laurence asks, his head sticking out from the hole.

     "I-I'm fine," I answer as I stood from the floor to save myself from the embarrassment.

     Father Laurence got to the attic, and then he reached out for Adeline's hand to help her too. When the three of us finally got up to the attic, we looked around and realized that the attic was actually filled with files and boxes. There were old toys like a rocking horse and a two-foot-tall nutcracker, and even a baby crib and a piano.

     "Wow...junk," Laurence sarcastically says as he and Adeline looked around the area.

     "I don't think so," I answered him as I walked towards the mannequin that scared me to death a couple of seconds ago. Adeline and Laurence saw it too so they stood beside me as we stared at it. The mannequin was wearing a familiar suit, and the cherry on top was it was also wearing an old mask that is similar to Claudio's.

     "Could this be master Claudio's?" I ask, and Laurence approached the mannequin and check the suit. After checking it, he shook his head and told me, "I don't think so. This suit was made in the year 1910. Our dear master's only in his mid-thirties, so this would be too old for him."

     "Then could it be his father's?" I then ask while staring at the costume, and Laurence just shrugged his shoulder.

     "We should look for other clues," I tell them, so Adeline, and surprisingly Laurence started looking through the boxes to find something that might help us understand our master better.

     I also looked around the attic and found old clothes and even furniture. And then I found a picture of four men who I was not familiar with which was as old as the suit on the mannequin. They were smiling for the photo, but it didn't strike as anything important. There were more toys, and then I eventually found a metal box that could only be opened with a code. I tried to put in some combinations, but I couldn't get the right numbers, so I decided to just take it with me so I could figure it out later.

     "Could these things really be just junk?" I say to myself as I looked around the boxes that contained nothing important. I don't really know who lived here before, but I could tell that these were from the previous owner of the manor, which I assume is the de Vincenzo family. That's the name Claudio used to introduce himself before so I'm just going with that.

     Claudio once told me that his grandfather was the one who built this manor, which means this is his real home, not that empty mansion back in town. He also told me that he was adopted by the Romano family when he was only seven.

     Then there's Mateo who told me that they killed the plague doctor who resided here. Could the previous plague doctor be Claudio's real father, so when he was killed, the Romano family—who adopted him—took him because they pitied him? Is that it? Is that the reason why he's now the current plague doctor?

     "Guys, you better look at this," Laurence suddenly calls out.

    I clenched the metal box that I was holding and followed his voice. Adeline and I found Laurence squatting in front of this large chest. He also moved the boxes, which made Adie and I realize that there was actually a window there. This must be the window that Lady saw from outside.

     "It's a view of the front part of the manor," I say, looking out the small window before looking back at Laurence.

     Laurence looks through the large chest and suddenly pulls something out of it. I couldn't really guess what it was at first, but after Laurence dusted it off, I realized that it was actually a wooden figure of a horse with eyes that were red. I was supposed to ask what it was, but then Laurence takes out three more figures which had white, pale yellow, and black eyes.

     "Four horsemen," I say as I grab the horse with the white eyes which symbolize pestilence—the title that master Claudio gave me. While I was staring at the figure, Laurence takes another item out. This time, it was an unsealed envelope that contained a letter. Adie and I moved closer to Laurence and read the letter together.

February 18, 1924

Giovanni,

I saw you staring at something in my study and was astonished that you started showing interest in the Four Horsemen at the ripe age of seven. You are a wonder, my child, and you will grow to become an even greater man. The four horsemen depict a catastrophe waiting to unfold, but there is an underlying goodness in such an evil depiction. When you grow up, probably old enough to even read this letter, you will understand what I mean.

As for your birthday, I have asked someone to carve you these horse figures. They will be your guardians while I am away. I don't know how long I'll be gone this time, but I want you to continue to grow and unravel this world that does not allow us to understand it enough.

There are things that one cannot fully control and comprehend, but there are things you can do to change a certain situation; given the right opportunity. I know my words sound absurd to you now, but like the meaning of the four horsemen, you will soon understand it as well when you grow up.

For now, I want you to be strong. You will meet people who the world will shut out, just like we are, but I want you to be the person who will let them in. You are my son, you are the last de Vincenzo, and no matter how hard it can be, Capo di Monte is your home.

Stay safe, my son.

Francesco de Vincenzo

     The three of us became quiet after reading the letter. Reading it alone, you'd know that it's a letter that came along the birthday present, but at the same time, it sounds like a farewell letter. And this was when he was seven, which means this was the time master Claudio was adopted by the Romano family.

     "They will be your guardians while I am away," father Laurence repeated from the letter before laughing to himself. "So we're like his childhood fantasies. Something bad happened to his father in the past, and then he used us as this thing that would help with whatever he's trying to achieve now. That's pretty much it. No grand secret or revelation or anything," Laurence says before putting the figurines back and even grabbing the one I'm holding so he could close the chest.

     "Looks like this was a complete waste of time Bishop. There's nothing here that we don't already know," Laurence says, dusting the dirt off his hands before standing up. "And here I thought we're gonna find a dead body or something."

     "What is with you and dead bodies?"

     "I don't know, makes things interesting."

     "Well, sorry for wasting your time then. How about I murder you right now and leave your dead body here instead," I fired back.

     "You'd totally do that," Laurence says before scratching the back of his head. "Anyway, I did what you wanted me to do, now forget about digging Claudio's past and let's go. We're hungry."

     Laurence was about to walk down, and I wasn't going to stop him anymore because he had a point. "Adie, let's go," I say, turning my head to look at her. I thought she was following behind me, but then I saw her holding a notebook. I approached little Adie to check what it was. Even Laurence, who was about to go downstairs, approached us as well.

     "What is that?" Laurence asks, standing behind Adeline.

     "Is that a diary?" I confusingly ask while skimming through the pages. Laurence and I quietly read through it, but then we stopped when we saw an old family picture. It's a picture of a man wearing the suit on the mannequin, and then a very beautiful woman holding a baby. On the picture, there was a note that said, Welcome to the world Giovanni, with a date that says Feb. 18, 1917.

     "So this is his family," I say, touching the picture.

     "Wow, his mother was a beauty," Laurence comments, and I couldn't help but agree. She was definitely mesmerizing, even though the picture was already old.

     The three of us continued looking through the diary from an unknown person, but then Adeline stopped after turning to the next page. Seconds after that, she dropped the notebook, and all of us were left frozen in place, our hearts beating fast like we just saw the most disturbing thing in the world.

     "What the actual fuck was that?" Laurence asks, his eyes wide in shock.

     I swallowed the lump in my throat and slowly looked back at the notebook that was now on the ground. In between the notebook was a picture, a picture of a naked woman who was tied to a metal bed, her eyes sewn together while her body was covered in bruises. Surrounding her were three men. One was on top of her, one was standing above her face, and the other was penetrating her.

     Despite the woman's state, we could tell who she was. I immediately had to look away, clenching my fist as I felt the helplessness and despair in that picture.

     "T-That was master Claudio's mother, right?" Laurence continues to ask, but I couldn't answer. It was such a horrendous picture that I couldn't even fathom the fact that people would do such a thing. I've heard a lot of things that have left me unfazed but seeing an actual picture left me in shambles.

     "Who were those men?"

     "G-grandpa," we suddenly heard a soft voice say, immediately making us look back at Adeline.

     "What did you just say?" Laurence ask.

     Adeline was wearing her mask that covered her eyes, but then a tear streamed down her cheeks, and at that moment, I knew what she meant.

     "Grandpa," I repeated. "One of the men in the picture...is your grandpa, the mayor of Capo di Monte," I say, surprising Laurence as well.

     Adeline quickly wiped her tears away while Laurence tried to comfort her. I glanced at the picture again before running to the box that I saw earlier. There was a picture there too, and in that picture were four men I didn't recognize. I took that picture and took the picture in the notebook to compare them together. "They're the same people," I say as I stared at the pictures side by side. After staring at them, I finally recognized one of them. One of the men had a distinct feature, and there was no doubt that this was the mayor.

     "Those sick bastards," Laurence says, grabbing the picture of the four men from me. He then turned the picture around, and to my surprise, there were names written on the back. 

     F. de Vicenzo, C. Winchester, A. Ricci, and W. Romano: Claudio's four horsemen

     The three of us were astonished. These three names...these are the families master Claudio is asking us to target.

     "Someone told me that the plague doctor lived in this manor and plagued the town. The Romano family, the Ricci family, and probably the Winchester family too...they were the ones who killed him. If it's true, that Claudio's father was the plague doctor..." I stopped and angrily crumpled the picture where the woman was before looking back at Adeline and Laurence.

    "This is the reason why Claudio wants revenge," Laurence finishes for me. "His father trusted those men but did this instead."

     I don't know why, but my heart starts to ache all of a sudden. The evilness inside me feels like it should celebrate after knowing the fact that this all happened to Claudio, but I couldn't feel such a thing. I couldn't help but be angry because I felt pity instead. Master Claudio became fucked up because of what happened to him in the past. Does this excuse him for everything he's done? Of course not. I still hate him to pieces. But now I'm conflicted. Who is the real evil? What is wrong and what is not? Why is the world so unfair?

     For a moment I'm starting to understand the meaning of the letter that his father wrote for him, and I feel like Claudio was able to read it and finally understood it too, which is why he's doing all this.

     "All of us experienced something fucked up, but I'll admit, this is pretty heavy," Laurence says, making me clench my fist again.

     "He had to carry the Romano name and be praised as the son who killed his biological father," I say as I remembered Claudio's words in the past.

     "I wanted you to see, Bishop. I wanted you to see the people. I wanted you to see what kind of town this really is. I wanted you to see that no matter what type of plague falls upon them...it won't be enough to cleanse everyone's sin."

     "What do we do now? Still think we should kill him?" Laurence asks, but before I could answer him, I suddenly heard something from outside. I ran towards the small window and took a peak. My eyes widened when I saw that Claudio's car was approaching.

     "They're back. We need to go," I quickly tell them, and the three of us immediately ran down from the attic. Laurence even had to carry Adie so she wouldn't accidentally fall. I pulled the ladder up, automatically making the door to the attic close. The mark that it was opened could still be seen from the ceiling, but for now, we just have to pretend like we had nothing to do with it. Lino can just question us and hope for the best.

     "Wait, what on earth is that?" Laurence asks when he noticed the metal box that I'm holding.

     "I need it," I answer, and Laurence could only sigh.

    "Alright, let's go. Adeline, head to the dining room. You, put the toolbox and the keys back, and I'll just hide this in my room," I instructed, and the three of us run out of the room like nothing happened.

     I went back to my bedroom and hid the metal box inside my dresser, putting it under my clothes. When it was now hidden, I ran downstairs and joined Adeline in the dining room who was already sitting in her usual seat. Laurence arrives soon after, and the two of us sat down, trying to catch our breath.

     When we were finally calm, the three of us removed the different types of masks that we were wearing. A couple of seconds after, Lino arrives with Claudio, who gave us a suspicious look.

     "Good evening, master Claudio," I greet, immediately standing from my seat to bow my head to him like the butler that I'm supposed to be. Claudio stares at us for a few more seconds before finally removing his mask and joining us at the table. "Why haven't you all eaten yet?"

     "Bishop was being difficult," Laurence suddenly answers on our behalf, making me glare at him. I thought Claudio would notice how strange we've been acting, but he ignores our behavior and removes his mask instead before taking a seat, automatically making me do the same. Lino then sat beside Adeline, and the five of us finally got together at the table, which was strange since we rarely eat together now.

     "Master Claudio, would you like me to reheat the food?" I ask, trying to act natural.

     "It's fine," he answers as he adjusted to his seat. "Have they buried the bodies properly?" Claudio then asks, removing his gloves this time without looking at any of us.

     "They have, and I have blessed them as instructed," father Laurence answers, and Claudio nods his head and finally lifts his spoon to take the first bite. As soon as he started eating, the rest of us eventually followed and ate our dinner.

     The table was quiet, and all I could do was stare at my plate. I don't know why, but I couldn't say a word. One reason is because I still very much hate Claudio despite what happened to his family, but at the same time, my desire to help him plague this godforsaken town is growing.

     "Bishop," Claudio suddenly calls out, almost making me flinch.

    "Yes sir...I mean, master...master Claudio," I corrected, and I glanced at Laurence and saw him holding his laughter, so I immediately kicked his leg under the table before looking back at Claudio.

     "We'll be staying at the mansion tonight so get your things ready," he suddenly reveals, surprising me.

     "W-What? Why?" I ask despite knowing how much Claudio hates questions.

     Claudio expectedly ignores my question and takes a bite of his steak. I thought I'll never know why we're suddenly staying in another house, but then he explains to me, "Mateo will be returning from the hospital tomorrow, and I believe he'll be visiting the mansion. It would be troublesome if we were not there."

     "Really?!" I asked, sounding a little too happy than I intended.

     Claudio stares at me, and for a second I thought he was going to get mad, but instead, he chuckled and continued eating, surprising not only me but Laurence and Lino as well.

     Did Claudio just really chuckle right now? Is this the same guy I know who would laugh at people's deaths? Did something good happen to him at the hospital? Thinking about it, I did faint. Did something happen after that? Who's the alter that came out?

     I don't remember a goddamn thing. And then my diary, I'm sure someone wrote something there but someone else tore it off. What is even going on? I got too distracted by what we saw in the attic that I forgot what happened before we went there.

     "Another thing Bishop," Claudio says, making me look back at him.

     "Yes, what is it, master Claudio?"

     Claudio took another bite of his steak, and then, he pauses and looks straight into my eyes before saying, "Dust..."

     "Pardon?"

     "There's dust in your shoulder," he tells me. "Where on earth did you go this time?"

to be continued...