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I SKIMMED THROUGH THE shelves in the art store, looking for a pencil that was dark enough to make the marks on my diary visible. While looking through them, I suddenly spot a shelf filled with different paint.

     I was only going to check on the colors, but then my eyes stopped on the yellow paint. I stare at the tube of paint and decide to just buy it, alongside the pencil that I had yet to find.

     While I continue looking around the store, a hand suddenly holds onto my shoulder, making my entire body flinch. I quickly turn around, and a familiar woman faces me. For a moment, I wasn't able to figure out who she was, but when she removed the scarf that was hiding half of her face, I realized that it was actually Ms. Sunny.

     "Ms. Sunny!" I say in surprise, and Ms. Sunny smiles and waves her hand to me.

     "What are you doing here, Bishop? Did Claudio ask you to buy something for Adeline?" Ms. Sunny asked, and it was then and there did I notice that she was actually holding onto a bucket of red paint.

     "Oh no, I was just looking for something to buy for myself," I answer, and before she can ask why I'm holding onto a single tube of yellow paint, I ask her first, "Why do you need that much red paint?"

     Ms. Sunny looks at what she's holding and chuckles to herself. She probably found it ridiculous too. "Just for a project," she tells me, obviously trying to hide something. "I need it for these garments I'm making. Nothing so serious."

     "If you are needing an entire bucket of paint, I'm pretty sure it's serious," I say, making her laugh this time.

     "How about you? What are you looking for?"

     "Just a pencil that is enough to shade the markings on a previous page," I casually explain, and Ms. Sunny nods her head and leads me to a different shell. Looks like she knows her way around this store.

     "So you're doing some detective work, I see," she comments, and I just shrug my shoulder as an answer. "A regular pencil won't do. You'll need something like charcoal. That would definitely make the markings more visible," Ms. Sunny then tells me before handing me the charcoal pencil.

     "Thank you," I answer, and Ms. Sunny smiles, and the two of us walk to the counter to pay for the items we picked up.

     I gestured for Ms. Sunny to stand in line first, so she thanked me and suddenly stole the pencil and the paint that I was holding, telling me that she was going to pay for it herself as thanks for being such a gentleman. I told her that it was not necessary since I was going to use Claudio's money anyway, but she insisted, so I just let it do what she wanted.

     "By the way, how's Claudio?" she asks me while the cashier puts our items inside a paper bag.

     "Master Claudio? Well, he's alright, if being alright is the perfect word to describe someone who's—" I immediately stop and decide not to continue what I'm about to say because I might end up saying something that would get me in a lot of trouble. "He's doing great," I finish instead.

     Ms. Sunny stares at me, and then she chuckles and nods her head. I'm pretty sure she found my answer odd, but she'll probably just accept what I said despite how suspicious it sounded.

     "I'm glad he's doing...great. It's been a while since I've seen him."

     "Well, you could always visit the mano—mansion. I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you," I say, referring to the time when I saw the two of them kissing each other at their office. To think about it, Claudio must like Ms. Sunny more, considering how they've known each other since they were young. They have more history than I'll ever have with him.

     "Here you go, Ms. Sunny," the cashier then says, handing over the bags to her. Ms. Sunny faces me next and hands me the other bag, immediately making me thank her for it. The two of us walk out of the store. And before we parted ways, she asked me, "By the way, are you going to attend the funeral tonight?"

     "I'm not quite sure yet," I answer, making her nod her head in understanding.

     "What happened to Mrs. Ricci is just absolutely terrible, but as you may already know—" Ms. Sunny pauses, and for a moment, the sweet smile on her face quickly changes into a grin that is almost similar to Claudio's. Sadistic. "Unfortunate things happen to unfortunate people," she tells me.

     I swallow the lump in my throat and just nod my head in agreement, Ms. Sunny smiles at me again, and then she uses the scarf around her neck to cover her mouth.

    "Let's chat again soon, darling," Ms. Sunny says, gently touching my shoulder and finally walking away.

    "Unfortunate things happen to unfortunate people," I mumble to myself, repeating the words that Ms. Sunny just uttered. The way she said it so casually made the hair on my skin stand. She grew up in this town too, and probably has experienced hardships here as well.

    According to Claudio, most of the townspeople ridiculed her for wearing dresses when she was younger and was even beaten up. I guess I understand that she has a grudge against them too but is that enough just to kill everyone here?

     I shouldn't be thinking about this at all. I'm not even attached to these people. After the last plague, we'll be set free, and I'll have nothing to do with this fucked-up town. I'll leave and never look back, and this is the exact reason why I have to stop anything that I might have started with Teo. My freedom comes first, and I need to escape Claudio's clutches as soon as I can.

...

After buying all the ingredients at the market, I found myself sitting in the dining room, staring at Claudio as he prepared our breakfast, which was now considered our brunch. Since I didn't know how to cook, he took the liberty to serve me. After all, we're not technically master and servant in this mansion. He said it himself.

     "You're not allergic to anything, are you?" He asks, and I shake my head in answer.

     "Did you meet anyone in town?" He then asks.

     What's with all the questions?

     "I met up with Ms. Sunny. We stumbled onto each other at the art store."

     "Art store? You bought more supplies?"

     "Yeah," I lied, and Claudio became quiet.

     The kitchen was filled with silence soon after, and all I could hear was the sound of food being fried and the occasional water running from the faucet. It took Claudio at least thirty minutes to finish, but after that, he was able to make the perfect rosemary mushroom risotto.

     "Enjoy," he says, placing the food in front of me before taking a seat.

     I stare at the plate and look back at him. It looked way too good that it felt suspicious. Is my mouth going to start foaming if I take a bite?

     "It's not poisoned," Claudio suddenly tells me, almost like he read my mind. To prove it, he even took a bite from the one he had before switching our plates.

     When it was obvious that there was nothing for me to worry about, the two of us finally started eating. We were quiet for a while, but I couldn't help but steal glances at him. We always ate together back at the manor, but eating alone with him always felt different. It's probably because we barely speak to each other, or maybe because the first time we ate alone together, he ended up shoving his dick inside me.

     "Bishop..." Claudio calls out, making me look back at him.

     "You'll be coming with me to the funeral tonight, is that understood?" He says, and for a moment, I was nervous because I thought he was going to ask me for something else.

     "I don't think I should come to such a solemn event. Maybe I can just—"

     "That wasn't a suggestion," he quickly says, his head tilted down while his eyes stare straight at me, making me gulp.

     "Y-Yes, I understand."

     Claudio took a deep breath, and then the two of us became quiet again. I continue eating my food, making sure I finish it as a sign of appreciation to the person who prepared it, but as I continue eating, I glance back at Claudio for the second time. There was this question that I wanted to ask him, but I was contemplating whether or not I should say anything. I decided to just forget about it, but then Claudio caught me looking, almost making me flinch.

    "What is it that you're dying to ask me?" He says, making me put my spoon down. Since he's already expecting me to ask him something, then I might as well ask him now.

    "Do you really hate this town? Is it worth plaguing everyone who lives here in peace?" I ask, and Claudio puts his utensils down as well before wiping his mouth with a napkin.

    "Hate? No, I don't hate it," he says, and before I could even ask another question, Claudio immediately adds, "I despise it."

     "Giovanni..."

     "The residents of this town watched as my father shouted in agony. They watched him get burned alive until all that was left were ashes. They do not deserve to live in peace. They have to pay for what they have done," Claudio says before standing from his seat. "Wash the dishes, and after that, clean the mansion. I'll be at my study, and then we'll leave at six."

     Claudio looks at me for one last time before finally walking away. As soon as he was gone, I looked back down at my plate and pierced my fork into the meat in frustration. Asking him about this is hopeless, and convincing him to let it go will be impossible. I guess I should just do what I'm told like the loyal butler that I am.

     "For someone who wants to commit a full-blown murder spree, it's a shame that he's a good cook. What wasted talents," I say, finishing my meal as well as the food that was left on Claudio's plate.

     After eating, I washed the dishes and cleaned the mansion like Claudio wanted me to do. I got so busy that I wasn't able to check my diary, but I guess I could just do that after the funeral.

     Time went by fast, and I didn't even notice that it was almost six because I had been tending the garden at the back all afternoon. It was the opposite of the greenhouse back in the manor. The garden here was filled with beautiful flowers and had life. The ones back at the manor were simply depressing.

     When it was already 5 PM, I quickly showered and went back to the bedroom where a black suit was waiting for me. It was placed on top of the bed, so I wore that and checked on myself for one last time before finally knocking on Claudio's door.

     "Come in," he says, and I opened the door and saw him wearing his shirt. Claudio's skin was starting to look bad. It almost looked like he had the same side effects as Lady and the other patients. I wanted to say something, but I decided just to keep quiet.

     "Do you think I should skip wearing a tie?" Claudio asked me while he was buttoning his shirt.

     "At a funeral, it is important that you complete your outfit, which means that a tie is essential. You will end up looking inappropriate if you don't," I say, opening one of his drawers and pulling out a plain black tie. I walk towards him and wrap the tie around his neck so I can do it for him. Claudio watches me, but he doesn't say anything. When I was finished with the necktie, I grabbed his coat and helped him wear it too.

     "You're ready," I say, and Claudio nods his head.

     "Your family really has taught you well," he suddenly comments, making me look back at him with shock. But before I could even ask him what he meant, someone suddenly honked downstairs, interrupting us.

     Claudio peaks out the window, and then he looks back at me and says, "Marcelino's here. We should go."

     Claudio touches my back and leads me out of his room. When we got downstairs, Lino was already waiting for us there. He greets Claudio first and opens the car door for him. After that, he looked at me from head to toe, almost like he was checking on me.

     I wanted to ignore him like I always do and tell him to mind his own business, but I sighed and reassure him, "I'm fine." Lino was surprised that I even answered him, but before he could say anything about it, I immediately went inside the car and slammed the door shut.

     Lino drove us to the chapel that's near the town square. Dozen of cars were already parked outside, and I could tell that the chapel was going to be filled with a lot of people again.

    I hated going to a hospital, but I hated entering a chapel even more. So when Claudio and I went inside, I immediately felt uncomfortable. The atmosphere was eerie, the gothic design was rather depressing, and there were people who I was even familiar with. It was strange because we were all just attending parties together at one point, and now we're attending a funeral.

     "Claudio," a voice called out as soon as we walked inside.

     Claudio and I turned around and saw Ricardo Ricci, Mateo's brother, walking towards us. Beside him was an extremely beautiful woman, Ms. Isabella, who Teo said was his 'more than' courtesan.

     Mr. Ricardo and Claudio started talking, and Isabella and I just bowed our heads together because I was afraid that it would be inappropriate if we started chatting at a funeral. To be honest, I've never even attended a funeral. The closest I had was Hunter's, and that was literally just in the backyard of the manor.

     A bell suddenly echoes inside the chapel, and everyone scurries their way to find a seat. I looked around and realize that I had lost Claudio, and when I finally spotted him, he was actually already sitting at the front near the coffin.

     Ricardo was there, then the mayor's daughter, and more faces I no longer recognized. I couldn't help but let my eyes wander around the chapel, almost as if they were looking for someone. When I couldn't find the person I was looking for, I sighed in relief and turn back around as a priest started the ceremony in front of the altar.

     "Maybe I should just wait at the car with Lino," I whisper to myself as I walk towards the exit. But just before I could take another step, someone suddenly took my hand and starts dragging me away. I turned my head to see who it was, and as soon as I saw him, my eyes widened in shock.

     "T-Teo?"

     Teo doesn't say anything and continues pulling my hand. I didn't want to make a scene, so I just let him drag me. Without anyone seeing us, Teo leads me to a dark room which I realize was actually just behind the altar because I could clearly hear the priest talking behind the wall.

     "Teo, what are you—" before I could even finish my sentence, Teo lets go of my hand, and then he wrapped his arms around me and suddenly rested his head on my shoulder. The action surprised me, and for a second, I almost pushed him away, but my heart fluttered in an instant, and I ended up finding myself hugging him back.

     "You're okay," he says, making sure his voice isn't loud so no one would be able to hear us behind the altar. "I was worried that something might have happened to you. I shouldn't have left your side."

     I let Teo hug me for a while. The two of us just stood there in silence as he continued to embrace me. After a couple of seconds, Teo finally lets go of me, and the two of us stared into each other's eyes.

     "Claudio told me that you visited me at the hospital. You should have waited for me to wake up," he says with that darn smile that made my heart ache.

     Teo reaches out to touch my chin, but I immediately turn my face away, immediately making the smile on his face disappear.

     "Bishop?" He called out, and the way he called out my name made me clench my fist. I wanted to hold onto him longer. I wanted to kiss him, to hear his voice, to look into his eyes, but instead, I pushed him away from me, making him look at me with such sad eyes.

     Please don't look at me like that, Teo. Please.

     "Amore, what's wrong?" He asks, moving closer to me and reaching out his hand again, but I immediately stop him. If he touches me now, I'll never be able to say these words out loud.

     Claudio's right. Teo won't be able to understand me. We're not the same. I can't be associated with him anymore. I can't be associated with anyone in this town. All I need is for Claudio to cure me, and then I'll be free.

     And Teo...my dear Teo. He will never forgive me once he finds out that I've been helping Claudio with the plague. I'm just as guilty as my master. He will despise me for sure, so before that happens, let me be selfish. Let me part ways with you now so I can still keep our beautiful memories together.

     "Mateo," I say, making him look nervous. I swallow the lump in my throat and look down at the floor before finally telling him, "Let's end this. Whatever we were about to start...let's end it now."

to be continued...