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I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST the mysterious type. Honestly, they sometimes even turn me on. The mysteriousness is a hot trait, but for some reason, this plague doctor is creeping me out more than anything. And for someone who is sexually influenced by a lot of things, that says a lot.

     "Are you afraid of me, Mr. Bishop?" Doctor Van suddenly asks, immediately making me look back at him.

     Doctor Van was walking towards a bookcase. I thought we were leaving the room, but it looks like he's planning to read something first.

     "Afraid is such a...strong...word, doctor Van. I wouldn't say I'm afraid of you," I answer him, and the doctor suddenly chuckles in such a low tone that it made the hair on my skin stand.

     Doctor Van doesn't say anything to me anymore and suddenly pulls a book out of the bookshelves. To my surprise, the shelf was actually a hidden door that showed a different room. It surprised me because I thought you'd only see such things in movies. It actually looks pretty cool in real life.

     "Let's continue our discussion somewhere else."

     The doctor heads inside, so I naturally follow behind him. Beneath the shelves was a bedroom; a bedroom that's bigger than mine, which would only mean that this is his, considering how fancy it all looks.

     "Place my suitcase at the table and take a seat," he tells me before closing the hidden door.

     I look around the room and spot the side table that has empty bottles of gin and an ashtray filled with cigarette buds. Compared to his well-maintained office, his room was the opposite. I push the bottles aside and place the suitcase on top of it before looking around the room again to check where I could take a seat like what he said.

     "He said to take a seat, but take a seat where?" I whisper confusingly to myself. Unless I decide to sit on the floor, the only flat surface I could sit on is his bed, which I don't think is a good idea. There's actually a single chair too, but the chair's filled with books, and I'm also not sure if I'm allowed to touch his things.

     "Uhm..." I awkwardly scratch the back of my head, hoping the doctor would notice that I can't really sit anywhere. When he finally turns around to face me, I was expecting him to apologize and clear the chair for me, but instead, he says, "Why aren't you taking a seat yet?"

     I sigh in defeat and just walk to his enormous bed to take a seat on the edge of it. I was sitting straight and proper like I was some kind of virgin waiting to taste the forbidden fruit for the first time, and that pissed me off somehow. I can't believe this doctor has control over me while doing the bare minimum.

     "I don't want to waste any more of your time so I'll cut to the chase," doctor Van says as he approaches his suitcase to open it.

     "I made a deal with your mother, and that deal was the make Winter my patient, in exchange for you to become my direct employee," he explains, making me furrow my brows because of the term he used.

     What does he mean by a direct employee?

     "Because of this, I want to make sure some things are clear between us," he says before pulling different types of medicine out of his suitcase, nervously making me gulp.

     While trying to act like I wasn't moments away from getting drugged, the doctor still doesn't look at me as he continues, "Winter is my patient, which means when you are working, you are not allowed to call him out. The only time you can call him out is during our session, which is on Wednesday. Of course, you can't control the others, but I'm not going to allow Winter to work on your behalf. Is that clear?"

      The question wasn't even hard, but my stupid-ass self starts to stutter. "Y-Yes, sir...I mean...doctor."

     "One more thing," he adds before finally looking back at me. "You can only call me doctor during the session, but when we're outside, you must address me as young master, or simply just master."

     Seriously, what's with the kinky pet names in this manor?

     "Of course...master. No problem with that."

     "Good."

     The room becomes awkward again as I patiently wait for the doc..master to do something. When he looked like he was finished unpacking who knows what, he finally looks back at me and asks, "Do you have any questions so far?"

     He was still wearing the mask, but for some reason, I could tell that he was looking at me with such an intense gaze, almost like he was examining me.

     "W-well, what is my job here exactly? You said something about direct employees too. What does that mean?" I finally ask him, and the master takes the books off the chair and places them on the floor before taking a seat for himself.

     "I'm assuming that you already know this, but the Hell House houses the most gruesome criminals in the country. This manor has not opened for three years now because, within those years, I have traveled around the world just to look for the right patients to take," master explains.

     As he was explaining, the young master suddenly starts unbuttoning his coat, making me stare at his slender fingers that are still covered with leather gloves.

     "Two weeks ago, I finally acquired my last patient, which means the manor can finally open again. About a total of thirty additional employees will be arriving soon. They consist of psychiatric nurses, psychologists, and guards."

     Wait a damn minute. Did this fool just say...thirty?

     "Those are my indirect employees, which means they solely work for doctor Giovanni. As for you, Adeline, and Marcelino, you are my direct employees," he explains further as he starts undoing his necktie this time.

     The master must have noticed how confused I looked so he adds, "My direct employees work for not only doctor Giovanni but for me too."

     Okay, now I'm hella confused.

     Am I not the only one with a split personality here?

     "If you're wondering, no, your case isn't similar to mine," he suddenly tells me, almost like he read my mind. "It's for safety reasons. It's what keeps the people of this town from barging in here and burning the manor."

     "I...I don't seem to follow," I honestly say, and the master chuckles again.

     I didn't really know what was going on, but to my surprise, he suddenly starts removing his mask.

     My heart starts beating fast for some reason, and I honestly was expecting to see an old unattractive man to welcome me. But as I wait in agony, my jaw automatically drops, and my body stiffens as soon as I see an unimaginably handsome man in front of me.

     His eyes were sharp and intimidating, his skin looked like it was kissed by the sun, and his lips...

     "How breathtaking," I unconsciously say out loud, making the man in front of me smirk.

     My heart drops again, and just when I thought he was going to make fun of how I reacted, he stands from his seat and walks towards me. I couldn't look away from him even if I wanted to. 

     I guess now I understand why he covers his face with a mask. His looks can literally kill. 

     "My real name is Claudio Romano, the young master of the Romano family that rules this little town called Capo di Monte. And you, Mr. Bishop Lancaster, will be my new loyal butler," he finally reveals, moving close until I was tilting my head to look up at him.

     My god, he could just grab a handful of my hair now and I'd devour his entire body until nothing is left of him.

     "Loyalty is everything to me, Bishop. It's what keeps the manor running. One wrong slip and all our hard work will come crashing down before I can even finalize my studies. It's that important to me Bishop, but you won't disappoint me, right?" he asks, his voice suddenly softer than before.

     For some reason, I couldn't think straight as I continue to drown myself in his hypnotizing brown eyes.

     When did I even become so poetic?

     "Never...master Claudio," I unconsciously answer.

     The master grins in satisfaction before finally moving away from me. "We're going to be busy soon so prepare yourself," he says. "Now if you don't have any more questions, you may leave. I would like to rest before lunch," he finishes, but somehow, I still couldn't move from the bed.

     The master starts unbuttoning his shirt this time, but before I could see anything that would make me lose my sense of reason, master Claudio looks back at me and says, "Did you not hear me, or are you going to help me strip?"

     I get my senses back in an instant and immediately stood from the bed. "Rest well master," I quickly tell him before finally running out of the room, slamming the door shut and leaning on it as I touch my pounding chest. My quick encounter with the doctor slash master felt like a lucid dream. Everything that happened just went by so fast that all the information that I got from it practically jumped out of my head.

     "What the fuck just happened?" I ask myself before running down the hall.

     I ran around the manor like a lost kid until I reached the ground floor. I head out at the back of the manor and spot a glass-like building that I presume is the greenhouse. Without thinking about it, I head to the said greenhouse. Everything at the manor was gloomy, but when I arrived inside, I couldn't help but be surprised by how beautiful it was.

     The greenhouse was filled with plants and flowers that I have never seen before, and amidst the roses and the daisies was a scary-looking man named Marcelino, who was watering the plants with a cigarette stick in his mouth.

     "Lino!" I shout as I run to him.

     Lino instantly looks annoyed. And before he could even scold me, I tell him, "Why the hell didn't you tell me that the master is hot?! He's like a sex god!"

     Lino hits my head with his watering can as soon as I was done talking, making me look at him with an angry expression that he didn't really pay much attention to because he started watering the plants again.

     "How many times do I have to tell you that you're not allowed to disrespect the master like that?" Lino asks, making me snort.

     "I was obviously complimenting him. I thought he was going to be an old man. The plague doctor is a legendary myth after all, and I think you have to be old enough to be called a myth," I defend, but Lino doesn't say anything about it anymore.

     Lino continues to ignore me, so I squat on the floor and watch him do whatever he was doing.

     "I'm so tired!" I start complaining this time. "I just want to go inside and let Winter take over, but that damn Claudio said I'm only allowed to call for him during our sessions."

     Lino looks back at me and starts watering me instead of the plants, making me move away from him.

     "Refrain from calling him by his first name. It might become a habit and you'd accidentally call him that. If you call him by that name while he's wearing his mask, you'd wish you would have just kept your mouth shut," Lino warns me while I wipe the water on my face with my shirt.

     "Fine, whatever," I say indefeat, and Lino goes back to watering the plants.

     "By the way," he then says without even looking at me. "What job did the master give you? Hopefully you're not the cook."

     "Believe me, if I was the cook even the master wouldn't be able to cure us if I accidentally poison you with what I make," I tell him, finally making Lino look back at me.

     "So you're the butler?"

     "Are there any other jobs for me to take?"

     "No, it's just the maid, gardener, butler, and cook. You're lucky you didn't get my job, but I guess I can't say the same to the job you were assigned to," Lino explains, making me cross my arms before looking back at him with a more serious expression.

     "This is seriously confusing me. What's with all the gimmick? Why is master Claudio living the double life? Why is everyone afraid of the doctor's version of him?" I ask.

     Lino pulls the cigarette out of his mouth and looks at the flowers in front of him. Smoke escapes from his lips, and I honestly thought that he was going to answer my question, but then he tells me instead, "I don't know."

     "What? What do you mean you don't know?"

     "I only came here a year before Adeline arrived. I don't know much about the master," Lino answers, making me sigh because I could tell that he's not lying to me at all.

     "Looks like we're all just blindly following him," I say before reaching out for the yellow flower in front of me. "So what are you? What sickness do you have in exchange for your service to him?"

     Lino was quiet for a while after hearing my question, but then he puts the cigarette back in his mouth and answers, "Master Claudio...he saved my life."

     I was honestly surprised by what he said, but I didn't say anything about it yet. I wanted him to share more.

     "Everything was a blur, but I remember that I was on the brink of death when the master found me. He treated my wounds, clothed me, fed me, and gave me a place to stay. I swore loyalty to him because of that," Lino explains.

     I continue to stare at the yellow flower in my hand before looking back at Lino. "So does that make him a good man?" I honestly ask him.

     Lino puts the watering can down and pulls out his cigarette before exhaling the smoke. "Is he a good man?" He asks, repeating the question. "What makes a good man anyway? Does saving someone make you a good man? I don't know, but there is one thing I am sure of..."

     Lino pauses and looks back at me with a more serious expression.

     "Master Claudio is a good man who does evil things to achieve what he believes is right. That kind of man is what I fear the most," he tells me, and I finally stood up from the floor to face Lino.

     "Then you did not swear loyalty to him," I say. "He sold you fear masked in an act of what you thought was goodwill. And you, a broken man, had foolishly bought it."

to be continued...