Atticus [BL]
Chapter 23 Guests

Chapter 23: 23 Guests

"Is he your friend?" he suddenly asked Elwin.

Elwin nodded his head, gazing at the white-haired man’s appearance. If it was not for his red, scarlet eyes, he would certainly think that the man was his friend’s butler, Atticus.

His name is Atticus, too...

"Enough chitchat." Deacon Frantz interceded and asked Elwin to lead the way.

Without further hesitation, Elwin led the way. Nolan’s manor was not far and it could be reached in more or less than 15 minutes of walking.

The strange death of Leslie and, certainly, the white-haired man’s sudden presence and the Deacon, too.

Elwin didn’t want to believe it, but possibly, the Deacon was aware of their involvement in occultism.

*

In Atticus’s quarter.

Atticus was jotting down financial reports for the month when, suddenly, his hand paused. He raised his head and glanced outside his open window.

Letting go of the quill, his hand reached for the servant’s bell.

He removed his reading glasses and stood up before he reached for his black tailcoat from the coat stand. Right after wearing the coat, someone knocked on his door.

As the door opened, Sofia appeared, "Atticus, sir, do you need something?"

Atticus wore his reading glasses back and strode towards the door, "We have a guests coming over, prepare teas and pastries at the drawing room."

"Right away, sir!"

Sofia quickly left his quarter to do what she asked.

Atticus then exited his quarter, closing the door behind him.

*

"Young Master,"

"AHHH!"

Nolan was startled and screamed in surprise when Atticus suddenly appeared behind him and called out to him.

"I apologized—"

"Squeak...squeak..."

A tiny, red, mouse-like creature with elf-like features suddenly jumped off Nolan. It had small horns on its head and stood upright on its hind legs before scurrying under Nolan’s bed.

In front of Nolan were three thick books piled up, serving as an alternative to an altar. An open book, a lit black candle, and burned incense filled the room with the scent of sandalwood.

On the floor, a small, intricate symbol was messily drawn with some kind of chalk, still emitting a thin trail of smoke.

"Atticus! Look at what you did, you startled him!" cried Nolan as he looked up at his butler over his shoulder

"I apologize Young Master, but we have upcoming guests, and they will arrive anytime soon."

Atticus offered his hand to his Master and pulled him up.

"Guests? Why am I not aware of it?"

"It’s better to meet them yourself. Now, come and let me help you change your clothes."

"But I just summoned an Imp! I’d rather stay here, tell them I’m not available!"

Nolan pulled his hand from his butler’s grasp and paced towards his bed.

Atticus calmly watched as he kowtowed on the floor, lifting the mattress of his bed to search for the Imp that had run underneath.

"It’s the Deacon that’s coming to visit."

Nolan paused and immediately pushed himself up. His face quickly turned serious.

Why would the Deacon suddenly visit him?

He didn’t think of it further and stood up from the floor, "Prepare my clothes, I’ll clean my things."

Nolan did not like it when people touched his occult stuff, except for his butler. But mostly, he was the one keeping them safe in his secret chamber.

After a while, just like what Atticus had mentioned, the visitors finally arrived. They sat patiently on the sofa of the drawing room, where tea and pastries were served.

Elwin sat on the sofa, and opposite him were the white-haired man and Deacon Frantz. Nerys refused to come inside and waited outside the manor.

"I think, I better go and wait for you outside. Nolan and A-Atticus will be here any moment, and I don’t think I should be here..." Elwin politely said as he stood up, ready to leave the room.

"Atticus?" Deacon Frantz asked, looking at Elwin as though trying to ask him if he heard him correctly.

Deacon Frantz was aware that the Master of the manor had a personal butler but he had not meet not he had heard of his name.

Elwin looked at the scruffy, and weary face of the Deacon. The old man’s heavy lidded and sleepy eyes made him feel a pang of concern for his overall well-being.

The Deacon had been in the Chapel even before he and Nolan moved to the village, with the pretense of having the Loic’s younger son look after their estate. Aside from being the village leader, Deacon Frantz had been one of the reliable residents of their village to run for help and advice.

"Yes...It’s Nol—"

Nolan and Atticus finally arrived, cutting off Elwin’s response to the Deacon.

"Deacon Frantz, what brings you here....?"

Nolan paused on his feet, his face a little surprised, while his eyes instantly fell on the white-haired man sitting next to the Deacon.

The same goes with Deacon Frantz, his sleepy-like eyes scanned the butler standing behind Nolan.

Silence fell in the room.

Elwin, unable to bear the sudden tension, quietly walked out of the room and hurried outside the manor. Upon arriving outside, he ran towards Nerys who was walking and admiring the flowers in the garden. He almost slipped, but Nerys quickly caught him in his arms.

"Elwin, are you alright? What happened back there?" Nerys asked while he walked Elwin towards the empty bench.

As he sat and leaned against the backrest of the bench, Elwin sighed loudly, his body sliding down as if it had turned limp and jelly-like. The tension of being in the same room with Nolan, the Deacon, and the two strange white-haired men drained his energy and made his insides tremble in fear.

"I’m scared of Atticus..." Elwin blurted out all of a sudden.

Nerys didn’t answer and sat beside Elwin.

Abruptly, Elwin sat upright and quickly turned to face Nerys. His action startled the other.

"W-what?" Nerys quickly asked, almost in panic.

Elwin grabbed Nerys on his shoulders, "You’re from the underworld, surely you know the evil god Atticus?"

Nerys blinked, "Evil god?"

"Yes!" Elwin replied, shaking Nerys, a little excited to share his secret. "He’s an evil god that Nolan and I secretly followed by joining an occult religion years ago..."

"An evil god..." Nerys pondered, "Is that why Sir Nolan wants me to protect you?"

Elwin stopped shaking Nerys and let go of him, "Yes. It’s against the orthodox church and heretic people like us could be punished and killed because of it."

"But, Lord Atticus is not an evil god..." Nerys said, his voice was confident but laced with a certain confusion.

"What... What did you say?"

"Lord Atticus is not an evil god,"

"You said, ’Lord Atticus’... So you do know Atticus?!" Elwin cried in conviction, "Why do you say he’s not evil?"

"Now that I think about it..." Nerys thought and ignored Elwin’s question as he rubbed his chin, "I guess I kind of understand now why I ended up in your house when I was summoned. He knew what Sir Nolan was planning and was thinking ahead of him."

"Who are you talking about?" Elwin asked in frustration, "Just answer my question."

What the hell is happening...

Elwin could not help but worry. Things seemed to start becoming out of hand.