Two days later, while Frank was cleaning the grass, Malcolm suddenly approached him to deliver a message from George.
"Frank! Mr. George wants you to come to his office!" commanded Malcolm, staring sharply at the new servant.
"Alright, I will go there," Frank replied.
They immediately entered the castle and met their master. Malcolm and Frank saluted the young nobleman, George, who stared at Frank for a long time. Then, he instructed the new servant to sit while Malcolm left the room and closed the door. Frank's heart raced as he awaited what his master would say.
"Keep what you witnessed two days ago to yourself," George said.
"Alright, sir, I will remember that," Frank replied softly, as if his inner self was also burdened by the command.
"And you don't need to talk much if you want to continue working here," George threatened.
"Alright, Mr. George," Frank answered, his face lowered in fear.
George raised his right hand, waving his palm as a signal for Frank to leave the room. The servant hurriedly walked out and closed the door behind him. Frank walked towards the backyard where several gardeners from Hogan village were planting various types of flowers. They looked at Frank, surprised by the new servant's changed expression.
"Why do you look like that, Frank?" Willy asked, laughing loudly.
"I'm feeling a bit unwell," Frank lied, glancing at his other friends.
"If you're sick, it's better to rest," Willy said worriedly.
"It's okay, I can still work," Frank replied, grabbing the grass cutter.
From a distance, John looked at Frank, who was still talking to Willy. He felt sorry for Frank, who was unaware of the events that often occurred in the castle. He had experienced the same thing when he first started working here, but his attitude had changed, and he continued working for Mr. George to continue his life.
Coincidentally, Malcolm was not in the area, so John took this opportunity to approach his neighbor.
"Hey, Frank, it seems like you have a problem?" John asked, probing.
"I don't have any significant problems," Frank tried to convince John.
"Are you sure about that?" John asked suspiciously.
"Yes, I'm serious," Frank replied, continuing his work.
Then, John revealed that he knew and had experienced the same thing as Frank, and it was not something new to him. To hear his neighbor's words, Frank signaled John to be quiet.
Not long after, a man riding a horse appeared in the distance. He rode his horse at a fast pace, causing the sound of the horse's footsteps to be heard clearly and startling the workers there.
As he dismounted from his horse, he ran towards John and asked about Malcolm's whereabouts. Spontaneously, John escorted the man to meet the head of the household.
Malcolm was in the stable, overseeing some of Mr. George's beloved horses when Bruce reported the incident of a villager's death in Verase village.
"Mr. Malcolm! A villager was attacked by a werewolf!" Bruce exclaimed, out of breath.
"How do you know that?" Malcolm asked, confused.
"A specialist doctor said so," Bruce quickly replied.
"In that case, let's go see Mr. George," Malcolm invited, leaving the stable.
John immediately returned to his work, but he accidentally overheard Bruce's conversation with Malcolm. His suspicion was strong that the deaths of the villagers in the four villages were somehow related to Voltre Castle.
"Frank! My suspicion was right, something terrible is happening in Verase village," John whispered.
"We should continue this conversation tonight, I'm afraid someone might hear and report it to Mr. George," Frank whispered back.
John nodded and resumed his task, while Malcolm and Bruce arrived at Mr. George's office and informed him about the incident, leaving the castle owner shocked. George immediately gave money for the funeral expenses of the deceased villagers and promised to visit the cemetery the next day.
After they left the room, George fell silent for a moment. Deep inside, he felt a profound concern and tried to solve this mystery, but the veil of mystery remained unbroken.
Night had come, and all the servants were in their respective rooms. Only John couldn't close his eyes. Shortly after, he walked to Frank's room, which was right next to his, and gently knocked on the door.
I thought you were asleep," John said as he sat on the sofa.
"Not yet, I haven't been able to sleep either," Frank replied.
Then John told him about what he had known since he started working at Voltre Castle several years ago, and Frank listened attentively. John said that this incident happened every six months after the Grape Harvest celebration, and the victims were the residents of the four villages.
The villagers didn't know the cause, but they were always scared leading up to the end of the celebration. Unfortunately, they couldn't do anything meaningful to solve this mystery.
"Why don't they just call the police?" Frank asked, surprised.
"That would be futile," John replied, lost in thought.
"Can't they investigate it?" Frank asked again.
"Yes, but there are still victims after that," John replied, shaking his head.
"What do you mean, please explain in more detail?" Frank asked, even more curious.
John got up from the sofa and walked towards the window. He took a deep breath, lit his cigarette, and started smoking. After a while of silence, he began to answer Frank's question, his voice trembling, a sign that he held a tremendous fear.
John told him that the police themselves died and turned into werewolves after trying to uncover the mystery. Since then, no one dared to talk about or investigate this terrifying case.
Hearing John's story made Frank even more frightened, but John reminded him not to tell anyone about what he experienced because he himself didn't know who was responsible for the deaths of the victims. Frank could only nod his head, unable to say a word, as if his mouth was tightly shut.
The night grew late, and the sounds of nocturnal animals could be heard outside the castle, as if welcoming the darkness. The two servants were still awake, continuing their conversation. Suddenly, John, who was still standing near the window, saw four black shadows running in the forest not far from the castle.
Then John called Frank to come closer to the window and see the activities of the werewolves. Frank immediately did so, peeking from behind the curtain. However, he was shocked to see four werewolves devouring a woman greedily.
Oh my goodness, how terrifying!" exclaimed Frank with a stuttering voice.
"That's the kind of thing I often witness while working here," calmly replied John.
"No wonder no one dares to talk about this, including Malcom," Frank said, nodding his head.
"Now you know why Malcom forbids us from discussing this taboo subject," John replied, sipping on the warm coffee that Frank had been serving since earlier.