Theory time! Grave at Path of the Pilgrim
----- LIES OF P - OVERTURE SPOILERS -----
(Image is from the precise moment we come back from the DLC, P hasn't moved one inch)
This is just a theory, so I might be getting some things wrong, but I really think the grave on the Path of the Pilgrim (the one that is right before the DLC stargazer, the one with the Smiling Bunny Mark ) is Carloâs grave.
Back during the base game days, I thought maybe it belonged to a fifth sibling from the Black Rabbit Brotherhood. We find the Smiling Bunny Mark there, and the BRB clearly loved each other a lot, so it made sense that a beloved family member might rest there.
I gave it some thought back then but landed on nothing concrete.
But now, after finishing the DLC, something clicked. When P is transported back to the present, he wakes up right there in the graveyard. Sure, it makes sense since the DLC stargazer is there, but itâs very interesting how they chose to position him.
P is standing there, with the stream of white butterflies guiding him, and to the right, directly in our field of view, there it is: the white glowing thingy on that grave. Itâs right there, basically begging to be interacted with.
So I interacted with it. I couldnât quite remember what the message said at that moment, but with it being placed so obviously after the DLC, I thought maybe it had changed or was now more relevant.
It hadnât changed. But I could see what the message said again:
âA child who was a blessing to his family lies here. May he rest in peace.â
And you know who was a blessing to his family, his found family? You know who died while still considered a child? Carlo.
To me, it felt symbolic; coming back to the present from a time where P could fulfill both Leaâs and Carloâs wishes, and waking up in the place where Carlo could very well be buried.
There are so many spots around the stargazer where P couldâve woken up â but the devs put us there, with that view. On purpose.
So hereâs where I start theorizing a bit further.
I believe Lea and Romeo were the ones who handled Carloâs funeral. And by âfuneral,â I mean just the burial part at least. Lea had cut ties with the Monad family, so she likely had no funding for anything grand. And she certainly wouldnât lay her beloved apprentice to rest in any cemetery connected to Valentinus or the Rose Estate.
I donât know what the post-mortem situation was for Petrification Disease victims, but considering how those afflicted were quarantined, I wouldnât be surprised if there was resistance to burying infected bodies in standard cemeteries.
By the time Antonia found out, maybe Lea and Romeo had already taken care of everything, and she just went and visited. As for Geppetto, I like to think he attended the funeral, but I donât think he ever tried to take his sonâs body elsewhere.
First, where would he bury him? In his garden? I doubt he was ever given Camilleâs body back. The Alchemists probably used it for twisted experimentation, just like her Ergo. So why bother?
Second, he intended to exhume the body. And what better way to do that discreetly than to bury Carlo somewhere in the slums, where no one would see, and even if they did, no one would say anything?
Even if Geppetto hated the idea of Lea and Romeo arranging the burial, it didnât matter. He planned to bring Carlo back, and in his mind, wouldnât need the grave anymore.
The inscription on that grave âa blessing to his familyâ obviously meant that he was a blessing to Lea, Romeo, and maybe Antonia and Sophia.
Because that was his family.
Just like Romeo had engraved in his locket, they were a family. And Carlo was deeply loved by them. So yes, he would be a child who was a blessing to his family.
Now, this part might be a stretch, but while talking about this theory with a friend, he suggested something else:
Maybe the graves next to him belonged to Lea and Romeo.
We know Geppetto got both of them. I donât know what happened to Lea, maybe she was turned into a puppet we never see, but unlike with Carlo, Geppetto didnât need their bodies. Just their Ergos.
So he likely extracted them and disposed of the remains.
But maybe, just maybe, as a final act of twisted kindness, Geppetto laid their bodies to rest next to Carloâs burial place because even he couldnât deny that they had made Carlo happy.
Maybe, out of gratitude or guilt, he placed them there in unnamed graves. A final resting place for this little âfamily.â
As for the Smiling Bunny Mark, I have three possible explanations:
One of the BRB siblings just dropped it while passing through. One of them is known for losing stuff all the time, so it wouldnât be surprising if he lost something important like this somewhere near Malum District or Path of the Pilgrim.
Maybe Carlo had it with him, and thatâs how he and Romeo got into the Malum District (assuming they physically there when they wrote on the painting at the Red Lobster Inn). After his death, Lea, who disliked the BRB just as Gemini, mightâve just left the mark there. (I like this theory the least.)
Itâs just a breadcrumb. I think the devs placed it there to draw attention to an important piece of lore.
Iâve heard from several players that they missed the Smiling Bunny Mark and the stargazer altogether on their first playthrough (and with this, the grave as well).
Now imagine if there would have been no item there to pick up. The message would have been even harder to spot or missed completely.
So maybe the Smiling Bunny Mark wasnât there to deepen BRB or Malum District lore, but rather to highlight Carloâs grave, which gains much more meaning after the DLC. It fits the DLCâs purpose, as the director said: Overture is basically a âdirectorâs cutâ, content that was always meant to be part of the game but needed more time to be completed.
So if this one item was meant to guide players toward Carloâs grave, now full of significance post-DLC, that would make a lot of sense.
Anyway⊠that was just me theorizing. Iâd love to hear your thoughts on this!