Work Text:
Ⅰ
"Good morning, young master."
The heavy velvet curtains were drawn back, and the clear and bright morning light poured in through the glass panes, like pale golden butterflies fluttering in the air, before gently landing on the pillow of the teenager sleeping on the four-poster bed.
"We have a salmon and mint salad for your breakfast today, and toast, tea cakes, and French country bread as sides, which would you like?"
Under the silk bed curtains, the teenager yawned and sat up, he reached up and rubbed his eyes, the momentary confusion in his blue eyes faded as quickly as the morning dew, so that the pure sapphire pupils became more and more mesmerisingly clear.
"Tea cakes." He lifted his hands absently and allowed the deacon to dress him in his shirt, tie his bow tie, and finally slip on his stockings and heels.
"Yes young master, I will prepare it as you ordered." The deacon dressed in a black tuxedo bent down, his right hand caressing his chest with a smile on his face, responding to his master as loyally as he had done in the past over a thousand days and nights.
"Today's black tea is Earl Grey black tea?" Ciel lifted the porcelain cup and took a shallow sip.
"Yes, today we used the tea produced by the Royal Doulton Company. The tea set is Wedwood's white bone china series."
"Sebastian, what's on the agenda for today?" Ciel took the cane the deacon handed him and turned first out of the bedroom.
"After breakfast you are to meet Mr Evan, the Territorial Representative, and at eleven o'clock in the morning there will be an opinion meeting on the new line of Thanksgiving sweets from Funtom. Also, at three o'clock in the afternoon there will be a visit from Chief Arthur Randall of Scotland Yard with Sergeant Fred Abberline."
Sebastian walked two steps behind Ciel, and he followed the teenager's lead.
The daylight cast in through the window shone long shadows at their feet, and as the angle changed, the dark figure belonging to the deacon always covered the slender shadow of the young man, as they had done in their companionship to the end of their lives.
"What a pain in the arse-" Ciel grumbled in a long drawn out tone.
Sebastian laughed softly, "If you refuse to see Lord Randall, I'm sure that guy will just block the door."
Ciel glanced at him, the corner of her lips quirking, "How do you know I don't want to see him?"
The Deacon maintained his usual flamboyant demeanour and smiled with downcast eyes, "It's been three months since 'the one' was buried, and it's time for you to give Scotland Yard a result."
Ciel's face suddenly grimaced.
He grunted coldly and stopped paying attention to the deacon behind him, instead picking up the pace and leaving Sebastian behind.
Sebastian looked at his back and smiled just slightly, then turned and gently closed the door to the suite.
The door to the room closed, and in the white porcelain cup that was left on the high coffee table, the clear red tea broth swayed gently, creating a circle of transparent ripples.
Transparent ripples spread out.
The rain is coming down.
Ciel sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, quietly watching the waves rolled up by the violent storm outside. Even the deep-rooted trees swayed like reeds in the wind during the storm, and the countless green trees formed green waves, caught in different shapes at will by the wind.
A bell rang, and with it came the cold wind and the cold smell of rain.
Sebastian took off his mackintosh and took a telegram out of his arms and handed it to Ciel, "Young master, the head of the confectionery factory sent a telegram saying that the rain was so heavy that the train was stopped and he would not be able to arrive on time."
Ciel quickly read the few words on the telegram and leaned back to sink into the soft sofa.
He let out a short laugh, "Pray this rain holds off until the afternoon. I don't want to see Secretary Randall's face again in this weather."
Ciel hates rainy days.
To his surprise, the deacon [demon], actually didn't comment on it.
He looked up and saw Sebastian's stoic face. There was no expression to be seen on that face, and naturally it showed no emotion.
For some reason, Ciel's heart suddenly calmed down.
"Then I'll go to the study for a while and call me when lunch is ready." Ciel stood up.
"Yes, My Lord."
The master-servant duo tacitly didn't bother talking about the topic just now.
From the lounge, there was a spiral staircase to the left that led to the hall, and to the right there was a small, hidden door that led to the kitchen, for the convenience of serving food when there were many guests. That door is just like any small door for servants in this huge mansion, quietly and inconspicuously set in the wall, a colour of wallpaper covering the past has a gorgeous and complicated pattern, if you do not look carefully you will not be able to find that there is also a subtle gap in the wall.
Ciel tightened his grip on the cane and strode forward with a straight posture. The sound of his high heels striking the marble floor was crisp and loud; the cane struck the ground evenly in the rhythm of his walk, with a dull, short sound. And behind him, as usual, Mr Deacon followed noiselessly, like a silent ghost that always follows.
Ciel has long been adapted to this kind of life, day after day, calm as a deep cold pool, no ripples. Even if there is an occasional ripple, it will fade away in an instant and return to the daily routine that has long been engraved into the bone marrow.
Nearly a year had passed since December 1889, when "the incident" had taken place, and he had kept his mouth shut and remained silent to everyone.
He was just silent.
For a while, everyone was worried about it. But Ciel declined all invitations during the social season and did not respond to anyone's private invitations. During this year, only the business situation of the territory and the development of the Funtom Company could slightly pull his heartstrings and attract his active attention, as for everything else, it was like a misty cloud that could not leave the slightest trace under his cold gaze.
This day in 1890 should also have passed through the fingers as calmly as water.
However.
"Boom-"
A deafening crack without warning in the ears burst open, in an instant the rolling heat wave wrapped in thick choking smoke surging attack, the momentum of the fierce, even made the surrounding solid walls are also enough to shatter people's eardrums under the strong impact of violent shaking up. The wallpaper on the wall was shaken, and from time to time there is not distinguish what is the dust crumbs rustling down.
Sebastian tackled Ciel to the ground first thing, and once the choking greyish-white smoke had faded, he reached down and pulled the teenager to his feet, cleaning the dusty debris from his body.
At times like this, even the ever-composed and calm Ciel could hardly contain his inner consternation and dissatisfaction, and couldn't help but grumble out, "What the hell is going on!"
Sebastian narrowed his eyes and turned his head to look at the source of the voice, those narrow red eyes seemed to be able to penetrate through barriers right to the core. He was silent for a moment and said nonchalantly, "Young master, I think this is the work of Baruto ......"
"Cough! Cough cough cough!" In the thick smoke, Baruto, the head chef of the Earldom of Phantomhive, whose face was covered in dark dust and whose clothes were tattered from the blast, crawled out of the rubble with great difficulty.
It was only when Ciel fixed his eyes on him that he could see that he had come through the small hidden door in the wall. The door had long since been blasted apart by the shockwave from the explosion, and now lay in pieces across the floor, half of it pressed against Baruto's leg, half of it shattered on the floor.
Behind Baruto, the kitchen looked like the ruins of a bitter war: the walls were blackened, and the mottled siding fell off in large swaths, exposing the Cielred masonry inside, as if it had been gnawed on by angry flames. Cabinet doors are scattered, some hanging crookedly on the hinges, some have been blown away to the distance, broken boards jagged, full of traces of explosion. Pots and pans scattered all over the place, those once shiny metal utensils are now twisted and deformed, some are even melted by the high temperature to the point of total disrepair, mixed with broken porcelain, glass ballast, in the ground full of ash and dust, reflecting the cold, broken light. The pungent burnt odour filled the air, mixed with the choking soot, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Ciel closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, his left eye shot out a cold star-like light and stared coldly at his head chef: "...... Baruto, what have you done?"
Baruto scratched his head in embarrassment, holding his pipe - even in this situation he hadn't forgotten his pipe! He hemmed and hawed, "I procured a new batch of machine guns from the United States and wanted to try out their power here ......"
For some reason, through the pitch-black face where the outline of his features could barely be seen anymore, Ciel seemed to be able to sense a few moments of embarrassment from Baruto.
Ciel was dumbfounded.
"Fine." He sighed, reaching out and pointing to the messy kitchen, "Get this place cleaned up as soon as you can so it doesn't interfere with lunch!"
"Yes, Young Master!" Baruto held his pipe in his mouth and gave a military salute with a swish.
Ciel shook his head and stepped around the broken brick debris on the floor, heading for the main staircase in the hall.
Sebastian did not follow his pace, but still stood in place, staring at the dust in the ruins of the drift, pondering - those dust like from the mysterious furnace escaped from the fine grey ash, in the building under the flickering candlelight intertwined illumination, but also a strange flicker of light, as if hidden in the night curtains of the countless pairs of peeping eyes, through the Unspeakable weirdness.
"Sebastian-" far away, Ciel stood at the corner of the first floor stairs and raised his voice to call to his deacon.
So the deacon stopped delving into the debris that remained in the ruins and turned towards his young master.
"Strange ......"
Changing his clothes, Baruto took his cleaning tools and once again made his way to the small door that led to the kitchen, only to be surprised to find that everything seemed to be back as it was!
The corridor, which three quarters of an hour before had been a ruin, was now as neat and elegant as any other corner of the mansion. Whether it was the woolen carpet or the wallpaper or the wall paintings, it was as clean and bright as if it had just been cleaned.
"Huh!" Even Maid Merlin took off her glasses in amazement and took a closer look.
"How about it Merlin, does this place still need cleaning?" Baruto asked with his pipe in his mouth.
Merlin examined the area before putting on his glasses and shaking his head, "It's clean, no more cleaning needed."
Baruto scratched and muttered, "...... Could it be Mr Sebastian?"
♔
"Good morning, Master."
Heavy velvet curtains were pulled open, clear and bright morning light through the glass pane window sprinkled in, the verdant greenery outside the window into the eyes, standing in front of the window, not far away from the rolling hills, scattered sheep like the sky reflecting down the white clouds, with the shape of the wind drifting apart and gathering, so that people do not pay attention to look into the fascination.
"Today's breakfast consists of lemon meringue pie, chocolate cake, and baked toast with fresh blueberries and watermelon pears, and the drinks are coffee with Darjeeling black tea." The deacon in a smart black suit pushed the food trolley to a halt in front of the half-open door of the suite, and seeing that his master was so absorbed in the view that he had not heard his greeting, he lifted his hand slightly and knocked gently on the door.
"Duh duh duh duh--"
A knock on the door awoke his master, who was standing in front of the window, and he turned around at the sound, giving a faint smile when he looked at his visitor, "Oh, Tanaka, you're here. You're always so punctual."
"Your lordship is flattered." Tanaka, who wore a butler's pin on his collar, smiled modestly. He pushed the dining car into the suite and removed the breakfasts one by one and set them on the coffee table in the parlour. When that was done, his host, Vincent Phantomhive, Earl of Phantomhive, sat down with his wife, Rachel Phantomhive, on his arm.
"Good day, madam." Tanaka greeted the Countess of Phantomhive.
"Good day, Tanaka." Rachel Phantomhive had beautiful long flaxen hair, and she always smiled gently, as she did at the moment.
Tanaka stood by, ready to push the cart back into the kitchen once the two hosts had finished their meal.
"Wait, Tanaka." Earl Phantomhive called out to him.
"What are your orders, Master?"
"It is Elizabeth's birthday today, and Francis wrote earlier that he would be receiving the children into London this afternoon for a few days. You arrange for a change in their programme."
"As you wish, milord."
Rachel Phantomhive sniffed but gave a slightly worried expression, "But his body hasn't fully recovered ......"
Vincent reassured his wife, "With Ciel at his side, there's no problem. Besides, he hasn't been out of the house for a long time, it's time for him to get out and about. Francis will take care of him."
Rachel was convinced by her husband and she nodded.
"Then I will go and see to the children." The Earl and Count of Phantomhive shared breakfast before kissing goodbye in front of their bedroom. Rachel walked towards the children's room while Vincent headed for the study.
After returning the food trolley to the kitchen, Tanaka was stopped by Mrs Hughes, the housekeeper, on her way to the butler's suite.
The housekeeper looked nervous, even a little panicked, "...... Mr Tanaka, please do come and see."
"What happened?" Tanaka was surprised. Even the ever-calm housekeeper was so out of sorts.
"...... You'll know if you take a look. According to Lucy, the kitchen maid, the marks were there all of a sudden, almost in the blink of an eye! It took her the effort of turning round to put something away! And those strange, burnt like pieces ...... my God! I've honestly never seen a scene that bizarre!"
The housekeeper led the way, and contrary to her slower and slower steps was her faster and faster pace of speech. When she reached the intersection, the housekeeper was already afraid of not moving forward, her voice trembling with fear, as if she wanted to let out all the fear in her heart in one breath.
"You see ...... this is it ......" the woman's shrill, shaking voice echoed down the corridor, trailing off so softly it was like a wandering thread, "it's like the ...... devil's curse!"
The door was crowded with heads, with housemaids and footmen huddled there whispering to each other, and undergrown hall workers burrowing in and out of the gaps in the crowd. If the housekeeper hadn't warned him in advance, Tanaka would have thought there was some kind of lively performance going on.
"Ahem!" Tanaka cleared his throat twice and said solemnly, "Ladies and gentlemen, are you all done?"
The crowd dispersed at the sound. The servants hung their heads and passed glances at each other, dawdling for a moment before one of the maids was pushed forward to answer in a reluctant whisper, "...... Not yet, Tanaka-san."
The housekeeper braced herself at this point and stepped forward, sternly chiding, "Get back to your work! Lucy stays."
Lucy was the first kitchen maid to notice the change.
The huddled crowd dispersed and the obscured scene became visible.
The small hidden door to the kitchen was half-open, normally a passage for three people, and you could see the kitchen fireplace at a glance, but now there was a mess behind the door: it was like the ruins of a terrible war, the walls were blackened, the mottled siding had fallen off, exposing the Cielred masonry, and there were only a few fibres left in the blanket on the floor, as if it had been gnawed away by the fury of the flames. The blankets on the floor had only a few fibres left, as if they had been gnawed by angry flames.
The weird thing was that only the passage behind this small door turned out like this. The ends of the passage, both the kitchen and the formal corridor were unchanged.
--as if out of nowhere a bomb had exploded in this short passage.
If there had been such an explosion, it is unlikely that the servants coming and going at either end of the passage would not have noticed something strange.
Tanaka turned his head to look at the housekeeper.
It was found that although she was still standing, her fingers were gripping the hem of her coat so tightly that her knuckles were white, and the force was so great that it almost tore the fabric to shreds.
For a religious person like Mrs Hughes, the housekeeper, the scene before her was akin to "the devil's curse". ......
Tanaka sighed as he said amiably, "Mrs Hughes, I'll take care of it here, you can get on with your other work."
The housekeeper nodded her head immediately at the words, and she could barely keep up her poise as she fled with a hasty drop of a sentence, "Lucy, listen to Tanaka-san's request!"
"So, Lucy, could you please elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the discovery of this ...... 'scene'?" Tanaka asked politely.
Kitchen maid Lucy's eyes widened and she nodded her head excitedly and repeatedly, "Of course! I'm willing! Erm ...... I mean, I'm honoured, Tanaka-san. I happened to be taking the baked cakes out of the oven at the time to deliver them to the young masters, and I just opened the door on the kitchen side ......"
Tanaka listened carefully to Lucy's account and he nodded slightly, "I see. Thank you, Lucy."
The kitchen maid wrung her hands together and said excitedly, "You're welcome! Erm ...... I mean, I'm glad I could be of some help to you, Tanaka-san."
Tanaka looked her up and down for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You just said that you served a freshly baked cake when you found this place, where's the cake?"
Lucy was dumbfounded, "Yeah, where's my cake ...... It was clearly served in my hand ......"
Tanaka shook his head.
He walked to the kitchen, clapped his hands together, and said, "Thomas and Jace, and the handymen and menials, come and clean 'there' up. The Marquess of Midford and Miss Elizabeth will be visiting today, be sure to greet them at their best."
III
"Jingle bells--"
The summoning bell in the servants' hall rang crisply.
The servants looked up at the sound.
"It's the study!" Finian was the first to react, he turned to the man who was burying his head in his work behind the console, his voice a little low, "Mr Sebastian, the young master is calling you ......"
Sebastian removed his pocket watch and glanced at the time, murmuring, "It's one o'clock."
"Duh duh duh duh--"
There was a rhythmic, clean knock on the door in the quiet corridor, and the echoes rippled out heavily, so that the empty first floor seemed emptier and emptier.
"Come in."
Deacon pushed open the door at the sound of the voice.
Inside the study, the Earl of Phantomhive sat behind the long, wide black walnut desk, his fingers crossed and his elbows propped up on the desk. Behind the high-backed chair is a huge glass pane window, the curtains were pulled open, at this time outside the window is still drizzling rain, the dark clouds in the sky dispersed half of the sky is still dusky, the orange-red sun hides between the clouds and the rain, sieve down thousands of golden radiance, along with the rain line leaks down, will be the whole world are painted on red flushed with purple colours. The silhouette of the Earl of Phantomhive was hidden in this light, so that one could not see his complexion, but only the ochre silhouette was sharp and clear.
But the hands that rested on the table, the hands of a young man so white as to be like ivory, with slender bones, were at that moment tapping irritably on the table, making the owner's mood unmistakable.
Sebastian only glanced at it before quickly lowering his head.
"Young master, what are your orders?"
-Ah, he's already grown so big. Since when has he grown up? Obviously, he had been accompanied by his companion for the past 1,800 days and nights, but he had quietly, slowly, and unawares, grown from a child to a teenager.
Ciel's voice came out muffled, "I want something sweet."
Sebastian couldn't help but smile.
--I've obviously grown up, but I still have the same sweet tooth as I did in the beginning when I was unhappy.
Sebastian asked gently, "What would the young master like to eat?"
"...... Chocolate Basque."
"Obey. I'm on it."
The deacon bowed and was about to turn away when he was called back by his master.
"Wait!" Ciel covered his face with his right hand, revealing only one eye as he looked at his deacon, scarlet-reddish-pink diurnal light coursing through his azure eyes with indescribable fatigue, "...... Better change it to Strawberry Barfi."
Sebastian returned the silence.
Ciel's voice was as soft and inaudible as a dream, "He likes to eat this."
"I see." Sebastian nodded, "If that is your wish."
The moment his trailing voice dissipated, silence returned to the room.
Yet he didn't leave.
A moment later, the deacon's voice rang out abruptly, "And allow me to take the liberty of saying something, young master."
"It's not a good habit to dwell on the past. One must always look ahead."
"What a surprise, Sebastian. Do 'demons' also say such things?" Ciel looked up unexpectedly, and his right eye, which was covered, was revealed, the gorgeous violet eye flashing with the mark of a demon.
The Deacon lowered his eyes and looked at Ciel quietly as he spoke faintly, "I was just hoping you would walk away from that."
Regarding "that thing", the master and the servant both had a tacit agreement to keep their mouths shut about it. But surprisingly, today as a deacon, Sebastian frequently and actively talked about it.
Ciel let out an "Oh", as if he didn't care at all, and said lightly, "You're overthinking it. I'm fine."
Sebastian suddenly sighed as he nodded, "As you wish. I will go and prepare your strawberry barfi for afternoon tea."
As the Deacon's tuxedo disappeared from sight, the Earl of Funtomhave suddenly reached up and covered his eyes.
"'That'? ......"
He recalled the funerals he had attended in his life - the funeral of Angelina, the "Red Lady", he brought her favourite red dress and red roses, only red could match her; snake's funeral, he put the satchel he had bought for snake into the grave as a companion. Snake's funeral, he put the satchel he bought for Snake into the grave as a companion, but he never gave him anything else, fortunately Snake still had his snake in the grave; Doll's funeral ...... he buried her on the hill next to the Rainbow Welfare Institute, he thought she should be willing to know, after all, that was the goal that she had fought hard for; and The Funeral of "The One" ......
Ciel's funeral.
The first time they parted, was still young, left in the memory only full of bright red, and "he" even if the death of the eyes wide open, he knew, "he" is not willing, they are not willing! So he put on the ring of the master of the house, holding the scepter, swore to complete the revenge, to make those people pay for their blood, but he never thought that he would see "him" again, see a long dead dead people.
So they had a second separation.
They had been close brothers and sisters, sharing life and breath in their mother's womb, and he would have given his life for him if he could, but not now! He had not yet completed his vengeance, their common vengeance ...... He was horrified, lost, angry, he destroyed with his own hands the source of life that sustained "him", and ushered in "his" eternal He destroyed with his own hands the source of his life, and ushered in his eternal departure.
"His body was burned in the fire, leaving only a pile of grey bones, which he picked up with his own hands, put in a coffin, and buried in the family cemetery in Phantomhive, under the headstone that had stood there five years before.
The only people who attended the funeral were the Earl of Phantomhive and his deacon.
False counts, with false deacons.
When the dust settled, he went to the palace to see the Queen. No one knows what they talked about, except that when he left the palace, the name of the Earl of Phantomhive was indestructible and no one could topple it.
Only those events still needed to be wrapped up, and that was the reason why Randall would pay a visit to his door today. Ciel has been closed, refused to respond to the letter of enquiry sent by Scotland Yard, to Randall Secretary that kind of temper, can endure to today has made Ciel very surprised.
It's a rainy day.
It all brought him back to that day in an uncontrollable way.
He tilted his head back and leaned on the high back chair, his hands over his face, and suddenly felt a warmth under his fingers. Lift his hand and look, there is a crystal water light flickering at the fingertips, so it is ...... tears?
In the silence of the study, Ciel wept quietly.
Deacon returned to the kitchen.
Baruto, the head chef, greeted him, "Mr Sebastian, what is the young master's order?"
Sebastian took off his suit jacket, "Well, young master wants strawberry barfi."
Finian's eyes lit up, "Strawberries! There's some in the glass flower room, I'll go pick them!" With that, she quickly trotted off, and on the way broke a door frame because she was going too fast.
Baruto looked at Finian's back and said vaguely with his pipe in his mouth, "Fini is really fond of the young master."
"After all, the young master saved him." The deacon rolled up his sleeves and said lightly. He looked down at the vessels laid out on the long table and muttered to himself, "Well then, let's start with beating the eggs. Baruto, will you fetch the eggs and milk for me?"
Baruto agreed readily, "No problem!"
In a moment, the head chef returned with a strange look on his face. He carried a basket of eggs, a bucket of milk, and a piece of ...... cake in his hand?
"What was that?" Sebastian frowned.
Baruto put everything down and shrugged, "I found it on a shelf in the storage room. Look at this cake, it's baked really well! Mr Sebastian, didn't you make this?"
Sebastian scrutinised it for a moment and shook his head, "I'm sure this is the first time I've been ready to make dessert today."
"That's strange, it looks like it just came out of the oven, how did it end up in the storage room."
Sebastian suddenly looked up and out the window.
"What happened? Mr Sebastian?"
"...... There is a strange feeling." The deacon gazed and felt for a while, and the special aura that lingered around the mansion just now abruptly disappeared.
Eventually, he withdrew his eyes and said faintly, "Nothing, get back to work, Baruto." He smoothly tossed the cake into the fire.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, when the seat clock in the first-floor hall struck exactly three times, Sebastian had just delivered the finished dessert to the study.
Although he had volunteered for the sweet treat, Ciel ate it with some interest. He took a silver spoon and scooped a small scoop of strawberry barfi served in a clear crystal glass, the scoop of ice cream showing a beautiful rosy pink colour in the light of the candle, he gazed at it for a moment and slowly brought it to his mouth.
Sebastian stood in wait, observing his expression without moving, and leapt out, "How does it taste? Young master."
Ciel nodded slowly with her silver spoon in her mouth, "It's delicious, Sebastian."
The deacon was about to say something when the doorbell at the foyer suddenly rang.
Ciel frowned, "...... Who?"
"The rain has stopped." Sebastian looked out the window as he whispered, "It should be Lord Randall."
The deacon then saw a queer expression of mingled dislike and entanglement on his tiny master's face.
Oddly enough, the corners of Sebastian's lips curved quietly before he could notice it himself.
"Then I will answer the door." The deacon stepped back and bowed courteously and slightly towards the Count.
The Earl of Phantomhive buried his head in a refreshingly sweet strawberry barfi and waved at him absently, "Go go go."
It looks like the Lord Earl is going to eat all of that strawberry barfi before the guests make their official visit.
With an involuntary light smile on his face, Sebastian stepped down the stairs towards the foyer.
-- "I've kept you waiting."
The deacon in the tuxedo said respectfully.
♕
-- "I've kept you waiting."
The deacon in the tuxedo said respectfully.
The Marquess of Midford raised her eyebrows and helped the deacon's men out of the carriage.
"You are as scrupulous as ever, Tanaka." Marquess of Midford - Frances Midford, the former Miss Earl of Phantomhive looked at the well-ordered mansion, and even her always cold face couldn't help but show a look of satisfaction as she opened her mouth in praise.
"You are too kind. Master and Lady are in the parlour." Tanaka exchanged pleasantries with her, "How have you been? Why haven't you seen Miss Elizabeth today?"
Francis: "Lisa was going to come with me, but before we left the house Miss Nina came and said there were still details of the evening gown that needed to be confirmed, so I left her in London."
The parlour was in sight in the time it took to talk. Tanaka pushed the door open for her and Francis greeted his hosts, "Brother, Rachel ......"
The door to the parlour closed and Tanaka took out his pocket watch and looked at the time, the hour hand would soon be at the three o'clock position and it was time to wake up the young masters from their naps.
V
The rain has stopped.
Even the dark clouds are all dispersed, a round of sun hanging brightly overhead, if not for the leaves at the top of the tree still dew, the road is too muddy to walk, the obscure sky at midday is almost like a dream, making people wonder if there was really such a heavy rain.
The visitor stepped out of the carriage, lifted his hand to remove his bowler hat, and looked up at the brilliant golden sun pouring down with such burning light that he had to use his hands as a shield to see the glittering spires above the mansion of Phantomhive.
The carriage creaked and another man squeezed out of it.
"This 'Den of Ghosts' really hasn't changed at all!" London Police Chief, Arthur Randall coldly grunted and greeted his henchman Fred Abberline who was standing frozen at the side, "If it wasn't for Her Majesty's order, I wouldn't want to step foot in here even for a single step! Abberline, let's get going, finishing the business earlier can return to London earlier."
Abberline hesitated for a moment to follow his superior.
The inseparable butler beside Count Phantomhive was waiting at the door with a smile on his face. Seeing the two guests approaching, he immediately respectfully pulled open the door, "Welcome to the Phantomhive residence. It's been a long time, Lord Randall, Lord Abberline."
Randall glanced at him haughtily, his tone aggressive, "Where is the Earl of Phantomhive?"
The handsome deacon's smile remained unchanged, as if he wasn't offended at all, and smiled brightly, "Young master is in the parlour on the first floor. I'll take you there now."
Randall remained as cold as ice, and he even ignored the deacon, striding forward up the stairs to the very front.
Abberline had been close behind his superior, and as he passed Sebastian he slowed down, casting an apologetic glance at the deacon.
Sebastian followed quickly, knocking and loudly announcing before Randall vulgarly and rudely pushed the gate straight open, "Lord Randall has arrived!"
So the Scotland Yard bigwig's face grew darker and darker. Randall glared at him viciously and barged in nonchalantly, as he said gruffly, "Earl of Phantomhive! The underlings of your house are too ignorant of etiquette!"
Ciel pulled out his ears indifferently, "Is Secretary Randall's voice so loud because he's reaching the age where he's going to retire and his ears are no longer able to hear?"
"You, you ...... you!" Randall pointed at Ciel, so angry that he was shaking.
Abberline rushed forward, "I'm terribly sorry! Earl Phantomhive. In fact, our visit today is about the Brampton fire case nine months ago, when you refused on the grounds of ill health ......"
"Oh, that." Ciel interrupted, taking the black tea Sebastian handed him and leaning back idly on the couch, eyes downcast, "Obviously it was closed three months ago, I thought that case was over."
Randall mocked, ''It seems that there are times when the 'The Queen's Watchdog ' is unable to do anything! Obviously, Her Majesty's order was for you to investigate the fire at the Divine Wine Honey Spring Hotel, but you spent half a year without being able to come up with any results, and in the end, you hastily closed the case on the ridiculous excuse of not feeling well. What? Are you finally realising your incompetence?"
"Splat" a light sound, Ciel will lean over the cup of tea on the table, he slowly straightened up, slowly raised his eyes, the deep blue eyes seem to contain a whole ocean, countless waves stacked up, rolling, surging, azure indigo water colours layer by layer intertwined with the bottomless pale blue sea.
He looked straight at Randall, his voice clean and cold and pure, and laughed softly, "I don't think I would have denied your comment about 'incompetence' if the person I was speaking with hadn't been the Governor of Scotland Yard, who needs my family's servants to step in to help clean up messes every now and then."
Arthur Randall's face went from red to blue.
Ciel propped his head on his hand and watched the farce in front of him with interest: while Randall looked like he couldn't stand it any longer and looked like he was about to rush up and fight him, Abberline stopped him in a panic.
At that moment Sebastian brought in a stack of papers on a tray.
Ciel raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes full of mockery and disdain, his gaze sweeping over Randall's face twisted in anger, and then falling absently on the stack of papers, his fingers gently tapping on the arm of the sofa, seemingly smiling.
"Tut, tut, Secretary Randall, you look ...... really wretched now. Instead of shouting at me here, you should reflect on the efficiency of Scotland Yard. Every time you have to wait until things get out of hand to the point of no return before you think of me, the Phantomhive family. As the Governor of Scotland Yard, you can't even wrap up a case properly, aren't you spending all your time on how to cover up your incompetence?"
Randall's face was red for a while and white for a while when he was snubbed by Ciel, and he held his tongue for a long time before he squeezed a few words out from between his teeth, "You ...... you arrogant brat!"
Ciel sneered, "Arrogance? Secretary Randall, I am merely stating the facts. You can continue to wallow in your self delusional meritocracy and pretend that Scotland Yard is still the mainstay of the defence of London's law and order. It is a pity that you are not always late to the party."
He waved his hand gently, signalling for Sebastian to add more tea, his movements graceful and careless.
"Take the Brampton fire for example, after the incident, I heard that Scotland Yard's investigation was actually focussed on unconnected street vagrants, which is simply ridiculous. Besides, I was able to determine that the Divine Wine and Honey Springs Hotel was connected to the Rotunda with only the scattered clues I gathered. What about you? What did you find out in the end after leading a group of subordinates round and round?"
Randall's veins rippled on his forehead and his hands were clenched into fists, but he was not in a good position to have an attack, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "Hmph, you're just lucky!"
Ciel let out a short snort, "Luck? Secretary Randall, if you attribute precise judgement and deep insight to luck, then Scotland Yard's future is truly in jeopardy. Look at Mr Abberline," Ciel's gaze turned to Abberline, who had been on the verge of speaking, "He at least knows how to pull you along when you act impulsively, so as not to let Scotland Yard fall into a complete laughing stock. In my opinion, you might as well let him take over early."
Abberline face embarrassed, hurriedly stepped forward, euphemistic turn: "Lord Earl, today's visit is for the closure of the case, the Brampton fire involved thousands of factories, residential houses, if the closure of the case file is delayed, those insurance companies will use this as a reason to refuse to pay out ......"
Ciel cut him off bluntly, "You don't have to say it."
Abberline's face was stunned.
Ciel raised his chin and Sebastian understood, handing Abberline the documents in his hand that had already been organised, with an appropriate smile at the corner of his mouth, he said, "The young master had already anticipated what the two noble guests were visiting today, and had specially instructed me to prepare the documents in advance. Please take a look."
Abberline received it in surprise, and after flipping through just a few pages, his hands could not restrain themselves from trembling slightly, and a look of excitement appeared on his face as he busied himself with casting an eager glance at Randall. This was precisely the important material they had been searching for but had been slow to find!
Seeing this, Randall's original blue face finally eased a little. However, when he thought that he had come here by order of Her Majesty, and that he had just lost face in this mansion, he felt uncomfortable. In order to put an end to this embarrassing situation as soon as possible, Randall could only force himself to squeeze out a smile, and hurriedly gave a wink to Abberline, signalling for him to quickly put away the paperwork, and then he pretended to be calm and got up, and tried to perfunctorily perform even the most basic courtesies of goodbyes, wanting to escape from this place that caused him so much embarrassment as soon as possible.
The obnoxious deacon, however, appeared silently like a ghost right in front of them. Randall's footsteps jerked.
He didn't even see how the black deacon moved!
Sebastian smiled, "And stay."
Randall looked displeased, "Earl of Phantomhive, what do you mean by this?"
Behind him came the young man's soft laugh, "Secretary Randall, don't you think you're forgetting something?"
"Don't you believe what you're saying! I can forget something ......" Randall snapped, turning around, instantly dumbfounded as he remembered something the moment he met Ciel's line of sight.
Ciel stood up from the sofa unhurriedly and walked towards Randall unhurriedly, each step seemed to carry an invisible pressure, making Randall sit more and more uncomfortable. Travelling to Randall's front, Ciel unexpectedly stretched out his hand.
Spread your palms flat, palms up.
It's not a gesture of a handshake! It's a gesture of asking for--
Ciel tilted his head slightly, his eyes full of playfulness, "Where is the reward for the last mission? Lord Randall, I'm bothering you to make a special trip to bring the dog food to the kennel."
The words of the Earl of Phantomhive sounded a little familiar ...... Abberline wondered darkly where he had heard them before.
With the movement of Randall removing from his bosom a letter, enamelled with fire, and handing it over to Sebastian to be forwarded to the Shire, Abberline had a violent flashback to his first visit to the Earl's House of Phantomhive, the spooky lair.
...... That was two years ago, when he first learnt of the existence of the "evil nobility" in the British Empire.
Abberline watched with mixed feelings as Ciel took the letter opener and opened the envelope with a graceful stroke of the fire paint. The "The Queen's Watchdog " in front of him seemed to be in a good mood, and after reading the staggering figures on the cheque in the letter, the curve of his mouth became more and more obvious, as if he had succeeded in his mischievous pranks with a light smile.
And Randall's face grew harder and harder.
...... Although it is not good to arbitrarily comment on one s superior, but once in a while I can see Lord Randall suffer a defeat, this feeling seems to be good too?
Fred Abberline followed Arthur Randall, and after his superior's hard, not-at-all-warm words of resignation he took a few quick steps to get in front of Ciel and doffed his hat in his direction, "My Lord Earl, thank you very much for your help today. Without the closed file to get the insurance payout, those poor people affected by the fire would have been in an even more difficult situation ......"
He was still exchanging pleasantries and goodbyes with his host when Randall couldn't wait to get out the door.
The next second, they heard Arthur Randall's shout of shock and incredulity:
- "The Earl of Phantomhive?!"
♚
Blue as a sapphire sky, clear without a trace of impurity, like the eyes of Vincent Phantomhive.
--No matter how many times she looked over at her husband, Rachel Phantomhive was intoxicated by it.
In the rocking and bumping carriage, Vincent, who was reading a book, noticed his wife's gaze, looked up and back, and smiled gently, "What's wrong?"
Rachel looked at him out of breath for a moment, slowly unfolding her silk ivory bone folding fan to cover half of her face, leaving only her eyebrows exposed, she smiled blushingly and said, "I was thinking that your eyes and the children's, though they are the same colour, look very different."
Vincent got a kick out of this and asked his wife rhetorically, "What kind of difference?"
Rachel said, "Your eyes are like deep oceans and the children's eyes are like lakes."
Vincent laughed, "They're still young, after all."
Rachel said, "It's their birthday in two months, they're going to be ten. I wonder what they'll be like when they grow up."
Vincent took his wife's shoulder and lowered his head to kiss her long hair, saying with a smile, "When they grow up, you'll naturally know."
Rachel smiled at the words and laughed too, and after she laughed her sadness disturbed her heart: ''But ...... what Ciel said before, you heard it, didn't you? That child just said that he wanted to leave London to be a toy merchant, Ciel was so sad that he even said that he did not want to inherit the title. Although these two kids look alike, their personalities are completely different. Ciel is the older brother, more healthy and cheerful, that child inherited my asthma, the body is worse, the Cielacter is also more sensitive, sometimes I really worry that he will not grow up ......" said to the end, her eyebrows have lingered on the faint light sadness.
Vincent said, "The two of them are so close, Ciel won't leave him alone. You don't have to worry." Then he warmly enlightened his wife.
Rachel, having been persuaded by her husband to let go of her worries about her two twin sons for the time being, couldn't help but smile as she recalled what she had seen at the Marquis of Midford in London before she set out to return.
"They should have a good time at Lisa's birthday dinner tonight. Frances said that the birthday present Lisa asked her for this year was for the two children from our family to go to London for her birthday dinner. Geez, the kids are so close, even I'm a little envious."
Vincent responded, "Speaking of which Lisa and Ciel's engagement is set, but the boy's ......"
Rachel was full of worry: "After all, he's still young, and his health is still so poor, I want to wait until he's a bit older before I pick a certain lady for him."
Vincent thought for a moment and then sighed, "You have a point, let's do it."
The carriage suddenly shook, and then slowly came to a halt as the horseman raised his voice, "Master, Madam, we've arrived!"
Rachel lifted the carriage hanging curtains and was met with a familiar courtyard. She smiled at her husband and said, "With all the small talk along the way, even the distance back from London doesn't seem so far."
Vincent was the first to get out of the car and held out his right hand to help his wife out of the carriage.
Not far away, in front of the Phantomhive mansion, Tanaka and the housekeeper led the household servants in two lanes to greet their master's return.
"Welcome back, Master and Lady."
VII
"Welcome back, milord. Did everything go well?" Tanaka took the hat and coat Vincent had removed and passed them on to the room valet before taking a few quick steps to take the cane Vincent had handed him.
Vincent said, "It went okay."
Rachel laughed from the sidelines, "The kids are having a great time. Lisa even said she's keeping them in London for a month and wants us to wait until the start of the second session of Parliament at the end of October to pick them up and bring them back."
Tanaka asked, "What do the two young masters mean?" But there wasn't a single servant who had worked at the Earl of Phantomhive's house who didn't adore their master's adorable twins, and when they heard that the young masters were going away for up to a month, even the housekeeper looked over with unabashed attentiveness.
Vincent lost his smile, "Okay, okay, two more days and then we'll pick them up."
Rachel took her husband's arm and laughed softly as she headed for the front door.
The folio doors pulled open from side to side and Vincent was the first to walk in, he glanced up absently and his gaze suddenly froze. He looked at his guest, who was standing on the stairs in disbelief, "Secretary Randall?"
At the same time, a shout filled with shock and incredulity broke into everyone's ears.
- "The Earl of Phantomhive?!"
Vincent was taken aback, "Why is Secretary Randall here today?" He turned his head to Tanaka, who shook his head, meaning that he had not received a request for a visit. Moreover, he whispered to Vincent, "My lord, we have been waiting in the mansion and no one saw when Lord Randall came in."
Even more shocked than the host was the unexpected visitor. Arthur Randall, then Chief Constable of the London Police, and private partner of the "Dark Aristocrats," ran down the stairs in a hurry, but stopped before he had gone down them completely. He was dressed as a visitor in a high hat, overcoat, and cane. He stood on the stairs scrutinising Vincent's face, and then turned his gaze to look at Rachel with a look of such extreme horror that it might be called soul-stirring.
Vincent felt his wife's hand grip him, and he patted the back of her hand in a soothing gesture before raising his head to meet Randall's eyes and inquiring in a warm voice, "I wonder what is so important about Secretary Randall's visit today?"
Unexpectedly, Randall became more and more horrified at his words and took several steps back, muttering and whispering something under his breath.
Vincent listened, but only heard a few words, which seemed to be "impossible" and "miraculous" or something like that. His eyes were downcast in thought, and he was about to invite Randall to sit down for a chat when there was another commotion from upstairs.
Randall suddenly let out a loud cry and completely fell down on the stairs, his face white, his fingers twitching at Vincent, and cried out in horror, "...... Earl of Phantomhive, didn't you, didn't you ...... you die five years ago! "
Vincent looked up suddenly, his eyes sharp as swords shooting straight through.
♝
A shout filled with shock and incredulity broke into everyone's ears.
- "The Earl of Phantomhive?!"
Abberline was still climbing with his master when the voice came, and hearing Randall, who always held himself as a gentleman, make such an undignified sound, he and Ciel glanced at each other, and coincidentally stopped talking, and together with Ciel's deacon, Sebastian, ran in the direction from which the voice came.
"Lord Randall! What's happening? Lord Randall ......"
Abberline had been closest to the door and in his haste ran ahead and soon came to the stairway. However the scene he saw after turning the corner made even he gasp, he could even understand the distraught look of his boss beside him.
For the group standing at this moment in the foyer of the ground floor were all the poor people who had perished in the catastrophe that had befallen the mansion of Phantomhive five years before.
-including the couple in front of us, the Count and Countess, who are in love with each other.
Abberline's jaw dropped, frozen in shock.
Frankly speaking, since he learnt the secret of the "The Queen's Watchdog ", he had followed Lord Randall and Earl Funtomhave (of course, we are talking about the young Earl Funtomhave) in many cases, many of which were extremely dangerous and had unexpected truths, but he had never encountered such a situation as the one in front of him - the one in front of the The Queen's Watchdog ! He had never encountered such a situation as the one before him--
People who had died five years ago were still alive and standing. They were even talking, walking around, looking so lifelike that they were alive no matter which way they looked!
"God ......," Abberline muttered, and he even subconsciously made a cross on his chest.
"Thump-thump-thump..."
A series of lighter footsteps drew closer. Perhaps because of the delay in hearing Abberline's ringing, Ciel's soft, clear, slightly raspy voice rang out, "Secretary Randall? Abberline?"
Suddenly realising something, Abberline exclaimed in a panic, "Please don't come out yet! The Earl of Phantomhive!"
However, it was still a step too late.
Ciel took a step out of the shadows covered by the stairs.
The first thing he saw was Abberline, who was waving his hand desperately at him; a strange expression, like twisted fear, filled the poor brown-haired man's face, and his mouth opened and closed as if he were saying something to him, but he heard nothing. Then he saw Randall, who had dropped down on the stairs, the titular Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, but who was now looking straight ahead like the wretched plebeian he himself usually detested the most, with a great loss of decorum.
Ciel followed Randall's line of sight inch by inch.
His movements suddenly froze.
For a moment, he almost thought he had gone back in time, or was in a dream. Because the only way he could see them again was to dream. See his parents.
But he never dreamt of them.
Ciel's eyes cleared for a moment.
His eyes descended inch by inch, and finally, he met his "parents" at eye level.
Ciel took a step up to the escalator and looked down on the bizarre scene in front of him.
Long dead people suddenly returning to places where they lived before they were born?
Or is it a ghostly presence?
Ridiculous!
He never believed in these ghosts and gods. God did not exist, a point he had made clear five years ago.
Since there are no ghosts or gods, someone must be pretending to be a ghost!
It's like "the man" that was created.
Ciel coldly looked at the noisy crowd underneath and sneered: ''Who is it? What kind of trick is this again, don't think you can compel people by getting a bunch of living dead people.Under Taker! You come out!"
Randall jerked back at him with a look on his face that could be described as horrific, and he scrambled up the steps on his hands and knees, stumbling to stand firmly on the handrail, and Randall's lips quivered and his eyes lit up alarmingly as he said, "No! That doesn't look like the living dead! They're all ......"
"Slap!" After a loud bang, a bright red slap mark surfaced on Randall's face, and he looked incredulously at Ciel, shocked, "Earl Phantomhive! You!"
Ciel withdrew his hand and asked him rhetorically, "Secretary Randall, are you confused! Tell me, if they're not the living dead, what are they? The dead? Or the living?" Ciel's finger pointed to the crowd at the bottom of the stairs and said, word for word, "You and I both know that the previous Lord of the House of Phantomhive and his family died five years ago! I - Ciell Phantomhive - am the present day head of the Phantomhive family! No one is more qualified than I to judge what these living dead are!"
Holding his cane in his left hand, Ciel tapped it heavily on the ground twice, and with his right hand, he removed his blindfold and raised it high, "Sebastian, kill them! That's an order!"
His tightly closed right eye snapped open, and in his gorgeous psychedelic violet eye, there was a pure white magic formation slowly rotating.
"Yes, My Lord!"
The demon's pitch-black figure descended steeply, like an infinite night curtain spreading out, instantly sweeping through the entire mansion.
And at the bottom of that ladder, Tanaka, a deacon belonging to Vincent Phantomhive, also made a fighting stance.
Sebastian's figure leapt into the air, and with him landed countless glittering silver table knives, silver-coloured hidden weapons shot at the crowd standing side by side at the bottom of the ladder at all sorts of tricky angles.
Right at the moment when that silver blade shot down, after a toothsome scraping sound, Ciel suddenly realised that the world in front of him shattered in pieces like a mirror.
The space around him twisted and folded in a strange way, and the originally familiar walls, furniture, and ornaments became distorted and illusory in this instant. The whole world seemed to be wrapped in a layer of strange mercury, gradually solidified into a huge and incomparable mirror, and then shattered, reflecting millions of him, he was still in the same place, but the world he was familiar with reflected in the mirror was retreating rapidly.
Ciel suddenly felt a lightness under his feet, and his entire body floated up, floating in this twisted space. In the countless pieces of this space, he saw countless possibilities.
......
On the night of his tenth birthday, he died with his brother lying next to his parents.
He died of asthma on the run.
It was he who was taken from the cage and he lay dead on the altar.
He was still in the cage, but this time there was no demon, and he died next to his brother.
He's still in his cage, the demon killed everyone, and he's wallowing in a false world created by the demon.
He's still in his cage, the demon kills everyone, he manages to inherit the title, and his will disintegrates at the demon's sweet talk.
......
He is still in the cage, the demon kills everyone, he makes a successful pact with the demon, he inherits the title, he takes control of all the forces left behind by the previous head of the family as "the Queen's hound", he buries the Red Lady, he breaks up the circus that sells children, he discovers the conspiracy of the Society of the Dawn, he finds out about the death of the Queen's relative Derek, he goes to Germany and brings back the Green Witch, he builds the Funtom Theatre against the Music Circle, he reunites with "him". He goes to Germany and brings back the Green Witch, he builds the Funtom Theatre to fight against the Rotunda ...... and he is reunited with "him".
He killed "him" and defended the honour of being the "Earl of Ciel Phantomhive".
He saw the passage of time and what was happening right now.
Saw the hands of Rachel and Vincent reaching out towards him from the swiftly departing shards of the other world.
"■■■■ !"
He heard his parents calling his name.
It's his name.
He fought to reach out in response.
The erroneously connected space-time steeply parted.
Gravity reappeared and Ciel fell heavily to the ground.
"Young Master!" The deacon returned to the present world from a myriad of possibilities, and despite the dozens of deep and shallow wounds on his body, he picked Ciel up in his arms.
"Sebastian ......," Ciel murmured, curling up in his arms.
"Young master, I am."
"■■■■ ......"
Ciel's voice faded, and even when Sebastian pressed his ear to his lips, all he could hear was a vague name.
Sebastian carried him past the unconscious Randall and Abberline on the floor and slowly made his way towards the bedroom.
Halfway there, he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulders and looked down to see Ciel sleeping heavily in his arms.
As for that name? The demon ticked the corner of his mouth, of course he knew whose name it was.
That was the name of his tiny master.