Light steps approached.
A faint knocking resonated.
"Come in."
The door opened.
A cart rolled into the room.
"Thank you, Mirana."
The door was closed.
Light steps retreated.


Sebastian calmly poured tea for his master, but then he righted the teapot, halting the flow of the scalding liquid into the porcelain cup, "My Lord, may I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

He put on a fake smile, showing that he did not appreciate Ciel's attitude, "What compelled you to hire Mirana?"

"Serve me my tea," Ciel frowned.

Sebastian nodded and continued to pour the Ceylon tea into the porcelain cup. When the teacup was about three-fourths full, it was positioned upon a matching saucer and placed down upon Ciel's desk.

After taking a sip, Ciel brought the cup down, "Delicious."

"You have been favoring Ceylon tea recently, my Lord."

"Mirana started preparing it for me, and I must admit that I do enjoy it," he took another sip.

Sebastian nodded, "Ceylon, I'm sure you remember, was also Madame Red's variety of choice."

"That would explain Mirana's skill in preparing it so well," he put the teacup down upon the matching saucer.

An evil smirk came to Sebastian's face, "Was it for atonement?"

"No," Ciel redirected his eyes from his cup to his butler, "The only reason that she was unemployed was because of Madame Red. If Madame Red had not been so foolish as to commit crimes that I would have to investigate, Mirana might still have a job as the Barnett maid. I only took her in because she had taken wonderful care of Madame Red's home. I'm sure you noticed when we looked at Barnett Manor."

"Of course, sir. Every surface was free of dust. All vases were polished to perfection. The food was also prepared to a level of extreme satisfaction using crops from the garden outside. I understand, my Lord. She makes up for the others." He declared the last statement in a spiteful voice.

Ciel seemed to be in a trance as he picked up his cup again, "What would I have to atone Madame for?"

"My Lord, would you like-"

"The fact still remains…" Ciel trailed off, aimlessly pressing the cup to his lip, "A quiet one, is she not?"

"Just shy, maybe," Sebastian suggested.

He took another gulp and then began to inspect the cup. It had a rather boring exterior design; it was white with a golden rim. But when one picked it up to drink from it, one could see the intricate rose pattern engraved upon the inside of the cup. "Or perhaps she is mute?"

"If that is the case, my Lord, why not ask her?"

"Good-" he put his cup down and frowned, "That's not funny, Sebastian... Stop grinning; it looks foolish."

Ciel then rang the bell.

"My Lord?"

"I'm only following your advice, Sebastian."