Ciel placed the letter from the queen on his desk with an annoyed huff. Sebastian looked up inquiringly from pouring this afternoon's tea.
"The Queen has warned me I won't be able to be an orphan for this mission. I need someone to pose as one of my parents to infiltrate a possibly corrupt private school."
Sebastian placed the teacup in front of Ciel, "May I make a suggestion, young master?"
"You may," Ciel said before he took his first sip.
"Might I pose as your father, my lord?" Ciel coughed on his tea, taken aback, "I do quite resemble the late Vincent Phantomhive after all."
Ciel was unsure what to say, it was such a foreign idea to him, his servant posing as his parental figure. He did have a good point though, and besides the only others he could call upon were unsuited for the task or simply unable to be exposed to the underground of London.
"I suppose you'll have to do," Ciel tried to feign indifference.
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian bowed and took away the cart of tea and sweets.
The carriage stopped in front the St. James Institute for Young Boys, secluded 15 miles from London. The outside was adorned with statues of fathers and their sons spending time together- reading a book, hugging, and playing chess.
The faux parent and child made their way to the barren marble foyer to wait to be toured around the school, Ciel as a prospective student. As they waited, Ciel filled Sebastian on what they had been called here for. "The Queen has been confused about this school having fathers and their sons board here. It's unheard of, parents staying at the school with the child. She suspects somehow it's related to the high sums of money they are reporting annually for their income. We're here to tour and possibly attend to find and explain."
"Perhaps there is some kind of ransom? For the fathers and their sons?"
"I suppose, but I doubt the mothers can make ransom payments. Who would they be exploiting?"
"Excellent observation, young master. I suppose we'll have to find out for ourselves."
Before Ciel could respond, a middle aged man accompanied by a boy of Ciel's age joined them in the foyer. Ciel walked forward and shook hands with the man, "I'm Ciel Phantomhive, ear-"
"And I'm the earl of the Phantomhives, Sebastian Phantomhive," Sebastian had cut Ciel off to save the charade. He had nudged Ciel out of the way to shake the man's hand. "I do apologize about my son, he forgets his manners from time to time." Sebastian flashed a smile and shook the boy's hand too.
Ciel turned red in anger and shame at Sebastian's chiding, but still smiled as his shook the hand of his peer. He glared at Sebastian when they both stepped back to allow the strangers to introduce themselves; Sebastian kept his eyes trained on their tour guide.
"I'm Jacob Ravenette and this is my son Leon. We've been awaiting your arrival, St. James is always eager for new students to be educated in the ways of being a proper young man. Shall we?"
"Yes, I think this could be good for Ciel. Please show us around." Ciel's ears burned red at the underhanded insult combined with his butler saying his name, he had never said it since the contract.
They were shown to typical classrooms, ballrooms, music halls that could be found in any school. Hordes of boys were seen throughout the tour, walking to class, learning to waltz, practicing piano. So far, there was no sign of their fathers that also resided here. As they began walking toward the living quarters Sebastian finally said more than the typical "I can see my boy going here" type comments he'd been spouting off for the last hour. "Is it true, Mr. Ravenette, that you have the fathers live with their sons on campus?"
"Oh yes," the man said proudly, leading them around a corner in the hall, "in fact my son and I also reside here together." The blond boy nodded and smiled faintly.
"If you don't mind my inquiry, to what end does this serve the boys' education?" Sebastian and Ciel locked eyes, Ciel nodding approval at the line of questioning.
"At St. James we believe the bond between father and son is the most important in a young man's life and should be cultivated just as his talents and education. Therefore, we don't believe in having the boys live here on their own."
The four of them paraded through the living quarters, glancing at the luxurious bath house and dining hall before finally arriving at the boarding rooms. The Ravenettes showed their room off as the example. It was an ordinary bedroom, with a wardrobe and a storage chest, some books scattered about. The thing that caught Ciel off guard was the lack of a second bed, there was only one. Sebastian also was struck by the detail, "Is one bed a typical layout for these rooms? Where are the fathers staying?"
Mr. Ravenette chuckled as if it was obvious, "The fathers share the room with their sons, of course. Yes, this is the standard layout of the rooms. We offer the option of two beds, but it's very rare. Speaking of the matter, we did prepare a room for the Phantomhives to stay in to properly get acquainted with St. James if you'd like."
Sebastian looked to Ciel for an answer. He gave a slight nod, there was something going on here. "We humbly accept your offer, Mr Ravenette."
"Excellent. You might want to know, our only spare room was a single bed room, I hope that's alright.
Ciel ordered Sebastian to investigate all the rooms in the living quarters while he ate in the dining hall. As Ciel walked into the elegant room, he finally saw the men he presumed be the boys' fathers. There were separate tables for the boys and the men, though both were served the same meal. Ciel noticed the empty seats at both tables, for him and Sebastian. They'd have to explain his absence somehow. Ciel sat in his spot at the table, between the Ravenette boy and another blond boy.
"Where is your daddy? We're having salmon tonight, I doubt he'd want to miss it," Leon turned to Ciel.
"Seb-father isn't feeling well, he's taken up in our room," Ciel lies carefully, cutting into his portion of salmon and taking a precautionary bite.
"Hopefully he'll be feeling better tonight. I was hoping to give you both a peek at what truly makes this school unique, even though father was against it."
Ciel was intrigued, knowing this must be a key piece to the puzzle. "I'll make sure we're there. Where are we to meet you tonight?"
Leon chuckled the same way his father had earlier. "Go to the music hall at 8 o'clock. No need to meet me, just show up. And don't be seen, father must not know I told you."
Ciel hurriedly finished his meal and excused himself so his room. He hoped Sebastian was done and ready to report. He quietly opened and closed the door, finding Sebastian standing by the bed. "Have you found anything?"
"I found a few payments from noblemen to the school, all large sums. And this," he held up a jar of liquid, it was full and sloshed around at the movement.
"I know you have an idea what that's for, stop holding off and just tell me," Ciel was irritated at the knowing smirk on his butler's face.
"It's rarely found here, pure olive oil. It's imported from Greece, most likely." The school has the funds for such things or it could be a gift from one of the noblemen, Ciel thought.
"Yes, but why would they have it?"
"Ah, well...if it's not for cooking I presume it's used to ease sexual intercourse."
"What? How?" Ciel was a little flustered, Sebastian was unphased, enjoying the discomfort on the boy's face.
"Young master, excuse my vulgarity. Often times, women self-lubricate for penetration, but gay men do not have such a luxury, therefore-"
"Enough!"
"Of course, my lord," he bowed in apology.
"A-anyways, what do you think the payments are for?" Ciel was deeply red in the face, he grabbed the receipts from Sebastian.
"There is no indication for the reason of the payments, no shipment records, and no stock of any supplies I could find."
"Well, I suppose we'll be going to the music hall at 8 to further investigate. I was invited by Leon Ravenette, but warned to not be seen." Sebastian flashed a quick, knowing smile that evaded Ciel's eyes.