"Jeez..." Ciel muttered under his breath, his nose wrinkling in disgust as he rose a hand to pinch his nostrils together in attempt to block out the smell of the two rotting corpses that laid in front of his feet. He was currently on site for an investigation of the murders of the Manson household; the bodies in front of him belonging to Earl Byron Manson and his wife, Lydia. Even the servants' bodies littered the floor, soaking the ground in blood, and filling up the entire estate with the smell of death. The only missing person from the household was the Lord and Lady's only child, Hades.

"Haven't seen a case this nasty in awhile..." Detective Fred Abberline noted as he stood beside Ciel, his face also in an expression of utter repulsion. Auburn brows furrowed as he tried to distract himself from the stench by diverting his attention to the young noble. "Come up with any suspects yet?"

"It's too early in the investigation for me to say anything definitive." The bluenette replied stoically, lightly shrugging his shoulders. He blinked as he then glanced up at the man. "Why? Have you already come up with one?"

Abberline nodded his head as he began to turn, raising his arm to point at a painting that resided against the wall at the top of the large staircase. "The only factor missing from the equation- the kid."

Ciel's eyes constricted and a single brow rose, his sole visible hue holding an unreadable expression as he, too, peered over to the painting of the young boy. "You think Hades killed his parents and the servants?" His voice was low yet calm, perfectly masking the emotions he felt within. It was almost like this question was a test, but just what was going to happen if it was answered incorrectly?

"I do." He answered with another curt nod, dropping his arm down to his side to shove his tiny notepad into his jacket pocket. "But as you've said, it's too early to say anything definitive. However, right now, he's the only person that could have been involved, and the fact that he's nowhere to be found doesn't quite help in proving him innocent."

The man's words seemed to have caused something within the noble to snap, as his eyes were now very clearly full of fire. Luckily for Fred, he wasn't looking at the boy, so he couldn't see the overwhelming anger that burned behind that sapphire orb. Ciel had managed to keep his tone cool, but god, did he want to lash out... "Everyone in England knows that Hades has been extremely sickly and practically bedridden his entire life; how do you think someone with such poor health could successfully commit a crime like this? If you ask me, the only logical conclusion to this case is that some enemy of Earl Manson either hired some assassins or killed the members of the household themselves, then kidnapped Hades to sell off or do with whatever cruel acts they so desire."

"Your logic seems a bit unreasonable, earl." The detective sighed. He shifted his eyes to the bluenette and offered him a small, sympathetic smile. "The two of you were close friends, weren't you? I apologize if what I said had upset you in any way, that was not my intent. I would like to prove his innocence, I just don't know of any enemies this family could have had. If you know of anyone, anyone at all that could have wished ill upon this family, I ask that you please tell me; or if there's any places in the area that Hades would go in times of panic like this to seek safety in. Even the smallest lead can help us begin the journey in finding him and bringing him back."

"No places like that exist..." Ciel replied coolly, his eyes coming to a tired close as a small sigh slipped past his lips, and he ran his fingers through his cerulean locks. He dropped his arm to his side and leaned against his walking stick, glancing up at Abberline with a disinterested look. "The Mansons have had feuds with the entirety of England's nobles and the sister countries', but they've never remained in the red with anyone. I don't know of anyone who could actually have considered them an enemy. My guess is as good as yours, detective."

Abberline let out a heavy breath as he scratched the back of his neck dreadfully. "I'll have to ask around if any of the town's folk saw any suspicious activity taking place near the property during the night of the event; maybe drop a visit to their would-have-been in-laws, the Westenra family..."

"If you find out anything, tell me." Ciel replied, dismissively waving his hand as he had begun to walk away from the scene and towards his butler. "Sebastian." He spoke up, a stern gaze landing on the servant.

The demon's lips curled upwards ever so slightly into a faint grin as he spoke, "Yes, my lord?"

"Lets go home."

"It'd seem that everything leads back to the young master Hades being the culprit." Sebastian noted aloud, gracefully making his way to the side of Ciel's desk to refill his cup of tea with a sly, carefully hidden smirk dancing across his ivory lips. "Does that upset you?"

Bicolored hues rose up to glare at the butler as the noble muttered a quick yet aggressive, "Shut up." His knuckles turned a dangerous white as he subconsciously gripped the handle of the cup in his hands with all his strength. If any more pressure were to be applied to the poor piece of china, it would surely shatter into a hundred tiny fragments.

This reaction only caused Sebastian's grin to widen to a more noticeable size. "Anyways," he spoke up, changing the subject, "Lady Miriam Westenra accepted your invitation for tea this evening. She should be arriving within the next hour."

Miriam Westenra: Hades' fiancé. Her and Ciel weren't all that close, but they both care deeply for Hades and would do just about anything to find out where exactly he is. Ciel had invited her over so they could discuss matters about Hades, and maybe figure out just what happened to the Mansons.

"Good." The boy replied in a vaguely pleased tone, leaning back in his chair as he folded his arms over his chest. "All that's left to do now is wait..."