Nybras grinned at the sight of his master rushing in a panic. It was cruel of him to lie like that, but it needed to be known. He needed to know his place, lest he incur the wrath of the Dark Prince. He knew how his encounter with Malphas would have ended, which was why he allowed him to indulge in his arrogance. He was going to learn the hard way as to why his lust for power should never be acted upon.

He will see that the woman bearing the Chief's offspring was rapidly gaining her own set of powers. And that the Grand-President may be weakened, but was still far more stronger than his many legions. He had attacked him in his home, and now he was branded. Branded as a wanted man. The servant giggled at that little fact. This Evangeline was to be Malphas' mate, and the fact that Abaddon was after her meant that there would be far more complications in his plan. If he made another attempt, he would be torn apart. Literally.

The reason why Nybras had decided to betray his comrade was because of his loyalty to the grand-president and the Prince of Darkness. Measures had been taken so that no one would think to try to dethrone their rulers. The reason was that the balance between the three worlds would be horribly skewed, it would take hundreds upon thousands of years to fix it. And during the period, the mortal world would be plunged into war and darkness. As much as he would love for chaos, he also knew there would be no way for humanity to come back from it. As cruel as humans are, they are an essential food source, and one world cannot survive without the other. So, this plan for power had to fail.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but there is only one true Prince of Darkness. I cannot allow you to upset the balance."

The Crystal Palace was such a sight to see. Evangeline had never seen such beautiful and strange objects, even when her parents were alive.

"You look quite pleased," Sebastian said.

"It's so lovely. I want to see all the exhibits."

"I know, but you know why we're here."

"Yes, for the Royal Warrant. I'm rather curious about the curry you've created."

"You certainly will be amazed. Now, if you will excuse me, dear. I must prepare for the competition."

"Alright."

"Do I get a kiss for good luck?"

"Sebastian, have you no shame? We are out in public."

"And?"

She shot him a playful glare. "Win this competition, and you shall receive a victory kiss."

He smiled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I cannot wait." And he left, leaving her a bit stunned over the gesture.

"Aww, you and Mr. Sebastian make a lovely couple, you do!" Mey-Rin gushed. The young assassin only blushed, covering her cheeks.

"You sure you should be on your feet right now," Bard asked, clearly worried. "You're due any day now."

"Sebastian asked the same thing. I had already argued with him on it. Besides, one day out isn't going to do any harm, will it?"

"I suppose not..."

"Good."

"Meena? Meena!"

The group watched as the Indian prince rushed off towards a dark-skinned woman, one whom he recognized. They heard the entire conversation as the servant-turned-wealthy woman berated him and told him the true reason of Agni's secrecy and betrayal. It made the teenager actually feel a bit sorry for the royal. "That's quite sad, isn't it?"

"It had to be said," Ciel said.

"It could have been said using kinder words. Honestly, she needs to be put in her place."

"I thought you didn't like Prince Soma."

"Eh, he's growing on me, the arrogant sod."

"Well, shall we go see the competition?"

"Yes."

The entourage gathered with the many onlookers, listening as the announcer gave his piece on the competition. Something did not sit right with Evangeline, as the twins made sure to tell her. Something was wrong about the entire event. Before it could begin, however, a fanfare erupted among audience and the group turned to find a truly astonishing sight.

"Is that..." Evangeline began.

"The Queen!" Ciel stated. Even he was in shock.

"Th-This is...England's mother, our beloved Queen Victoria has graced us with her presence!"

Evangeline eyed her. Next to her, stood a butler clad in white, from the tips of his hair to his shoes. There was something very wrong about the picture. She knew it. She never recalled the Queen ever being so small.

The Viscount had begun singing, his cuing everyone else to join.

God save our gracious Queen.

Long live our noble Queen.

God save the Queen.

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us.

God save the Queen.

Once she was seated upon her throne, she whispered something to her butler, who then looked towards the audience.

"Her Majesty declares, 'We have no seen you in some time, are sorry to have concerned you. However, your constitution has improved remarkably, and now we are able to come and sample curry. We wish everyone well, and hold great expectations for this food that my late husband loved so much.'"

At that, the crowed erupted into applause, and the curry cooking competition began. Everyone watched in awe as Agni skillfully added various spices to his dish.

"That Agni is quite impressive, is he not?" Lau asked.

"Yes, quite, but look at Sebastian," Evangeline said. She watched as her mate too was adding various spices to his own curry. "It's smells heavenly, and he looks like he knows what he's doing." And then, he added something that she did not even think would be an ingredient.

"Hey, what is he doing?!"

Her eyes widened. "He's putting...chocolate?" She shook her head. "I had spoken too soon."

Sebastian chuckled. If she only knew.

As things began to heat up within the competition, Agni decided to pull out his secret weapon.

"A blue lobster? I thought they didn't exist." With that, the Viscount Druitt goes into a lengthy excerpt, explaining the rarity of the unique crustacean. His voice was actually getting on the expecting mother's nerves, which was not boding well for her physically. She was already dealing with her regular bout of illness whenever something was amiss, and now that her children were due very soon, everything seemed to try her patience. Despite this, she did not miss one of the contestants slipping something into his curry. She could smell the spice from where she stood, and she did not like it a bit.

Soon, the contestants' time was up, and the judging began. The judges were harsh, which made Evangeline pity the chefs. She was also rather nervous for Sebastian. Yes, he was a demon, and had a knack of doing things flawlessly, but she worried that the judges would find something wrong with his curry. When Agni presented his, the appearance made the woman's mouth water.

"My...now I'm rather famished."

"Didn't you eat before we left?" Ciel asked.

"I'm pregnant. I'm eating for three." The earl could only shake his head. There was yet another soliloquy from Druitt that just seemed to be rather dramatic. In fact, he compared the curry to a woman dressed in blue, and she found it quite unbecoming. "Can I hit him? Right now?"

"Evangeline..." Ciel scolded.

"You can't deny that you want to hit him as well."

"I have nothing to say to that."

Lastly, was the Funtom Company. When Sebastian presented his curry, all Evangeline wanted to do was strangle the man. All there was was a ball of dough.

"Th-This is...Are you toying with us?!"

"One moment." He took the dough and placed into a fryer, causing the servants to nearly have a panic attack. Once he finished, and served it, Evangeline understood. "This is our company's curry."

"And where is that curry?"

"Wait just a second," the Viscount said. He pierced the fried dough with his knife, and what came out was truly a sight to behold. The curry was inside.

"This is the curry that our company presents. It is called the Curry Bun!"

"'Curry...Bun'?" Evangeline questioned. Before anyone could respond, Druitt had gone into another excerpt over the exquisiteness of the curry, this time causing Ciel to shiver unpleasantly. "Does he just about have an orgasm every time he deals with anything?"

"I don't want to know," Ciel grumbled.

It was time for the judges to deliberate. Meanwhile, everyone was invited to sample the curry, and Evangeline took that as her chance to try a curry bun. When she bit into it, her whole body warmed up. The flavor was rich and warm, contrasting beautifully with the crunchy, yet soft fried bun. The taste and feel was just kind.

"Ciel, you must try this."

"I'm not particularly fond of curry."

"Oh, boo."

"Oh, the Queen didn't try any," Lau said. "Isn't she going to judge?"

"She probably isn't judging out of consideration for her health," Ciel said. "However, there is a possibility she will try a curry she is interested in."

"That will most certainly change the judges' impressions," Evangeline added. "After all, the bestowal of the Royal Warrant is down to Her Majesty."

"Speaking of royalty, where's the prince?" Bard asked, his mouth stuffed with the company's curry.

"Probably sulking somewhere," Ciel said.

"Be nice. Why don't you search for him. Bring him a curry bun. It might lift his spirits."

"Certainly!"

"Why did you do that?!" someone shouted. She recognized the voice to belong to Agni, and she looked to find him on his knees, staring up at Meena. She really did not like that woman.

"You too, Ciel."

"Wha-"

"Ciel..." She gave him a pointed look, and he noticed her body turning towards Meena and Agni.

"Alright." And he left with his servants.

She watched as Meena glared down at him, almost with a disgusting arrogance and a putrid air of superiority. "Someone like you would never understand. You were a Brahmin, and yet you threw it away. Now, you're just a khansama."

"Then, why did I..."

"Don't ask me." And she sauntered off, West walking off to socialize with others. Evangeline took that as her cue to approach the Indian butler, smelling blood from his direction for some reason.

"Agni..."

When he looked up, she saw the source. He was crying blood. "L-Lady Evangeline..."

"You should not blame yourself. Meena betrayed the prince for her own reasons, and you were trying to protect his fragile heart because he still didn't understand how other felt. I doubt he hates you, but he just needs some time to reflect on some things. He will come to you in time."

"But-"

"Shh. Chin up, love. A butler must look impeccable, regardless of their inner turmoil when facing their master."

He smiled a little, drying his face. "Thank you."