A quick special thanks to Aservis Roturier for the recent messages. You're awesome.


As Elizabeth rose from the bed that following morning, she slipped into the spare dress left out for her by Meirin, already preparing herself for the incoming storm.

This time she found Ciel downstairs planted at the head of the dining table, picking through his breakfast.

"Good morning, Ciel," she said, announcing her presence. "Finny, Bard. And Meirin, thank you for the dress. I wouldn't want to go outside in public in my nightgown."

The peculiar trio smiled politely in return after she had paused before them despite their occasional uneasiness around her. "Not at all, Milady!"

Ciel turned his head to look directly at her himself. "Good morning, Elizabeth..."

Elizabeth's fingers twitched, hearing the way he spoke her name. Really? So, was this how it was going to be from hereon? If he was displeased with her in any small way, he wouldn't reward her with Lizzie?

For a fleeting moment she almost opened her mouth to shout, "You child!" But quickly decided against acting on it. Now wasn't the time.

Instead, she folded her hands properly in front of her and Elizabeth approached the side of his chair in a very straightforward style. "Ceil, I want to apologize again for putting you in this position. I shouldn't have acted so rashly and come here without a warning. I will try to never let something like this happen again."

"That's reasonable of you, Lizzie."

She was Lizzie again for saying that? For apologizing first, like he wasn't at fault?

She wanted to slap him. She did, honestly.

Though she kept swallowing down all her impulses just like she'd been taught to do for many years at home. "Also...before I leave this morning, I was hoping I could ask one more favor of you, if only you'd be willing to hear it?"

"Alright, then. What is it?"

"As you may know, I arrived here on my horse." She continued gratefully. "And instead of bothering with a whole carriage, I would just like to ride him back home. Thus, I would be even more grateful if you let Sebastian be my escort for safer travel."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"I guess that...would be fine."

"Thank you, Ciel."

"Sebastian!" He called out shortly afterwards.

The demon entered within a few moments, staring at the boy. "Yes, Master? What can I do for you?"

"Sebastian, I order you to escort Lizzie home safely as she rides."

"But sir, will you alright without me for the day?"

"You are the only servant I have working for me, Sebastian," the boy warned him, sounding like a ruffled one-winged pidgin who'd been mothered too much.

"Of course, Master. Forgive me. I'd be honored to make certain the Lady Elizabeth is returned home without any a single prick about her."

"Very well. You may take her as soon as breakfast is cleared."


The ride back to the Midford Estate was a quite one. Elizabeth was securely re-saddled high upon her stallion's back while the demon casually carried the reins in one hand below her, walking at a leisure pace alongwith the hooves beside him.

Though after another series of empty minutes, she was one to speak up, as is was clear that he mostly wanted her to take the lead now anyway. "Lucifer wrote: One of the quickest ways to trigger desire is in fact planting seeds of jealousy inside another."

Sebastian's response was low, insulted, and nearly mocking, as it irked him that he was not being used to his full potential by her. "...Therefore, you want me to act jealous of you and the Master in front of him so he'll see more value in you?"

"Not him," she replied sternly in order to disprove his theory, "You. I figure Ciel will come to desire me more if he is jealous of you."

He raised his head at her. "And how are we going to accomplish that, Milady?"

He didn't have to necessarily ask; Elizabeth fathomed that he was already piecing it all together and merely wanted to her to say the words.

"Practice. I need practice." This was her grand scheme, after all. "...Come back to me at midnight."


Soon, they had reached the house and Elizabeth's official homecoming was as dramatic as one could have expected.

"The nerve you have these days, Elizabeth!"

Her mother was so upset and shrill-voiced after she had timidly made her entrance, blaming Sebastian for not bringing her home any quicker. Elizabeth did her best to defend him in some calm manner or another, but the Marchioness would have none of it.

Paula started weeping too and she clung to Elizabeth skirts, thanking all the saints she could name from memory for sending their little Lady back to them unharmed and for not getting fired.

Whirling her in the other direction, Elizabeth's father had pressed his hands tightly down on her shoulders, seeming nervous that she would fade away again like smoke through his fingers. "Luca left a proper letter in his room, saying that he would be gone before we could say our farewell, as we knew, because his business required such an early leave last Sunday," her father had explained to her, "But we were not expecting to come home to find you gone as well, daughter."

The commotion caused the additional staff to get distracted from their own duties.

The lesser housemaid, the footmen, the hallboy, all stopped to gaze in amazement from their positions around the room.

Elizabeth let out a sight of defeat. She had obviously snuck out of the house to visit Ciel here and there when she was younger, however...the only difference now, was that everyone else had finally noticed her absence and caught her in the act.

"I am truly sorry," she threw in by that point, knowing she just needed to say what they wanted to hear. Like Ciel had.

Then Edward was the last person to enter the foyer, also drawn in by the noise. And seeing her, he instantly sensed what was happening.

When their parents finished their ranting and curtly excused Sebastian from their sights, who granted her a brief nod of silent promise before departing swiftly.

Edward remained firmly by her side, eventually taking hold of her hand to lead her through the next doorway.

"Are you cross with me, too?" she asked him under her breath.

"I'm just honestly glad see that you've arrived home one piece," he muttered back.


At times—it was a thrill—doing something that was even remotely forbidden.

Sometimes, a good child attempted to sneak in a sweet or two before suppertime.

Sometimes, the pious drowned in wickedness.

Sometimes, a cautious person tried something new and reckless to feel exhilarated, to get their heart racing.

Sometimes, a truthful man would lie just to see if he could get away with it.

Unfortunately the art of sinning, wasn't that much different in general.

How exactly, or what Sebastian had done or said to flee from Ciel once again that night, she didn't really care.

At the stroke of midnight, he easily climbed through her open window even when being barefooted and gloveless.

She stood feet away waiting for him within the dim light of tall white candles, wearing her usual nightgown with her hair loose again.

And for a long moment, Elizabeth simply inspected him. She was inexperienced, and that delayed everything for her. But it wasn't as if she hadn't danced with other the men at balls before and participated in some light flirting, or hadn't noticed a handsome bachelor strolling past her on the street. Because she did.

It's just that...temptation of the mind was her strong suit, not temptation of the flesh.

And never had she been so focused on any of those men in the way she was focused on the butler right now.

Sebastian finally stepped forward, approaching her gradually, possibly doing so to give her one last absolute chance to back down if she wanted it. But...he ought to know better. It would have to take much, much more than a single demon lingering in her bedchamber to frighten her senseless now.

She was willing to accept what he was willing to offer. She was just sick of protocols! She was tired of these social rules!

If she was trapped in this devilish role for the rest of her life, then why would she waste her human years away wallowing in dread? Why not make the most of it, when corruption is the only path left for her? She figured if being the Devil's daughter was going to be her only destiny, then she might as well live up to that reputation.

What's there to stop her...an eternity suffering in Hell? Apparently, she was appointed to rule it.

Watching him draw near enough to hold onto to, Elizabeth realized this was the turning point, a very sharp turn indeed.

They were crossing that threshold.

Their arms lifted at once, his reaching for her waist, hers—his neck. Pulling him down, she kissed him, mouth closed and firmly pressed.

Her fingers began to work at the buttons of his uniform soon, pushing the black tailed coat off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. The kiss broke so his vest could be peeled away too, and when the white undershirt was remaining, her eyes found a pale patch of flawless skin beneath the collar. Her right hand that rested around his neck slipped down to touch him there. Regardless of how she couldn't exactly detect a pulse, Sebastian was no longer cool to the touch. A gentle heat under his skin surfaced as her nails grazed him; the shirt shortly fell away with everything else before it.

His exposed chest and torso impressed her.

The most ironic part of this whole event—was he was something solid, something she could trust, someone who would never fully discard her. Despite the past they've shared, he had never lied to her directly. He gave her the brutal truth when she asked it of him.

Pausing, she looked into his partly-opened eyes, murmuring, "The Pact...was almost like fate wasn't it? It was almost too good to be just a coincidence for you. Once you realized who Ciel was, and what happened to him, you had found a perfect opportunity. You've used him to get to me."

He blinked and suddenly leaned back down, his breath rustling into her ear. "Yes."

And before she knew it, they were backtracking, stretching out over her mattress, lips relocking. With one strong hand flat against her back, the rest of his entire weight settled between her thighs. She actually shivered when he moved to nip lightly at her jawline, inching his way along her throat.

Elizabeth briefly felt like she was four years old again, learning to thrust and grip a rapier inside her hand for the first time...for even though she kept the pace at a speed she wanted, she was still the student for now and this was her leading a piece of education.

Meanwhile his free hand trailed up her ankle, over her knee, sliding past her hip and caressed her lower stomach. It made her arch into him, tugging slightly at his nightshade hair. The heat spread from his body to hers, and Elizabeth found herself breathing heavier with the soft rippling motion they eventually created. She felt his muscles constrict and release against her.

Distracted by his skilled mouth, Elizabeth's fluttering gaze had nearly missed the black tattoo imprinted below his knuckles, that demonic-looking pentacle he had there.

She turned her head to the side as he continued across the base of the neck and over. The lacey strap skimmed off her shoulder. She quickly tapped the back of his marked hand. "Why don't I have one?"

"Because," he deadpanned in between kisses, "you never made a Pact."

She refocused on the sheer ceiling of her canopy, feeling him untie the strings underneath her now, his mouth still dotting at her skin, "Could I someday, if I wanted to?"

"Yes, but you wouldn't essentially need to, not when you have dominion over all those who make the Pacts." He captured her own mouth again and she eagerly returned the short, hot kiss. "Our success will be for your benefit."

"Whatever you say, Doctor Faustus—or, wait, no. Dear Ciel is Doctor Faustus. You'd be Mephatopholis."

"Such a wonderfully tragic story that play is," he agreed, whispering it deeply.

She urged him to kiss her lips again and she even bucked under him once, their words fading out.

All of this was fitting together in her mind, shaping a brand new perspective on him and it excited her more. Running her hands up and down his back, that building heat had expanded inside of Elizabeth, and she moaned, but it wasn't exactly from the pleasure, as it sounded a little more predatory than usual...a form of a growl. She was feverish, boiling from every corner of her being. She was seeing fire behind her lids, could feel fire on her tongue and in her toes.

Her fingertips were sizzling into him as she started to make his insides burn too.

Another faint noise followed her moan—a distant hissing, crackling, tracing all over his naked flesh. Her palms were growing hot, scorching hot. The sensation seemed to radiate off her and the flames around the room brightened and shot up over their wicks. Wax dripped down like rain against a window.

"Don't." The demon glided out from her clutch, temporarily getting off the bed to gaze down at her.

"What is it?" Elizabeth hissed, puzzled by the intermission and the hollowness she felt after Ciel rejected her kiss now came flooding back into the room.

In response, he cautioned her, never wavering from her stare. "You must maintain control, Milady, even during a private matter like this."

"But, why? What for?"

Sebastian sighed and reached for her wrist, pulling her along with haste while he guided her towards her mirror, only to release her when she was bowed over the station hands planting down on top of its glossy surface. Some of her makeup contents rolled to the floor from the impact. Elizabeth stared into the mirror, somewhat bewildered. In the shadows of their solitude, fiery red lines were lightly pulsating beneath her skin—which would ultimately explain the heat. And her eyes...they were the same eyes she'd seen in her own nightmares—ominous, and shimmering black. All black.

Positioned right behind her now, chest touching her back, with his arms framing hers the demon continued, "You have a Power inside you that should not be awoken until you take your Father's throne."

"And if I don't?"

"It will consume you, and everything around you." He insisted. "It will destroy you before you can master it completely. My main task is to prevent it from that from happening. It will overwhelm you. That is why I made certain you were never harmed. It's risky. If you feel like you're in fatal danger for instance, even your primal survival instinct can trigger your undoing."

"Like when that bear invaded our picnic almost attacked me?" Elizabeth recalled suddenly. "I could've triggered it then?"

"Precisely."

"On the Campania...when you also stopped me from fighting?"

"Yes, and another time, years ago...when the Young Master was about to strike you for shattering his family ring..."

"But that was my fault." she argued as they held eye contact in the looking glass. "I was irrational, and I shattered his ring intentionally. He had the right to be angry with me."

"That doesn't matter. For a mere instant, I saw your eyes turn Devil black the moment his hand rose. Why do think I caught him from behind? It was mainly because your Power could have devoured us all that day. You cannot allow your emotions to push you that far."

"So you say." Because her inner Devil was still showing and her knuckles paled as she gripped the vanity station tighter. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Focus. Draw it back in."

"By will?"

"You can do it," he urged, much like a decent teacher would.

She listened to his suggestion, staring her reflection down, imagining her human form.

This exercise seemed to work though, since the familiar green in her gaze reemerged and her unnatural glowing veins flickered out of sight as well.

Turning back around to go rest in bed, Elizabeth bit her lip before light sarcasm fell from her lips. "Who knew the flames of passion could be literal."

She let the demon redress himself, and surprisingly, he happened to stay in the room until he knew she was asleep.

Because he's loyal.


As she half-expected, Sebastian was not there once she woke the next morning. Though it took a moment for the night's events to sink in through her fatigue. When they did, she felt as though she'd swallowed a knife.

There was the demon, there was kissing, touching, lots of it, and there was a few waves of untold pleasure, and then—she almost set her bedroom on fire—almost set them on fire by the sensations.

Untangling herself carefully the sheets she made her exit in order to take a bath. Later on, she ate a small morning meal and spent the next hour playing the piano at her mother's request.

Anyone looking at her family would never see what she did.

Lucifer possessed her human father, then bedded her mother. And she was the result of it all.

Edward, the most guiltless and unspoiled of the four of them was rightfully oblivious. He eventually smiled when he noticed her eyes flickering to him then and she nodded back, mindful of how her hands were still dancing across the keys.

Luca was dead, not away again on business. Sebastian was her first kiss...

Paula was present as well, naturally, happily watching her play the music. She would not become suspicious of her.

After she ended her piece and shuffled the books back into a neat pile upon the grand instrument, Elizabeth and Edwards both turned their attention to training alone together. Fencing would help her to keep up her guard anyways.

Elizabeth whirled, parried, and lunged out her remaining frustrations.

Cling, cling, cling, clatter, clash!

"Are things currently precarious between you and our brooding cousin, Sis?"

She huffed. "One could say that."

"Still wish to marry him?"

"I'm not entirely sure if I ever did, Brother. Not after he changed, that is."

"Well, in that case, perhaps I won't hold my peace during the ceremony. I'll speak up against the vows and you and I shall flee from the Church. I'd know you would do it for me if I asked you to."

"Edward darling, you shouldn't say such talk." Elizabeth said, releasing a sound between a scoff and small teasing giggle, "think of the public humiliation that would cause!"

He heaved in another dramatic breath. "...You love him though, don't you?"

"Regrettably, a part of me does love him, yes."

"Then, aside from my hatred for him, have more faith in that. Have faith in yourself."

Her jaw clenched. "I shall have more faith in myself, Brother. There's no one else out there to have faith in."

Hearing this, Edward blinked and straightened himself from his beginning stance, swishing the blade over his shoulder. "You seem rigid."

"I know," she admitted with a sigh, going over to the side bench to polish her blade with one of the cloths. "I'm Sorry."

He followed suit, intent on cleaning his own weapon.

Improvising and pretending for a public audience came too easy for her based on her efforts to keep up appearances, to protect Ciel in the past on top of that.

But it hurt the worst when her deceptions were aimed at her brother of all people. They were very close friends regardless of being siblings by birth. By now Elizabeth knew Edward better than anybody down to his last personality quirk, and before she learned the big secret, he had known her better than she did herself. She couldn't hide much from him, and she really didn't need to hide anything. They never judged each other for any mistake. After all, the morning she arrived home from Phantomhive Manor, her brother was the only one who didn't make a big fuss about it. He had simply granted her a comforting hug and dragged her down into the kitchens for a glass of water, which she had been inwardly thankful for. Memories of their childhood stayed fresh and Elizabeth knew that she wouldn't only fight for Edward's life, she'd die for him. No questions asked, just as he would for her too.

Sister and brother, if raised right, could become a very powerful bond. Not even Ciel—or Lucifer—could rip Edward out of her life.

Dropping the cloth, Elizabeth glanced at him meaningfully. "Edward?"

"Hm?"

She reached for him then as he finished up his polishing. Edward casually looked down at her hand extending and covering his wrist tenderly.

They locked eyes then. "You're number one. You know that, right?"

He merely nodded in confirmation.


Five days passed.

On its surface, the Middleford family fell back into its standard routines that shaped their whole existence.

Elizabeth only studied Lucifer's journals late after nightfall, flipping back to the parts she'd overlooked before. The Book of Damnation was otherwise hidden away, shoved into her closet shielded by her hats and cloaks during the day. It almost felt surreal...the way how her secret had just weaved its way through the tapestry of her daily schedule—its stitching was forever present, and yet, it was invisible to the naked eye.

Surprisingly, Elizabeth felt incredibly ordinary and exceptionally human as she ever had! Besides that, she really hadn't acted on the secret much since then anyways. The heated evening she shared with Sebastian also became no more than a remembrance.

And before long, those days rolled into weeks, during of which neither Elizabeth nor Ciel had bothered making the effort to see the other.


I honestly don't know why, but I just love the fact that Edward and Lizzie seem to have one of those special family bonds, almost like the Winchester brothers do in Supernatural. I really wanted to shed more light on their dynamic too. And I think I'll keep playing off that more in the future chapters, so there can be a nice balance given to the plot. And even if Edward is simply meant to be a minor-supporting character in the manga, there's still something in him I actually admire. Maybe it's because I was raised as an only child and there has been a lot of days when I had fantasized of having that sort of protective big-brother figure like him in my life.