The Maurice plan went off almost without a hitch. Sure, there had been a moment or two where Ciel had thought that he was going to die, but it had all been worth it in the end. Maurice had been properly humiliated—reputation in ruins; all alone and friendless…Everything was going perfectly.
Except for Sebastian and Eleanora, that is.
Fine, he admitted it: he liked Eleanora. She was a good maid. And, like all good employers, he wanted his servants to be happy and have their happy endings. If she had chosen Drocell, he would have supported her 100%. He might have even paid for the wedding. But it was different with Sebastian. It was kind of hard to support a demon who was going to eat one's soul. Ciel didn't want to wish Sebastian a happy, fairy-tale ending—truth be told, he actually wanted him to suffer. He usually accomplished this in petty ways, like banning cats from the mansion. But Eleanora was bigger than a cat—better, probably. If he could somehow manage to distance her from Sebastian, even for just a while longer; make that butler be in agonies for just a bit more…
He didn't care if wanting his butler miserable made him a horrible person. His butler was going to kill him, after all—eventually. Was it really so bad to want one's murderer to be unhappy for several years? After all, after Ciel was gone, he would have an eternity of happiness with his wife. Besides, if he made it a bit more difficult to achieve his "happily-ever-after," he would enjoy it more when he had finally achieved it. Ciel was doing him a favor.
But aside from desiring his butler's unhappiness, Eleanora and Sebastian were a problem because now that she was finding him attractive, he had decided that she was the most important thing in the school, which she most certainly was not. They had a mission! The Queen's priorities were their priorities, and Sebastian was blatantly ignoring that!
The worst part about having an unholy butler pretend to be a teacher is that being the perfect teacher really brings out the best in a demon. He was kind to the students. He was knowledgeable and intelligent. He was respectful and pleasant to the other staff. And he, apparently, looked "damned sexy" in his professor outfit (Eleanora's quote, not his').
Rather than seeing the big jerk demon she was married to, Eleanora was actually starting to see his good sides. And she liked them. And Sebastian liked being liked. And what did all that add up to?
It meant that every time they had a moment alone together, they would start kissing. And if they had several hours alone together, they would go into his bedroom and lock the door. Ciel didn't know what could possibly occupy them in one room for so long, but it involved a lot of moaning and the occasional giggle.
But he was digressing. The point was that they were being obnoxiously lovey-dovey and it was interfering with their mission.
He couldn't help but blame himself. He really should have tried to push Eleanora into Drocell's arms more. Maybe he could've dropped some really-obvious hints, like, "I'll pay you if you divorce Sebastian." Or was that too subtle?
Phase 1 of the Big Plan had been successfully completed. The second Phase involved some kind of cricket game. Ciel had never had much of an interest in cricket, but he did like games! That is, he simply adored winning games. The problem was, he wasn't so sure that he could win this game if his two servants were too busy cooing over each other instead of fussing over him, which was naturally the right honest way.
Speaking of rightful honesty, Ciel was actually a bit nervous about the game. He would have never admitted it to anyone, of course—except for Eleanora.
They were wandering around the school grounds and he was quietly confessing to her all of his inhibitions. She, being the excellent maid that she was, was listening quietly and sincerely to him and occasionally offering him a bit of noncommittal advice. Ciel was actually starting to feel a bit better about things…and then they strolled past the butler, who smiled and winked at her. She smiled and looked away. That was bad enough, but she was also blushing. Eleanora never blushed! She swore and she threatened and she hated and she did not blush.
Seeing such an uncharacteristic action made Ciel rather upset. They were talking about his problems. And then that damned butler just went and ruined it! Just like that! Unforgivable. And Eleanora was actually allowing him to ruin it! She was actually allowing herself to fall in love! No, no, no; this wouldn't do at all. As her employer, he had a duty to make sure that she didn't compromise her values and inadvertently ruin her life.
"For goodness sakes, Eleanora!" he blurted out. "What about Drocell? Don't you ever think about him? I thought that you loved him! Remember that? Don't you love Drocell and hate Sebastian?"
Eleanora was about to answer him when what he was really saying fully hit her. Her face turned stricken and tragic. Ciel almost felt sorry for her—almost.
But he was her employer, and it was his duty to help her reach her happily ever after—her true happily ever after, even if it meant ruining a demon's happy ending.