The rest of the night showed nary a sign or indication that the dolls had come back for it was peaceful, quiet, and silent. Sebastian was off investigating the Etluka manor, Finnian was in the kitchen was Bard, both playing a card game with Snake watching and Haricku sat with Alois in the entertainment room, playing a friendly game of billiards.

Haricku didn't know much about the game, so Alois tried his best to teach her, only to keep winning against her repeatedly because she was so bad. Even though she was losing, Haricku had fun; it kept her mind busy and free from the thought of those creepy dolls. She didn't think this would be a game she'd be too interested in playing, and couldn't see why so many nobles enjoyed this game. After all, it was just hitting balls with the tip of a stick, it wasn't that hard or enjoyable.

When the door to the room opened, both Haricku and Alois looked away from their game, but no one came in. Curious, Haricku walked over and opened it further, glancing up and down the hall, puzzled as to how it could have opened on its own. Haricku figured it probably wasn't open all the way and just pulled it closed with a tight snap, walking back over, smiling at Alois.

"Was probably the wind, don't worry too much on that," she assured, leaning over the side of the tablet, knocking the cue into the white ball, but missed her target by a long shot and she groaned. "How about we play a different game?"

"Do you like chess?" he offered, putting away the cue stick and skipped over to a table with two chairs, chess pieces atop the board.

"I've played it quite a few times against other nobles I've served. They were never really happy when I won, so prepare thyself," she mused, tucking herself into a chair, choosing the black side. Alois helped himself into the white side and smirked deviously, moving a pawn forward two spaces.

"You'll be surprised to see how well I do!" he proudly stated, leaning back as he waited for Haricku to move.

"We'll have to see about that, won't we?" she teased, moving her left knight out to the right.

"You're on!" Alois cried, but before he could move, there was a loud knocking on the door. Both looked over, then at one another and Haricku motioned for him to sit, going over herself and opened the door.

"Phantomhive!" Charles Grey called, holding up a letter between two fingers, then stared at Haricku and scoffed with a frown. "Oi, where's Ciel?"

"Certainly not here. He may be in his room or study, you should go check there," Haricku replied sourly.

"Lead the way, maid! I get ever so confounded by these halls, Ciel really needs to put some sort of directions on the walls to guide people!" he complained, moving out of the way to give Haricku room, but she didn't move. "Maid, did you not hear me? Lead the way!"

Charles Phipps looked between Haricku's dead stare and Grey's cold one. "Is something wrong?" he asked, looking back again at Haricku.

"Do not refer to me as maid, I am a being with a name."

"We are the Queen's own secretary and butler service! You'd do well to remember where your place is-.."

"You are currently in the manor of my Master, Ciel Phantomhive. You would do well to remember where you should stand. It'd be ever so a pity if the Queen's own special service were to mysteriously disappear," she warned in a low voice.

"Is that a threat? We can pull you in for treason, going against the Queen!" Grey snapped, slamming his hand against the doorframe.

"You really can't seem to know proper manners, do you? Out of both of you, I think I prefer the silent one," she said, gesturing to Phipps, whose eyes gave a glimmer of appreciation and gratitude.

"Him? He's a stoic puppy, so don't inflate his ego. If you have a name, then quickly tell me so that I may deliver this letter!"

"I am Haricku Minamoto, now ask again nicely or I'm slamming the door in your face," she snapped back, poking him square in the chest.

"Alright, alright, Miss Haricku Minamoto, would you be so kind as to guide the way to your lord and master, Earl Ciel Phantomhive?" he said through gritted teeth, leaning down to meet her gaze, to which she returned a happy smile.

"Oh! You want to see our young master? Of course, why didn't you just say so?" she happily said, pushing past the two butlers and walked down the hall.

Both of the Charles pair looked at eachother, shrugged and followed in line behind Haricku. Once they were at the door of the study, she gave a reasonably loud knock on the door.

"Master? The Queen's secretaries are here to see you now. They have a letter to deliver to you," she called, lowering her hand as the door opened and a pale Ciel showed his face, distraught and almost sickly.

"What is it? Hello, Phipps, Grey," he greeted, opening the door wide and he allowed them to come in, Haricku standing beside Ciel, bending down to his ear.

"Master, is everything fine with you? You're looking a little distraught. Do you need tea or anything?" she whispered.

"I'll tell you after," he replied back in hushed tones, clearing his throat and sat up in his chair. "What do you two have for me?"

"We've come to personally address the letter to your request about the murder of Katt Etluka," Grey said, tossing the letter to the desk. Ciel held it to Haricku and she took the letter opener from beside the desk, cleanly ripping it through and took out the paper, unfolding it to give to Ciel.

"Her Highness has agreed?" Ciel asked, looking over to the duo. "Do you have any information on Katt, as of now?"

"These are the pictures taken at the scene," Phipps chimed in, reaching beside him and set a white folder on the desk, sliding it to Ciel, who opened it to inspect the pictures in detail.

"Hey, what is this mark?" Ciel asked, showing the pictures to Grey and Phipps.

"What mark?" Grey asked in response, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't see anything, Earl Phantomhive," Phipps added, leaning to the pictures.

"What? Haricku, do you see anything?" he asked, holding the pictures to her.

"Yes," she concluded, pointing at Katt's neck. "There's an eye. How do you two not see it?"

Grey and Phipps looked at one another with confused expression, but decided to not press it further.

"Whatever you say, Phantomhive," Grey said, standing up and Phipps followed. They marched out of the room and closed the door behind them. Haricku and Ciel exchanged looks of their own confusion and Haricku picked up the pictures, looking at each.

"It's plain as day, it's highly improbably they missed it." Haricku set the pictures back down, but Ciel didn't respond. His gaze was pulled up to hers, displaying distant fear. "What's wrong, Master?"

"Does Blaire have silver hair?"

Her stomach dropped. "Yes, why?"

"Curly hair, bright, pure, blue eyes?"

"Correct?"

"Does she wear regal clothes, except instead of a skirt or dress, she wears pants?"

"Master, what are you getting at?"

"A doll of her arrived."

"Oh, no."

"It was sitting in my dining chair, waiting for me. Sebastian's gone for the time being so I couldn't bring it up to him."

"What of the other dolls?"

"They're burned. They still come back. I can't get rid of the dolls."

"There's only one, though, right?"

"That's not the point, someone is putting these dolls to torment me. It doesn't matter if there's one, two, three, or fifty, no matter how many times we get rid of them, they will just come back!"

"The others came back?" she asked hesitantly, debating if he she really wanted to hear the response.

"Yes. I can't separate the Sebastian and Haricku ones and they always change in different positions. Some very suggestive positions, mind you," Ciel griped, flitting his gaze to Haricku for a moment. She let out a soft cough.

"We haven't done anything of the sort, I'm unsure why it would do that. Where are they now?" she said, changing the subject quickly.

"In that trunk in the corner." He pointed to a green trunk with a padlock, but sitting on top of it was a doll in the perfect image of Blaire. "Take them all away."

"Yes, sir," she affirmed, walking to the trunk and doll, dragging them out of the room and set them in the hallway. Upon feeling the Blaire doll, it was heavier than the previous ones. Turning it around, she noticed it was of sleek porcelain, not a blemish on her skin or features. It really did look like Blaire was minimized and made into a doll, imaged after her, except with a steel skeleton and a porcelain face.

However, Haricku noticed a crumbled piece of paper that was clutched in the tiny hand of the doll. Taking it out, she opened it and it read, "You cannot hide anything from me." Haricku shivered from the cryptic message and stored the note away, putting the doll on the lid of the trunk before returning into Ciel's study.

"Master, if I may be bold, can I ask that you stay in this room?" she asked with concern. "I'll call Snake in here to guard you, but I do not think you should be alone for the time being."

"I have Sebastian, I don't really need Snake."

"I'm merely speaking for the time being, master. I don't want to confine you to such a room, but this will just be for tonight until Sebastian gets back. Is that fair?" she asked, trying to give him a smile, but Ciel didn't return it- he never did.

"Alright, I'll agree to that for tonight until we can settle the matters with the dolls."

"Thank you," she said, standing up and stepped out of the room, peeling away the synthetic skin and placed her right hand to the door, murmuring a little, temporary, invisible seal to keep anything evil out of the room for eight hours, giving Sebastian more than enough time to get back. Looking at the trunk, the Blaire doll had moved, nowhere in sight.

Cursing under her breath, Haricku searched around a little, pulling along the green trunk and stopped when a single light down the hallway turned on, Blaire's doll in the middle of the light, back to Haricku. A chill was sent through her body, numbing her to the spot and she watched the doll spaz a little, the arms and head jittering to the side and grotesquely angling its body until it suddenly stopped and fell to a seated position on the floor.

Once she stopped, the trunk violently bounced up and down, shaking and shivering like something was trying to get out. Haricku felt no fear anymore, but anger towards these things, especially with what they are doing to torment herself, more important overall, Ciel. Kicking the trunk, she grabbed hold of it and hoisted it on her shoulder, stumbling a little, but walked to the Blaire doll, snatching it up and glared.

"I really dislike you."

"But I'm so interested in you, Haricku," it said, but its mouth did not move.

"Shut up," she snapped, gripping the doll's head tightly, then stopped. She didn't want to break it just yet.

"It's true. I didn't know you could do magic. That makes things a lot more interesting, don't you think? I think so."

"Shut up!" Haricku yelled, holding up the doll again. "You're Blaire, aren't you?"

"Of course not. I'm a doll maker. Blaire came to me several years ago to buy puppets from me, but your trail is way off target. Maybe you should ask the butler who I am. Heehee!" the giggle made Haricku wince and she hurried away, determined to keep this particular doll away from everyone, lest they know her secret she had worked hard to keep.

Walking to an old closet, she threw the trunk and doll in, setting another seal, more powerful, onto the door, dropping her hand as the movement inside stopped completely. Feeling relief well up inside her, she smiled and hurried away, not wanting to be near them much longer.

"How rude, to have secured the dolls within your strange ward," Drossel Keinz, expert puppetmancer and toymaker murmured quietly, in the same slow voice he always had. "I'm very interested in you, Minamoto. I reason that the interest is because of your magical abilities. So, I wonder to myself, are you worth keeping an eye on? Rightfully so, your kind is a rare treat. That symbol, however… I feel that is the origin of your power. Ah… I can't make any more dolls right now. I'm afraid you've stopped me thus far." He stood up and opened up a musical box he carried with him, placing a few items into it before pulling it around his neck, fastening it to his stomach and jumped off the edge of the manor from the roof, descended down with a cold wind blowing through him, but before he could crash into a bloody mess, his body strained against something invisible holding his limbs.

Thin thread had been attached to his arms, torso and legs and they immediately disappeared when they stopped his descent. Brushing himself off, he took off into the woods, humming an old nursery rhyme slowly.

Having moved to her own room to change the sheets on her bed, some sounds came from outside through the partially open window and she furrowed her brow. Haricku looked out her window, hearing the faint sound of humming and opened the bedroom window a little more, hearing it slowly grow distant. Perplexed, she took a look around, but saw no one outside, figuring it may have been a passing caravan or someone on a nightly stroll. She closed the window again, giving it a lock just as Sebastian pulled up to the manor in the carriage and she abandoned fixing the sheet for now, rushing out to greet him.

Sebastian hopped off the carriage put away the horses again, being quite done with always having to set them up then put them away, wishing he could use his powers to move as he wished instead of being constricted like some spineless mortal. He just came back from Etluka's, but couldn't find anymore evidence than he already had prior to going there. Whoever the killer was knew what they were doing from the start and expertly avoided any means of being caught. All trails seemed to run dry, but the mark on Katt's neck was a good giveaway if anything.

He began walking to the front entrance when Haricku walked out, hurrying to Sebastian with a worried expression. His stomach clenched, hoping that another headache was not present, he just wanted to go back to his room, throw a blanket over himself and rest.

"Hello, Haricku," he said as she approached him, smiling at her. "You seem troubled, what's wrong?"

"These dolls are really getting to Ciel. He's become pale and sickly. There is also another thing," she paused and gulped. "The dolls came back and one was made of Blaire."

"Blimey," Sebastian uttered, silenced into thought, knocking his back into one of the beams of the stable for support.

"I've locked them away for now in a old closet, so don't open it."

"If they've come back after getting burned, I'm unsure what locking them up would do."

"Would you trust me on this? Don't worry, nothing will happen while they're in there."

"I'm still uneasy about the whole thing, Haricku," Sebastian said and sighed afterwards because he did not even want to imagine what kind of catastrophe would happen the following morning. "I'll believe you for now, trusting that you've taken care of the matter thus far."

"I don't think they'll be a problem," she replied with a smile, tugging his tie gently towards her. "Come on, let's put you to bed, you look worse than death."

"I suppose a little nap won't hurt," he agreed, allowing himself to be tugged by the tie, leaning back off the pole.

"Only a nap? You need a good, deep sleep to rejuvenate your body. You don't look at young as you once were."

"… I think my pride just took a fatal blow," Sebastian frowned, walking through the kitchen with Haricku in the lead.

"You have too much pride anyway, you could do with being knocked down a couples notches," she teased, turning around to face him with a quirky grin. "It'll be good for your health."

"My health should be the least of your worries, Haricku," he said with a roll of his eyes, trying to not upset her.

"I'll worry about whatever I feel like," she replied, walking to his room and opened the door for him. "After you. Ladies first."

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at Haricku, who only returned the stern gaze with a bright, teasing smile of her own, but he resigned himself and entered in, Haricku closing the door behind her. The butler took a careful glance around, seeing no Mittens or Asohi in sight, nor any dolls to be haunting him. Maybe Haricku actually did get rid of them once and for all.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Haricku asked, setting up his bed, much to Sebastian's confusion.

"Er, what are you doing?" he asked in return, gesturing to the pulled covers and fluffed pillow.

"I'm being nice, unless that's a crime now? If not, don't complain and get changed. I'll tuck you in."

"W-Wha?" Sebastian stuttered as a light pink spread across his cheeks and he turned away, closing his eyes, trying to look refined and elegant, but ultimately failed when the blush was still present. "I don't need to be pampered to, Haricku, I can put myself to bed!"

"Yes, but you look like you've had a long, hard day. You need some pampering since everyone else is catered to by you."

"Well, then what about you?"

"I can handle myself, I'm stronger than I look!" she said, smiling from ear to ear.

"I…"

"Sebastian, it's fine, but I would like to get to bed soon myself."

"Right, I'll go get changed," he mumbled, walking to the wardrobe and pulled out a pure black set of pajamas he had bought for himself long ago, enjoying the devoid color of nightly silk. Sebastian gestured to Haricku to turn around and she obliged, chuckling to herself as she turned.

"Now who's feeling shy, hm?" she chimed with a grin, closing her eyes as an extra precaution, hearing the rustling and movements of Sebastian changing.

"Funny. Very humorous, Haricku, I almost forgot to laugh," he mumbled, buttoning up the shirt and walked to the bed, laying himself down with a loud creak.

"Now, now, compliments alone don't get you far with me," she replied, turning around and took a look at his room more closely, and frowned. "You don't like decorations or anything? This room is so plain, I'd be terribly depressed in here."

"It suits me fine. I'm a plain, boring man and the room suits my needs."

"You're far from plain or boring, just thought I'd let you know," she said, rolling her eyes and stood by the side of his bed, pulling the covers up and leaned down, placing a soft kiss to his forehead and grinned. "Goodnight, Sebastian."

For a moment, the behavior put Sebastian on alert, being tucked in and treated so kindly. Never before was he treated as such, always having to cater and fulfill the needs of others, even when he wasn't contracted and cast into his own world. As a child, Sebastian didn't remember having this kind of thing happen to him and inside it felt like his chest had warmed up, earning another blush from his cheeks.

"Thank you," he said calmly, closing his eyes as he hide his mouth under the covers, hoping Haricku wouldn't notice his flustered features. "Goodnight to you too, we'll be going early into town tomorrow to get you fitted for clothes, so please wake up promptly."

"Giving me orders already? You really are a strange man," she said, shaking her head as she made her way to the door, turning back to smile at him. "Thank you, as well." Haricku turned the light off and left, leaving Sebastian with a peaceful mind full of clear thoughts, but the heat in his chest and cheeks never left, halting his sleep for some time before finally drifting off.

The next morning went by relatively quickly, all servants and Master Ciel woke up to greet the new day, ready and able to carry out their plans and work load. Fortunately, whatever Haricku had done to seal the dolls in the closet posed no threat the next morning, as there was no trace of them once again. Everything was normal and stability had returned to the household, much to Ciel's relief and Sebastian's concern. Where had the dolls gone? Did whoever create them grow tired and leave? Too many questions about the dolls plagued his mind, but he pushed them out for now, not entirely wanting to linger on such thoughts for too long.

As Ciel ate breakfast, Sebastian prepared the carriage for him and Haricku had gone to take a short bath and get herself ready for the fitting. Sebastian advised against wearing the maid uniform and gave her a simple dress of sky blue and white, white heels adorning her feet. While she didn't particularly like heels, preferring some kind of boots most of the time, she was grateful Sebastian even thought to give her anything.

Once Ciel was done and everyone had gotten onto the carriage, the trio went into town, heading to an outfitter Ciel knew on the side. It wasn't a particularly strong partnership, but he heard of the person through the grapevine of nobles and even purchased from there once or twice. Although a relatively small shop compared to most, it had a cozy touch to it to make you feel at home and relaxed. As they arrived, Haricku was nervous, looking at the shop, for she had never been outfitted before, since Sebastian seemed to know exactly her size before she could even speak, and without measurements. Even she had to admit he had a good eye for that.

The man in the shop gestured them in and started to empathize with Haricku, having personally know Katt, who did a lot of business with him. Feeling like she could trust him, Haricku's tension ebbed just a little away and she was whisked to a back room upon a pedestal to be measured. Using a cloth measuring tape, he took sizes of both arm lengths, their width, her chest bust, her waist, her hips, and her total height. After some quick calculations, he looked through one of the closets in the very far back of the room, coming out with a long, three-layered dress. Not liking dresses that were too long, she requested that it be shortened to two layers and the man said he'd have to check if it wasn't too short.

After she had put the dress on to be fitted more properly, additional room have to be given in the chest and waist area, but otherwise the arms had a nice fit to it and didn't need special care. For a moment, he left Haricku to tell Ciel that the dress would be fully prepared tomorrow morning, the latter stating that it would be fine, it was more than enough time. The man returned and undid the stitches for the third layer, pulling it away and the black dress stopped just below Haricku's knees and she immediately fell in love with it.

It was a simple, black dress with three bows going down the middle of her chest, her waist covered by another piece of velvet fabric, to be pulled back into a large bow. Above the first layer of the dress was another set of ribbons tied into bows, still black, one above each hip area. The neck line didn't fully go to her chin, which she was glad for, as it rested just above her bust with a dark opal gem set at the point of conjunction. The man stated that the dress be worn with black stockings and black heels, which Haricku obliged. He offered her a choice between a crape and a black bonnet with some kind of laced veil. She chose the bonnet, not particularly fond of the crape.

Once the sleeve length was adjusted minutely, the large, open cuffs starting above the wrist were also restrained to a smaller circumference and the dress was taken off, Haricku changing quickly into her previous dress. She folded it and gave it to the man for the rest of the alterations and she skipped out into the main room, standing next to Sebastian as Ciel paid upfront. The triage left the store and returned home, happy to be back home.

By then, it was well after noon and Ciel was hungry again already, so Sebastian went and made him lunch while Haricku went and checked on the dolls. To her relief, they were still inside and she didn't feel the weird foreboding feeling that emitted from them. Upon inspection, she still saw that they had their marks, but they were reduced down to a light pink. Not wanting to be near them, she took it upon herself to burn them immediately, and this time, they didn't scream or yell, they just burned, like how wood and fabric is supposed to. Haricku returned to do some slight cleaning of the house and Sebastian accompanied her from time to time. Lizzy came by after lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon until dusk playing games with Ciel, who wasn't all too fond of playing games, but decided to do so for his fiancée.

Already, it was darkening outside and Lizzy bid farewell to the servants and Ciel, hoping to see them soon. Ciel asked if she was going to be attending the funeral for Etluka and she said she was, but sad that she was killed. Once she left, everyone retired for the night, restless for what tomorrow would bring. Haricku didn't have an ill feelings about it anymore but couldn't let it down that someone had murdered Katt. Let alone the fact that Katt hid anything from her to start with was a massive blow to her heart and pride for their friendship. She could tell anything she did to Katt, however guilt started to creep in. Haricku never told Katt more in depth about her life or her powers, so maybe that was some higher being's karma against her.

Morning came as quick as it could, but not quick enough for Haricku. This morning, she could not will herself out of bed, an empty, devoid feeling within her. Looking at the clock on the wall, she saw that it was about nine o'clock in the morning, nowhere near the time for the funeral, but still felt the need to stay in bed, desiring to not be bothered. All good things come to an end, though, and there was a knock on her door twenty minutes later, just as she almost had fallen asleep again, causing her to groan and get up, stomping to the bed room to open it.

Sebastian stood there, all bright and smiling as he held the package up, giving it a little playful shake as something rustled within. Coming in without asking, he took a look around the room, raising an eyebrow at the smell from the previous attempt at spell casting. Not wanting to bring any attention to it, he ignored the lingering scent for now and patted the top of the box.

"Your dress just came about ten minutes ago. Did you want to try it on?" he asked, holding it out to her.

"I think I'm fine, I know it'll fit," she replied, taking the box into her hands. "Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"Don't thank me, it was ultimately Master Ciel's decision anyway, so you should be thanking him. I'm sure he was happy to help, though, no matter how cold he may appear," Sebastian said, smiling brightly in his usual way.

"Yeah, I'll be sure to do that," she said with a grin back, sitting on the bed to unwrap it and touched the gently, Parramatta silk the dress was in, picking up the stockings and heels, setting them on the bed, lining it up in order. "I almost don't want to go, but I know Katt would've come to mine, had I died first."

"Are you sure about that?" Sebastian asked curiously, but Haricku didn't reply immediately, she just dropped her face down and shrugged.

"I guess. I mean, I don't really know for certain."

"I'm sure we'd all miss you though, so it's a good thing you didn't die."

This brought a small smile to her lips and she rolled her eyes at the butler. "Good thing, hm? Well, I've hit a lot of close encounters, but none to ever fully kill me. It's as I've said, I'm pretty versatile and strong."

"You forgot stubborn," Sebastian reminded her, tugging on her nose playfully, to which she batted her hand against him.

"Yeah, yeah, that too, how could I forget? Anyway, just come get me when we're about to leave. I'm feeling a little tired still."

"I can do that. I'll leave you be for now, for I must take care of other things. Will you be alright in the mean time?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me! I'll be okay," she assured him, moving back to her bed and flopped down onto it with a yawn. "I'm just tired."

"Alright. I'll be coming in two hours before we're to leave."

"Sounds fine."

Sebastian left and Haricku was suddenly alone, feeling small and isolated in the room. Shaking her head, she rolled over in her bed and fell asleep, not wanting to be bothered by any dull or sullen thoughts. The few hours she could relax passed by and Haricku could not go back to sleep, so she decided to just read the books that lay scattered across the surfaces of the room. Most were romantic novels from Mey-Rin, and Haricku took extra caution to avoid those. There was one that was the pick of the bunch, a fictional book about the old tale of Merlin and King Arthur.

She didn't know how long she had been reading, but too soon did it end for Sebastian knocked on her door, notifying her that it was precisely two hours before departure and she sprang out of her chair, throwing her pajamas off to put on the mourning clothes. The dress rested on her body perfectly, outlining the curves and features rather pointedly, but when she looked at the heels she were to wear, she could already feel her feet screaming at her in pain. Instead, she went for a pair of black-stained leather boots with black laces, covering only up to her shin. Feeling more comfortable in the boots, she took a couple laps around the room, feeling the boots to be better fitted for her feet, as well as the dress. If she could avoid any form of heel, she gladly would.

About an hour later, she was waiting outside with Sebastian, the carriage prepared and cleaned by the butler pristinely to a shine. Ciel came out soon, holding himself regally in full-black clothing, a change from his usual blue or green attire. Sebastian helped him into the carriage, closing the door and just as Haricku was about to grab onto the side, Sebastian scooped her up into his arms and helped her up instead, chuckling lowly at her flustered reaction.

Most of the ride there was just Sebastian and Haricku idly talking and the sky was still ever darkening, the blue sky turning to orange and yellow with a tint of faint purple. Both looked at the sunset with amour, relishing the moment since it seemed so perfect with just the two of them. Ciel was there, however, and both servants commented on the funeral, sharing their thoughts.

The ride itself was perhaps fifty minutes, so they arrived there pretty quickly. Once parked, Haricku and Sebastian looked around, seeing no one else in the immediate vicinity, curious as to where they all could be. Sebastian hopped down and helped Haricku next, then opened the Ciel, holding an arm out for his master to grab onto and Ciel held to it, stepping off the ladder of the carriage. He looked at Sebastian in confusion.

"This is where it is, right?" It was eerie, old cemetery, but a small that was privately owned by the Etluka family for the sole purpose of burying their members here.

"Yes, my lord, this is where the address said," Sebastian stated, holding out the letter, which Ciel snatched immediately, his blue eye darting across the page.

"Then where is everyone?" he asked, starting to walk through the grave stones, passing by each one. He noticed the dates were in order and he was near the oldest that were deceased, so he pressed further on, followed by Haricku and Sebastian.

"It's so quiet," Haricku commented, looking around. "Today was the funeral, right?"

"Yes, it was," Sebastian replied, frowning. "It stated that it was today."

"Sebastian, you're right." Ciel had stopped in front of a gravestone, a fresh one with Katt's name on it. Nothing fancy was written, not like the other ones, so obviously her family didn't think she was deserving of an epitaph. "These flowers are from today and the earth is freshly dug."

"Why would our time be wrong? It said so on the paper," Sebastian sighed, putting a hand to his chin. "Whatever are we to do now?"

"Oh," came a small voice from behind the group and all three swiveled around to meet the image of Blaire, who was smirking. "I didn't think anyone would be here this late. I thought I'd come to pay my respects to Etluka after everyone had gone, but it looks like there's still lingering tourists."

"Tourists? Hardly," Sebastian said, crossing his arms. "So this was the business you were referring to?"

"You honestly don't think I wouldn't come here to see the dead off, do you? I have more respect than that, especially to people that deserve it," Blaire said with a lucrative smirk, now wearing a button-up coat that stopped at her waist. She wasn't wearing any black, for her pants were as white as snow and the jacket a soft, dull gray, just a little darker than her hair.

"Excuse me?" Haricku snapped, about to storm to Blaire, but Sebastian stopped her. "What do you mean by that? Katt didn't deserve it!"

"Oh, please, I know Katt better than you ever could, darling. Don't be so rude and yell at me, it isn't proper for a lady," Blaire teased, wagging a finger at Haricku and giggled. "Didn't anyone teach you any manners, silly girl?"

"I know well enough of my manners. You performed for her for one night, one! You could never know her like I did!"

"Yet, I knew she had a lover, which you didn't. Oh, I also knew about her baby! Which, again, you didn't," Blaire's tone wasn't as playful or teasing as it once was, it was more a sadistic, stern form of talking. "That doesn't really bode well for you, does it, little Haricku?"

"Little? Ha! You're younger than me!"

"Come now, we're the same age, but what I do and what I can do is much greater than you'll ever know," Blaire slowly said, walking towards the trio and brushed past Sebastian to crouch down in front of the gravestone, smiling. "You know, I was told long ago that sins are what drives the world. If we weren't greedy we needn't any money. If we had enough love, we wouldn't lust. If we had just enough to eat, we wouldn't have gluttony. You need a push and pull in the world, a driving and receiving force, otherwise, if you just have one, you'll never get anywhere and trying to do anything would be awfully tedious, don't you think?"

"Blaire, you're not making much sense," Sebastian said, still holding to Haricku to keep her back, but his eyes were narrowed at Blaire, feeling strange now about the woman. "Before any ill will is begotten between all of us, I suggest you start explaining things."

"Ahh, I do apologize. I have a nasty little habit of doing that!" she giggled and stood up, sitting atop the gravestone, tapping her buckled ankle boot against the side of it while grinning at Haricku, who was supporting a livid, angry face at Blaire. "Got something to say, Haricku?"

"You're wrong," she stated firmly, her gaze never leaving Blaire's.

"Pardon?" Blaire asked, blinking slowly.

"You're wrong about sin. A person can go their entire life without committing a single sin or defy any morals and virtues!" Haricku snapped, ripping free from Sebastian, but didn't charge Blaire. "It's possible to not have sin. I'd consider my parents the few people who were clean and pure."

"Ahaha!" Blaire suddenly had a fit of laughter, doubled over, holding her stomach with her arms. "No sin, ahaaha! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!" She became serious in a split second, slowly raising her face to display a grim, deadly look with a smirk. "Light does not exist without the dark. Sin and virtue cannot live without one or the other. No matter how many churches you go to, how often you attend, or even what you believe in, sooner or later, you'll endure the taste, the victory of a sweet sin. While virtue is savory and profound, sin is a blissful treat that is sweet to the taste. Not to mention, highly addicting. To state that one can live with no sin is laughable, no, it's impossible. I am a sinner. A proud one, no less, but those who cannot call themselves a sinner are no better than the liars that say they are virtuous. To even think that sin cannot exist, you really must be foolish or just stupid." She paused and walked to Haricku, putting a finger to her lips in a mock cutesy way, grinning widely. "Can you state that, Haricku? Can you personally state that you are a person, a being with no sin to rest on your soul? I think we both know the answer though."

Sebastian and Ciel looked at one another curiously and then back to Haricku, who stopped shaking with anger and stood stock still, unable to come up with any kind of answer. Who did this woman think she was, talking to Haricku like that? Of course Haricku couldn't answer, she of all people would be a bad example to use. She shook her head in defeat instead.

"No. I cannot state that I am a virtuous person. I have sinned and will probably end up in hell for it. However, I do not care about myself, what matters is other people, no? Asking a sinner about virtue is like asking a tailor about how a train operates. Asking another sinner about their own sins is taboo, you know," Haricku lowly stated, giving Blaire an equally stoic face back. "No matter the person, though, whether they sin or not, their actions should determine them as a person."

Blaire suddenly clapped loudly, giggling as she hopped up and down then jumped up and threw her arms around Haricku's neck. "Oh, I am so glad of you to say that, then you'll understand everything better now!" She pulled away and held Haricku at arm's length, her cheerful and plastic demeanor cropping up like the first encounter.

"What do you mean? What am I to understand?" Haricku asked, completely confused with how Blaire suddenly acted, but felt glad when the other woman dropped her grip.

"It's simple, really. I can't stand people who are more sinful than me. Disregard anything about the usual things, like swearing and lying, but I am talking about people who are so abhorrent, that if their private lives were dished out, they'd all be killing that person!" Blaire giggled and smiled, except this time it felt more like she was relishing a thought than just being happy. "So, I take matters into my own hands."

"I really don't understand."

"Fine, fine. Tell me, who do you think did it? Who put little Miss Etluka in the coffin!" she said sweetly, holding up a finger, leaning forward a little from the hips.

"All evidence points to Henry Truscott," Ciel stated, crossing his arms haughtily.

"It does, doesn't it?" Blaire stated innocently, but Haricku and Sebastian glared at her, slowly realizing what she was getting at.

"Well, if not him, who?"

"Who, indeed! …Well, why not me?"

"Y-You?" Ciel stammered, widening his eyes and took a step back. "You're the killer?!"

"I'm just asking, why not me. Although, even if it was me, I'm shocked Haricku figured it out so quickly! I will give credit where it's due, so bravo!" Blaire mocked, clapping slowly as she advanced towards Haricku.

"So… It really was you? That night, at Etluka's? You killed her then, didn't you?"

"Oh, no, no, no, not then. I knew how suspicious it would be if I killed her on that night, do you think I'm stupid or something? No, no, I take my time. I take pride in my work."

"What work?" Haricku persisted, drawing herself up to full height, only an inch or so taller than Blaire, her emerald eyes boring into those aqua, sky blue ones.

"Ugh, you're pretty dense about some things, aren't you?" Blaire said with agitation before continuing in a light and cheery tone, "I'm the one that rid the world, nay, the one that saved the world from Katt Rene Etluka. I'm the one that killed her, to be rid of a sinner worse than me."