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—
"You can put your things here, Ciel~." Alois purred happily, showing the bluenette to the ornate guest suite that Claude had already prepared.
Sebastian had departed moments earlier, leaving Ciel alone with Claude and Alois.
Ciel sighed quietly.
Although Ciel and Alois had different tastes when it came to interior design, the Trancy guest suite was beautiful.
The suite was made up of a massive bedroom with a towering ceiling, an elegant sitting room, and an attached bathroom.
The rooms were all decorated in a rich shade of dark purple, with golden light fixtures and a gilded trim around the walls.
The furniture was mostly comprised of sumptuous velvet and the bedding consisted of silk covers, mink blankets, and floral sheets.
The bathroom was practically covered in ceiling to floor marble, polished to perfection.
It was all in Alois's flamboyant taste.
Alois thought it was all grand.
Ciel found the rooms gaudy.
Ciel scowled, she had never been on a tour of Alois's entire estate.
Was the rest of Trancy manor really styled like this?
How did the exaggerated opulence not give Alois a headache?
"This is rather much for a guest, don't you think?" Ciel quipped while Claude silently carried in her bags and then left the room.
"Nothing is too much for you, Ciel!" Alois replied cheerfully. "We're going to have so much fun together! We can play chess and go for walks and—"
"—I have a lot of work to do, Alois." Ciel cut in, coldly shattering Alois's happy daydreams.
"...Work?" Alois asked as his smile melted into a frown.
"Yes, the Earlship isn't carefree, you know. Everyday I have duties that I have to complete. It's part of my station." Ciel huffed irritably.
Alois looked at Ciel with disappointment and sadness in his ocean-blue eyes.
Ciel frowned back at Alois.
Did Alois not understand what that word meant?
Work…...
Well then, maybe that would deter the overzealous blonde and he would leave her alone…
Ciel had no such luck.
Instantly, Alois's frown gave way to a joyful grin. "That's alright, Ciel! I'll just read beside you while you work! You won't even know I'm there!"
Something tells me I will….. Ciel thought silently.
Before Ciel could protest, Alois clapped his hands together and spoke, "That's settled, then! I'll let you unpack for a bit. I'm going to go check on Claude….I hope you'll be very happy with dinner! See you soon, Ciel! I'm so glad you're here!" Alois laughed happily while he skipped out of the room.
Ciel sighed again and put a hand to her head.
The bluenette imagined spending days trying to work with Alois chattering away beside her, that cheery smile plastered on his face for reasons she didn't yet understand….
Oh dear!
Yes, this really was going to be the longest two weeks of Ciel's life.
—
Alois's smile faded as he left Ciel's room and stomped down to the kitchen, finding Claude getting ready to cook the evening meal.
"Dinner better be perfect tonight, Claude." Alois commanded warningly.
"Yes, highness." Claude replied nonchalantly.
"Ciel accepts nothing but perfection!" Alois emphasized. "And he deserves no less….." Alois whispered forlornly, more to himself than his butler.
"I shall do my very best, master." Claude nodded, speaking in a disinterested tone.
"What's for dessert?" Alois asked.
"I thought I'd serve fruit tarts." Claude blinked.
"Fruit tarts?!" Alois went from shocked to furious in a matter of seconds. "FRUIT TARTS?! Ciel's favorite thing to eat is chocolate! You have to serve something chocolate, Claude, not a stupid fruit tart!" Alois roared.
"But you don't really care for chocolate, highness." Claude said in a confused tone of voice.
"I don't care! I want Ciel to be happy! Make something chocolate and make it good, or else!" Alois thundered before he tramped away.
Claude adjusted his glasses after the moody blonde left.
Alois's request didn't make a lot of sense to Claude.
Alois Trancy was not known for his kindness.
Why was he so concerned with impressing Ciel Phantomhive?
—
Dinner went surprisingly well.
Claude selected a menu of roasted chicken, boiled vegetables, and creamed potatoes.
It was bland for Ciel's palette, but everything was cooked appropriately and so, the bluenette ate without complaint.
Alois watched Ciel carefully while they shared their meal together.
Soon, dessert was served.
Claude had chosen to make a simple chocolate cake.
Alois looked on nervously while Ciel took her first taste.
"Is it alright, Ciel?" Alois asked with concern.
Was it as good as Sebastian's chocolate cake?
No.
Was anything that Claude had served as good as Sebastian's cooking?
No.
Not even close.
But was it alright?
Yes…. It was alright.
Ciel decided to mind her manners.
Ciel nodded once she swallowed her bite of cake and looked over at the blonde. "Yes, Alois, it's very nice."
Alois broke out in a happy smile again. "I'm so glad that you like it, Ciel!"
Like is a strong word… Ciel thought.
The cake was tolerable.
There wasn't much else to say.
Alois was trying to think of an interesting topic to bring up when Claude walked over to refill Ciel's drinking glass.
But Claude just wasn't as skilled as Sebastian…..
Clumsily, the Trancy butler managed to accidentally trip and pour chilled red wine all over Ciel and her very expensive suit.
Including her very luxurious and very white dress shirt….
Ciel gasped and quickly leapt up from her chair.
To Ciel's horror, she could feel the freezing liquid soak through the bindings that concealed her true gender.
"Claude, you imbecile!" Alois raged.
Instinctively, the bluenette put her arms over her chest, feigning a shiver.
Ciel would have expressed her annoyance, but she was too afraid that her real identity would be discovered.
Instead, Ciel sought to escape the room as hastily as possible."It's…..it's fine…..I brought plenty of shirts….Excuse me."
The bluenette quickly exited the gilded dining room, hearing Alois yell and shout punishingly at Claude all the way down the hallway.
The blonde was absolutely furious!
Everything had been going so well, there was even a chocolate cake, and then Claude just stepped in and ruined it!
How could Claude be so…..so careless?!
—
The wine and the night itself were both very cold and Ciel was really shivering by the time she made it to her room.
Closing the door behind herself, Ciel walked over to the armoire and immediately stripped her cold, wet, stained jacket and shirt off.
The bluenette hissed when she realized just how soaked she was.
That Trancy butler really was a blithering idiot.
Ciel's chest bindings were completely ruined.
Ciel was grateful that she had heeded Sebastian's advice and packed a separate set of bindings for each shirt that she had brought.
Better to be prepared than sorry….
Ciel grit her teeth while she stepped into the bathroom and pulled the soaking bandages off, sighing when her breasts were finally free
Being clean and dry would feel much better.
Ciel used a bit of soap and warm water to quickly wash off her neck and chest, drying off with a nearby towel.
Just as Ciel was preparing to choose her next shirt, she heard a noise from behind.
The floor…
Who…
Ciel was vulnerable without Sebastian.
In Sebastian's absence, there was no one there to guard the door, no one there to remind Ciel of what to do.
Naked from the waist up, the bluenette whirled around before she thought.
In her hurry, Ciel hadn't locked the door behind herself….
Ciel paid the price for her carelessness.
The bluenette found herself eye to eye with Alois!
Alois Trancy stood staring at Ciel completely dumbstruck, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging agape.
Thankfully, Ciel still held her towel pressed to her chest, so the lewd parts of her upper body were mostly covered.
Still though, the towel didn't hide Ciel's cleavage that peeked out at the blonde…...
It was too late.
Alois knew.
Ciel's secret was exposed.
Perhaps Ciel shouldn't be so hard on Claude...
She hadn't even made it one full day away from Sebastian and already, she had committed a blunder this enormous!
Alois's eyes had never been wider as he gasped hoarsely at the bluenette, standing in utter shock.
"Ciel…" Alois said breathlessly. "You're….."
Ciel could still find it in herself to be cocky and resilient, even in the midst of utter humiliation.
The bluenette narrowed her eyes at Alois as she hissed angrily. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to knock?!"