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—
For several moments, Alois was too stunned to say anything else.
Ciel had raged at Alois and chased him out of the room, but Alois was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to be angry.
Ciel was…...female?
Really?
How had he never noticed?
Alois thought back as he stumbled down the hallway…..
Yes, know that he thought about it, it all made sense.
Ciel had never grown any taller, not even once she reached full adulthood.
Ciel's face was just a little too delicate to be masculine.
Ciel dressed in frilly clothes, clothing that was now too youthful for a person of her age, nearly twenty one.
Alois realized then that those ruffles and dark colors were there to hide any inkling of the truth…..
Alois sighed to himself happily as he thought about the bluenette.
What the blonde had discovered about Ciel didn't change his feelings at all for the bluenette.
Alois wandered back to his own room and collapsed onto his bed with a heavy thud.
The blonde's ocean-blue eyes stared up at the gilded ceiling as happy daydreams of marrying Ciel danced through his mind.
Ciel…
Alois furrowed his brow as he thought.
So Ciel was a woman…...
At that point in his life, Alois hadn't had wonderful experiences with women.
Alois's father had died first and Alois had always bitterly blamed his mother for following him to the grave days later, leaving Alois and his younger brother alone in the world.
After his parents' deaths, the women of the village had mistreated Alois.
Even once he assumed the Earlship through the most unorthodox of ways, Alois had always felt uncomfortable around his maid, Hannah.
Something about Hannah made Alois angry, but he didn't understand what or why.
Women.
Alois Trancy didn't know anything about women, and as a result, he had absolutely no idea how to proceed with wooing Ciel.
—
Ciel was dignified and elegant.
Ciel was the true embodiment of what a noble should be and how a noble should act.
Alois recognized that his invasion of Ciel's privacy had probably offended the bluenette to an alarming degree.
So, Alois gave Ciel the next day to herself, choosing not to interrupt her while she worked.
The blonde even gave Ciel the Trancy study for her use.
Ciel grumbled at Alois, but she accepted his offer.
It was much better to have a desk than to try and do paperwork in her bedroom.
Ciel had a productive, quiet day and for that, she was grateful.
Ciel was silently hopeful.
Maybe Alois would lose interest in annoying her all of the time, or at least, maybe he would keep his mouth shut about what he now knew….
Late in the afternoon, Ciel had just finished the last of her documents when a soft knock came on the heavy study door.
"Yes?" Ciel asked in an icy tone without looking up.
The door opened.
Claude was probably coming to ask-
"Hey, Ciel." Alois's voice called quietly, piercing the silence in the room.
Ciel started as she glanced up and met Alois's gaze with a scowl.
Alois smiled softly at the irritated bluenette while she scowled back at him as he entered the room, "What do you want?"
Alois could see that all was not well yet….not that he expected anything different.
"Ciel, I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday. That was terribly rude of me." Alois said remorsefully while he approached Ciel's desk with a hand behind his back.
Ciel watched Alois warily, blinking as the blonde pulled out a gorgeous bouquet of white roses from behind his back.
Alois sat the lush flowers on the desk in front of Ciel.
"I do hope you can forgive me!" Alois said with a happy smile.
Ciel looked at the flowers, then she looked back at Alois.
Forgive?
Ciel noticed that every bud in the bouquet was perfect.
…..Perfectly shaped, perfectly colored, flawless.
Why?
It still didn't make any sense to Ciel why Alois would be so kind to her.
Kindness always came at a price, Ciel had learned that lesson very well in her life.
What did Alois want?
Alois wouldn't have done such a thing unless he had some kind of back-handed plot he was scheming…
Alois's eyes widened as Ciel grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close so they were eye to eye.
"Listen, you," Ciel glowered dangerously. "If you breathe a word of what you saw to anyone, I'll make it my personal mission to see that you are tracked down and ripped to shreds, do you understand? I appreciate your hospitality, but I've had people disposed of that have caused me less trouble, so you'll do well to remember that, Earl Trancy."
While Ciel spat threatening words in Alois's face, the blonde found himself fantasizing about leaning in and kissing her.
Alois tried not to smile as he imagined making love to Ciel right there on the desk….
Alois forced himself from his reverie before his arousal became obscenely obvious and he nodded at the angry bluenette, "Of course, Ciel. Your secret's safe with me. Don't worry!"
With a glare, Ciel let Alois go and the blonde felt his heart sink.
What a shame.
The moment had passed.
There would be no kissing on the desk.
At least, not for now~...
Satisfied with Alois's answer, at least for the moment, Ciel grudgingly turned back to her documents and began to organize them with a frown.
The blonde stood there and watched Ciel for a few moments, smiling sweetly.
"Do you like your bouquet?" Alois asked.
Ciel stopped what she was doing.
Why was Alois so interested in those stupid flowers?
"Yes, I think they're very lovely." Ciel replied truthfully, then she turned back to her work.
Regardless of why Alois had brought the roses there, they were beautiful, even Ciel couldn't argue with that.
Alois smiled happily and walked towards the door.
The blonde turned to glance back wistfully at the bluenette, whispering just before he left the room, "I hope the roses make you happy….Ciel."
Ciel shook her head once her documents had been ordered and packaged appropriately to be mailed.
Happy?
What did Alois care about her happiness?
—
Ciel hadn't been entirely wrong.
Alois was indeed working on a scheme.
The blonde knew that he had a limited time with Ciel before her pesky butler arrived and took her home.
Alois smirked to himself while he stood an hour later, selecting the wine for that evening's dinner.
Normally, such a duty would fall on the butler's shoulders, but Alois wouldn't trust Claude with such a precious task.
The wine for the evening must be perfect.
The wine must please Ciel, just like the roses had pleased her.
Alois felt a surge of pride as he remembered the look in Ciel's eyes when she first saw the flowers.
No matter how haughty or stoic the bluenette wanted to act, Alois could tell that Ciel had genuinely enjoyed the white roses.
Alois giggled quietly.
Everything Alois did and everything Alois said counted now more than ever.
It was all part of the blonde's new plot…
But Alois was not planning to harm Ciel or to disgrace her publicly like she feared.
No, Alois's new plot was to seduce Ciel and get her to fall as madly in love with him as he was with her.
Alois was confident that it could happen.
The blonde carefully selected a fine Prosecco for the evening, one that would go especially well with dessert.
The blonde knew that it would probably be the hardest thing he'd ever attempted, melting the bluenette's heart of ice, convincing her to take off the mask she always wore and become vulnerable in front of him….
But Alois Trancy was ready for the challenge~.