Previously:
"Well, for now, lie down and relax," Ciel said.
"I can't do such a thing in front of the young master," Sebastian told him.
"It's an order," Ciel said. Sebastian followed the order and lied back.
"So… Young Master, were you satisfied observing my pitiful appearance today?" Sebastian asked.
"Well, it was highly amusing," Ciel admitted gladly.
"As I thought," Sebastian said, closing his eyes. He couldn't wait for Chêne to come back.
That Butler, Frenzied
The sinking of the Campania. The unprecedented maritime accident that caused over a thousand deaths terrified all of Great Britain. The mysterious monsters that attacked the vessel—the survivors all spoke of their terrors. However, the truth of their testimonies was swallowed by the sea along with the vessel, and articles containing much speculation continued to make headlines in the papers daily.
"The news is being reported again today," Ciel observed as he read an article about the Viscount of Druitt's miraculous return.
"He is so though..." Chêne remarked as she and he sweat-dropped. According to the paper, the viscount had ridden a raft with a cross on it to safety as if he was Jesus Christ, our lord and savior.
"Your first sea voyage was a total disaster," Sebastian said with a smile, pouring the tea. "When we returned to the manor, you fell ill as expected, Young Master… but I am glad things are finally about to return to normal."
"Hmph. Normal, eh…?" Ciel said, sipping his tea. He doubted that, now that Lacey was part of the staff, but also… "Tell me, Sebastian." He set his cup down. "What part of that is 'normal'?" he asked, referring to the rabbit-eared headbands on his butler and head maid's heads.
"Today is Easter, so Lady Elizabeth instructed us all to don these," Sebastian replied, touching his bunny ears. "It is quite the visual assault, hm?"
"I think they're fun," Chêne said, even though she knew her husband would prefer to see her in cat ears.
"I see..." Ciel said. "Things have been noisy since this morning. What is she up to today…?"
"We have been told to take you to the second floor when you have finished your breakfast, Young Master..." Sebastian said with a smile. "… So let us go."
—^—^—^—
Sebastian opened the door to the drawing room, and Ciel was greeted by the sight of Lizzie, Edward, Soma, Agni, Mei-Rin, Nina (who was hugging and trying to kiss Mei-Rin), Lacey in her new uniform (who was helping Nina), Finni, Snake, Bard, and Mister Tanaka—who were all wearing bunny ears.
"Cut that out," Chêne said, going over to save Mei-Rin. "Don't you join in, too!" she scolded Lacey.
"Ah! You're finally here!" Lizzie said happily, turning to face Ciel.
"You're late, Ciel!" Soma said.
"What are they doing here!?" Ciel asked Lizzie, taken aback.
"I wanted us to celebrate Easter together!" Lizzie said cheerfully. "My brother followed me on his own, though." Poor Edward flinched in shock at the cold comment.
"We believe in different gods, but we shall humbly celebrate as well," Agni said with a kind smile.
"Well? What sort of festival is this 'Eestar'?" Soma asked.
"Easter is a holiday upon which we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ three days after his crucifixion," Sebastian replied.
'Boy, it's really something hearing those words pop out of a demon's mouth...' Lacey thought.
"Dishes made with plenty of eggs, butter, and milk are served," Sebastian continued. "Games which use decorated 'Easter eggs'… such as the 'egg hunt' and 'egg tapping' are played."
"Egg tapping?" Lacey asked Chêne.
"It's just how it sounds. It's a game where you tap hard-boiled eggs. The one whose egg breaks is the loser."
"The exchange of cards with 'Easter bunnies', motifs of prolific rabbits drawn on them, seem to be popular as well," Sebastian added.
"And! Everyone dresses up in new hats and outfits at Easter," Lizzie said brightly.
"What!?" Soma said, startled. "I did not know that, so I wore my everyday clothes."
"Fufufu. I believe it's time for me to make my entrance?" Nina said, striking a dramatic pose. "The tailor who sets the fashion of the seasons, Nina Hopkins, at your service! Allow me to show you my new spring collection!!"
=†=†=†=†=†=
Ciel, Edward, Soma, and Agni changed into the new outfits Nina had prepared for them. Ciel was in a black suit with gold silk accents, a ruffled collar, and narcissus flowers. His outfit matched Lizzie's dress. Edward was in a sailor suit, complete with hat. Agni was in a double-breasted military style suit with houndstooth accents. Soma was wearing a houndstooth vest with a tie, striped pants, and a jacket with accents in the same fabric as his pants.
"Ooh! Everyone's so cuuute! " Lizzie said, excited.
"Excellent! Yes, even the gents have to be this gorgeous!!" Nina said, all fired up. "Men of this age are too plain!"
"Here, you get to wear this, too, " Lizzie told Ciel, swapping his hat for a pair of bunny ears. "Well, let's begin the 'Easter egg hunt'! Today, I brought eggs my father specially made!" She showed everyone the basket. The eggs were very fancy.
"They're beautiful," Chêne said.
"Her father's an artist," Lacey agreed.
"Thank you!" Lizzie said cheerfully. "Look, Ciel!" She held up an egg that had flowers painted on it. "Doesn't this flower pattern take you back?"
"Eh!?" Ciel said, furrowing his brow slightly, wondering what she was talking about.
"Eh?" Lizzie said, surprised by his reaction.
"Oh… right," Ciel said quickly, turning away from her. "I'll get the servants to hide them from us, then..."
"..." Lizzie stared at him, shocked that he didn't remember. "I know!" she said, recovering quickly. "I just had a great idea!" She held up another egg. It had stripes, pearls, and ribbons on it. It was adorable. "Look! I made this one! Isn't it cute? The one who finds this egg out of all the rest hidden in the manor is the winner!"
"Oh-hoh! That's the rules of this 'egg hunt'?" Soma asked.
"No, this is not a game where you win or lose..." Ciel said, sweat-dropping. "Though you're supposed to be lucky if you find them..."
"It's always been a 'win or lose' game the way we played it," Lacey said.
"Right," Chêne agreed. "The person who found the most eggs won. You were merciless."
"I won every time," Lacey stated proudly. "Every time."
"When we were little, Ciel would always be the first to find my easter egg!" Lizzie said lovingly, hugging him.
"Gweh!" Ciel said when she squeezed his neck a little too hard, paling. He was relieved when she released him.
"So please do find it this year too!" Lizzie asked him.
"I… I will," Ciel promised, though he was sure it would be easier said than done. Lacey looked like she was raring to go. Sebastian took note of the promise.
"Say, wait!" Edward said with a vein throbbing on his head, pointing a finger at Ciel. He glared at the young earl. "I won't give you leave to find my sister's Easter egg!! It's a duel, Ciel!!"
"I don't want to hear it..." Ciel said, sweat-dropping.
"Oh? Don't you seem to be having fun?" a familiar voice said from behind him.
"!?" Ciel gasped, spinning around just in time to see Charles Grey come crashing through his window, swinging on a rope. Ciel and everyone else was startled. Even Sebastian jumped. "E-Earl Grey!?" Grey smiled as he landed on his feet.
"It has been a while," Charles Phipps said, popping his head through the broken window.
"Mister Phipps, too!?" Ciel exclaimed, starting to feel a little nervous. "Why are the queen's butlers here?"
'The window...' Sebastian and Chêne thought, sweat-dropping.
"These eggs are a gift from Her Majesty," Phipps replied, climbing inside while holding a basket full of decorated eggs.
"Ooh, how cute! " Lizzie gushed when she saw the beautiful eggs. "Just as you'd expect from Her Majesty the Queen!"
"No, it was I who decorated them," Phipps told her.
"Oh, my! They're wonderful!" Lizzie said.
"Your eggs are quite lovely as well..." Phipps said.
"So the earl must be the first one to find his fiancée's Easter egg, is that right?" Grey asked. He smirked. "The I'll join you, too," he declared.
"!?" Ciel exclaimed, furrowing his brow. This couldn't be good.
'What is this jerk up to now...?' Chêne wondered, frowning a little.
"The only rule is that 'the one who finds that egg wins,' right?" Grey said. He licked his lips. "Sounds fun." He couldn't wait to see the defeated expression on Ciel's face when he won.
'How bored are these guys that they were out there listening in, waiting for a chance to make that dramatic entrance?' Lacey wondered.
"Excuse me, Sir," Sebastian said, holding up a hand.
"Hmph… I'd heard the rumors, but… you really are alive," Grey said, turning to look at him.
"I thank you for that occasion," Sebastian said with a shit-eating grin.
"That occasion?" Lacey asked Chêne.
"I'll explain later," Chêne told her.
"Well? What business does a butler who failed to die have with me?" Grey asked.
"Failed to die?" Lacey asked Chêne.
"I'll explain later," Chêne told her again.
"If we do not establish any ground rules among this company, someone could be hurt," Sebastian said as he reached into his jacket. "… Thus… What do you say we use raw eggs?" he asked, producing one.
"Your husband carries around raw eggs?" Lacey asked Chêne.
"Just roll with it," Chêne told her.
"The company will form teams of two and participate in the hunt while one of each pair carries their raw egg on a ladle," Sebastian said. "You may pass your raw egg using your ladle. You will be disqualified if your egg is broken in any way."
"I see. You've added and egg tapping-like rule to the egg hunt," Phipps noted.
"Egg tapping is a traditional Easter game too, after all," Sebastian said. "Using raw eggs will make it easier to decide the victor."
"Tch, that's boring," Grey complained, but his objection was ignored.
"Come now," Sebastian said, sparkling. "Let us divide ourselves into teams!"
"We will find that egg first," Ciel said, teaming up with Sebastian.
"Yes, my lord," Sebastian agreed.
"All right, Team Lacey and Chêne ride again!" Lacey said, excited.
"This should be fun," Chêne said with a smile.
"Wellll, whose egg should I break first?" Grey wondered, teaming up with Phipps.
"I wish to procure that Easter egg as a sample," Phipps said.
"Agni! We shall win in the name of the Goddess Kali!" Soma declared.
"≤Jo Aagyaa!≥" Agni agreed.
"I'm a pro at food findin'!" Bard said, teaming up with Mei-Rin.
"I know many places where you can hide eggs, I do!" Mei-Rin said.
"Let's do our best together!" Finni told Snake.
"We can easily win with our noses! —Says Wordsworth," Snake said.
"Why must I pair up with a male!?" Nina asked angrily with a vein throbbing on her head, pointing at Edward.
"?" Edward said, clueless as to what the problem might be.
"It's time to begin!" Lizzie said. "Ready… set, go!!" They were all off like a shot.
"C'mon!! Don't fall behind!" Edward told Nina.
"Very well. I have no choice," Nina said. Her skirt flapped as she quickly removed it, revealing a pair of shorts and thigh-high boots.
"!!?" Edward exclaimed, shocked. He blushed and paled at the same time. "H-How could you dress that way!? You ought to be ashamed as a woman!!"
"My," Nina said, pouting. She out her hands on her hips and leaned toward Edward, who leaned back to keep his distance. "I really can't overlook you trying to fit women into an outdated stereotype."
"Uwaaah! Don't come any closer!" Edward yelled, turning redder as she leaned down more.
"Why don't you learn to be a bit more flexible as a future marquess?" Nina asked him.
"Just put away those legs of yours!!!"
POW!
Their egg exploded.
"Ah… Aaaaah!!?" they screamed, shocked.
"Heh heh. When the bugle sounds, the careless are the first to go down!" Bard said, watching the others from around a corner, from which Mei-Rin had just shot their egg with a slingshot.
"I was planning to have her put on this and that when we won!!" Nina cried with tears streaming down her face.
"Elizabeeeth!" Edward wailed.
"I see… 'broken in any way', huh?" Lacey said, smirking evilly as she and Chêne watched Mei-Rin and Bard from behind yet another corner.
"You look like a villain..." Chêne told her, sweat-dropping.
"In that case!" Lacey said, slipping the egg she was holding into Chêne's ladle.
"Remember to just target the egg!" Chêne whisper-yelled at her friend as she dashed out from the corner on silent feet. Mei-Rin and Bard didn't sense her until she was right on top of them, and by then it was too late. Lacey was already knocking the egg loose from Bard's ladle. It flopped out onto the carpet and cracked.
"Victory~!" Lacey cheered, making a 'V' with her fingers, while Bard and Mei-Rin fell to their knees in despair, staring at their broken egg.
'That's going to be a pain to clean up later...' Chêne thought, sweat-dropping. Both of the other teams were forced to drop out.
"The win's in the bag for us!" Lacey cheered, grinning as she and Chêne went over to get a closer look at a promising hiding place.
"There's an Easter egg under that chest of drawers!" Chêne said.
"Yes!" Lacey said. They both kneeled down to get a better look at it. Chêne reached for it.
"I don't think it's Lizzie's, but..." Chêne said as Lacey squinted at it. It was hard to tell in the shadow of the chest. Chêne touched it with the tip of her finger, and they heard a clicking sound. Lacey's eyes widened.
"Get down!" She shouted, pushing Chêne out of the way as the egg exploded.
BOOM!
"Gyaaaaah!" the girls screamed.
"!?" Sebastian and Ciel said when a ladle and a broken egg came flying out in the explosion, which happened to be near them. Sebastian paled.
"Chêne!?" he said and quickly looked around and saw through the hole in the wall that Lacey was lying on top of Chêne. Lacey had a full fro, but Chêne looked completely unharmed. "Are you all right!?" he asked anyway.
"No…" Chêne said with regret.
"!?" Lacey, Sebastian, and Ciel gasped.
"Our egg is gone," Chêne stated sadly.
"..." They all stared at her.
"That's not what he meant!" Lacey snapped at her. "He was asking about you—you!! Don't scare us like that!"
"Oh, well, I'm all right," Chêne said with an apologetic smile. "But, Lacey, you do realize we can't win now, right?"
"..." Lacey stared at her. "Noooooooo!!" she cried dramatically, falling over. Sebastian and Ciel sweat-dropped.
"Putting that aside… What caused the explosion?" Sebastian asked.
"It was the egg," Lacey replied, still on the ground. "It made a suspicious clicking sound when Chêne touched it.
"There's only one idiot here stupid enough to do something like that..." Sebastian said with multiple veins throbbing on his head. What did Bard think he was doing with a pregnant woman in the house!?
"Ah!" Bard said when he and Mei-Rin arrived on the scene. "Now I remember. I hid my special Easter eggs all over, too… Sorry, Chêne, I meant to warn you."
'So it was him!' Sebastian thought, giving him a triple-decker ice cream scoop on his head.
"Why were you only going to warn Chêne?" Ciel asked.
"Because she's with child, of course," Bard replied, rubbing his sore head.
"Being preggers has its perks," Lacey said.
"Except he didn't warn me..." Chêne said, sweat-dropping.
"I do not think I want to know, but I shall ask anyway. Why did you make them so they explode?" Sebastian asked.
—^—^—^—
Outside the manor house, Finni and Snake were searching for eggs. Snake was holding their egg.
"I smell eggs from over there! —Says Wilde," Snake said while one of his snakes pointed the way with its tail.
" 'Kay, I'll go find them!" Finni said, running off to get them. Snake heard a rustling sound.
"Who goes there!? —Says Wilde," Snake asked, looking around.
"You noticed me," Grey said, stepping out from around a corner of the house. "I thought it would be more efficient to let another team do the looking and then steal their findings!"
"…! You can't steal our eggs. —Says Wilde," Snake said, signaling for all of his snakes to come out of hiding and surround Grey.
"Geh! What is this!?" Grey exclaimed, going pale and shivering. "They're creepy!"
"You picked a fight with us, so we'll be taking your egg instead! —Says Wilde," Snake declared.
"Gyaaah! I hate these kinds of things!!" Grey cried as he ran, trying to get away from the snakes.
TOOTLE~
Snake gasped.
TOOTLE~ TOOTLE~
"Wh-What's that sound!?" Snake and Grey asked. They both looked up and saw Phipps standing on the roof, playing an oddly shaped flute. "!?"
TOOTLE~ TOOTLE~
Phipps jumped down and landed in front of Snake.
"Wh-What's with that flute!? —Says Oscar," Snake asked.
"A first-class butler should be able to charm snakes with a flute!" Phipps said. He took a breath and blew into the flute.
TOOTLE~ TOOTLE~ TOOTLE~
"Urgh… Uugh..." Snake groaned covering his ear with his free hand, trying to block it out. His snakes were starting to get dizzy.
TOOTLE~ TOOTLE~ TOOTLE~
"Uuuuuuu..." Snake moaned as he and his snakes wobbled, feeling disoriented. The whole world was spinning.
—^—^—^—
"Mister Snake, I found lotsa eggs!" Finni said when he returned, sporting an afro. "One of them exploded, but still…!" He was startled to see Snake lying collapsed on the ground, along with his poor snakes. "Waaah! Mister Snake!?" Their egg lay on the ground, broken. Finni and Snake's team also dropped out.
—^—^—^—
"Well?" Ciel asked Sebastian as the butler checked inside a drawer.
"This is not it," Sebastian replied, examining the egg he had found. "By the way, Young Master. Why are you so far away?" Ciel had decided to wait in the hall while Sebastian searched the room.
"What if it's one of Bard's Easter Eggs?" Ciel said, poking his head in through the doorway. He was holding their egg. "I want no part of that, thank you."
"You do remember that I was severely injured only a few days ago, right…?" Sebastian asked. "… Oh, never mind. Next up is..." A shadow appeared next to Ciel. "!" Sebastian instantly placed himself between Ciel and the new threat, who was none other than Agni.
WHACK!
The two butlers' ladles collided as Agni attacked and Sebastian blocked.
"You sensed me while I am in the state of Samadhi," Agni said with a grin. "I am most impressed."
"And you were able to mask your presence this well," Sebastian said, also grinning. "I too am most impressed."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha. We've fooled you, Ciel's ≤khansama≥!!" Some declared with a laugh as he came from around the corner behind Sebastian and Ciel. "Your egg is mine!!" he told Ciel.
"Kuh…!!!" Ciel said, startled. "Ugh… Koff! Koff!" he groaned and coughed. He fell to his knees.
"!?" Soma and Agni gasped. Sebastian was concerned as well.
"Ciel, are you all right!?" Soma asked anxiously, kneeling down in front of his friend as he continued to cough. "Is it another attack agai—" Ciel reached out and batted Soma's egg out of his ladle. It landed on the floor and cracked. "Aaaaaaaah!!?" Soma cried as he stared at the broken egg, shocked.
"Bwahahahaha! Fools!!" Ciel said mercilessly. "I can't believe you fell for that!!"
"Ciiieeel…!" Soma said dismally, staring at his egg on his hands and knees, surrounded by a gloomy atmosphere.
"Hmph! I will do whatever it takes to win..." Ciel said, only to be grabbed suddenly by both Soma and Agni.
"I'm so glad! I was worried you were sick again!!" Soma exclaimed as he and Agni hugged Ciel.
"Lord Ciel! I am so relieved you are well!!" Agni added.
"Oh dear, oh dear," Sebastian said calmly, watching. They both had tears in their eyes. Agni and Soma's team dropped out. When they eventually let go of him, Ciel started walking down the hallway. Sebastian followed, holding back his laughter.
"Do your best!!" Agni and Soma told them, waving goodbye with smiles on their faces. Ciel blushed with his brow furrowed.
"Young Master, how did their reaction to your most ungentlemanly act make you feel?" Sebastian asked, laughing quietly into his hand as he opened the door to the ballroom.
"Hold your tongue," Ciel snapped at him. They stepped into the ballroom. The light of the sparkling chandelier was reflected all over the room. The room was empty. There were no hiding places as far as Ciel could see. "Knowing Lizzie, she wouldn't hide it in such an extremely troublesome place..." Ciel said, sweat-dropping.
"Young Master," Sebastian said, looking up and holding his chin. "You have guessed wrong."
"Eh?" Ciel said. He turned around and followed his butler's gaze up to the chandelier, where Lizzie had replaced one of the candles with her egg. "Wha—!?" Ciel was taken aback. "How on earth did she get it up there!?"
"Knowing Lady Elizabeth, I would say..." Sebastian said, picturing her jumping from the floor to a column to another column, to the chandelier.
"J-Just bring it down to me already!" Ciel ordered.
"Should I?" Sebastian asked. "Would the victory not mean more if you were to retrieve the egg yourself?"
"….. Well..." Ciel said, grimacing a little. "Ugh..." He could see his point. "Tch. Fine… get me a stepladder."
"Right away, Sir," Sebastian said dutifully.
—^—^—^—
Sebastian fetched the ladder and set it up.
"Hold it tight," Ciel ordered him.
"Yes, Sir," Sebastian said, holding the ladder, Ciel's ladle, and protecting their egg. Ciel climbed up to the top. Even when half kneeling on top of the ladder, he still had to stretch to reach Lizzie's egg.
"I—I'm wobbling," Ciel said. "I… can almost..." His fingers were almost touching the egg, when a ladle came whizzing through the air, headed straight for him.
CLANG!
Sebastian immediately jumped up and blocked the attack with the empty ladle in his right hand, but he had to let got of the ladder for that. Ciel wobbled and touched the chandelier. The chandelier swayed, and Lizzie's egg dropped off the candleholder. Ciel grabbed onto the chandelier with one hand and caught the falling egg with the other.
CRASH!
The ladder fell over and clattered to the ground, leaving Ciel stranded.
"I expected you would come here," said Grey as Sebastian landed, and he and Phipps stepped into the ballroom.
"The Double Charles!" Ciel said. Grey snatched his deflected ladle out of the air.
"Sorry, but we'll be taking the victory!!" Grey said, charging forward. Sebastian met him and they crossed ladles.
CLANG!
"I was so sure I'd killed you," Grey told him. "What sort of trickery did you use?"
"Trickery, you say? I cannot fathom what you mean by that," Sebastian replied. Their ladles were grinding together. Phipps jabbed at Sebastian's egg with his flute. "Oops," Sebastian said, turning to dodge it, while still keeping Grey at bay. Sebastian's eyes landed on their egg, which was in Phipps' ladle.
"A mere servant… wouldn't dare attack a pair of nobles like us, would you?" Grey asked slyly, grinning deviously.
"!" Ciel said, gritting his teeth from the effort of holding on to the chandelier.
"You wouldn't be able to anyway! Ah-hah!" Grey said, thrusting his ladle at Sebastian, who dodged.
"One's social status does not matter in a game!! You may attack them!" Ciel told Sebastian. "Break that egg!"
"I cannot!" Sebastian said, dodging and blocking yet another attack. "I will disgrace the Phantomhive family name if I do such a thing!" He landed, taking up a defensive stance. "Just hang in there for ten more seconds if you would, Sir," he whispered to Ciel.
"!?" Ciel said.
"Even if it's just a game… I still do so hate to lose!!" Grey said, attacking again.
10…
CLANG!
"Besides!" Grey said, crossing ladles with Sebastian when the other butler blocked his attack.
9… 8...
"I love bullying an opponent who can't fight back!" Grey added deviously, licking his lips.
7… 6…
Phipps came at Sebastian with his flute.
5… 4…
Sebastian flipped into the air to get away, all while protecting his egg.
3…
"Ugh… My arms..." Ciel groaned, squeezing his eyes shut as his arm began to tremble.
2…
"You're finished!!" Grey said, thrusting his ladle at Sebastian and Ciel's egg.
1…
CRACK.
It was not Sebastian's egg that broke, but Grey and Phipps's. A large crack had formed in it.
"!?" Grey, Phipps, and Ciel gasped. Sebastian smirked slightly as a baby chicken pushed its way out of the egg. It chirped at them.
"What the hell is this!?" Grey demanded, staring at the chick in shock.
"My, my. A fecund egg must have gotten mixed in with the raw ones," Sebastian said, feigning surprise.
"Huh!?" Grey exclaimed.
"I regret to inform you that the rules of this game state that 'you will be disqualified if your egg is broken in any way.' … Thus..." Sebastian said, trying not to smile too much.
"We have lost," Phipps said. "The egg broke."
"N… o..." Grey said with his eyes cast in shadow, immensely disappointed. With that, Grey and Phipps's team dropped out. Sebastian got Ciel down from the chandelier.
"It's cute," Phipps said, looking at the chick. He didn't seem very disappointed at all. Grey, on the other hand, was really shocked by their unexpected defeat.
"Whew, well, well," Ciel said, shaking his sore hand with his brow furrowed. He was glad to finally be free of the chandelier.
"Young Master, you have worked hard today," Sebastian said with a closed-eyed smile.
"… You knowingly gave them that particular egg, didn't you?" Ciel asked quietly. "Now who's ungentlemanly?"
"I cannot afford to have my master be put to shame before his future wife," Sebastian said, holding up a finger and winking.
—^—^—^—
Ciel, Sebastian, Phipps, and Grey joined the others in the garden outside, where the guests were seated at a table set for lunch, with the servants standing around them. Chêne and Agni were serving them tea and water while they waited. Another table had been set up as a smorgasbord with a variety of Easter foods, including hot cross buns, trifle, and a roasted ham.
"Ah!!" Lizzie gasped when she saw Ciel. She stood up.
"Here you are," Ciel said, holding up her egg. Lizzie ran around the table and hugged him.
"I'm so glad!" she said with a huge smile. "You were the first one to find it!"
"Yes. Just like old times," Ciel said.
"Fufu! I hope that easter egg brings lots of happiness to you, Ciel!" Lizzie told him brightly, blushing a little bit as she held his hands around the egg.
"Thank you, Lizzie," Ciel said gratefully.
"Wow, those two are actually pretty cute together..." Lacey remarked to Chêne.
"Right?" Chêne said, smiling.
"Oh, brother. I've had enough. I'm hungry," Grey said with a vein throbbing on his head.
"My best friend did indeed win!" Soma said proudly with a smile, putting his arm around Ciel.
"I won't forgive you if you break that egg, you hear!?" Edward told Ciel with a small vein throbbing on his cheek.
"Looks yummy!" Grey said, wasting no time going after the food.
"First off, you don't even come close to deserving my sister's hand..." Edward started ranting. Lizzie smiled watching everyone, but then she took off her bunny ears. Her smile fell.
'Hey, Ciel,' she thought. 'We've celebrated Easter many times together. But… this was the first year… I made an Easter egg.' She watched him with a sad, worried expression on her face. 'Ciel.' She remembered how he had coughed before on the Campania and his surprised expression when she showed him the egg with the familiar flower pattern on it. 'What happened to you in the course of that one month…?'
"Lady Elizabeth, are you all right?" Chêne asked when she noticed that she seemed down. Lizzie put on a bright smile.
"Of course!" she said and hurried over to the buffet table before Grey ate it all.
"Ah! I almost forgot," Grey said after he had sat down and taken his first bite of food. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter from the queen. "Here. A love letter for you."
