Previously:

"What is the meaning of all this racket!?" a voice asked. "You are all in the running for a 'Y'!" The boys holding Ciel all jumped.

"Dash it all! It's the housemaster!" one of them exclaimed.

"Wah!" Ciel said when they dropped him and quickly hid the sheet behind their backs.

"Clayton. Even an upperclassman like you has joined in this mayhem?" the housemaster asked, addressing the upperclassman who had been giving the orders.

"Well, er, this is… our house tradition, sir..." Clayton said, nervously adjusting his glasses.

"My, my… Tradition is well and good, but try not to overdo it," the housemaster said, approaching Ciel.

"Ugh..." Ciel groaned, pushing himself up into a kneeling position.

"So you are Phantomhive, the new boy," the housemaster said, offering him a gloved hand. Ciel looked up and saw a very familiar face. He was wearing the black robes of a schoolmaster, glasses, and had his hair parted to the side and combed back on the left, but Ciel recognized him at once. "Welcome to Sapphire Owl House," Sebastian said. "I am Housemaster Michaelis."


That Butler, Tidying Up


{Phantomhive Manor...}

Chêne yawned, covering her mouth, while she ate breakfast with Mei-Rin, Finni, Bard, Mister Tanaka, and Snake. Most of Snake's snakes were out hunting.

"You okay?" Bard asked. "You've been yawning a lot lately."

"I'll be fine," Chêne said. "Fatigue is common with my 'condition'… Is Lacey still not up yet?"

'Even first thing in the morning?' Bard wondered. "Doesn't look like it," he answered.

"She's a deep sleeper, she is," Mei-Rin remarked.

"Actually, she's a light sleeper who pretends to be a deep sleeper so people will leave her alone," Chêne said. She sighed. "I'll get her up."

"I-I'll get her!" Mei-Rin said. "You should finish eating, you should!"

"Thanks, Mei-Rin," Chêne said gratefully. "Just yell at her from the doorway, that's safest."

"Safest?" Finni asked.

"Sometimes she takes a swing at the person waking her up," Chêne explained.

"I'll keep that in mind, I will," Mei-Rin said, sweat-dropping.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{Weston College...}

'Weston College, a distinguished public school attended by sons of aristocrats from all over Great Britain. And it is into this house of learning, where tradition and discipline reign… that I've stolen in order to investigate a certain matter,' Ciel thought as he move among the other students outside. He pretended to be reading, but he was looking at a picture of the boy he had come to find. 'The issue is this—beginning with Derrick, son of Duke Clemens, cousin to Her Majesty, the Queen… a number of students have failed to return home to their families for quite some time. Weston College is an insular institution with which even the government can't interfere. What exactly is going on behind its guarded walls?' Ciel stopped himself. "Oh, darn!" he said, paused with is foot hovering above the grass. He stepped back. " 'Only the four prefects are allowed to cross the lawn'… was how the rule went, didn't it?" Ciel walked the long way around with the other students.

=†=†=†=†=†=

"I still don't see why we have to get up so early," Lacey said as she was dusting a chandelier, while Chêne held the ladder for her. "Ciel and Sebastian aren't here. When the cat's away, the mice will play~"

"Sebastian will know if we slack off," Chêne said. "Even if we clean everything up so there isn't a speck of dust at the last minute, he'll know."

"You make him sound like your mom," Lacey said, laughing a little bit.

"He's stricter," Chêne replied.

"Oh, is that what you like?" Lacey asked slyly. "A strict man who will scold you?"

"If I liked being scolded, I wouldn't be making you do this job properly, would I? You missed a spot, by the way," Chêne retorted with a straight face, too tired to react to her friend's teasing. "Ugh. Who knew making people could be so exhausting..."

"If you need a break, just say so," Lacey said.

"You're not getting out of work that easily," Chêne told her. She sighed. "I wonder how Ciel is doing? I'm pretty sure this is his first time at a real school."

=†=†=†=†=†=

{West College, Headmaster's Office…}

Ciel stood in the large room, which had a high stained glass window behind the headmaster's desk, and a huge swinging pendulum, like a clock's, connected to a series of gears on the ceiling. The window was framed by an organ on both sides. The four prefects also stood off to the sides.

"It's been a whole day since you moved into your house… are you getting situated, Phantomhive?" Greenhill asked.

"If you don't feel like you're fitting into Blue House, come to Red House anytime," Redmond told Ciel. "Someone of your status shall always be welcome."

"The headmaster alone retains the right to decide the house to which a student is assigned. There are no exceptions," Bluewer said, pushing his glasses up.

"… Mm, well, all the houses are the same, if you ask me," Violet said.

"Our school is a prestigious public school protected by tradition and discipline," the man sitting at the headmaster's desk said. He had combed-back dark hair that stuck out under a square academic cap. "Now that you have entered its halls, we must ask that you obey its rules. Typically, the headmaster would be the one imparting his wisdom to you hear, but as he is terribly busy… I shall act as his substitute. I am Johann Agares, vice headmaster."

"In this school, the first and last word lies with the headmaster," Greenhill said.

"And here, at school, his word is absolute," Redmond added.

"The headmaster has entrusted us prefects with complete autonomy herein," Bluewer said.

"A rather disagreeable role, having all manner of tiresome matters forced upon us," Violet added.

"That has been the tradition of our school since its founding," Agares said. "And…"

"… Tradition is absolute!" the four prefects concluded.

"Do you vow to obey the code of our school and to observe our traditions and discipline?" Agares asked.

"I do," Ciel pledged. Agares stood up and walked out from behind the desk, holding a book.

"In that case, please sign here," Agares said as his foot slipped. His head hit the step below him with a magnificent thud, and he rolled head-over-heels down the remaining three steps.

"!?" everyone gasped, paling and flinching in shock.

"Mister Agares!!?" the prefects exclaimed, concerned. The vice headmaster had landed on his back, bent over with his feet around his head.

"Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me," Agares said, getting back up. He was bleeding from under his cap, but he acted as if nothing was wrong. "Your signature here, please," he told Ciel, holding up the book and giving him a quill that had ink on it. Ciel signed his name into the book. Argres closed the book and tucked it under his arm. He held his hand out. "Welcome to Weston College, Phantomhive. We embrace your presence among us." Ciel shook his gloved hand. Redmond, Greenhill, and Bluewer applauded while the school bells rang above them.

CLANNNG! CLANNNG!

Ciel and the prefects left the headmaster's office.

"May you enjoy your school life here," Redmond said as the prefects parted from him.

"Excuse me!" Ciel said. "When might I be able to exchange greetings with the headmaster?"

"Due to his exceedingly full schedule, the headmaster does not have time to exchange pleasantries with ordinary pupils," Bluewer replied. "Only we prefects may see him."

'Ordinary students aren't allowed to meet with the headmaster?' Ciel thought. 'So he's practically the absolute monarch of this school…?'

=†=†=†=†=†=

"So… How exactly did you manage to make the sandwiches explode?" Chêne asked Bard, her eyebrow twitching a little as she gave him a scary smile. The kitchen was a mess, and Bard had a fro again. She was already dead tired, and this was the last thing she needed.

"Well…" Bard said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I thought the bread should be toasted..."

"So why did you blow it up!?" Chêne snapped, losing her patience.

"!" Finni and Mei-Rin gasped, watching from the hall.

"Missus Chêne yelled!" Finni said, surprised. That was a rare sight.

"She must be exhausted, yes?" Mei-Rin said sympathetically. She and Finni had each already messed up once that day. Lacey had helped her clean up after them, but Chêne still seemed worn-out.

"Explosives for lunch. This place is awesome," Lacey said with a grin.

"No, I don't think that's supposed to be a good thing, I don't," Mei-Rin said, sweat-dropping. Chêne sighed heavily.

"Well, at least the kitchen only sustained some minor damage..." she said, gazing wearily around the room. "Lacey and I will clean this up. You remake the sandwiches—without heat."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Bard said, giving her a salute.

Fortunately for Chêne, there were no more mishaps for the rest of the day, but even so, she was dead on her feet by bedtime. She only had a moment to wonder how Ciel and her husband were doing before she was out like a light.

=†=†=†=†=†=

Public schools are places where primarily boys thirteen to eighteen years of age devote themselves to their studies awhile living together in dormitories. The entirety of the students' lives are governed by the sound of bells. And so begins another day at this public school.

6:30 A.M.—Turn out. Sebastian made sure Ciel and the other students were awake.

7:00 A.M.—Early morning tea. The boys had a quick snack to get them through their earliest classes.

7:30 A.M.—Commencement of studies. Sebastian and the other teachers taught class, while Ciel and the other students learned, though Ciel tended to slack off in Sebastian's class.

9:00 A.M.—Breakfast. The boys ate a more substantial meal of foods such as toast, rolls, sausages, eggs, and beans.

" 'Fwag'?" Ciel asked with his brow furrowed as he was talking to McMillan over breakfast, his mouth full of food.

"Fag!" McMillan corrected him. "After breakfast comes 'fag time'. It's a tradition peculiar to Weston College, where a lower boy is assigned to attend to a particular senior."

"Attend to?" Ciel asked.

"As in cleaning his room and ironing his uniform. And later, preparing his hot-water bottle in the evening," McMillan explained.

'Another irritating tradition...' Ciel thought. "So basically you're to play his butler… Do prefects have fags as well?"

"Of course! Clayton is fag to Bluewer, the prefect of Blue House," McMillan said.

'Clayton.. That fellow?' Ciel wondered with his brow furrowed, remembering how Sebastian had called one of the older boys involved in his 'welcoming' by that name.

"Fags are different from butlers in that a senior may take care of his fag as well," McMillan said. "It's sort of like a brotherly relationship limited to the school, you might say?"

"Brothers, hmm…?" Ciel said with his still brow furrowed.

"Oh! Also, a prefect's fag is a bit special compared to the rest!" McMillan said, with an innocent excitement. "They get to wear their house flower on their lapel, like the P4, and… cross the lawn with prior permission, and… also… I hear they get to take part in the 'midnight tea party', which is hosted by the headmaster! Along with the P4!" That got Ciel's attention.

'A midnight tea party hosted by the headmaster… Now there's an opportunity to come into contact with the elusive headmaster if ever I heard one,' the young earl thought. 'But if only the P4 and their fags are qualified to participate… getting in could prove a bit of a pain.'

"I'd like to be a part of it, too, someday. Kidding, kidding!" McMillan said, blushing as he grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

'Oh well, before that, I'll first do a little sleuthing on the subject of the students who've failed to return home,' Ciel thought. "By the way, sorry to change the topic, but do you happen to know Derrick Arden, son of Duke Clemens?" he asked. "I believe he's a student of Scarlet Fox House..." Ciel became aware of the buzzing of many voices whispering and muttering. He looked around and saw that everyone else was now gossiping about something, a few of them giving him furtive looks. He happened to notice that many members of his house were wearing glasses. "Hm?" Ciel wondered what was going on.

"Ph-Phantomhive!!" McMillan said nervously. "You'll alienate your fellows if you fraternize too much with people from the other houses!" he warned his new friend.

"Hunh? That smacks of the petty rivalries in which women tend to engage," Ciel said, furrowing his brow; although, once he said it, he could hear Chêne and Lacey scolding him for saying such a thing, because they didn't believe that kind of behavior was limited to gender, as evidenced at that very moment by the behavior of the boys around him.

"It's 'cos the houses often face off against each other in various competitions," McMillan explained with a wry smile. "Anyway… if I'm not mistaken, Arden was to have been transferred from Red House to Purple House as a special case, but..." he said, holding his chin.

"Transferred?" Ciel asked.

"I don't know the details, but rumor has it that it was under the headmaster's orders," McMillan whispered, making Ciel lean across the table to hear better. "I-In any case!! You're better off keeping your nose out of the other houses' business!!" he added nervously. "Especially Violet Wolf House."

"!?" Ciel said, furrowing his brow. "What do you mean by—"

"McMillan! It's fag time!" an older boy called, cutting him off.

"Right!" McMillan said, standing up abruptly. "This is my upperclassman! I'll be seeing you, Phantomhive!" he told his new friend with a sparkling, refreshing smile as he gave him a nice salute while he hurried over to the older boy that was waiting for him.

'What was that pose…?' Ciel wondered as he watched them leave together, sweat-dropping. '—That aside, he said Derrick's house assignment has been changed? There's definitely something more to it.'

"Phantomhive!!" a voice shouted, making the young earl jump. Ciel turned to face its owner and recognized him.

"Yes, Clayton?" Ciel asked.

"You're to clean the dining hall until you're assigned to a senior," Clayton said firmly, pointing at the young earl.

"Eh…!? By dining hall, you mean..." Ciel said, looking around the room they were standing in. There were dirty plates and napkins on the table and books piled up all over the benches and floor by the tables. It was very messy. A bead of sweat slid down Ciel's face. "… everything… here…?"

"Quite!" Clayton said. He pointed at Ciel again as he turned to leave. "I don't want to see you cutting any corners now!" he added strictly. Ciel sighed as Clayton left and slammed the door shut behind him.

"..." All alone, Ciel lifted his eyepatch to reveal the mark of his covenant with his demon butler. "Sebastian."

"Right here," Sebastian said, appearing beside him, still wearing his disguise, holding a clipboard in one hand while lifting his black academic robe with the other. The rosary around his neck swayed.

"I seems that Derrick has been transferred to another house..." Ciel said.

"When I was checking the student roll, his name was indeed on the list of Violet Wolf residents," Sebastian said, consulting the notes on his clipboard.

"He should be at his house now. I'll go over there directly, so you tidy up here," Ciel ordered as he left.

"Very good, Sir," Sebastian said, bowing. "Now then!" He clapped his hands together and looked at the messy dining hall. "Time to get to work!" He removed his academic robe, revealing the rest of his high-collared black jacket with tightly fitted sleeves and a hem that reached down past his knees. He had no idea how much of a kick his wife and Lacy would've gotten out of seeing his outfit, since it was just like the potion master's from the Harry Potter movies.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{Violet Wolf House (commonly called Purple House)…}

Ciel stood before the gate of the off-kilter iron fence surrounding the Purple House. The two stone-block posts framing the gate had an unusual shape with a crouching wolf at the top. Cawing black crows were perched on the iron arch over the gate and its open iron doors. Beyond the gate was a hill with a winding path that appeared to have tombstones sticking out of the smooth grass on either side of it. At the top of the hill was a gothic-looking house with a top-heavy tower that seemed to defy gravity.

"… What a singular exterior..." Ciel remarked as he stared at the house with a furrowed brow as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. It looked like something Lacey would like. 'It befits a house of 'eccentrics accomplished in the arts,' I daresay...' he thought as he stepped through the gate and began climbing the steps of the winding path that led uphill. Ciel began to hear the sound of whisper. "?" he said, looking around. "!?" he gasped, shocked to find himself suddenly surrounded by strange-looking people with unique hairstyles and piercings, and eyes were cast eerily in shadow; many of whom were wearing the uniform black cloak usually worn in rainy or cold weather with the hoods over their heads. They were murmuring things, but Ciel caught the phrases 'Outsider!' and 'That crest belongs to Blue House…' most clearly. 'When did they creep up on me!?' Ciel wondered, startled.

"Hey now! What's a swot from Bookworm House want with Purple House?" a voice asked unpleasantly. Ciel looked up to the top of the stairs to see an older boy standing there. He was also wearing a cloak and had a crazy hairstyle. The hair on the sides of his head was black and shaved short while the hair in the center of his head was lengthy and bleached. He also wore thick dark eye makeup, his fingernails were painted black, and he had several piercings in each ear, waeriing a combination of thick hoop earrings and spiked studs. His face had a mark that made it look as if one side of his face had a crack in it like a broken porcelain doll. He wore a purple dahalia. "People who can do nowt but study can't just come strolling into Violet Wolf House as they please, y'know?" the eccentric boy declared with an unpleasant expression on his face.

"Go away!" someone shouted at Ciel.

"Yes… go away!" another person said. A bead of sweat slid down Ciel's face. He was surrounded by glaring eyes.

"Get lost!"

"Fellows from the other houses should just go away!"

"Go away!"

"Go away!"

At that last shout, someone threw a small stone.

KONK.

"Ow!" Ciel said, wincing when it hit him on the head. That act of violence by one of the students glaring at him seemed to set the rest of them off, too.

"Go away!" a boy with shaggy hair and dark makeup yelled, throwing another stone at him.

"Get away from Purple House!!" a boy with a curly ponytail shouted, also throwing a stone.

"Ugh!" Ciel exclaimed, paling a bit as they all threw stones at him while the boy at the top of the stairs watched with a smirk on his face. There was nothing for it. Ciel turned as ran away while shielding his head.

"Go away!"

"Go away!!"

"Uwah!?" Ciel exclaimed as he was hit again. They continued to throw stones at him even though he was already leaving.

"Make sure you bring a fat dictionary or something to protect your head next time, bookworm!" the boy at the top of the stairs sneered, sticking his tongue out as he gave Ciel a thumbs down like a Roman emperor deciding the fate of a gladiator. "HYAHAHAHAHAHA!" The other members of his house joined in, cackling.

"Gii hee hee hee!"

"Eeee hee hee!"

"Hyah ha ha ha!"

"What is their problem!!?" Ciel exclaimed incredulously as he continued running even after he passed back out through the gate, pale with shock snd covered in sweat.

"Why are you being so rowdy?" a voice asked the boy on the top of the stairs, making him look behind him.

"Oh, Violet," the boy at the top of the stairs said, standing up when he saw who was approaching him. It was Gregory Violet, a member of the P4, who had met Ciel before. "A kid from Bookworm House was just here." Gregory looked in the direction his fag pointed in.

"Nn?" Gregory said. He twitched slightly when he saw the fleeing Ciel and recognized him. "The new boy, hm…?"

=†=†=†=†=†=

{Sapphire Owl House (commonly called Blue House)…}

CREAK.

Ciel swayed a little as he pushed a door open.

'Ugh, that was rough...' He thought with his brow deeply furrowed and his teeth gritted, still pale and sweaty. He was annoyed. He couldn't believe he'd had to run away because they'd tried to stone him. 'Still, the animosity among houses is far more intense that I expected. Not getting to see the headmaster is bad enough, but to not even be able to meet with Derrick… My peerage and wealth are useless at this school. As long as I'm an ordinary student, even collecting information is difficult. —Therefore, there is only one way to get to the heart of this case. I have no choice but to curry favor with the P4, 'the privileged of the school'!! But how?' He noticed people were gathering at the entrance to the dining hall and talking among themselves. "?" Ciel moved closer and tried to see what had everyone's attention.

"!!" Clayton said when saw the young earl. He made a beeline for Ciel and grabbed him by the shoulders as he shouted, "Phantomhive!!"

"Yes!?" Ciel asked, flinching, alarmed. 'Darn! Did he find out I skipped out on my cleaning duty!?'

"On principle, I don't make a habit of complimenting people lightly. However!" Clayton said gravely, making Ciel sweat nervously. "Today, I fell you are deserving of my praise!" Clayton said seriously, holding up a finger.

"Hunh?" Ciel said, surprised. He looked into the dining room, and he was taken aback by what he saw. The whole place was sparkling. The tables and the floor around them were not only clean, they had been covered with table cloths and set with silverware, china, fancifully folded napkins, and stemmed glasses with candleholders and flowers placed all long their centers for decoration. Cushions had even been placed on the hard benches to make them more comfortable. And the floor was so shiny it reflected light. Not only that, but the rest of the two-story room had been cleaned and polished as well. The bookcases that lined the walls of the first floor around the dining area and all the walls of the second floor above it (which could be reached by climbing a spiral staircase) had all been dusted, and the once crooked and disordered books had been straightened up and put in the proper order. Everything looked shiny and new. It was almost as though he were looking at a completely different room.

"Our house's old… rather, tradition-resplendent dining hall is beyond recognition!! Well done, Phantomhive!" Clayton praised him.

"Oh no, you're too kind..." Ciel said, putting a smile as a small vein throbbed on his head. 'Whyyy, that blasted Sebastian! He did his job too well!!'

"Ah!" Clayton said when he spotted someone new approaching. "Mister Michaelis!"

"What is it?" Sebastian asked with a smile.

"Please feast your eyes upon this dining hall!" Clayton said proudly. He patted Ciel on the back. "Phantomhive put it in order!"

"My, my… Nice work, Phantomhive," Sebastian said, giving him a nice smile.

'You went too far...' Ciel thought with his brow furrowed. "You too, sir." 'No, wait,' he thought, holding his chin as something occurred to him while he watched Clayton chat with Sebastian with a smile on his face. 'That fellow was the Blue House Prefect Bluewer's fag, if I recall… I can take advantage of this situation. In order to get closer to the prefects… I'll start by making his acquaintance first!!' Ciel smirked. "I'm very glad to hear that my work please you so!!" he said brightly to Clayton. "You see, I'm actually quite good at housekeeping and such. So please, Clayton, consider me at your service… whenever you need aaanything done!" He beamed at Clayton with a sparkling, refreshing smile on his face as he gave him a salute, imitating the fluffy, pleasant attitude that McMillan had showed him before.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{Phantomhive Manor…}

It was late at night, and Chêne had such a terrible craving for ice that she couldn't sleep.

"Ugh..." she groaned, got out of bed, and put her slippers and robe on. "I really should sleep..." she grumbled as she trudged to the kitchen. Nina was coming to tomorrow to make her some clothes that would have room for her to grow during her pregnancy. She reached the kitchen and removed some ice from the freezer. Then she took out an icepick and started stabbing the ice cubes to reduce them to chips of a size that were easier to chew.

"I'll take that," Sebastian whispered in her ear as he appeared behind her, making her jump out of her skin in surprise.

"Wha—!! Are you trying to kill me!?" she asked her husband, glaring at him as she clutched her pounding heart.

"Ah, I'm sorry..." Sebastian apologized, sweat-dropping. He hadn't expected such an extreme reaction.

"What are you doing here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what if Ciel needs you?" Chêne asked. 'Wow, he looks just like he stepped out of a Harry Potter movie...' she thought when she noticed his outfit. 'So people really dress like that at English boarding schools?'

"He will be fine for a few minutes," Sebastian said, taking the icepick from her so he could finish the job of crushing the ice. "You should make Bard or Lacey do this kind of thing for you."

"They're sleeping. And I was venting some of my irritation," Chêne said, crossing her arms as she leaned against the counter next to him. "Being pregnant is harder than I thought it would be."

"What are your symptoms?" Sebastian asked, concerned. Chêne wasn't by any means a wimp, so if she was struggling, it worried him that the cambions she was carrying might be taking their toll on her.

"Nothing bad. I'm just tired all the time, no matter what I do. I'm nauseous in the mornings, but I don't actually throw up most of the time. I also have mood swings, and my cravings and aversions to food drive me nuts sometimes. I can't even look at coffee anymore, and for some reason I keep craving raw meat that's still bloody. I get that craving a lot, even though I think it's disgusting, and you're supposed to avoid undercooked meats while pregnant..." Chêne said with a heavy sigh. She looked away from him as she added, "… I'm also craving your blood." She looked like she felt bad about it.

"If you need more, you can just say so," Sebastian said as he put the icepick down and reached out to turn her face to him.

"But it hasn't even been a month since you last gave it to me," Chêne said, furrowing her brow. She didn't want to get more hooked than she already was, and she was sure even a demon shouldn't be losing too much blood too often. She also wasn't sure what kind of affect it would have on their children.

"It's fine, isn't it?" Lacey said, yawning as she entered the kitchen in her purple robe and slippers. "Your babies are cambions, so demon blood is actually good for them." She yawned again as she came over to them. "And if you're worrying about becoming more addicted or that the babies might get hooked, too, don't. That really won't be a problem. Trust me." She looked into the bowl of ice Sebastian was crushing. "Craving ice, huh? That probably means you need more iron. A little demon blood ought to fix that, but we should get you some liver and other organ meats, lentils, and dark chocolate, too."

"Why can't I just crave pickles and ice cream?" Chêne said with a sigh.

"You probably will before you're through," Lacey said. She looked at Sebastian and smirked as she took in his outfit. "Heh. You look like you're ready to teach potions."

"Excuse me?" Sebastian said.

"It's a Harry potter reference," Chêne said. "You know, the children's book series I mentioned before with the school for witches and wizards? In the movies they made based on the books, that's how the potions professor dressed. Except for the rosary."

"Yeah, I'm impressed you can wear one of those without bursting into flames," Lacey remarked. "But what are you wearing robes at a normal school for? Doesn't that make you stand out like a sore thumb?"

"These are academic robes. It's traditional dress for schoolmasters," Sebastian said. "I assure you, I blend in perfectly."

"The professors also wear robes like that at Oxford University in our time, I think," Chêne said, recalling an episode of the Inspector Lewis show that she used to watch with her parents.

"Huh. Is that so?" Lacey said. "Tell me, do the students live in 'houses' at this school you and Ciel are investigating?"

"That's right," Sebastian said. "They're the Sapphire Owl House, the Red Fox House, The Green Lion House, and the Violet Wolf House."

"Pfft! Haha!" Lacey laughed, looking highly amused. "Four school houses with specific colors and animal mascots? You guys are totally at a muggle Hogwarts!"

"It does seem that way," Chêne said, smiling and laughing a little, too. "Sorry we're laughing, it's just interesting to encounter a real-world version of a school that we've always wanted to go to."

"Except this one is only for boys," Lacey said, frowning.

"Hmm. You two wanted to be witches?" Sebastian asked curiously.

"Well, we wanted to be Hermione," Chêne said. "She was a witch who was smart, kind, brave, and had best friends who were always dragging her into amazing adventures."

"Girlfriend helped save the world," Lacey added. "Although, if I were her, I probably wouldn't have married Ron. He's just not my type. Tom Felton on the other hand..."

"But that would mean marrying Malfoy, and let's face it, if he talked to you the way he talked to Hermione, you would have punched him the face the first time he opened his mouth in front of you," Chêne said, smiling wryly.

"That is very true," Lacey said. "Which is why I specifically said 'Tom Felton' and not 'Draco Malfoy.'" She looked at Sebastian again. "Anyway, if you're taking care of her, I'm just going to get some water and go back to bed." She grabbed a cup from the cupboard, filled it with water, and left. " 'Night," she called over her shoulder on her way out.

" 'Night," Chêne said.

"You heard her. There's no need to hold back," Sebastian told Chêne, smirking slightly as he started to lead her over to a chair so he could sit with her in his lap to drink from his neck.

"Actually… would you mind putting your blood on the ice?" Chêne asked tentatively.

"The ice?" Sebastian asked. Chêne nodded.

"Sorry, I know it's weird, but..." she said, biting her lip as she looked up at him.

"Very well," Sebastian said, smiling wryly. He moved back to standing over the bowl of ice chips, rolled up his sleeve, and picked up the icepick. "You may want to look away," he said, since he knew she didn't like to see him hurt. Chêne hesitated for a moment, but turned her back to him. Sebastian held his wrist over the bowl of ice chips and stabbed it with the icepick, making a deep wound so that his blood sprayed all over the ice, dying it crimson. He removed the ice pick from his wrist and flicked the blood clinging to the tool into the bowl. "You can turn back around now." Chêne turned as he was pulling his sleeve down again. His wound had already stopped bleeding. He carried the bowl of bloody ice to the table for her and gave her a spoon as she sat down in front of it.

"Thanks," Chêne said, smiling at him. She took her first bite of the bloody ice and started chewing. As she ate, her expression became blissful. "Ahh, that's just what I needed~" she said as she relaxed, sounding extremely relieved. She smiled brightly at her husband, full of gratitude. "Thank you, Sebastian!"

"Is that all you need?" Sebastian asked, smiling at her with affection. Chêne nodded.

"I'll be fine now," she said. "You should get back to Ciel, in case he needs you." She didn't like the idea of him being alone in a place where something fishy was happening.

"I suppose you're right," Sebastian said. He leaned down and kissed her deeply. The ice began to melt. "Til we meet again," he said, looking at her with glowing eyes as he gently touched her cheek.

"I hope it's soon," Chêne said lovingly.

"I'll come whenever I can," Sebastian promised. He kissed her again then disappeared back to the school.