Previously:

"Have you explained yourself and apologized to lord Edward?" Sebastian asked.

"Doing so would be lost on someone of his ilk. And I did in fact break the appointment," Ciel said as he began to eat his strawberry shortcake.

"Then will you leave things as they are and simply cry yourself to sleep tonight?" Sebastian asked.

"I think not!" Ciel said, stabbing a strawberry with his fork. "Whatever it takes, I will find a way to make the prefects bring me into their circle. And I'll also settle my accounts without fail!" He ate the strawberry. "I'll make you regret squandering my efforts… Maurice Cole!" Ciel said deviously with the tips of the fork's tines still in his mouth, smirking evilly.


That Butler, Guiding


"Maurice Cole. He must be a pathological liar," Ciel said, licking a dot of whipped cream from the strawberry shortcake he was eating that had gotten on the corner of his upper lip.

"What makes you say that?" Sebastian asked.

"Did you see his hands?" Ciel asked.

"His hands?" Sebastian said, raising an eyebrow.

"The hands of the fags in school tend to be blistered and chapped from running errands for the upperclassmen," Ciel said. "However, his hands are as white and pure as the driven snow… Which means..."

"He, too, is resorting to dirty tricks like you, Young Master?" Sebastian said, holding his chin.

"Exactly. That part at the end was wholly uncalled for!" Ciel said with a small vein throbbing on his head. He ate another forkful of strawberry shortcake. "Besides, the way he categorically lied to me with ease and without so much as faltering tells me I'm right," he added with his brow furrowed.

"Heh. As badgers of the same sett, I expect you would be able to identify him by smell," Sebastian said.

"Hmph," Ciel said, setting aside his empty plate. "I can prove the falsehood in his statement with no trouble, but… that won't be enough to put an end to it. Sebastian, find others who have been entrapped by Cole like I was. And I also want you to thoroughly investigate Maurice's behavioral patterns and habits."

"As you wish, Sir," Sebastian said with a slight smile. "Oh, by the way, I meant to tell you yesterday, but… Chêne and Lacey dropped by for a visit."

"They what!?" Ciel said incredulously. "What were they thinking!? Were they seen?"

"I'm sure they weren't," Sebastian said. "But it was a bit of an emergency. Chêne missed me dearly when I didn't return," he explained, looking far too happy for Ciel's liking.

"She endangered our investigation for that?" Ciel said with his brow furrowed, extremely annoyed. Chêne should have more sense than that!

"Well, as I said, it was an emergency. She was having and extreme mood swing and needed me to comfort her," Sebastian said.

"Couldn't Lacey and the others have done that? Isn't that what she's here for?" Ciel said, frowning. Lacey was supposed to be Chêne's friend. Surely she should know what to say to her.

"Lacey and the others did attempt to comfort her, but none of them were successful," Sebastian said. "As there is a possibility of it happening again, I would like to request that you leave me a small window to visit with her." Ciel sighed, looking annoyed.

"Fine. Visit her in the morning before you're due to wake us for the day," Ciel said. "She has to rise early, too, so it should be fine. And she despises that obnoxious alarm clock you got, so I doubt she'd complain if you were the one to wake her up."

"Very good, Sir," Sebastian said, smiling.

=†=†=†=†=†=

The next morning, Sebastian sat on the bed next to his sleeping wife, who was curled up in the sheets like a kitten. He smiled wryly at the interesting expression on her sleeping face. She must be having an odd dream.

"Chêne. Chêne..." Sebastian called.

"Mmn..." Chêne groaned, furrowing her brow.

"Chêne..." Sebastian said louder, brushing away the hair that was in her face. "It's time to wake up."

"Mm… Sebastian?" Chêne said, opening her eyes. She smiled sleepily up at her husband. "Hey. You're here?"

"Yes," Sebastian said, smiling at her. "Shall I make you breakfast?"

"Ooh, that'd be great," Chêne said, grinning gratefully. She started to sit up.

"You should sleep," Sebastian said, stopping her.

"I want to spend time with you," Chêne said, sitting up the rest of the way.

—^—^—^—

Chêne wanted a cheese, mushroom, and bacon omelet, so Sebastian made one for her and then continued on to make one for each of the three stooges, Snake, and Lacey while he was at it.

"This is great~!" Chêne said, enjoying her breakfast.

"I'm glad you're enjoying it," Sebastian said, removing Finni's omelet from the pan. He set it with the others under a cloche to keep it warm. He began cooking Lacey's omelet.

"So, how are things going with you and Ciel?" Chêne asked.

"Well, he made the mistake of allowing himself to be tricked by another student, and now he's on the warpath..." Sebastian said.

"… It wasn't a blonde pretty boy, was it? Who told him the wrong time to turn up a gazebo that had a swan on it?" Chêne asked.

"… How did you know?" Sebastian asked, turning to look at her. "Did you have a dream about it?"

"Yeah," Chêne said, smiling wryly. "I can't take the sleeping draught anymore because of the babies. I saw the conversation where a group of older boys decided to invite Ciel to the gazebo, and they agreed the meeting should be set for 2:00 A.M…. But that blonde boy not only told Ciel to come two hours late, he denied giving him the incorrect time, making Ciel look even worse. It seemed to me like he was trying to eliminate the competition, so he's probably done it before to others, too. That boy's a real piece of work!"

"That was our thinking. Did you happen to see anything else?" Sebastian asked, turning back around to finish the omelet before it burned.

"Well, he's taking credit for other people's work—getting them to do it and then presenting it to that long-haired boy with the red waistcoat as if it was done through only his own efforts," Chêne said, frowning. "But then, Ciel's doing the same thing with you, isn't he?" she remarked wryly.

"Yes, indeed," Sebastian said, finishing Lacey's omelet and putting it with the others. "Can you identify anyone in particular that he's using?" he asked as he joined Chêne at the table.

"Well, there were two boys about Ciel's age… One of them had a pudding bowl haircut and one had curtained hair that's parted in the center and neatly combed. The second boy also has thick eyebrows. They're the only ones I saw," Chêne said, holding her chin as she recalled the details of her dream.

"Did you happen to get their names?" Sebastian asked.

"Nope. Sorry," Chêne said, leaning on the table with her chin in her hand. "After that, I saw Bard start a fire trying to toast a grilled cheese sandwich with his flamethrower. Honestly, that man..." She sighed heavily. She was really tempted to alter events and make the grilled cheese sandwiches herself, but Lacey had firmly warned her to be more careful about the butterfly effect when it came to her visions.

"At least Mei-Rin and Finni didn't cause any trouble," Sebastian said, though he was also annoyed that Bard was going to cause trouble for Chêne.

"Oh, they will," Chêne said with another sigh, smiling ruefully. "Mei-Rin is going to knock over a burning candle while she's dusting and start a small fire, and Finni is going to destroy a marble bust trying to kill a mouse."

"We have another mice infestation?" Sebastian asked, frowning.

"I can't say. I only saw the one mouse, so maybe we'll be lucky," Chêne said.

"It sounds like you're going to have a busy day," Sebastian said.

"Yeah, but Lacey will help me. And Snake. It's nothing I can't handle," Chêne said, smiling wryly.

"Perhaps it would be better if you simply left it all up to Lacey? She can take charge of the others," Sebastian said.

"No way. She'll stop them from ruining the manor, but she'll totally slack off on everything else," Chêne said, furrowing her brow slightly. "Besides, I'm still training her. She's got the basics down, but she's not up to your standards yet. She still has to stop and check with me that she's doing the right thing when it comes to stuff like removing stains, so she won't accidentally ruin something..."

"That already makes her better than the three who plow ahead regardless and cause trouble without hesitation," Sebastian said. They both tensed when they heard voices coming down the hall, drawing closer.

"Something smells yummy~" Finni said.

"Yeah, I'm definitely detecting bacon," Bard said.

Sebastian kissed Chêne goodbye and disappeared just as Finni and Bard reached the kitchen doorway.

"Hm? Is it just me or was someone else in here just now?" Bard asked Chêne, furrowing his brow as he looked around.

"You must not be fully awake yet," Chêne said. She thought that even they would notice something was odd if they knew for certain that Sebastian had been there only a second before. She supposed Sebastian left because he didn't want them to know about his uncanny ability to travel back and forth between the manor and the school with such inhuman speed. "Your breakfast is under the cloche over there." She waved her hand in the direction of the food and a few plates that Sebastian had left on the counter.

"Thanks, Missus Chêne!" Finni said brightly, helping himself without hesitation. Bard also helped himself and started eating.

"Wow, these are as good as if Sebastian had made them!" Bard said, impressed.

'That's because he did...' Chêne thought, sweat-dropping.

"But why are there mushrooms?" Bard asked. Chêne shrugged.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," she said as Mei-Rin and Lacey entered the kitchen. Lacey yawned widely as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Something smells good, it does," Mei-Rin said, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

"What's for breakfast?" Lacey asked.

"Cheese, mushroom, and bacon omelets," Chêne replied.

"… I'm not complaining, but why is there bacon?" Lacey asked. Traditional cheese and mushroom omelets didn't usually have meat in them as far as she knew.

"I felt like it. And what's with the question? You love bacon," Chêne said.

"Like I said, I'm not complaining," Lacey said, putting her omelet on a plate.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{7:20 A.M. Attending School…}

Ciel sat alone at his desk, isolated from the rest of the class, who were gossiping about him. Even McMillan was avoiding him.

"Did you hear?" a boy with blunt bangs asked.

"Word has it he skipped out on a meeting with the P4!" a boy with slicked back hair said.

"Surely not!" another boy said, appalled.

"Wow~!" a boy with his hair parted to the side said, shocked. "I'm amazed he's still in one piece!"

'Well, this makes it clear that… the P4 has more clout than I gave them credit for,' Ciel thought as he watched his classmates continue to speak about him in hushed voices that he could still hear. 'So this is what simply breaking an engagement with them gets me, hm?' He furrowed his brow. 'It will be difficult to get any testimony from those who were present when Maurice spoke to me.' McMillan watched Ciel from a distance with concern, feeling bad for him.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{9:00 A.M. First Period Recess…}

Maurice was meeting with two younger boys in the music room.

"Cole! We've done… as you asked," the boy with curtained hair said as the boy with a pudding bowl haircut handed over an envelope filled with papers. They were excited and eager to please.

"Thank you," Maurice said, accepting the envelope with a lovely smile. "You've been a great help." He quickly checked that the papers were in order. "There's just no end to the duties of a prefect's fag, you know! But let's make this our little secret, all right?"

"We understand completely! We're happy we were able to be of assistance!" the younger boys said enthusiastically.

"I've got to decide on my own fag soon. A fellow as capable as the two of you! See you later," Maurice said, smiling and giving them a wave as he turned and left.

"It's gonna be me!" the boy with curtained hair said.

"No, me, I say!!" the boy with a pudding bowl haircut said as they started to tussle with each other while they argued. They had no idea Sebastian had observed the whole exchange from the hall.

'Those seem to be the boys that Chêne described...' Sebastian thought.

—^—^—^—

Next, Sebastian hung upside down to peer in through a window, watching as Maurice knocked on a certain door.

"Excuse me," Maurice said as he entered the room and found the Red House prefect sitting in a chair by another window. "Redmond, I've compiled the data as you requested!"

"!" Redmond turned his head to look at him. "That was quick." He stood up and approached Maurice so he could give him the envelope filled with the necessary papers. He started reading them. "You've done your usual neat job of it, I see. You're always a great help," he praised Maurice.

"No, no. Not at all," Maurice said with a nice smile. "Oh! Right, right. Do you have any requests for your snack today?"

"Hmm… Now let me see. It's been some time since I've had your lemon myrtle soufflé glacé," Edgar said. "I'd like to have a taste of that again."

"Gladly! " Maurice said brightly with a beaming smile as he gave Edgar a salute.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{10:00 A.M. Fag Time…}

Sebastian was working quickly to tidy up a very messy room that had a large desk, three chairs, a sofa, and two globes with framed paintings and pictures and books scattered all over and piled up higgledy-piggledy.

—^—^—^—

{Scarlet Fox House (commonly called Red House)...}

While Sebastian was busy cleaning, Ciel spied on Maurice himself, hiding behind a tree near the fancy iron fence that belonged to Red House. He leaned out from behind the tree and watched Maurice approach the majestic gate that gleamed in the sunlight with shiny gold ornamental details. Unlike the wonky gate of the Purple House, the geometry of the classical architecture used in the Red House arch that framed the open gates was perfect with very clean lines. On top of the arch was a shield with the image of a fox curled around a rose, and there were two smaller foxes facing away from it over the columns on the sides. Crimson Roses bloomed all around, and beyond the gate was a sparkling fountain and a stately, grand house with classical architecture that could have been a lord's manor. Ciel cautiously moved a bit closer.

"!?" he gasped, alarmed when he saw the guards that were stationed at the entrance of the house. They wore uniforms with furry black hats and red coats that were extremely similar to the ones worn by The Queen's Guard. They were also armed with rifles and even had a German Shepherd guard dog on watch with them.

"Keep up the fine work as always, chaps!" Maurice told the guards with a smile as he stepped past them to enter his house.

'They actually employ guards for a mere student dorm!?' Ciel thought nervously with a bead of sweat sliding down his face as he observed them from his spot by the fence's gate, surprised. 'What is this, Buckingham Palace!?'

=†=†=†=†=†=

{2:00 P.M. Afternoon Break. Swan Gazebo…}

"Redmond, I present you with the lemon myrtle soufflé glacé you requested. And we have milk tea today, made with uva tea leaves," Maurice said, as he held the fancily plated cold dessert, which sat in the center of the dish, crowned with a small garnish of lemon balm and a triangular candy wafer. A curl of lemon peel had been placed beside it on top of the pieces of lemon fruit that encircled the dessert in the shallow pool of lemon syrup.

"Blimey, how d'you manage to make that complicated stuff every single day?" Gregory's fag asked, sweat-dropping. He was grudgingly impressed, but Gregory, who was preoccupied with consuming his latest mixed drink experiment, couldn't care less.

"Redmond deserves nothing but the best!" Maurice said, smiling as he offered the plate to Edgar, who smiled back at him. "Please have some too if you'f like, Violet," Maurice added. He had enough plates of the dessert to go around. They were all unaware that Sebastian was lurking in the water under the pier next to the gazebo and had witnessed everything.

=†=†=†=†=†=

{5:00 P.M. Cricket…}

Redmond hit the ball with a cricket bat so that it flew high and far, forcing the opposing team players to run after it.

"Jolly good save, Redmond!" Maurice cheered brightly without realizing that Ciel was watching him from behind another tree.

—^—^—^—

{Library…}

The library was massive with four floors of walls lined with shelves that were crammed with books. The ornate domed ceiling was high up above the students sitting at the tables to read and work on the first floor. Another student was among the stacks, reaching for a book that was on a shelf a little too high up for him. He was surprised when a gloved hand reached past him and pulled out the book he wanted.

"You have some quite difficult reading there, I see. What form are you?" Sebastian asked the student. He looked a little older than Ciel and wore his fair hair in a chin-length bob with long bangs swept to the side. He had a delicate air about him.

"Ah..." the student said, looking up at Sebastian, surprised he could come up to stand right next to him without him noticing. A bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. "I-I'm Harcourt, a second-former, sir."

"Second form? That is wonderful, indeed," Sebastian said, setting the book he had retrieved on top of the stack Harcourt was already holding. It was a book on the science of logic. "I daresay you must be quite popular in class since you can read the original text of Hegel's 'Logic' at your age?" Harcourt flinched.

"Nothing of the sort, sir…!" Harcourt said, looking distressed as he turned his head away with his face flushed and tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm not good for much else besides reading..."

"That look on your face, lad… Does something weigh upon your mind?" Sebastian asked kindly as he wiped away the tear threatening to fall from Harcourt's eye with his gloved finger. "Please, come to the chapel if you wish."

—^—^—^—

{Chapel…}

"Cole said that he did indeed hand deliver an invitation to the Swan Gazebo to me, but… I never received it," Maurice said as he sat on one side inside the confessional booth with Sebastian sitting on the other. "And somehow, despite it all, there the invitation was, in my desk..." Tears rolled down his flushed face. "I truly wasn't lying! But everyone calls me a liar even so..."

"How sad you must feel… how very hurt… to not have anyone believe you," Sebastian said. "But I do not think you a liar."

"Sir…!!" Harcourt said, relieved to have finally found someone who believed him.

"Pray. I am certain you will find the misunderstanding soon dispelled," Sebastian said, circling his name among other names that had already been crossed out on the list he had of people to investigate.

=†=†=†=†=†=

"—And so… I came across approximately four students who had fallen victim to the wiles of Maurice Cole," Sebastian informed Ciel later that night in his office, going over the notes on his clipboard.

"Just as I thought," Ciel said, sitting in Sebastian's chair again.

"Not only that, but it is highly likely that he leaves the majority of his fag duties to other students," Sebastian added. "Chêne saw it, and I think what we witnessed today confirms it."

"Chêne saw it?" Ciel asked, a little surprised. "Did she see anything else?"

"Only that her number of headaches would increase because of certain incidents at the manor..." Sebastian said with his brow furrowed slightly. He hoped she was doing her best to take it easy despite the messes caused by the others.

"Incidents?" Ciel asked, wondering if he should be concerned.

"Nothing to worry about, Young Master. It's just more of the usual," Sebastian said.

'Ah. Mei-Rin, Finni, and Bard, huh…?' Ciel thought, sweat-dropping.

"Getting back to the matter of Maurice Cole… For example, making soufflé glacé requires at least a few hours of chilling. Even Chêne needs at least six hours to make it. It would be impossible for him to make it during Fag time alone without anybody assisting him."

"I'd like to know more about his movements in Red House, but… since I have you take care of my chores during fag time..." Ciel said, holding his chin. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "Hrnnn… I need another pawn in Red House, where Maurice resides. And let's not forget it was Derrick's house as well."

"However, I cannot recommend creating another vacancy by force. Especially in such a short time..." Sebastian said, holding his chin. "Besides, even if someone is offered a place, he cannot choose the house in which he is to reside. House assignments depend on one's social status and the like-mindedness of one's personality."

"Haah… I know, I know," Ciel sighed, leaning back in the chair. "But where am I to find someone possessing both the status and wealth that will guarantee his assignment to the Scarlet Fox House, which allows only the noblest of bloodlines… and who will be permitted to enroll as a special exception even if there are no vacanc—" Ciel and Sebastian's eyes widened slightly as they gasped. "I've just thought of someone, but I absolutely do not want to send for him…!!" Ciel said, leaning on one of the chair's arms with his face in his hand. "Arrrgh..."

"However, he is indeed a rather special individual who satisfies all those condition," Sebastian said, holding up a finger. Though he also had his reservations, he was willing to do whatever it took to solve the case as quickly as possible so he could return to his pregnant wife.

"UUUUHRRNNN..." Ciel groaned with his eyes squeezed shut as he gritted his teeth and grimaced, throwing his head back, then letting it roll back down until his head was bowed in defeat. Sebastian waited patiently for him to decide. "Damn… Needs must when the devil drives, I suppose..." Ciel said with his brow furrowed, looking disgusted. "I'll take advantage of anything I can use!"

=†=†=†=†=†=

{Phantomhive Manor...}

"I'm dead..." Chêne groaned miserably with her head on the kitchen table. She was exhausted. Everything had happened just as she foresaw it.

"You just stay there then," Lacey said with a sigh, standing next to her and patting her on the head. "Snake and I will take care of dinner. Right?" She looked at Snake for confirmation.

"I'll do my best! —says Emily," Snake said.

"Thanks..." Chêne groaned. She couldn't be bothered to pick her head up.

"Any special requests?" Lacey asked.

"… Chinese food and doughnuts?" Chêne asked.

"That's fairly normal," Bard remarked, surprised. She had been craving some weird combinations lately.

"… Together. At the same time..." Chêne added.

"Okay, you've lost me," Bard said.

"That's not so strange," Mei-Rin said. "They have something like doughnuts in Chinese food too, they do."

"I want mine to be French crullers with chocolate icing..." Chêne said.

"Never mind..." Mei-Rin said, sweat-dropping. They didn't have that in Chinese food.

"That sounds yummy~" Finni said.

"Uh… Can you make doughnuts?" Lacey asked Snake.

"I have never tried before. —says Wordsworth," Snake said, holding his chin.

"Hmm..." Lacey said, also holding her chin. "The last time I tried to make doughnuts… they came out a little too crispy and so oily that was like eating a spoonful of oil with every bite..."

"Eww," Finni said.

"Yeah, it was," Lacey agreed.

"..." Chêne closed her eyes. 'She probably either didn't drain them properly after frying them, or the dough was underproofed...' she thought, deciding to teach her the proper way once she had some energy again.

"So you can't make doughnuts, huh?" Bard said.

"I don't want to hear that from a man who can't make grilled cheese sandwiches—even I can do that!" Lacey said with a vein throbbing on her head.

"Then… how about a deviled egg sandwich with roast chicken, pickles, and lots of ketchup?" Chêne asked. "Oh, and crisps."

"You had me until you said 'ketchup'..." Bard said, sweat-dropping.

"Well, you don't have to add it to yours," Lacey said. "And what are crisps?"

"It's what we call 'chips,'" Chêne said.

"Ah, more frying..." Lacey said. They didn't have any pre-made chips on hand, so she would have to make them.

"I know how to make crisps! —says Webster," Snake said.

"All right, now we're in business! There's that spare roasted chicken in the fridge that Chêne made for emergencies," Lacey said, clapping her hands together, grinning.

"Does this qualify as an emergency?" Bard asked.

"Well, it would take about an hour and forty minutes to roast the chicken, and we're hungry now right?" Lacey said.

"Don't you need to make the deviled eggs from scratch anyway?" Mei-Rin asked.

"That should only take, like, forty minutes at the most," Lacey said dismissively before grinning and turning to Snake. "So, let's get started!"

=†=†=†=†=†=

Back at the school, in a Sapphire Owl dorm room, the boys were sleeping. Ciel was lying in his bed.

"Phantomhive," McMillan whispered, sitting up in his bed, which was next to Ciel's. "… Are you asleep?"

"… No," Ciel answered in a whisper.

"Can I come over and talk to you?" McMillan asked, keeping his voice low.

"… Sure," Ciel said quietly. He started putting his eyepatch on while McMillan silently crossed the space between the beds that fit two small desks with a very little bookcase between them, climbing into Ciel's bed with him. Ciel had just finished making sure his eyepatch was in place.

"I'm sorry about not standing up for you at school," McMillan apologized to Ciel, lying next to him.

"Don't worry. We've got to make it through six years at this place, so… I completely understand," Ciel said.

"But why on earth would you go and do such a thing? What made you break your appointment with the P4?" McMillan asked.

"It wasn't my intention to do so. I was told to come out at four, but the appointment had actually been for two," Ciel explained.

"Eeh!?" McMillan exclaimed, surprised.

"Ahem!" the boy in the bed opposite Ciel's said angrily.

"Shhh!" Ciel shushed McMillan, who quickly covered his mouth. Both boys sweated nervously.

"But we heard him say four, too, you know?" McMillan said.

"Right?" Ciel whispered. "But there's nothing more to be done about it now, so..."

"I know! I'll prove you're right!" McMillan whispered excitedly, pushing himself up.

"Eh?" Ciel said.

"If my word alone isn't good enough, I'll ask around for other witnesses to come forward. We were aaaaall eavesdropping anyway!" McMillan whispered. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"All right… I'd really appreciate your help. Thank you McMillan," Ciel said, smiling gratefully at him.

"No trouble at all!" McMillan said. Ciel smirked as he watched McMillan return to his own bed. It was quite a convenient development.

=†=†=†=†=†=

The next day, the students had been drawn by an exciting arrival and gathered to see quite a spectacle. Everyone was talking.

"What is it?"

"Uwaaah! Amaziiing!"

"Wooow!"

"Look at that!"

"This way! This way!!"

SHANG~

A staff with a large tear-shaped ornament that had ruffles around its edges and jingling bells hanging beneath it was shaken by the Indian man who was holding it. He was wearing a turban with an ornament on it, a fancy vest over a bare chest, dhoti, and bracelets with bells. There was a bindi on his forehead. There was another Indian man dressed like him, but there were three other Indian men between them, all wearing turbans with part of the cloth hanging down, a chest covering that appeared to be a rectangle of embellished fabric with should straps, arm bands, and bracelets and anklets with bells. They also wore bindis. They and more men dressed in both types of outfits, were walking, dancing, and scattering flower petals that floated on the breeze, as they made sure the way was clear for the enormous creature they surrounded. The elephant made a trumpeting sound and swung its trunk playfully. It had been adorned with jewelry, with caps added to its tusks, and there were also a decorative cover on top of its head and a massive blanket with decorative fringe and tassels. There was another Indian man riding on the elephant, presumably steering it, and a fancy howdah was secured on its back as well. Inside was none other than Soma.

"Ohhhhh! So this is what they call a school!" Soma said brightly, shielding his eyes with a hand as he peered out at his surroundings. "It is quite large! About the size of my family home!" The large audience of students that had gathered to watch were impressed.

"I hear he's a prince from India!"

"This is my first time seeing an elephant!"

"I say!"

"He's made it into Red House in splendid fashion, I see… The brand and wealth of Indian royalty is clearly nothing to scoff at," Ciel said with a bead of sweat sliding down his face, his brow furrowed a little, and a slightly tense smile.

"Be that as it may, I still did not anticipate that he would come to school on an elephant," Sebastian said with a similar expression, sweat drop included. How did he get his hands on such a beast? And where had those men who were accompanying the prince come from?

"Oh!" Soma said when he spotted someone familiar among the crowd. "Heeey!! Ciel!! I've come for you!!" he called out at the top of his voice, smiling and waving at his friend. There was a clamor as everyone in the crowd turned to look at Ciel.

"!!!" Ciel gasped, paling and flinching in shock, sweating nervously. 'That idiot. I insisted in my letter that he pretend we're perfect strangers…!'

"I was surprised to receive a letter from you out of the blue! If you'd told me you would be lonely here, I could have come with you, silly!" Soma yelled cheerfully at the young earl. But Ciel had turned away from him, still pale and sweating nervously while wearing an irritated expression with his lips pressed in a thin line. "Cieeeel~? Heeey!" Soma shouted at the younger boy as he began to walk away. "Are you listening to me?" Soma furrowed his brow and pouted a little. "..." He snapped his fingers, and the elephant let out another trumpeting sound and it scooped a startled Ciel up with its trunk.

"UWAAAA!" Ciel yelled with wide eyes, turning extremely pale with shock as his top hat fell off his head.

"Why don't we go together!?" Soma said brightly with a big grin.

"Enough with your jokes—!!" Ciel snapped angrily with a vein throbbing on his head, covered in a nervous sweat. "Put me down at once, you!! I-I knew I shouldn't have sent for yooou—!!!" he yelled.

"Darn, we'll be late. C'mon, let's run for it!" Soma said, urging the elephant to go faster.

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

"Uwah! You idiot! St-Stopppp!" Ciel shouted. The students who were watching all sweat-dropped.

"Good morning," Sebastian greeted one of the students with a sparkling smile as he passed him. Pretending not to know either of the boys who were with the elephant.

"G-Good morning, sir..." the boy said, amazed that he could ignore such a spectacle so easily. Was it okay for him to just let the young earl be carried off by the elephant?