Previously:
"Me too, Harcourt," Ciel said. "I have a friend in Purple House too, so I can't help feeling like it will be hard to square off against him as well."
"Ohhhh… That's why you came by our house before," Cheslock said.
"Yes! His name is Derrick Arden," Ciel said brightly.
SNAP!
The piece of charcoal Gregory was drawing with broke from the extra pressure he applied to it and half of it flew into the air. Edgar, Herman, and Lawrence all stared at Ciel with stunned expressions on their faces.
CLACK.
The flying piece of charcoal landed on the floor. It was dead silent.
"Eh..." Ciel said warily.
"Did you say… Derrick…?" Gregory asked, scraping the paper he was drawing on with the remaining piece of charcoal as he turned his head to look at Ciel with and eerie glare.
That Butler, Colluding
"Did you say… Derrick…?" Gregory asked, breaking the tense silence. The P4 stared at Ciel as if he had said something dangerous.
"Er…! Well..." Ciel said uneasily. 'The mien of the P4 has suddenly changed!?'
"If I recall, Derrick Arden is the son of Duke Clemens, right?" Edward said casually, breaking the tense atmosphere.
"Y-Yes," Ciel said, surprised he could be so laid back when the P4 was so on edge.
"I didn't expect you would know him," Edward said.
"We played together many times when I was little," Ciel said.
"Hohh?" Cheslock said.
'The P4 clearly became uneasy the moment I mentioned Derrick's name. But their fags don't seem particularly concerned…?' Ciel thought, watching Edward and Cheslock talk to each other like normal. 'I'll try pressing them a little more.' "In Derrick's letters, he said that he was residing in Red House… so upon my arrival here. I was surprised to learn that he had been transferred to Purple House."
"..." Edgar gazed coolly at Ciel.
"It took us some time to notice his true personality, you see," Lawrence said, pushing up his glasses.
"He was my fag for a time as well… a very capable fellow," Edgar said.
"Quite. He was certainly talented…" Herman said. "However..."
"He was peculiar, at the very least," Gregory said.
' 'Peculiar'? The letter from the queen mentioned nothing of the sort...' Ciel thought. "I see. Purple house does take in eccen… that is, students who excel at one particular thing, after all. What might Derrick's gift be?"
"I can't be entirely certain, but in all likelihood, it is..." Lawrence said, shutting his book as the P4 all answered at the same time:
"Memorization," Lawrence said.
"Cricket," Herman said.
"Song-writing," Edgar said.
"Embroidery," Gregory said.
"Hunh?" Ciel said, taken aback. "Er…?"
"In any case! It was the headmaster's decision to transfer him," Edgar said.
"No order from the headmaster is ever wrong," Herman said.
"..." Gregory didn't disagree.
"And… the headmaster's decision is absolute!" Lawrence said.
"…!" Ciel said.
"—By the way, in regard to the fourth of June ceremony..." Lawrence said.
'—How very odd,' Ciel thought while the prefect talked. 'However much you chalk it up to tradition… for the prefects to not even know the reason… And taking into account their reactions at the sound of Derrick's name… I have no doubt. The P4 is attempting to conceal something!! But if I continue to hound them, I'll arouse their suspicions. Perhaps it's best if I drop the matter here.'
"..." Gregory drew a new picture. This time it was Ciel, being stalked by the Jabberwocky.
=†=†=†=†=†=
"Mei-Rin… How exactly did this happen?" Chêne asked wearily, holding a hand to her aching head while she stared at a leather armchair, which had been completely ruined.
"Well, I, uh, don't know..." Mei-Rin said, fidgeting nervously. "There was a stain on the arm of the chair, so I used bleach—"
"You used what?" Chêne asked, squinting at how stupid the mistake was.
"Wow, even I know better than to put bleach on real leather," Lacey said, standing there with her arms crossed. "But if it was just on the arm, why is the rest of it screwed up?"
"Well, I thought maybe if the rest of it matched..." Mei-Rin said guiltily.
"Mei-Riiin!! Now the whole thing needs to be reupholstered!" Chêne groaned, face-palming. She suddenly felt incredibly frustrated, and tears began to form in her eyes.
"M-Missus Chêne!?" Mei-Rin said, concerned.
"Are you actually crying?" Lacey asked. "Over this?"
"I'm not crying! I'm pissed!" Chêne snapped with a vein throbbing on her head, even though she had to sniff to keep her nose from running.
"You're totally crying..." Lacey said, offering Chêne her handkerchief. Chêne took it and blew her nose.
"For future reference, you're supposed to sprinkle cornstarch or talcum powder over the stain and let it sit overnight. Then you wipe the powder away to see if the stain is gone. If not, repeat the process or try using dishwashing soap. Once the stain is removed, apply leather conditioner," Chêne lectured Mei-Rin.
"Yes, ma'am!" Mei-Rin said quickly, saluting her. Chêne sweat-dropped, wondering if it really sank in.
"Anyway, I'll do something about this chair later..." Chêne said, looking at it again. Maybe Sebastian could salvage it somehow. If not, it would need to be replaced. Chêne suddenly felt drained of all energy, and her feet and head were killing her. 'I want to sleep so baaad…!' she thought, tearing up again.
=†=†=†=†=†=
"I see. Mei-Rin, huh?" Sebastian said the next morning, staring at the chair with his eyes cast in shadow. This was a new low for her. He had wanted to cuddle with Chêne and maker her breakfast, but she had brought him straight to the chair to deal with Mei-Rin's screwup.
"Sorry, I let my guard down… Should I order a new one?" Chêne asked.
"No, this is still salvageable," Sebastian said.
"And what should I tell the others? Won't they be suspicious?" Chêne said.
"Just tell them you used a secret recipe for extra-effective leather conditioner. They'll believe almost anything," Sebastian said.
"I guess that's true..." Chêne said, closing her eyes for a moment with her arms crossed. "They've never suspected you yet. Lacey will ask questions, but she's already aware of the truth about you..." When she opened her eyes again, the chair was fixed.
"Now," Sebastian said, gently cupping her face in his hands. He leaned down and kissed her as she stood on her tiptoes to meet his lips. "What do you want for breakfast this morning?"
"Actually… I'm not hungry," Chêne said with a coy smile.
"Oh?" Sebastian said, smirking when he saw the desire in her eyes. "In that case..." He scooped her up into his arms. "What are we waiting for?"
=†=†=†=†=†=
"You… are glowing," Lacey said, getting right up in Chêne's face to have a closer look at her. For a change, she had woken up before the others and was helping Chêne make breakfast.
"Of course I'm glowing. I'm pregnant," Chêne said dismissively.
"No, it's more than that..." Lacey said. She smirked. "You had sex, didn't you?"
"Say that a little louder. I don't think the others heard you," Chêne said, blushing.
"I've been wondering… What is it like with a demon?" Lacey asked curiously.
"I am not having this conversation with you," Chêne said firmly, turning redder.
"Killjoy," Lacey said, pouting.
"No," Chêne insisted.
"I'll get you to tell me one of these days..." Lacey threatened.
"Until then, the answer is still 'no'!" Chêne said. "Now drop it. The others should be waking up soon."
=†=†=†=†=†=
Later that day, at Weston, Edward was practicing his swing in a private spot while he and Ciel talked.
"I was wondering why you'd call me out to a place like this behind the school… but it's just to talk about Derrick Arden again, is it?" Edward said. He swung his cricket bat. "I thought you weren't the type to take any interest in other people."
"It just doesn't make any sense," Ciel said. "With the houses so hostile to each other, for him to have been transferred from one to the other is just..."
"That said… Derrick wasn't the only one to be transferred," Edward said.
"Eh!?" Ciel said.
"I don't know much about the other houses, but… if I'm not mistaken, a number of students transferred from Red House to Purple House around the same time."
"What were their names!?" Ciel asked urgently.
"No idea! I told you I don't know the details!" Edward replied, getting annoyed.
"Why would so many students be transferred all at once?" Ciel asked. "Did they cause some sort of trouble or…?"
"I haven't heard anything like that, but… it was the headmaster's decision, and that's all there is to it," Edward said, swinging his cricket bat again.
"… I see," Ciel said. 'So even Edward thinks like that.' He turned to leave. "I apologize for taking your time. Thank you."
"Ciel!" Edward said, grabbing his hand before he could leave. "Why have you come to this school? Don't tell me you're here as the watchdog—" Ciel's eye widened slightly, but he quickly composed himself.
"It's nothing for you to worry about," Ciel told Edward, taking his hand back. "I'll see you later."
=†=†=†=†=†=
"Ohhhh~!" Mei-Rin, Bard, and Finni said staring at the chair that Sebastian had restored to its former glory. They were super impressed.
"You fixed it, yes?" Mei-Rin said to Chêne.
"Well, I had help from Sebastian," Chêne said. "He left behind a special leather conditioner that did the trick—but don't do it gain, okay?"
"Okay!" Mei-Rin said, relieved that it had been fixed.
"As usual, Sebastian thinks ahead, huh?" Bard said, feeling the leather chair. "It's like it never happened!"
"Good thing!" Finni said. "The young master really likes this chair."
"Uh-huh. Amazing," Lacey said with a face that let Chêne know she wasn't buying it for one second. But she didn't ask questions in front of the others. Chêne nodded at Lacey to let her know she would explain later.
=†=†=†=†=†=
"Ohh. You mean the upperclassmen Gleason, Hardy, Isaac, and Thewlis?" McMillan said when Ciel asked him about the other boys who transferred around the same time as Derrick during a break time when they were in class. "I believe they were transferred to Purple House around six months ago."
'I should have just asked McMillan first,' Ciel thought, sweat-dropping.
"Sayyy, Phantomhive! Why're you so curious about the other houses?" McMillan asked.
"Well, why aren't you?" Ciel asked.
"Eeeh?" McMillan said. "Well, I mean, it was the headmaster's decision and all?"
'The headmaster again...' Ciel thought.
"Maybe it was simply to balance the number of students?" McMillan suggested. "Purple House is full of eccentrics, so many of them apparently drop out partway through term." He smiled and became excited. "But never mind that! What kinds of things do you talk about with the P4!?"
"Ahhh! I want to hear about it too!" another boy said, coming over.
"Me too!" said another.
"Forgive me," Ciel said, standing up. "I have to run an errand for an upperclassman. Let's talk about it next time."
"Do your best, okaaaaay!?" McMillan called after Ciel as he left, waving.
'I can't waste time with them,' Ciel thought without looking back.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Common Room…}
There was noise from the boys talking. Some of them played cards while others read books or studied. There were even two young boys running around. Ciel ignored all of this and approached some upperclassmen.
"Um… There's something I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind," he said to them.
"Oh! The new member of the P4 from the first form," one of the upperclassmen said. Ciel went on to ask him and three other boys about Derrick.
"Derrick Arden? He was supposed to be a great runner or somesuch."
"Derrick Arden, the fellow they called the dance expert?"
"Derrick Arden was a prize-winning painter."
"Derrick Arden, hmm? I believe he was an expert in transcribing texts?"
When Ciel said, "And? Why was he transferred?" the upperclassmen all gave the same answer:
"Who knows? It was the headmaster's decision, right?"
=†=†=†=†=†=
'Everyone says something different about Derrick Arden when asked,' Ciel thought, sitting on a bench in courtyard. 'Just what sort of person was Derrick here at school?' Soma happened to be passing by with two other boys, and he decided to join Ciel when he spotted them. 'And not a single student harbors suspicions about the transfers simply because it was 'the headmaster's decision.''
"Not with your chums today?" Soma asked, plopping himself down on the bench next to Ciel, who ignored him.
'They have entirely stopped thinking for themselves,' Ciel thought of the students at the school. 'Elites at a distinguished school? Don't make me laugh.'
"?" Soma said, waving a hand to try to get his attention.
"They're worse than sheep out to pasture," Ciel said darkly.
"Eh!? Have I done something to make you mad!?" Soma asked. Neither of them were aware that they were being watched by Gregory from a window on the second floor.
"Derrick Arden…?" a voice asked, making Gregory flinch. He looked cautiously and saw that Sebastian and the vice headmaster, Johann Agares.
"Yes. I am worried because it appears that he has failed to attend class for some time," Sebastian said.
"You even extend your concern to the students of other houses, do you?" Agares asked.
"The house in which a student resides is of no import to me," Sebastian replied.
"He was an excellent student," Agares said as they passed Gregory by.
"Hoh… Then why was his house assignment changed?" Sebastian asked.
"I don't know… It was the headmaster's decision," Agares said. They turned around a corner to go down stairs.
"Perhaps his truancy can be attributed to the shock of the transfer?" Sebastian suggested.
"I could not say…" Agares said. "It was the headmaster's deci—sio...OOOOON!" He misstepped and went tumbling down the stairs, hitting the bottom with a mighty impact.
WHAM!
"Mister Agares!?" Sebastian said, flinching in shock as he sweat-dropped. He hurried down to check on the vice headmaster. "Are you all right!?"
"Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me," Agares said, holding a hand to his head, which somehow still had his scholar's hat on it. Blood was dripping down his face from under the hat and gathering on the floor beneath his head.
"Shall I take you to the infirmary?" Sebastian offered, giving Agares a hand to help him up.
"Thank you. No, I am fine," Agares said, taking Sebastian's hand to steady himself as he stood back up. Sebastian furrowed his brow when he noticed something strange.
"…?" Sebastian said as he watched Agares walk away, dabbing at the blood on his face with a handkerchief.
=†=†=†=†=†=
Sebastian was reading latin from a book to the class.
"Sunt aliquid manes: letum non omina finit, luridaque evictos effugit umbra rogos," Sebastian recited, walking among the rows of desks. "Cynthia namque meo vista est incumbere fulcro," Sebastian subtly slipped a small folded up note onto Ciel's desk as he passed it, "murmur ad extremae nuper humata viae, cum mihi ab exesquiis penderet amoris..."
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Sapphire Owl House Library…}
It was dark inside the library with the moonlight falling in through the windows being the only source of light. Or so it should have been. Instead of being tucked up in bed like all the other students, Ciel was entering the library while holding a lantern to light his way.
'What's going on? He's told me to come to the library today,' Ciel thought. He reached the bookcases across from one of the desks set out for the use of the students and found his butler.
"Hey, Se—!!?" Ciel said, startled when Sebastian suddenly grabbed him and forced him up against a bookcase. "—Nn…!?" Ciel couldn't speak. The demon had a hand clamped firmly over his mouth. Sebastian lifted him up so his feet left the floor. "!!"
CLACK.
The door to the library opened, and a foot clad in the uniform shoe with houndstooth pants stepped inside. Lawrence's face appeared in the dark, lit up by a lantern.
"Oh?" the prefect said, flinching when he saw Sebastian.
"What are you doing here at this hour?" Sebastian asked him, holding Ciel's lantern.
"!" Lawerence said. He looked this way and that, but there was no one else there.
"Are you looking for something?" Sebastian asked.
"No, sir… Pardon me, Mister Michaelis," Lawrence said, and he left the library, shutting the door behind him. Sebastian opened his academic robes, revealing the hidden Ciel.
"I apologize for being rough… but it seemed as though you were being followed," Sebastian said.
"I guess I've done one too many things to stand out..." Ciel said. "But sniffing around was useless. No matter what I asked, the ultimate response was always, "It was the headmaster's decision.'"
"The staff replied the same way as well," Sebastian said, shrugging.
"The staff too, hm…? We're getting nowhere like this," Ciel said. He furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth. "Well, if that's how it's going to be, I'll use whatever means necessary to make contact with Derrick directly!" He opened the window and climbed up onto the sill. "Come along, Sebastian."
"But, Young Master, are you not sure to be penalized with two Ys if you leave your house at this time of night?" Sebastian said.
"Hmph. Isn't it the masters who mete out punishments to the students? Hmm, Mister Michaelis, sir?" Ciel reminded him.
"Aah. Yes, you are correct," Sebastian said.
=†=†=†=†=†=
{Violet Wolf House…}
"This house is even more atmospheric at night," Ciel said, standing before the house's gate with Sebastian, who held the lantern. It was like looking at a haunted house. Something told him Lacey would be right at home there.
"Well? How will you meet with Lord Derrick?" Sebastian asked. "You are forbidden from entering the other houses. If you sneak in only to be caught, it will be no small matter. Or were you perhaps hoping to rely on my powers?" he asked with a smirk.
"Hmph. I don't even have to go so far as to depend on you," Ciel said, snatching the lantern. "If I can't get inside his house..."
WOOSH!
Ciel flung the lantern with all his might over the gate at Purple House.
"… I just have to get him to come out!!" Ciel declared.
SMASH!
The lantern crashed through a window pane and quickly set the curtains alight.
"Are you aware of article 87 of Weston College's school regulations… Mister Michaelis?" Ciel asked.
"Article 87 of Weston College's school regulations… 'In case of an emergency, such as the onset of a fire or other calamity, within the school buildings or houses… all students must promptly evacuate to the schoolyard to answer the roll call taken by the prefects,'" Sebastian said. "Your conduct is deserving of expulsion if you are found out, Phantomhive." He smiled slyly. "However, as watchdog to the queen, your actions are deserving of great praise, Young Master."
"Prefect Bluewer was right. I should know the school regulations by heart," Ciel said. "I look forward to seeing what kind of fellow he is."
"What was that sound just now…? Uwah!?" a purple house student exclaimed as the fire was discovered inside.
"Something's burning!" another purple house student cried.
"We'll meet at last! Eh, Derrick Arden!?" Ciel said, smirking and crossing his arms while he watched the fire spread.
