The room was empty; only the burning fire in the chimney emitted a soft warm glow that gave life to the room, projecting dancing shadows on the two armchairs near the hearth.

Alone and troubled by the master's request to submit myself to another man, visibly younger than him, I was going around in circles waiting for the preaching that would still overwhelm me. I had not yet seen anything in that young man similar to Alois. He, my master, so capricious and so cruel, seemed only to embarrass his young friend when he showed me off, as a toy is shown.

The door opened, putting an end to my thoughts. I faced and froze on seeing Sebastian enter, a candlestick in his hand, followed closely by the young man looking so serious. The latter paused when he saw me, suddenly looking disconcerted.

"Young master, what's going on?" Sebastian snapped, curling slightly above the boy.

He looked angry as he looked up at his servant.

"Nothing." He retorted dryly.

They then advanced towards the armchairs and the young master took place in one of them. I did not dare move and just followed them out of the corner of my eye. It was then that Sebastian put the candlestick on the pedestal table separating the armchairs and spoke to me.

"Lilia, here's Count Ciel Phantomhive and I'm Sebastian Michaelis, his butler." He said to me with a warm air. "Please sit down." He added, pointing to the empty chair almost facing the Count's.

Disconcerted, I finally took a seat after a few seconds of hesitation. My legs clenched and my hands resting on my knees, trying to keep the kimono from slipping on my bare body, I ventured to meet the young Count's gaze after a moment of silence that seemed to drag on.

He seemed nervous, his fingers tapping the armrests of his chair, staring at the floor. No wonder, I thought, after what Alois had done. It moved me to see him so troubled but it also made his request to see me all the more unexpected.

Sebastian, who was standing behind him, leaned over his ear and slipped a few words that seemed to encourage the young Count as he finally looked up at me.

"Hm. Lilia, how long have you been working for Count Trancy?" he said in a full voice.

"For two months, my lord." I replied, hesitantly.

"And ... what are your ... tasks?" he continued, more gently, almost embarrassed.

"I ... I am the washerwoman, my lord."

Ciel let out a brief "oh" of sincere surprise and I felt myself blush with shame. After the demonstration that he had been made before, he had naturally had to believe that my only function was to provide for the carnal desires of my master.

"Well, what can you tell me about Count Trancy?" He resumed after the surprise dissipated.

His voice had become more assured and he gave me an intense look. His butler, who stood behind him with a benevolent look on his face, stared at me just as intensely, giving up all smiles. This change in his attitude made me cold in the back. How could a man so handsome and lovable possess a look so cold and implacable as well?

I was confused, more and more, by the reason of my presence in this place.

"Please excuse me, my lord, but ... what is this about?" I asked, casting fearful glances towards Sebastian.

Ciel noticed it immediately and exclaimed:

"Sebastian, leave us now, it's an order!"

The butler immediately put back on his suavity mask and bowed.

"Yes my Lord." He said before complying.

I followed him with my eyes, feeling a little tension leave my body as he walked away, but the young Count spoke again as soon as the door was closed.

"Lilia, I need information from you."

"I do not think I'm allowed to ..."

"If you do not cooperate with me, Sebastian will take care of questioning you. I can assure you, you don't want that." He interrupted me abruptly.

He appeared to me quite different at that moment, more imposing and also older. His frail and delicate appearance swore with the assurance he showed.

So that was it, an interrogation about my master. Claude would not have been pleased at all with what was going on, much less that I would not be tempting to question the Count's words as to the persuasive power of his butler.

"I do not know much, my lord; I think my master inherited the mansion when his father died a year ago." I gave in then.

"And Claude Faustus, do you know him well?" He continued coldly.

"Not really."

He paused and narrowed his visible eye to my answer.

"But ... you and Claude ... there is nothing between you?" His voice softened a little, as uncertain.

In front of my incomprehension, he continued.

"Sebastian thinks he's interested in you."

"No, I ..." I stammered, confused and blushing again, "I'm sure he's not… but…"

In my mind I passed all the time that Claude had not had the slightest reaction to my half-word complaints, to my tearful lamentations; all these times he had just stared at me indifferently and had just waited until I decided to follow him.

"Claude serves the master, like everyone else here, I ... I sometimes thought he deplored what my master does to me, but I went astray, he's just doing his duty, like the others." I chained, leaving more bitterness in my remarks than I had intended to.

Ciel nodded slightly, looking sympathetic, and slowly resumed:

"He leads you in your work?"

"... No, well, he ... comes to get me when the master needs me and sometimes the master asks that he… hum… watches us."

He understood from my embarrassed look that I was not talking about me washing the sheets and gaped for a few moments before his stupefied gaze turned into something harder, resentful.

"How did you come to serve Alois this way?" he asked indignantly.

A sweet heat filled my heart to see so young a man revolted by my situation. He reminded me that goodness still exists outside this home and I felt an infinite gratitude towards him.

"I do not know, my lord, it's ... It happened like that, I'm not even sure my master anticipated it, I ... I did not know how to stop it the first time." I answered, carried away by the emotion that invaded me.

"He does not have the right to abuse you so, it's immoral! You need to ask for help!" He exclaimed, getting up from his seat, clenching his fist in front of him.

I looked with admiration at this young man overhanging me, overflowing with will and honor for my cause. No one in this place had ever comforted me, but as I felt a slightest hope of taking control of my life rebound in me again, the perspective of leaving this place and all its perversity behind suddenly dug a void in my chest; the truth, in all its crudity, hit me at that moment.

"Help?" I whispered, curling up in my seat.

He looked at me, confused.

"Nobody can help me; I'm right where I belong here." I added.

Ciel stared at me incomprehensively and seemed to think aloud, searching for the reason for such reasoning.

"But ... why do you say that? Don't you want it to stop? You... you like what they do to you?"

I smiled in spite of myself; as inconceivable as it may seem, it was the first time my mind seemed at peace, accepting the fate that was mine.

I looked up at the boy overhanging me, feeling the fire rising again to my cheeks, ashamed to be ready to tell him the torment that was assaulting me then, and I said to him:

"I wish I could say no ..."

He appeared surprised for a moment, probing my eyes in search of perhaps a trace of lies, of denial? He could not have read anything other than the truth; I finally admitted that I was solely responsible for what was happening to me. It was rough and deviant most of the time, highly immoral in any case, but it was also sensual, intoxicating and breath-taking all along. No matter how wrong I knew it all was, it just felt intensely good in the depths of my soul.

The Count looked at me for a few minutes, the surprise gradually leaving room for perplexity, then his eyes changed suddenly, as enlightened; he must have understood how disturbed the creature in front of him was. I then felt the same emotion in him as when he had touched me under the hand of Alois. He became the same innocent boy as the first time I laid eyes on him; his gaze wandered and his breathing became erratic as his body swayed slightly back and forth.

I did not know what he was thinking so intensely that he could not talk to me anymore. So after a few minutes, when the tension had dissipated a little in the warm air, I got up, head down and hands clasped in front of me.

"My lord, I can retire if you no longer need my services." I said shyly, anxious not to impose any longer my indecent presence on this noble young man.

"Oh, uh ... Yes, of course." He finally emitted while trying to regain his composure.

I walked around him, head down, avoiding to cross his look, and was about to reach the door when he whispered my name. I immediately stopped and turned around; he had not moved and was still standing in front of the armchair where I was, his face turned to the window, his back to me.

"I would like to ask you something." He said, slowly.

A delicious thrill ran through my spine. The sound of his voice, the way of pronouncing these words so softly, the vulnerability in his posture, all in him at that moment exuded need.

"I'm here to serve you, my lord, you can ask me anything." The words left my mouth charged with innuendo. I would like to believe that it was beyond my control but it would be lying; I knowingly encouraged what I sensed to be an equivocal demand.

"Sebastian must be resting now," he announced in a clearer voice.

His chest lifted with a great breath before he turned his head towards me and resumed with authority:

"I want you to undress me."