Chapter 23

"You know, we could have walked." Luciana half heartedly grumbled as Sebastian set her down. On the way back, the butler had just picked the girl up and jumped the roofs, running back to the townhouse with impeccable speed. Why? His schedule...

"Oh? I was under the impression you didn't mind." He smirked; thinking back to her shocked gasp, followed by girlish giggles and excited shrieks.

Her cheeks flushed at his sly stare. It was admittedly fun- Luce turned from him -a total adrenaline rush if she was honest, but there was no need to rub it in... "Well, isn't someone just too full of himself?" She walked inside, shrugging off her coat.

She didn't notice his eyes flash at her back. "I still hear no complaint." And neither had he any. Sebastian didn't mind her behavior; frankly it boosted his ego that he could make her laugh.

She bit her lip with a grin. Of course, she had no complaints, but there was work to do. Shaking her head Luce turned to the man with a smirk. "If you'll excuse me, I have a kid to annoy." She handed him her coat and skipped away, leaving behind a chuckling Sebastian.

"We're back~" Luce called out, throwing open the study doors with a giggle.

Startling in his seat, Ciel's fountain pen almost flew out of his hand as he looked wide-eyed at the black haired girl. "Do you have to do that?!" He hissed, eliciting a nonchalant shrug from her. And she purposely looked him straight in the eye as she quietly and slowly closed the doors behind her. She was mocking him. Luce inwardly chuckled when his eye twitched. She took a seat in front of his desk, looking over his papers. "Where is Sebastian?" The kid rubbed his forehead as he felt a migraine coming.

"You want dinner do you not?" Her eyes flickered to him with a deadpan stare and she raised a questioning brow. Ciel grumbled in acknowledgement not minding as Luciana picked up the sheets with the names of all the Indian upstarts and trade companies. She scanned them quietly, looking for someone named 'West'.

"So, what have you found?" The young earl leaned back into his chair and narrowed his eye at his new pawn. He then watched an amused smile spread on her face as she stopped looking through the names.

"Mr. Harold West Jebb." She laid the papers on the table, turning them to him and pointed out the name. "He apparently also has a new Indian wife."

Ciel furrowed his brows. It was easy to follow her line of thought but he was unsure of how reliable her sources were. "So you think she is the woman their looking for?"

"How am I supposed to know?" She stared at him incredulously. "Going by the picture she's a mutant duck." The young earl sweat dropped but couldn't deny her. How their guests thought that sketch would help their search was beyond him. "But yes it is a possibility." Luce watched him grumble, thinking over the new knowledge and sighed. Although she was quite sure West was the guy responsible, if the kid wanted to make his work harder than need be who was she to argue? "Hey, you don't have to believe me..." Luce was not going to explain her reasoning; he could figure it out himself. "But if I were you, I'd hurry with the case." She stood from her chair and peered down at the earl. "The east end is getting restless with all the attention." She then left the earl to brood.

His gaze went down at the papers and Ciel peered at them unseeingly mulling over her words. It was definitely those idiots at the Yard trying to act heroic again. He let out an annoyed sigh and focused on his work. Ink blots. His eye twitched. They were all over his papers. The grip on his pen shook in annoyance, making more ink drop on the sheets. Ciel groaned irritably and let his head fall on the table. "Damn her."

"Sebastian~" She whined. "You're in the way." Luciana pushed past the frozen body of the demonic butler and entered the kitchen. Since when had he been the one to cause problems? 'What happened to his bloody schedule?' She turned to him and snapped her fingers in front of his face. His eyes focused, staring into her cool grey orbs that silently asked for an explanation. She had obviously not noticed what he had. The demon turned her around to see the kitchen. Luciana gaped at the sight before her. 'Holy mother of...' She pinched herself, not believing her eyes. There right in front of them stood Agni along with the rest of their servants successfully working on dinner. She now fully understood why Sebastian was frozen in the doorway. "Miracles do exist..." She mumbled incredulously.

"Miss Luce!" Agni beamed at her. "Could you help cut the vegetables?"

"Eh?" She blinked out of her stupor. "Sure."

The Indian butler then turned a questioning gaze at the other butler. "Mr. Sebastian?"

"It's nothing..." He moved through the kitchen still unsure of how to respond. The sight had left both of them truly awed. "It is just amazing how you're actually able to let them be of help." Luce couldn't help but nod in agreement. It was a wonder that the kitchen was still standing. Shaking her head she focused on cutting the vegetables.

"Everybody is born with different abilities and purpose in life." Agni preached, emitting that saint-like aura of his. "We humans just need to abide by god's will. Then naturally and slowly we will complete what we have to do." The Indian man clearly had no idea who he was talking to.

Sebastian stared blankly. He did not understand how the conversation went from the idiot trio to god. "Mr. Agni you are a very capable person." It had nothing to do with any gods.

"No, that's not true!" He fervently denied the compliment. "Before I met the prince, I was an idiot that can be said to have been hopeless." Angi's eyes drooped and his expression sobered as he thought back to the past. "What I owe him can never be repaid in this lifetime." He then went on to explain how his family belonged to the highest caste in India and were said to be servants of god. He had grown up spoilt and taken advantage of his status each day. "Finally, the time when I had to pay for my crimes came...and the me who had no affection for this world and no faith in god was saved by the prince." He held a truly gentle smile. "That day, I definitely saw a god inside the prince's body!"

"Mr. Agni the pot is boiling." Sebastian replied stoically, taking the pot from the fire. To him the whole topic was absurd. Especially that someone as talented as Agni actually believed the childish prince to be a savior. It was highly probable that the prince had simply done it for selfish reasons; that child was too ignorant to think of his actions' consequences.

"I served the prince ever since that day...so he is my king and my god!" His conviction was clear and had Luce stop her work to look at the man. She tilted her head with a blank thoughtful look. She understood why the prince meant so much to Agni but- 'a god?' That was kind of over the top. "Even if it costs my life, I will do anything to protect the prince who gave me a new lease in life." He blushed serenely and genuinely smiled. 'Aww~ how sweet~' A small smile adorned her lips.

Sebastian moved past her to retrieve a ladle from a drawer. "But the gods in reality are all useless..." His face had darkened considerably and his dislike was clear.

Luciana giggled. Luckily she was the only one who'd heard. "Either way, I don't see why they'd even be interested in human problems." She added with a rather nonchalant stare and shrugged as the demon turned to her with a raised brow. To her it didn't matter whether or not there were gods- she actually believed they existed, but Luce just didn't see why everyone thought their problems were so important to be of any concern to a god. 'People can be so conceited...' She mused quietly while taking some of Bard's greens.

"Roll up your sleeves." Sebastian whispered to her with a pointed stare. He could be so picky that it was a wonder he hadn't said anything sooner. She rolled her eyes but did it nonetheless.

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter.