Chapter 27

Luciana let her mind wander as she discarded the broken porcelain and collected the cleaning utensils. If that was the way Soma always acted then she couldn't really fault Meena for leaving. Luce remembered when in her 8th grade biology class the teacher informed them of Darwin and his theory of natural selection. She had never heard something so true because reality was; that at the end of the day it was always everyone for themselves. If one was unable to adapt then the probability of living a prosperous life was low. Grabbing onto opportunities was in a way an attempt at adapting. It seemed like Meena had done just that; she saw an opportunity and grabbed it, leaving behind a spoilt brat.

"Oh? Where are you going?" She questioned Sebastian as he came out of the drawing room with a really happily wicked look on his face. 'How sadistic...'

"Our guest is in dire need of a lesson in manners."

'So a reality check from a demon?' She stared at him in amusement. "How cute." Luce let out a short giggle while the demon smirked sinisterly, his eyes flashing for show.

Then, Sebastian stepped closer, tilting her chin up as he looked down into her chilling eyes. Her amusement caught in her throat and suddenly it was hard to breath. "Something wrong?" Sebastian asked while scanning her face and taking in her every feature. Her pale eyes had the finest specks of blue, adding a cool hint of color to the grey. They were accented with thick black lashes and framed by finely shaped brows that contrasted to her lightly tanned skin. Her nose was small and her lips thin. She wasn't the most enthralling person he'd ever seen but Luce was a rarity. He had never before seen a human with such eyes and the blackest of hair. It was oddly beautiful.

"You know its actions like these that make Mey-Rin's imagination act up." Luce grumbled, remembering the embarrassing conversation with her gossip-buddy. 'Babies...why babies?'

He delightfully watched as a light rose tint crossed her cheeks. "Oh? Do elaborate."

She paled. "No way." It was not exactly the reaction Sebastian had expected. "Why don't you find out for yourself?" There was just no way in hell, heaven or earth, that she would explain that to him of all people. She let out a shuddering breath to calm herself. "Don't you have a prince to bother?"

His hand dropped, setting the girl free. "Ah, that's right." His sinister grin returned sending an excited shiver down her spine.

"Well then, have fun~" Luce hummed, stepping past him. 'What was that about?' She mentally furrowed her brows and proceeded to clean the stains on the carpet. However, her mood brightening as she thought about how Soma was dealing. 'I wonder...' Excitement bubbled within her.

"It's concerning to see you like that." Ciel piped looking down at her with scrutiny, but she simply shrugged it off with a casual smile. He was probably thinking of all the times she messed with him.

But what was there to say? The girl was just happy that Soma finally got the reality check he needed. And Luce admittedly felt no remorse that Sebastian was the one to deliver it- she was actually kind of curious about how he was going to do it.

Ciel sighed. "What is taking him so long...?" He looked at the door and stood, deciding to go check. Luciana saw that as her chance.

"Allow me, young master." She held the door open for him and followed the boy with an eager smile. They stood outside Soma's room listening to the dark mocking voice of the demon.

"Without Agni you are just a powerless baby, whose last ray of light just betrayed you." She could just imagine the upward tilt to his lips.

"That's right...I have nothing." Soma's depressed murmur barely reached their ears. "I've lost everyone."

"Lost, huh?- You didn't lose them, more like they were never yours in the first place." 'How cold...' A chill ran down her spine. Sebastian's words must have splashed onto the prince like a cold bucket of water- an icy shock. "Your social status, servants and palace were all given to you by your parents. You have never had one thing that was truly your own. Isn't that the case? You even sensed that something was going on with Agni, but you lacked the courage to find out for yourself."

"NO!" The prince screamed, his footfalls coming towards them, only for the door to be slammed shut. Both Ciel and Luce squeaked in surprise, both turning red in embarrassment. They glanced at each other.

"...we will never speak a word of this." The boy awkwardly cleared his throat.

"Agreed." She rigidly nodded.

"But it's true; even now you are playing the hero in a tragedy. You really are just a spoilt brat." They could almost hear the cruel smirk that played on Sebastian's lips.

"B-but! Everyone was there for me!" Soma screamed out in protest.

"Isn't that the duty of your servants? I suppose they looked after you rather than looking back, back at the slums they lived in before working for you." Sebastian coldly looked down upon the prince. "No one ever really loved you." What a harsh blow. Soma did not know how to respond. He was shivering in angst.

"That's how it is, eh?" Ciel leaned against the doorframe with Luciana right behind him, a small smile on her lips.

"Young Master." The demon's eyes however remained on the girl. She seemed amused but he wondered what her thoughts really were. He knew well enough that if Luce wanted to, she could easily hide her thoughts- Sebastian inwardly sighed. If she couldn't handle this much then how would she even deal with being his mate? Not that it changed the fact that he was going to make her his completely, but why did his mate of all people have to be human?

"I may have turned out like Soma...had it not been for that month." His stare was empty, as if reliving the memories of that time. Luce had never heard of what exactly happened with Ciel- but whatever it was, he ended up making a deal with a demon. It must have been something so bad that revenge was the only way left to go. 'That or die...how depressing.' She tilted her head to the side and frowned.

"...Ciel?"

"I-I was being humiliated, treated like an animal...my house was burnt down, my family was killed." His fists clenched. "I was such a powerless child- therefore, I returned to this place in order to make those people taste the same humiliation. The successors of the generations killed three years prior would come to me as long as I am the head of the Phantomhive family that stands in their way." Cold determination glazed his eye. "I'm waiting for them to come and try to kill me here."

"Why? Why do you go so far?" Soma just could not understand.

"Moping around...what will come of it? Even the dead can do that. However, I'll live and stand on my own two legs. If we are to die one day, wouldn't it be better to have no regrets?" Luciana smirked; she couldn't agree more. "I'm not saying that getting revenge for my predecessors is an admirable thing. This is just a pastime of mine." 'A waiting game until the end comes, huh?' "It is a game that could be won by either those guys or I as the Earl of Phantomhive." Seeing that Sebastian was on Ciel's side though, the game was basically rigged. "Even though I was put in an abyss of despair, a place likened to hell- A chance as thin as a spider's thread was sent to me offering the choice to crawl out. I decided not to give up and reached for it. We humans have that chance. Though grasping it or not is up to each person. Now then...Sebastian I want to have a talk with you about West."

"Yes, my lord." He followed behind both Luce and the young earl.

.

.

"Do you have anything to say?" Ciel turned to a thoughtful looking girl.

She gave a short giggle. "I take it the looks of pity still aggravate you." The kid's eyes narrowed at her. "Ah~ so young, so much to learn." She mocked.

"What." It came out as a hiss.

"You're looking at it the wrong way." She smiled in remembrance, thinking back to her childhood when everyone's reaction made her want to punch someone. "I get the same reactions." Luce sniggered. "People look at you but all they see is this big tragedy and not the person. They give you fake sympathy because it is oh so wrong what happened to you. Don't you find it funny?" Ciel looked at her strangely while her eyes glinted. "I suppose you don't." She sighed. "Then that is where we differ."

"What do you mean?"

Luce sighed dramatically, amusing the demon while simultaneously annoying the young earl. "I relish in their reactions. Let them think I am this fragile little girl who can't handle herself." She tilted her head to the side. "One could say you play with open cards, letting everyone see what's in your hand, while I don't even lift them." 'How deceptive.' Sebastian mused, contemplating her words. Maybe she did have the making of a demon's mate- but when it came to violence...in a way he pitied her because by the time the girl was completely his, she would be drenched in darkness. The demon's lips twitched into an unnoticeable cruel smirk. He couldn't wait.

"If you don't look at them how can you even play?" Ciel scoffed.

"Oh? Says the person who I beat- what was it? 38 times?" She smiled innocently while the kid grumbled. The boy just didn't understand that sometimes it wasn't about what was in your hand but about the way you treated the game.

"CIEL!"

Haa~ I honestly had 3 different endings to this chapter. It was so hard finding a balance between giving too much info…

Oh well, thank you for reading!