"Are you... Are you sniffing the baby?"
Much against the rules of a governess, Eleanora had brought down the little infant she had been assigned to care for. Even this was not the ordinary duty of a governess. She took care of the children's upbringing, and usually infants were not part of this. Toddler, perhaps, but not infants. Nevertheless, her master had immediately shoved the baby into her arms after that one, bloody night.
"They only smell like this for such a short time..." hummed Eleanora, nose nuzzling against the infant's cheek. The little girl didn't fuss, simply resting against the arms of the demon.
An eyebrow raised on the chef's face, forgetting himself to the point where the water boiling behind him began bubbling over.
"She is so cute!" squealed Mey-Rin, Finny standing beside her as the two fawned over the little baby she had brought down.
"Tsk..." Bard rolled his eyes and turned around only to jolt into action as he noticed the water boiling over.
The door to the kitchen opened, and Sebastian appeared. He stared at the scene before him with an unchanged face, only his lips pursing ever so slightly showing how he did not appreciate Eleanora breaking the rules by bringing the infant downstairs to the servants' area.
"She was fussing and I was bored," explained Eleanora simply, pressing a couple of kisses to the infant's head.
A sigh escaped Sebastian's lips who simply stood aside and gestured for her to go, not paying attention to Mey-Rin and Finny complaining loudly. Smirking against the baby's hairless head, Eleanora did as Sebastian had quietly commanded and headed out the door. She heard Sebastian close it behind her, and only realized he was following her down the darkened corridor when she turned her head to check.
"What are you doing here?" His crimson eyes flashed, and Eleanora immediately knew what he was talking about.
"Are you judging me for going after children? You of all people?"
"He spat on God-"
"I don't care what he did to bring you here. But you cannot deny that judging me is incredibly hypocritical."
"Very well." He pursed his lips again, and she chuckled before setting her attention back on the infant in her arms. "Humans are foolish..."
"What did he do wrong?"
She heard the smirk in his voice even if Sebastian didn't want to show it. Opening a door for her that led to a spiral staircase leading them up towards the manor once more, Eleanora stared at him. He glanced back at her once before simply continuing to lead her away from the servants' quarters, a hand hovering by her lower back to act proper, to be a gentleman in the presence of a woman holding a baby.
"He asked for a child. An heir." She inhaled the infant once more, her eyes flashing purple as she did. Her feet carried her upstairs, the small heels on her shoes clicking against each step of the staircase. "He never specified what gender. He never specified I couldn't take the mother's soul in exchange for the life. He was foolish."
"I do believe an heir usually means a boy."
"Should it though?" This time, Sebastian's smirk was evident and Eleanora couldn't help but pride herself at this. He held open another door for her, and before she knew it they were walking through the dark corridors of the second floor, moving in a slow pace towards the bed chambers having been assigned to the children of Earl Thompson's children during their visit.
"During this era of Earth, it is."
"He should still have been a little more obvious."
"He will punish you. I was present at dinner. He was not... as amused as you are."
"Good." The tone of her voice made Sebastian glance at her in shock. Her downcast gaze and her posture now only holding the infant close to her chest was different from the demon that had been lusting after souls just now.
"Please, do be decent from now on." Sebastian stopped outside of the make-shift nursery, watching her with his chin pulled up and his eyes narrowed. She needed no light to see this.
"Am I not?" she asked, innocently looking down at what she was wearing.
Roughly, Sebastian pinned her to the wall, infant fussing at the sudden movement of Eleanora's back hitting the wall. Two hands on either side of her face, he glowered down at her, eyes glowing a dark red colour. "I detest those who lust so much they make multiple covenants..."
"Oh?" she purred. "You calling me a –"
"Let's not use such indecent words in the presence of a baby..." he hummed, leaning in slightly, teeth pointed. "Stay away from my master..."
"What do I get in return?"
There was a pause. Sebastian's red eyes stared down deep into Eleanora's purple ones. Thinking. Ruminating.
And then there was a little, tiny sound of complaint from the infant in Eleanora's arms. She squeezed her eyes shut, frowning at the lack of attention. Eleanora's immediate reaction, purples eyes fading as she looked down and gently rocked the baby, pressing her nose against the baby's temple as she hushed her, made Sebastian smirk.
"I stay away from the baby." A gloved hand touched the infant's head, a pretend, cooing look on his face. "Deal?"
Anger appeared within Eleanora. Her own kind was malevolent, and she expected nothing less of Sebastian. Though that did not mean that she enjoyed this.
"Deal."
They would spend a lot of time still at the Phantomhive manor. What else was she to do but comply? If not for the sake of them keeping up their pretense of being real people in front of each other's masters, then what else? If not for the baby...
Taking a deep breath, she watched Sebastian leave, eyes flickering down over the form he had chosen. Feeling the eyes, Sebastian glanced back over his shoulder once, smirking...