A:N- I couldn't write the rest of the Phantomhive Manor Murder Arc because no matter how I try, I get severe writer's block so I'd best get on ahead, shall I?

Sent away?

To everyone's surprise...

Linnea is to be sent away.

'Ehhhh?!' came the incredulous outburst. 'Linnea has to go?!'

'Er, why do I have to go?' Linnea croaked out, dumbstruck.

'Well, for one thing the young master sends her out to jobs.' said Sebastian. 'There is stuff only she can do so she would not be here for the party.' he said. 'Linnea, the house Madam Red used to live in needs a thorough cleaning since somebody else bought it. You're the only one he trusts in cleaning that house before he allows it be sold. Then Marchioness Midford needs a cook until they get a new one since the old one retired to get married, so Marchioness Midford is a priority.'

'Yessir!'

'Go to London immediately to take care of the House, then go straight to the Midford's. The cook made enough for both breakfast and lunch before leaving, that's your time limit.' said the butler urgently. 'Hurry before it rains bad later.'

It means she must cheat with magic.

xxx

Madam Red's house is a mess.

Literally.

Since her death, it got dustier, there's even cobwebs.

"What would a Death God know about Butlering and cleaning anyway, makes me wonder how she lived this long in a dusty house!" she scowled as with a snap of her fingers, the hallways and each room are spic and span; very clean and everything that needs polishing polished. Linens and abandoned clothing are cleaned and fixed properly. But as for valuables such as money, jewelry, and important papers and keepsakes, she put in a large box and magicked it to Sebastian's bedroom with a note, and alerted Sebastian to the box. The gardens are magically weeded and lawn fixed, as well as the plants pruned.

The outside looks also matter as well. The grime and growing moss is magicked off.

Then she called for a carriage to take her to the Midford Manor, carrying her luggage with her.

"Snake's probably not too happy I'm gone." she thought, imagining her miserable suitor who's very affectionate and clingy, and courting her because he wanted her as his bride. And he's seriously sincere about it despite their age gap.

Upon arrival, this manor is better cared for. Loads of flowers, hedges and shrubs with a well-manicured lawn with high gates so that people could see the marvelous gardens and flowers, and this mansion is bigger because the Midfords by status, is Marquis. Waaaay higher than that of an Earl's. But Ciel's status is special due to his duties that he's only an Earl in name and formality.

'You made it in time.' said Marchioness Midford. 'Please get started as Dinner is around seven pm.' she instructed hurriedly.

'Yes ma'am! But where's the kitchen?' Linnea asked her curiously.

'Olga, lead Linnea to the kitchen!' Marchioness Midford instructed a nearby maid. 'Then give her a tour after she cooks! She can use the room Wilma used!'

'Yes ma'am. This way please.' Olga, a maid in her twenties led Linnea away while wondering, "Can this girl really be our temporary cook?" she wondered, sweatdropping.

'How is the pantry? Due to the bad weather that could last for days I hope this place is fully-stocked.' said Linnea. 'The Phantomhive House fully stocked, especially as we have guests over.'

'Er not quite...but half is still OK isn't it?'

'Not good enough! We have to be full because this mansion is clearly bigger with more people!' Linnea cried. 'That half can be gone in days and what if this weather lasted longer?!' Linnea cried in a scandalized gasp. 'I believe in just incase and justful paranoia! I'll see our kitchen before I cook something and draft out a shopping list before the crappy weather starts! I wouldn't be Head Maid of my family if I wasn't so paranoid!'

'YOU'RE a Head Maid?!' the older woman gasped out.

xxx

The kitchen...

Roomy and spacious, but what's important is the inventory!

She wasn't too happy as she asked for a pen and paper to draft a shopping list.

'OK! Buy all these before the rain starts!' Linnea cried frantically, giving the shopping list to Olga. 'Please inform Marchioness Midford of the shopping so we can prepare appropriate expenses and send some muscle over with at least two maids!'

'Yes!' and Olga ran off.

'Now then, bigger kitchen with more equipment, and...' she used her magic to determine how many people to feed. '...34 people.' she deadpanned. 'My god, how rich are they?' she wondered. From her knowledge, there's 4 Chamber maids, 3 Parlor maids, 4 Scullery maids, 6 Laundry/Iron Maids, even 2 Ladies-in-Waiting! There's also a Butler, a Footman, 6 Page Boys, 3 Gardeners and one Stable Master, as well as 4 Stable Boys. 34 Servants in total, not counting herself. Granted, Ciel is also frigging loaded to afford the same number of Servants, but given his occupation, he can't hire 'just anybody'. Hence its just them.

'Dinner at 7 pm...with supplies like this, it'll run out in a mere five days and who knows when the new Cook will come! Uff!' she huffed as she began.

For a wealthy house, there's courses.

'Somebody call the Butler to prepare the diningware of choice today and the silverware must be cleaned!' Linnea instructed the Scullery Maids. 'Who knows what chinaware the Midfords use in their schedules.'

'Yes ma'am!'

And so...

'Oh my! Linnea, what're you doing here?!' Elizabeth gasped out, stunned to see Ciel's Head Maid here using a pushcart to bring dinner over in five courses. Soup, Fish, Meat, Main Course, Salad and Dessert. The drink is of course, tea. And her work, as they've known her, is a work of art in desserts.

'Because Wilma retired, Earl Phantomhive lent her to us until we get a new cook.' said her mother. 'Your father is working on that.'

'Oh...'

'Well, I'll be here for a while, Lady Elizabeth.' said Linnea with a smile.

'Linnea, has the Earl a new job?' Marchioness Midford asked her while looking up at the young but very capable maid.

'Yes. He is made to entertain a German Guest by Double Charles on the request of her Majesty.' Linnea reported. 'Hospitality is very grand as a grand send-off is emphasized.' she smiled at the Marchioness befitting of an evil agent that the woman got the message at once, that someone is set up to die. 'Earl Grey is also coming over.'

'Is that...so?' the marchioness asked stiffly with a twitch.

'Yes...but due to the weather, they would pretty much be marooned in there until it lets up which is why I insisted on refilling our pantry. I hear this place has loads of Servants so what we currently have will not last long.' Linnea sighed. 'At least ours would understandably last weeks.'

'Well, that's the cons of having many servants to manage this house.' said the marchioness wryly with an amused expression.

And so, she stayed there, impressing the Midford House with her cooking although for her to save herself trouble, she cooks Curries en masse, and Pasta Dishes while its the Midfords who get to eat something different every mealtime, her cooking is very widely praised in the house. She also looked at the Midford Recipe Books...and with magic, altered the text to make it better, after cooking each and tasting it and studying how its made. She also left behind recipes for desserts and making better bread. And also, colored drawings of some instructions for terms the new cook might not understand.

After about a couple day's work, she was paid for her work and a new cook came, brought home by Marquis Midford, saying the new cook trained and graduated at the 7th of his class since the Royal Family understandably, took the cooks above the newcomer Marquis Midford barely managed to get the 7th best for their family before anyone else could.

'I see Linnea managed to hold the fort until I can get a new family chef!' said Marquis Midford with a relieved smile. 'It was chaos when Wilma decided to retire from getting on in years!' he said. 'Thank you very much, young lady.' he said gratefully. 'My adorable son-in-law really has capable people under his wing.'

'Its alright.' Linnea smiled. 'The young master is alright with helping out.' she said, scanning the new cook's mind...and considering he's a graduate from Cooking School, she quickly caused her editings to disappear.

xxx

Back home at around nighttime...

She came in time to see a police carriage about to leave?

"I guess the party's over and the scapegoat's in there." she thought wryly as she got off her carriage and paid the man three pennies since the trip was so long he charged that much. He didn't charge in amounts below a penny even if she was a kid.

She deliberately ignored the obviously-disguised Butlers of the Queen, save for Earl Grey who wasn't in disguise.

'Ohya? Head Maid just coming home from a day off?' John Brown noted as the Head Maid came home in civvies complete with a hat, and her hair down. For a commoner she wore very good, and tasteful clothes its like she's an aristocrat herself, but with non-existent ribbons, laces, trimmings and frills like most girls her age. Just enough to look good while still looking practical. "Must be paid well," he thought.

'Never saw her during my stay here.' Grey huffed. 'I was looking forward to her making me curry too!' he complained. 'The actual cook has yet to master Curry-making from her!' he grumbled.

'But still, what a maid though...capability aside, never seen a maid with hair that beautiful.' Phipps noted as his eyes were on the hair. 'Inky black, shiny hair that looks like silk to touch. Its hard to believe a maid has that hair when not even most aristocrat ladies have such hair.'

'Oy oy, don't tell me you're getting interested in a kid?' Grey teased playfully.

'What, as long as a lady is 13 and ongoing, they're fair game if a man is below 20.' said Phipps wryly.

'And you're soon-to-be twenty.' Grey snorted. 'Two of us. Not only that, the rules are that we stick to our social class. Its impossible.' he said airily with a hand wave.

'Too bad its impossible.' said John Brown. 'There's beauties among the lower classes yet we can't get them due to our social statuses we're stuck with limited beauties in the aristocracy. Society will never accept that. Even our own Queen has to marry a royal family member, she can never pick anyone who wasn't a royal years ago.'

'...you're right. We may be heads of our houses but we don't have much marriage choices left, all the good ones are gone.'

'Eurrgh...' Grey blanched.

'I'm home!'

xxx

'I'm home!' Linnea announced as she got back home.

'Welcome back!' Maylene gasped out. 'But what happened is terrible!'

'Eh?'

'Mr. Sebastian is dead!' Finny wailed while Linnea stared and Snake just looked like he was in forced acting because he knows long ago what is to happen.

Ciel and Sebastian deliberately sent her out on purpose. Because she fought Earl Grey, showing the same level as he in sword fighting with her Katars, she might be used by him in the set up the Queen planned so by taking Linnea out of the equation, the case got less complicated.

'EHHHH?! WHAT HAPPENED WHILE I'M OUT?!' that was the outburst the last thing the Royal Butlers heard.

xxx

'Yep, she's out but to who-knows-where.' Grey shrugged. 'I wanted her Curry though...she created that dish after all.'

'To think even the Watchdogs have holidays...he must be very nice to his Servants.' John Brown mused thoughtfully.

'Well, depends on how good they are in their jobs...' said Grey. 'The house is squeaky clean I can even use the damn floor as a mirror and the brat renovated the mansion some years back it looks way different. I have a lot of stuff to tell her majesty.'

xxx

And so, at the funeral...

The Phantomhive Family Servants and Undertaker are the only ones present, other than Ciel and Elizabeth who came to mourn the Butler. But those who knew the truth, stayed silent while putting on their best acting skills of wearing gloomy faces. Snake was taking advantage of hugging her from behind.

'Linnea...this is what's supposed to happen, right?' Snake asked her softly.

'Yes, as planned because Earl Grey must not win or else if we lose the young master...everyone will have nowhere to go.' said Linnea softly. 'Here, we got freedom and human rights. Bard lost his war comrades because of his superior's idiocy in the battlefield. Maylene's far-sightedness was weaponized and treated like a weapon and a tool. Finny's a lab rat made to be a human weapon who knew pain since childhood or birth and then there's an abused child like me. The young master took us all in and we have what we didn't have before. So to us, the young master and Sebastian are very important to us. They were who opened the doors for a new life to us, doors denied to us. We had to do this elaborate ruse but its too damn realistic you can see its effects on the other three who were left out of the plan.' she sighed as Snake looked at his fellow Servants.

'You lost the First-Tiers because of their pervert foster father's manipulations. Your foster family was forced to do crimes for him and they paid a cruel price, separating you from them and the circus forever.' Snake stiffened. 'Then you followed me here so this place became home for you too.'

'Here, we are free to be human. To those who made our lives hell before coming to be here, they're monsters we'd put down in a blink than go back to that kind of life. That's why we'll protect this house. A few deaths mean nothing as long as we have them both. Because here, we're human and we're free with our rights as people.'

'...'

Sure enough, while they talked, Undertaker was closely watching the pair while acting like his usual loony self, until the bell on Sebastian's grave rang.