A Day in the Phantomhive House

Easter Holiday came on April 21st...

Earl Ciel Phantomhive braced himself for a yet unexpected visit...

'...surprisingly, no guests today.' said Ciel.

'Oh, expecting someone?' Sebastian asked him.

'Not really but Lizzie tends to give surprise visits and she really DOES visit on certain holidays and I'm swamped here.' the young Earl said, annoyed at the paperwork brought on by Linnea's invention. She had told them of Electric Irons in the future which is why when Sebastian told her about heat-conducting metals, her iron was inspired from modern day irons when she learned that Copper conducts electricity and set to designing a compact, light flat iron that both has iron and copper filling in it for cleaner, faster heating and lightweight as there's no such thing yet as electric plugs and sockets and she has no idea how that works. 'Not to mention can you dump some of these papers for Linnea? Some of these papers are hers, mostly letters of gratefulness from maids and housewives fed up with the old one.'

'I'll get to it after her usual duties are over.' Sebastian smiled as he put away the envelopes. 'Anything else of the matter?'

'...well, times are changing fast and we have to keep up.' said Ciel. 'In the time of my great-grandparents, the Industrial Revolution began as you know.'

The Industrial Revolution started solely and confined in Britain in the second half of the 19th Century.

In this period the Industrial Revolution was largely confined to Britain. Aware of their head start, the British forbade the export of machinery, skilled workers, and manufacturing techniques.

Trade was established.

Living standards increased and improved.

Society. Economics. Customs. Attitudes. Everything changed.

Royalty aside, the Aristocracy that held rigid sway until then was no exception.

Some of them rode this wave of changes.

Others didn't, and this cost them, coming to ruin and forced to leave their mansions.

Their mansions were sold and others moved in.

Those with 'new money'.

The Phantomhives who served the Royalty as a Secret Service were among such those with New Money, becoming wealthy through their work(they're paid with 500 Guineas per difficult case called 'bribes'), and granted a domain and mansion to live in, a mansion previously inhabited by a former aristocratic family that got ruined. A mansion that's destroyed twice. By fire and by Ciel's own choice, wanting a new design. They became Aristocrats by decoration, given such status due to their huge success by Queen Victoria, given the rank of Earl for the Lord Phantomhive, and became Aristocrats with the youngest history ever.

'But soon, the Second Industrial Revolution will begin.' Ciel narrowed his eyes. 'A mere decade and five years before World War I begins.'

'Indeed...assuming you're still alive by then, young master.' Sebastian quipped.

'No kidding there.' Ciel grunted. He is currently 13 in year 1889. '...fifteen years to go. I'll be 33 by then if I live that long. But for now I must ride these changes just as my great-grandparents had. Thank god for the bookworm for the advanced warning.' he said. 'We must make plans ourselves because this family must not fall to ruin if we can't keep up with the changes. First came education and now this. I'm receiving shady word from Diedrich lately too as Germany's up to something. Busy busy.'

CRASH!

'...so much for quiet.' Ciel twitched.

'BLOODY HELL! I JUST CLEANED THOSE WINDOWS!' came the angry shriek from the Head Maid.

'Sebastian...' Ciel groaned in a long-suffering voice as Sebastian went out to see what broke the windows...usually its Maylene's clumsiness when her glasses fall off her face and Linnea's forgiving on that girl but for her to be furious raises eyebrows...

xxx

Indeed, Easter Holiday was quiet.

Ciel had mailed his aunt in advance that he's swamped with work with scheduled deadlines from his company and estate management, and the issue of his maid's invention, receiving tons of orders he has to answer to, to have happy customers.

The mansion is silent as usual, with the servants at work in their daily tasks. Work by day, Snake trains at around 2 pm with Sebastian in the woods.

But that morning...

CRASH!

Linnea just left the windows near Ciel's Office that she just cleaned.

She was putting away the stepladder when she heard a crash behind her that got her alarmed and armed. But it was Earl Grey who bashed his way in, swinging inside from above using a rope!

'BLOODY HELL! I JUST CLEANED THOSE WINDOWS!' she shrieked shrilly, fuming and attacked him with her katars that got the Earl-Butler grinning, none-too-sorry as the two wound up in a fierce fight in the hall.

'Ahaha sorry sorry!' he grinned cheekily at the clearly-angry maid.

'You don't sound sorry one bit! C'mere and take punishment like a man!' Linnea shrieked, red-faced in her rage.

'...I told you its a bad idea.' Phipps sighed, gathering up the rope after getting in himself.

'...welcome, though I wish you could have used the front door like normal people.' Sebastian greeted wryly, having left Ciel's office to see this sight. 'Linnea we can just repair the windows later. For now, quit trying to kill Earl Grey and clean up these broken glass. They may cause injury at a later time.' Linnea stopped before giving Grey a heated glare, before stomping off in a huff, her blades retracted and went back to carrying the stepladder away.

'Whoa, feisty.' Grey snickered. 'Is it that time of the month?' he joked jovially.

'That's rude Grey.' Phipps deadpanned as they felt intense killing intent that was both amazing and scary.

He had to dodge a small knife that Grey also had to dodge, and Sebastian had to catch the knife between his fingers that he tossed back at her which she caught barehanded without even looking.

Linnea returned minutes later with a small bag, a handy dustpan and a brush...but since no one's looking, she magicked it away as its hard to clean bits of broken glass off carpets manually.

xxx

Inside the office...

'I can see that you greatly annoyed my Head Maid.' Ciel remarked blandly. 'Considering she is just as scary as Marchioness Midford at the right circumstances.'

'No kidding there! I wish maids in the palace were just as fun but nooo, we just had to have all boring, rigid men for Knights!' Grey complained. 'Women who can fight are real cool! By the way, didn't you just die?' Grey asked Sebastian with a raised eyebrow.

'That quite hurt even with my protection, so I pranked you back even though it hurt quite a lot as well. A non-lethal one though.' Sebastian smiled.

'But anyway, we are here for business.' said Phipps, taking out an envelope. Yet another love letter.

'What happened?' Ciel asked them.

'We have no idea what's in it this time.' Grey quipped. 'This was one time she didn't tell us what she put in it when she usually tells us what she writes in it as knowing what she does is part of our jobs. Its a for-your-eyes only thing.'

'Very well.' Ciel took the letter. 'Is there anything else to consider?'

'Yes.' said Phipps. 'Its about those First-Tiers.' Ciel narrowed his eyes. 'In their various workplaces wherein they serve their sentences, the other workers have witnessed them commit suicide.' now this, was a stunner. 'We have no idea why and when did they plan to kill themselves all of a sudden. They were also noted to burn what letters they get after reading it. They clearly planned it since they didn't take the destruction of Renbourn Workhouse too well as they committed crimes for the sake of protecting the people of the Workhouse from the Baron. Considering they didn't talk to anyone much and burned what evidence they can, its impossible even for you but thought you ought to know anyway, since you have the last one under your employ. Snake, was it?'

'Yes. He took a long while to accept that his colleagues were kidnappers despite treating him well. Right now he's courting Linnea since he practically came here for her.'

'Standards must be high?' Grey raised an eyebrow. 'You have a highly-capable beautiful Head Maid and all. Invented two things and who knows what her job here is. Must've been good enough for you to give her a holiday.'

Ciel chuckled.

'Yes, but he achieved those standards. She's unlike any typical girl who wants fashionable clothes, gaudy baubles and rich boyfriends, she has no use for all three. They're standards 99.9% of men would fail yet a circus guy achieved it. They're also standards nobody will ever see coming yet its something so simple if you know her well enough. Sometimes, the simplest standards are the highest.'

'If you're saying that much, how much do you pay your servants?'

When Ciel told them how much he pays his servants in a year...

Two pairs of eyes bulged.

'Bloody hell, not even my family pays our maids that much!' Grey sputtered in shock. 'You're way too nice!'

'The pay for maids are usually on Shillings level, but never above six Shillings as Head Maids gets at least that. Low-ranking maids gets paid less!' Phipps choked. 'Aren't you overdoing it as only Butlers and Footmen get paid some pounds per month?' They could NOT believe that Ciel's two maids are paid so much. Rather, they're way overpaid!

'Well, I pay well for well-deserved quality based on their job performances.' Ciel quipped. 'Good job merits good rewards. Take a look at my house and you can see why I pay that much. Give them a tour Sebastian.' Ciel smirked.

xxx

And so...

'While Earl Grey saw the entire house, Earl Phipps hasn't been here yet.' said Sebastian as they saw some snakes wandering around.

'SNAKES!' Grey freaked out, clinging to Phipps.

'Oh, they're our well-trained Pest Control Unit.' said Sebastian. 'They hunt for mice here and they're more efficient than guard dogs. If trained right, that is. Intruders never live long too but their trainer must always be nearby to control them so even we are cautiously careful. Linnea did say that the Circus used Snakes so getting in the First-Tier Tents wasn't easy back then.'

'...the stairs and the floors are very shiny.' Phipps noted. 'The decor...the carpets...'

'Shall I show you our guest rooms?' Sebastian quipped. 'Although certain rooms have unique personalities to it which we keep closed.'

'Unique personalities?'

'Yes. The young master's fiancee visits a lot that he allowed her to decorate her personalized Guest Room, and Marchioness Midford also decorated a room fit for a married couple but even then, only she ends up using it too as the Marquis never had any time to come with her. We never made one for young master Edward as he spends more time at home after school. Madam Red used to have a room but...you know.' silence... 'Then lastly, the bedrooms of Dark Nobles associated with the Phantomhives and after that, guest rooms open to anyone who comes by, but they're not allowed in these special rooms.'

'What about the Servant Rooms?'

'Oh, we allowed everyone to personalize it for themselves as well as it improves morale. We'd see those after we see the mansion. Shall we start with the Servants' Hall?

xxx

Servant's Hall...

It begins from a doorway leading to the Dining Room. Getting in that door means going through a hallway lit up with either sunlight from the windows, or lamps at night.

The first place one would see, are the kitchens, where they've been to once, and everyone was there, working on the kitchen in various tasks with Linnea tutoring Bard in making Curry. They all paused to see who arrived and the Head Maid gave a glare.

'Carry on fellows, they asked for a tour in the new mansion.' said Sebastian as they went back to work.

After the kitchen, next to it is the Kitchen Pantry, Butler's Pantry, Buttery, and the Larder. Next to the Kitchen is the Servants' Hall. Far from it is the Scullery. A place just as huge as the kitchen and the Laundry Room is twice-as-big. There's even a Still Room and a Pantry containing nothing but soap, and a workshop for making soap. And all rooms are very clean and tidy. Something unusual for a Servant's Hall.

'Seriously? This mansion must be the only mansion with a separate room for a Laundry Pantry and workshop.' Phipps commented wryly.

'Linnea insisted as she's working on a better version of Laundry Soap, conducting experiments here.' Sebastian explained. 'So far, we have floral-scented soaps but they tend to melt too quick after one use after she tried making them into bars, so she made them in powder form instead, and soaps good for dishwashing in washing away grease and sauces fast to save up on water but they're still prototypes. Not good enough for marketing yet as the formulas aren't 'that together' yet.'

'That explains why the sheets smell so nice...' Earl Grey whistled. 'All bedrooms I've been to have no smell at all as a sign of cleanliness. I thought you guys just oversprayed perfume or something.' he said as they picked up some boxes of powders in carton boxes, crudely labeled with clearly a brush and ink.

Then there's the Servants' Rooms at last.

Grey has been here before, but Phipps isn't.

Tanaka's Room has a Japanese theme to it that he doesn't have a bed like others, he has a Futon instead.

Sebastian's Room is full of Cat Paraphernalia and toys and he even has actual kittens and cats in his room as Earl Grey revealed when he playfully yanked open a closet to Phipp's surprise and out came loads of cats. 'A closet is not a proper cage for pets!'

Bard's Room is full of Soldier Paraphernalia, he even has guns around.

Linnea's Room is as expected of that of a young girl's and her bed is by far the biggest 'Because Snake sleeps here with her.' said Grey.

'Isn't that improper?!' Phipps sputtered from this breach of society rules.

'Well, their relationship is very steady and they're rooming in together that the room we gave to Snake now belongs to his snakes instead.' Sebastian said.

Next was Maylene's Room that was fairly simple. Lastly was Finny's Room that's full of toys. There are more Servants rooms that remain closed as they're yet to be occupied. There's also the Wine Cellar and ahem, the Dungeons underground. There's even an Interrogation Room! Then there's the Basement and Root Cellar.

Then the mansion itself.

On the first floor are about three Parlour Rooms, two Reception Rooms, a big Game Room, Library, Music Room and Art Room, Fainting Room, and Drawing Room. The first floor entryway and its vast space doubles as a ballroom and party room if decorated. The second floor is where the Guest Rooms are. Two for the Midfords, ten for the Dark Nobles, and ten for guests. Of course, these guest rooms are understandably small and all are of the same size.

Third floor is where family rooms are. Ciel's Office, the Master Bedroom he currently uses, and five extra rooms. These extra rooms are however, empty 'As the young master has yet to get married and fill these rooms with children. He plans on just two but with Lady Elizabeth, we have no way of knowing that.' There's also a Nursery, and a room for a Nurse. There are in total, eight bathrooms. Two for family, four for guests and two for servants.

Then finally, the gardens.

The manicured lawns, well-trimmed hedges and small trees, and loads of flowering shrubs.

After that, the two Butlers went home to their workplace.

'What a sight eh Phipps? Brand new overly-clean mansion but not even I got to explore the other rooms last time.' said Grey.

'I'll say.' said Phipps. 'Perhaps I should tell my family to train our servants a bit more. These standards are ridiculously amazing.'

'That would mean paying em' more though.'

'Well yes, but we're nobles for crying out loud. We're a rank higher than that boy in Earldom yet he has better living standards at home.' Phipps complained. 'I guess its really quality in the end.'

Long, thoughtful silence...

'Now that you mention it...he really has it way too good.' Grey grumbled. 'I'm hoping for the new graduates to come out so we can snag some of them from that Academy of his.'

Needless to say, they went back to the palace, gloomy.

xxx

Meanwhile, Ciel read the Love Letter during the tour. It also contained photos of boys in their late teens.

To my cute boy,

I hope you have enjoyed Easter.
As for myself even though I have some
days off for Easter, I find that I cannot
truly enjoy it as there are some worries
in my mind.

I'm worried about Derek, the son of my
cousin, the Duke Clemens. Derek is a fifth
year at Weston College but for some reason
he has not been returning home since last
summer vacation. He used to send letters
every day but even those stopped coming.

He still won't come home even after his
mother contacted the Dormitory. If it was
just him I'd think of it as some rebellious
phase, but it seems that there's a few more
students who are refusing to go home.

What on earth has happened to them, I
wonder?

Because his only son is acting like this,
Duke Clemens has become rather depressed
as well. I'm also very worried...

I just wish for the people important to me
to happily enjoy Easter again as soon as
possible.

-Victoria

'...investigate this situation huh?' he frowned. He rang a bell, a bell specific for summoning Linnea from the Servants' Area.

Minutes later, she came.

'You rang?'

'Yes.' said Ciel. 'Sebastian and I will soon infiltrate Weston College as Professor and Student respectively on request from Her.' he said. 'I want you to obtain information in how everything works in that place as we cannot afford to screw up.'

'Yessir.' and she vanished. She came back later at night.

'That school has a ridiculous obsession with tradition that there's more rules there than there are rules for society Aristocrats must follow, its ridiculous!' Linnea twitched. 'There's even a stupid rule that you're not allowed to step on the lawn as only Prefects are allowed to step on it, can you believe that?! It just gets crazier and crazier if you look at these Handbooks and Rulebooks. Uggh!'

'...we'll have a look ourselves if you think so badly of it for a prestigious school.' Sebastian remarked wryly.

'Its like obedience training for a DOG which is why I hate it! Read the books!' Earl and Butler exchanged worried looks as she left.

Upon spending till the wee hours of the night reading the books...even they can agree that this is ridiculous.