The next day, Caerilyn was caring for Rosemary, who was doing her best to avoid Ciel and his annoying new friend. She sighed. "How long do you think will be here?" She asked as Caerilyn poured her a cup of tea. "Hopefully not too much longer," Caerilyn sighed. "They are searching for the prince's missing nanny or something. He thinks she was taken against her will to England."

Rosemary frowned. "That's awful." She heard yelling down the hall and sighed. "Ciel certainly isn't too happy about them being here." She chuckled as she recalled this morning. Soma had been interrupting everything, from Ciel's breakfast to his violin lessons, even his fencing practice, which had ended in a fencing match between Sebastian and Agni. Agni had held his own against Sebastian, even bringing the match to a draw. "What is Agni? I don't sense anything inhuman about him, but he certainly is very powerful. I've never seen a human beat a demon before."

Caerilyn nodded. "He is indeed human, my lady, but he has enhanced speed and agility. There is a power in him I am not sure I have ever seen before."

Sebastian knocked on the door before entering. "My lady, the young master is requesting your company. And Caerilyn, I am about to begin preparations for tonight's dinner. Would you like to assist me?"

Caerilyn nodded. "Of course. I'll be there in a moment." She brought Rosemary to the drawing room and followed Sebastian downstairs.

Sebastian smiled thinly as they walked into the kitchen. Bard was rolling up his sleeves. "I can't wait to show off my wonderful skills in the kitchen—" he was cut off by Sebastian pushing him out of the area. "We will handle the preparations. Kindly stay off to the side and watch."

The butler ignored Bard's angry protests and began washing vegetables. Caerilyn heard the door and looked over to see Agni walking in. He smiled. "I hope you do not mind this interruption. I was just thinking if there's anything you need help with… Three pairs of hands are better than two."

Sebastian nodded. "I suppose so." He handed him the recipe for cottage pie. "In respect to your culture, we will substitute the beef in the recipe with chicken." He left the room to get more ingredients.

Agni looked over to Bardroy, who was relaxing in a chair. "Mr. Chef?"

Bard opened one eye and jumped. "Are you talking to me?" He asked incredulously. Agni smiled. "Yes. I am not familiar with English cuisine. Do you mind helping me out?"

Bard's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Yeah! Leave it to me!"

Agni chuckled. "Please help to chop up the onions?" Bard nodded and ran to complete his new job.

Caerilyn chuckled softly and looked at Agni. "Sebastian rarely lets him cook; he ruins the food constantly."

Agni merely smiled at her. "He doesn't have to actually cook to help make dinner. Everyone has their own unique talents."

A few minutes later Finny stuck his head through the door, smiling sheepishly. "Something smells delicious. What's for dinner today?"

Agni clapped his hands. "You came at just the right time. Would you like to help us make dinner?"

The boy's eyes lit up for a split second before he slumped down. "Um, I can't really control my strength, so Mr. Sebastian forbids me to touch anything in the kitchen.

Agni smiled. "It is good that you are very strong! It will be perfect to mash these potatoes before sieving them. It is a job that requires a great deal of strength. Can we count on you to do it?"

Finny's eyes sparkled. "I want to do it! I'll do my absolute best!" He began mashing the potatoes, humming happily as he did so.

Mey Rin came in to set the table, almost knocking the entire china cabinet over. Agni and Caerilyn jumped forward and caught the dishes moments before they hit the ground. Agni chuckled at Mey Rin and helped her up. "Next time, try getting the dishes down one-by-one, so that you don't risk dropping all of them." Mey Rin nodded and began grabbing the dishes one at a time.

Caerilyn looked around and smiled softly. "This is incredible Agni. I have never seen these three goofballs work so efficiently." She smiled up at the foreign butler.

He bowed his head modestly. "Everyone here is a good person who works very hard. They are all born with different abilities and purposes." His eyes looked off into the distance. "Before I met the prince, I had no future. What I owe him can never be repaid in this lifetime. I am a Brahman, the highest possible caste that is said to be able to serve God. I grew up with no faith in a higher power. I took advantage of my social status and committed many crimes against my people and my faith. Finally, on the day I was to pay for my crimes, he saved me. My god appeared. I became his faithful servant from that day forward and—"

"Mr. Agni, the pot is boiling. And Caerilyn, you still have to prepare the berry sauce." Sebastian cut Agni off.

"Ah! Of course!" Agni ran off to tend to the pot. Caerilyn frowned as Sebastian stared daggers at the other butler. That was odd. Earlier he had seemed to like Agni, and now he was glaring at the poor man—what did he ever do to him? Caerilyn sighed and gave up trying to understand the demon.


Rosemary's POV

I smiled as I walked outside to look at the snow before I retired for the evening. The snow fell gently on the ground, covering the landscape in a white blanket.

"It's really nice out here, isn't it?" I looked over my shoulder to see Finny walking outside. I smiled at him. "Yes, it is very lovely. I suppose it is nice for you when it is snowing, so you don't have to work outside all day."

He frowned slightly. "Actually I prefer to be working outside. I grew up in a laboratory, and was experimented on as a child. That's how I became so strong. For most of my life I had never seen the sun. So now, getting to work in the sunshine every day, it is a dream come true. I owe everything I have to the young master." He smiled brightly at me.

I frowned. "That's terrible. I am so sorry that you had to go through that." I started to place a hand to his shoulder but stopped myself.

He looked at me with his ever-happy smile. "It's alright. I'm here now. And I get to protect this manor and my freedom with the gifts I've been given!"

I couldn't help but smile back. "That's right," I said, shivering at the growing cold. "I should be going to bed, it's not good for me to be out in the cold. Goodnight Finnian." I placed a kiss to his cheek before going inside, smiling as I returned to my room and went to bed, leaving a blushing boy to watch me go.


That night, Caerilyn approached Sebastian as he was cleaning dishes. "It's probably none of my business, but why all of a sudden do you harbor such animosity towards Agni?"

Sebastian clenched his jaw but gave the angel a thin smile. "I don't know what you mean. Agni is a very capable butler. I appreciated his help at dinner."

Caerilyn remembered Agni's kind smile as he helped the other servants, and began to smile herself. "He is a very kind human; very passionate and caring. He has come a long way in redeeming himself."

Sebastian frowned slightly. A strange feeling came over him; he didn't know how to describe it. Anger, mixed with desire and resentment. He was angry at the fact that Caerilyn's smile was because of Agni. He was a human for goodness' sake! Why would she even care about such a simple little mortal? Even demons were far superior to— His eyes widened as he suddenly realized what he was feeling. He had not felt it in a very, very long time.

Jealousy. He was jealous of Agni and how affectionate Caerilyn was towards the human. He considered the implications of this as Caerilyn put the dry dishes away. He tamped down the sudden flood of desire that ran through him when her onyx eyes bore into his. She found herself frozen in place by two red orbs.

It wasn't until he had a hand brush over hers that she snapped herself out of it. She blushed and stepped away, yanking her hand out from his. "I-I have to help the young lady to bed." She frowned and hurried upstairs.

Sebastian smirked as she left, realizing that he, an ancient malevolent demon, was falling for the beautiful angel in front of him.