((Hey, thanks for the follows/favorites on this story! This chapter was necessary but it's kind of... I don't know, I'm just not happy with it. If anyone's confused, ask questions in the reviews and I'll PM you an explanation!))

*Ciel's POV*

Despite Ciel's previous hurry to get to London, all desires of saving the great city had vanished since that morning with Claude. Those words still echoed in his ears, reminding him of how wrong he'd been living all this time. Sugar into salt. Sugar had been all he'd truly known; from reassurances at the lips of a demon to sweet dances with Lady Elizabeth, it had all been a fools' dream in the end. Even his brief time with the angel had been lies. But then… if the Angel had lied, and so had Sebastian (though less verbally and more by his actions), who could Ciel reallytrust?

The Earl had decided that the answer to that question was word simple words:

Claude Faustus.

The daylight came and went with the child's musings about the subject. He made no orders, except the one in which asked for peace and quiet for the entirety of the day. He sat in the bedroom of the suite, sipping at tea or chewing on food that Claude brought to him in silence. If nothing else, this new butler was true to his orders. Silence, it had been such a quick and easy order, but to have somebody so flawlessly follow such an order… it made Ciel feel a bit safer in this unfamiliar town with this unfamiliar man.

The sun had just barely set when Ciel called out to the demon, his voice soft, "Claude, come here." There wasn't any reason to shout out for the butler; he'd learned quickly from his time with Sebastian that a mere whisper could be heard by the demon if it was intended. As he spoke, the Earl could feel his contract-eye burning dully in response; he recalled this feeling from when he'd first been contracted to Sebastian, but he'd grown to ignore the old butler's mark. He had a feeling he'd grow used to this one as well, given a bit of time.

Just like that, the Phantomhives' newest servant was in the room, giving a bow as he spoke for the first time since this morning, "Yes, my lord?"

"I want a word with you, in regards to this morning," Ciel explained vaguely, waiting until he had the demon's full attention to continue, "You were right when you said that you remind me a lot of Sebastian.. perhaps more than you should. So, given what you've said, I wanted to make one thing clear…"

He watched the butler's expressions as they shifted into curiosity, then into something even deeper than that; the boy couldn't read just what this emotion was, though. Golden eyes flashed in the dim light as Claude nodded for Ciel to continue, mouth set in a straight-line across his mouth, neither a smile nor a frown on his face. At last, the young lord continued, "You've claimed that you transform sweetness into bitterness, though not in those words. That, Claude Faustus, is exactly what I ask of you. I don't want anything sugarcoated between us; that won't change how this ends nor will it change how either of us feel about the matter."

*Claude's POV*

By the time the master was finished with his small speech, there was the faintest of smirks on his butler's face. "Master, if I may… you said just this morning that you've felt lonely. Why then, would you submit yourself to the bitterness of a demon when I am at your beckon'call?" There was nearly a sense of wonder in the demon's voice at this point, his own confused curiosity thoroughly getting the best of him.

"It's not so much that I don't want sweet things," Ciel elaborated with a shake of his head, "I just don't want us pretending that this is going to end any differently because of it. Sebastian… he had a tendency to dream it seemed, though I don't believe demons sleep; day-dreams is what most people would call it. He had a vivid imagination." The human was thinking out loud at this point, as was obvious, but it had helped to get his thoughts in order when he finally added, "Neverlie to me, Claude, and never forget where we stand. At the end of the day.. this is a business, a deal; Sebastian run away from his position and left me.. even you've said it was pathetic. The only explanation I can come up with for it is that he got too emotionally attached to finish his end of the bargain. That said… don't let thathappen in our contract." There was a pause as the Earl took a breath, collecting himself before asking, "Are we clear, Claude?"

Claude Faustus was a demon who understood deals to a great length, and he also understood how complicated making them with a human could be. Still, he'd never met a human that was so strict on these things, one that was so firm about him not being attached. Ciel wasn't rude about it, just honest. The more Claude thought about it, the more the kid's theory on Sebastian's disappearance made sense. So while he understood why the child didn't want it to happen again, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to treat the Earl. Ultimately, he decided to let Ciel lead the way on that and remain as neutral as possible until he figured this boy out. "Crystal clear, my lord," his reply was flawlessly timed despite all the thoughts that were rushing through his head. He bowed once more, then pushed his glasses back into place as he asked, "Was that all then, master?"

Ciel nodded briefly and, just as quickly as he'd brought the heavier conversation up, switched gears to ask, "When will dinner be done, Claude?"

"Shortly, my lord," Claude replied swiftly, then blinked, "Actually, I should go check on that." Before Ciel could even respond, the demon had darted from the room, and manycurses could be heard in the connecting kitchen.