Disclaimer: The events that will transpire are intended to entertain you, the reader. If you feel that these events are highly unlikely or purely stupid, it's because it is meant to be. Hence why the genre is humor. In other words, don't be trollin'. Enjoy the chapter!

A/N: Sorry for taking so long. You know…life happened. The third person serves a purpose, so sorry if you don't like this kind of thing. We'll get back to Mer next chapter!

XV. The Baker, Observed: Through the Young Master's Eyes

"Sebastian?"

"Yes, Young Master?"

"Do I have reason to suspect that you've been keeping secrets from me?"

For the past two days, Ciel Phantomhive believed that he was beginning to witness the end of his most trusted servant's perfection. Sebastian was not one to be unfocused for too long. Not for anyone. Not for any thing. Except by those infernal cats, the butler could not be swayed. No human, no matter how beautiful, no matter what they promised, could not persuade him from his duties as butler.

Then why, pray tell, did Sebastian seem so…distracted?

Ciel was an observant child. He could spot the small mistakes in his demonic caretaker's usually impeccable routine as if they were gaping holes. The young lord did not bother to complain about the black-clad demon's hesitation whenever the baker's name was brought up, or how he appeared to restrain the heated emotion in his eyes once she brought in the Earl's dessert.

"No, my lord," Sebastian answered smoothly, voice very controlled and calm. He directed his maroon eyes towards the one-eyed boy. "There is no room for such things in our agreement."

The Young Master's hand reached for the teacup seated in front of him on his desk. He guided it to his lips and sipped gingerly at the liquid inside. "Right."

A pregnant silence passed between the two. However, it did not last for long. What was supposed to be whispering cut through the oak of the study's doors, briefly interrupting Ciel's thoughts. Successfully interpreting the boy's irritable hand gesture, Sebastian walked over and opened the doors. They revealed the incompetent trio. Upon seeing the butler's patronizing glare, the three shivered involuntarily.

"What do you three require of the Young Master?" the short-haired butler inquired icily.

"I-It's regarding M-Mer, Mr. Sebastian, sir," stammered the maid, twiddling her fingers.

Ciel's concentration focused in on how the muscles of Sebastian's back twitched before saying, "Let them in, Sebastian."

A slightly noticeable hesitation. "As you wish."

The gardener, cook and maid scrambled in, the expressions of their face varying from urgent to worried. The Phantomhive figurehead could guess what they might want to ask of him, and was pretty certain that nothing could be done about lengthening Mer's stay at the manor-

"Master, we know what Mer has been doing, and we agree that it's improper," Bardroy said, "but there must be some way she could be punished without her leaving."

Maylene nodded her head furiously. "She's just a girl in love, yes, she is!"

Finnian seconded that statement, though not speaking too much on the subject.

The young Phantomhive let the entirety of his confusion show on his face. Just what in the Queen's name were they talking about? Mer? Doing something improper? He let his single blue eye wander on Sebastian, whose right eyebrow shot up to his hairline.

"What are you three simpletons talking about?" Ciel asked, setting his teacup aside. His appetite for it decreased now that this strange subject popped up.

"Mer and Plu-Plu," supplied the blond gardener. "Mer's in love with him, and that's the reason why she has to leave, right? That's why you're sending her away, isn't it, Master?"

"Are you insinuating that Miss Sullivan is in a relationship with that mongrel?"

Ciel could not decide what to be surprised at: the absurdity of what had just been said or the raw emotion in which his most trusted servant expressed when he said it. He chose to remain neutral at the moment, keeping silent to further probe the situation. There was only one conclusion he could reach that could explain why the demon was so sensitive to any subject matter that involved the baker.

She had something he wanted.

If he learned anything important about demons in his time with Sebastian, it would have to be that they were selfish beings that had no limits when it came to something they wanted to possess. Ciel could not deduce what his butler would want with Mer, but that unspecified detail was keeping him from his typical perfection, and he did not appreciate that. He needed his butler not to be caught up in trivial things like another servant.

"Finnian, what did you see that made you come to such a ridiculous conclusion?" interrogated the dark-haired lord, trying to figure out what drew such an implausible picture. The blond seemed lost in thought, lips poked out in a pout.

"Well…Mer was talking to Plu-Plu, telling him that 'last night was amazing' and never thinking that they'd 'be so close.'"

Ciel refused to let his blood crawl up to his face, intent on watching Sebastian's reaction. There was none he was looking for, so it was safe to say that he remembered to keep his emotions in check for reason that his master was an attentive one.

"Did you ever stop to think that she might have been speaking of someone else?" he informed. The trio hummed in contemplation, shifting nervously. "You're dismissed."

Quickly, the servants left their master with his butler, who began to notice the pensive look on the former's face.

"Young Master? Is there something you need?"

"Sebastian, this is an order: whatever dealings you have with Mer must not interfere with your duties as my butler. Understood?"

"Yes, my Lord."

Somewhere in the manor, there was a sneeze.

A/N: Wow, Ciel actually had some face time in this story. Back to Mer for the rest of the chapters. Then…back to my other story, Responsibilities, in which I'm starting to realize the absurdity of the situation I've put Sebastian in…but hey, it's hypothetical and I love writing him.

Review, please.