"I thought I gave you an order." the Lord raised a brow at his servant. This was rare, exotic, unheard of. Sebastian had never failed before.
"And I acted upon it. This was all I could recover." the butler placed a small paper on the desk. The parchment had been crumpled and torn with the ink smeared from water and time.
"This is it? It's not possible, no noble house has such little written about their history." Ciel examined the note, his one blue eye trying to find letters and words in the splotchy mess. Only once did he see the name, 'Cheong'. Even then, the letters were a decryption in it of themselves.
"An excellent point; in it lies your answer." again with the indirect and vague directions. The little Lord thought over his statement, only one excerpt of it truly stood out.
"Noble house history? Any noble house writes its family tree and all major events. Although, commonplace or even beggars rarely have well reviewed and cared for text. Unless..." while it wasn't entirely impossible, it would surprise him. Torio had been invited to the soirée from the Viscount of Druitt, it took nobility and wealth to obtain that sort of social standing. Hell, he wouldn't have even been surprised if the two had crossed each other before.
"I don't believe he truly belongs to a noble house." Sebastian finished as he saw the gears turning within Ciel.
"Master, remind me why we're here exactly?" the maid blanched at the sound of dogs barking and whining. It was a typical phenomena within a dog's presence for the woman.
"I heard a rather interesting rumor about this place, something worth looking into." he noted the riled canines from his window. Even in the inn his maid wasn't safe from the notice of the creatures.
"And what rumor is that exactly?" she inquired while unpacking luggage.
"It's something I'm rather interested in collecting. A rather unusual oddity really." he only grinned at the thought of what her reaction would be once he revealed specifically what had brought him here.
"If you say it's some sort of demonic hound I'm going to pack up and leave." she muttered shaking her head at the idea.
Torio didn't respond as he slowly turned to look at her. Dumbfounded, she paused and clenched the laundry tightly. The dogs outside ceased their barking and began to howl and cry.
Torio woke with a start at the sounds of dogs barking and townspeople chanting. Kaoru sat near his bedside and turned to him.
"It seems this town has some exciting nightlife." she smiled before closing her book and preparing an outfit. Pajamas weren't exactly becoming of her young master.
Dressing and now fully awake, the pair walked out the building and to the crowd of villagers. With their rakes and torches, they crowded around the dog pit containing crates and cages.
"Don't touch it! I see that James was the bad dog. He had it coming owning one dog over the limit." wafting through the crowd, Kaoru and Torio were surprised, to say the least, that Ciel knelt next to a bitten and chewed up body.
"Ciel?" the Lord grinned in amusement. The boy turned to see the older Lord standing at the brim of the crowd.
"Torio? What're you doing here?" before he could answer the crowd began to chant.
"Lullaby, lullaby, the white dog is a good dog. The disobedient black dog is a bad dog. Lullaby, the sun sets, lullaby goodnight." they repeated the song in dull voices before walking off with the corpse.
"Demon hounds have protected the Berrymores for generations, it was only a matter of time before James was punished for breaking our laws." with mutton chops and a brown suit, the Lord of Berrymore feigned regret. With one last glance at Ciel, he turned and followed the crowd.
"So," Ciel started "what brought you two to Houndsworth?" the Lord began to walk causing his staff and Torio along with his maid to follow.
"Well, I heard a rather interesting rumor pertaining to this strange village. It piqued my curiosity and now I'm here to collect." Torio noted the rather pretty maid with white hair.
"And what rumor would that be?" the manor became closer with each step.
"A demon hound. You see, I collect the supernatural and observe the unnatural. It's a pastime of mine." Torio elaborated. The white haired maid opened the estate doors. Mounted heads of game and animals decorated the walls.
"...I suppose that's interesting. But, how exactly do you intend to catch this demon hound, if it in fact exists." Ciel sat at the dining table while his other servants went to their rooms for rest.
"I have a rather nice bait and a study trap. You see, Kaoru has a rather, er, poor disposition toward canines. They chase and bark at her. I also intend to use her for taming and securing the beast." Sebastian poured tea as Torio explained. Ciel chuckled at the plan.
"I see, well, I suppose I already know someone who carries the same effect." he glanced to Sebastian "But, surprisingly, I am also here for a similar reason. The Queen has asked I look into the disappearances and murders of the villagers regarding the demon hound. I come under the pretext of buying the land to build a resort." Sebastian inwardly chuckled at the image of the Cheong maid running around trying to tame and capture a demonic hound.
As the two boys continued to talk, they dismissed their staff. The maid and butler wandered off.
"So," she crossed her arms and drummed her fingers "I am still in debt to you. I only like it when people owe me something, not the other way around." she looked at the butler preparing for some ridiculous task. He wondered for a moment what to do as it was the perfect opportunity to toy with the maid.
"Undress."