A/N: So I'm quite glad that you are okay with Sieglinde being contracted to Sebastian =D Anyway, here you have another chapter. Enjoy and don't forget your reviews!

CHAPTER 5

While Diedrich had his own apartment in central London – and it was a rather nice one – he chose to drop by at the Phantomhive estate more days than not. This effectively meant that there were even more people around keeping an eye on Ciel. He had to endure critical glances from both him and Frances when they sat down for dinner. Lizzie would try to start a conversation, but Frances was terse and Diedrich naturally wasn't a very eloquent person. Ciel was usually too busy sending everyone angry looks to be listening to his cousin's blabbering. Those weren't his best moments, and he had to admit he felt a little guilty for being so openly annoyed by those people and in front of Lizzie. He was sure that after this trying phase he would be able to humour her again.

"I'd like to speak with you," he told Diedrich one evening, and the man gave him a long look before nodding. They went to the living-room right after dinner. Diedrich poured himself a glass of whiskey while Ciel watched him.

"I hope this is no unfriendly talk we're about to have," Diedrich began.

"Why would you think that?" Ciel asked.

"You seem tense, boy. As if anticipating a confrontation."

Ciel consciously slouched a little in his seat. Diedrich snorted, obviously noticing the forced ease. Well. "It is nothing of the sort," the boy said. "I am merely not sure which answers will be given to my questions."

"If we knew the answers we wouldn't have to ask. It's that simple." Diedrich settled for the armchair opposite to Ciel's. "What would you like to know?"

"We should talk about my father," Ciel said. He didn't miss how Diedrich pulled a face. He could understand. It has barely been three weeks now.

"I can't say that this is going to be a comfortable conversation," he said. "But if that's what you want…"

"What was he like?" Ciel asked.

"A downright bastard, if you excuse my language." Diedrich said this with much affection; Ciel felt that he could let the insult go but he did frown nevertheless. "And greedy, too. Give him hundred pounds and he'd horde them, double or triple the amount somehow and horde that, too. It's a wonder he invested in this house's renovation. But then again, his need for luxury might have overridden his stinginess. He ate too much. He chased after everything with two legs and a nice smile during school times."

Ciel blinked. "Didn't he go to Weston High?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Wasn't he promised my mother's hand already?"

"Yeah," Diedrich said. "So?"

Ciel fell silent.

"You do know that balls were and are still held at Weston High, don't you?"

That still wasn't what Ciel had expected. "You're kind of ruining the picture I had of him."

"Sorry," Diedrich said without much remorse. "I figured you were old enough to know the darker bits of his nature. Nobody else would have told you, you realize. If you aren't ready I'll wait until you're twenty-one."

Ciel rolled his eyes. "It is my mistake for not trying to find out about his flaws. Do continue."

Diedrich eyed him suspiciously. "Well, what else can I say? Rest assured, I loved the guy and everybody else did, too. But he was no saint. He managed to gather some crazy individuals around him. As you know he also worked as an informant or consultant for the police while also running his business. I think that's how he managed to find all these nutjobs. Some of them surely belong behind bars."

Ciel raised his eyebrows. "Among these… nutjobs… Was there a man named Claude?"

"Who?" Diedrich pulled the corners of his mouth down in a pensive manner. "Not that I knew of. Our group often met, but I never encountered a man named Claude. What is he supposed to look like? Do you have a picture?"

Ciel shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't. I cannot describe him to you, either."

Diedrich hummed. "Is this about the murder?"

"Yes."

"I can't help you with that." He shifted in his seat. "But I know someone who might."

Ciel waited.

"That guy who was with me during the funeral? Tall, grey-haired, creepy smile?"

How could Ciel forget? "He had an interesting name: Undertaker."

"You know what, I'm sure that guy is actually a serial killer or something. Not even Vincent knew his real name. But Undertaker had his use within our group. He knew everything. I'm sure if you ask him, he might help you where I couldn't."

Ciel wasn't quite sure if that would prove to be true. That old, albeit creepy man from the funeral was a mere mortal after all. What would he know of demons?

"Thank you." Ciel got up, and Diedrich followed the movement with his eyes as if he was expecting Ciel to faint or something akin to that. "You have helped me add a few strokes to the painting of my father."

The German emptied the glass. "Is that so? What does it look like now?"

"More defined," Ciel said quietly.

OOO

Alois followed him home one day. Or rather, Ciel had said no several times and after Alois had gotten into the car intended for him and Lizzie, Ciel had given up on it and let the Trancy boy come back home with them. He dearly hoped that Lizzie would keep him entertained. Upon coming back from school Ciel usually retreated into his father's study. It still smelled of Vincent's cologne and everything still bore Vincent within its atoms. Even the damned furniture. Ciel was beginning to think of redecorating it.

Alois dropped his bag, toed off his shoes and took off his jacket. He then proceeded to take off his uniform pullover and fully unbutton his shirt. It was icy outside, Ciel wanted to say, but thought better of it. Lizzie merely watched. "Do you always do that when you visit Ciel?"

"I do that whenever I visit anybody."

"You never did it at my house," the girl said.

"Yeah, well, your mother is frightening,"

This had to be one of the few things everyone agreed upon.

"I am glad you're here," Lizzie said to the blond boy, and Ciel went back to disagreeing internally. "Ciel runs away whenever we return home."

"Do you now?" Alois drawled. "Well," he said to Lizzie, "he won't run away this time because he knows I'll follow."

"Sadly," Ciel added. Once they arrived in the winter garden, Tanaka brought them tea. Ciel frowned when he only saw two cups set in front of Lizzie and Alois.

"There is a man waiting for you, young master," the old butler said. "A certain Mr. Michaelis."

Ciel froze. "Is Miss Sullivan with him?"

Tanaka shook his head.

Well, if that wasn't strange. Ciel excused himself and left his friend and cousin to entertain themselves without him.

Ciel found Sebastian in the red saloon where the butler stood by the window, looking out. "I wonder," he said the moment Ciel entered, "at the nature of this room."

Ciel came to a halt, completely dumbstruck. "Excuse me?"

"This shade of red is particular, don't you think?" The butler touched a gloved hand to the wall next to the window. "It is very sensual."

Despite his senses telling him to stop this conversation – the audacity one had to have to say such thoughts aloud! – Ciel looked around. Everything was held in a deep red, not quite crimson, not quite burgundy. There were only lounges in this room. A collection of expensive spirits. A pool table. "I don't see that," Ciel said, "neither do I want to. This is simply a red room. You are implying things that are not true."

"I am indeed implying," the butler said, "but I shan't continue if you don't wish to hear it." He stood by the window as Ciel took a seat, not bothering to ask the demon to sit down, too.

"Why are you here?" Ciel asked. "Surely not to talk about how much… activity this room MIGHT had seen."

"I just came here to look at you," the butler said, his expression so unmoved that Ciel thought this to be another joke.

"To look at me," the boy repeated. "Did your mistress tell you to?"

"Not at all," the butler replied smoothly. "She gave me the day off as she is busy brewing questionable potions from my skin and blood."

Ciel felt his eyes narrow. Now, that sounded disgusting. "And you decided to come here. Why?"

"You are now part of our hunt for Claude." Sebastian smirked. "I'd like to know my allies."

"You seem to misunderstand," Ciel said. "You are my allies."

Sebastian's smirk widened. "You say the most amusing things. Mouthing off to something like me… I wonder, where does your courage come from? Do you do that to everyone or am I simply special?"

"Being on my bad side doesn't make you special at all." Ciel sneered. "Everybody is on my bad side."

The demon chuckled. "You are most interesting, Ciel Phantomhive. But whether we are your allies or you ours, don't you think that it is important to trust each other?"

Ciel snorted. "Who put that notion in your head?"

"Experience," Sebastian said with a cold smile.

"Trust isn't proven by conversation," Ciel said.

"But conversation is a beginning." The demon looked at him intently. "And I can see that you still have questions."

That was because Sullivan and Sebastian had raised new ones, but Ciel wouldn't give Sebastian the privilege of knowing that. He selected the most pressing questions and hoped that he'd find the answers to his other questions without having to ask. "Why is Sieglinde after Claude?"

"Sieglinde," Sebastian began, looking as if he was choosing the right words, "is after Claude because I am."

"So she is following your orders."

That earned him a laugh from Sebastian. "She would kill you had she heard that. No, it is simply an extension of our contract. I saw that she knew techniques that demons weren't all too aware of, and I offered her a longer life if she applied her knowledge to find Claude. Her contract was formulated in a way that allowed me to take her soul when she said the wrong words and I chose to interpret them that way. She did include a number of years in which I cannot kill her, but what happens afterwards…? We decided it was in both our interest that we find and get rid of Claude."

"Why would you want to kill him?" Ciel asked.

The demon snorted. "To be quite honest, I find having to kill him immensely time-consuming and quite annoying. But it's him or me, and I personally prefer it to be him."

Ciel looked at Sebastian for some time. "You're being awfully honest."

"You're being awfully distrustful."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Sebastian looked way too amused for Ciel's taste. "Is that so?" He left his place by the window to approach the boy leisurely. Ciel was not going to play the game of taking a step back and giving the demon more room. Sebastian came to a halt directly in front of the boy, their tiptoes almost touching, and leaned down a little. "How is it that you don't trust those who want to help you?"

Ciel crossed his arms in front of his chest, his back ramrod straight, refusing to back down. He looked the demon straight in the eyes as he thought of an answer. "You only want to help yourself," he said finally. "Once my role has been played, who says you won't dispose of me?"

Sebastian smirked. "Do such thoughts frighten you?"

"I'd prefer not to lose my life due to a demon of all things."

"And you think angels are kinder?"

Ciel narrowed his eyes.

The smirk on the demon's mouth grew. "I have seen them, casting each other out, throwing their own kind from the sky and watching their wings turn ashen. Demons lie. Angels lie. We maim and we kill. The only difference is the colour of our wings."

Slowly, Ciel looked the demon up and down. "I don't believe in angels," he said.

"And just a few days ago, you didn't believe in my kind, either," Sebastian said. "If you're lucky, you won't get to see them your whole life. Now that you're associated with people such as me and Mistress Sullivan, chances are high that they are going to try and track you down. Then they will kill you."

Ciel could feel his throat go dry. "That is what you think."

"That is what I know." Sebastian took a small step backwards, so as if to give Ciel room to breathe. They boy inhaled deeply, but carefully. "If you don't die at my hands, you may die at theirs. If you don't die at their hands, you might die at mine."

"I'd rather die at nobody's hands," Ciel said.

There was a small moment of silence. Tilting his head to one side, the demon watched the boy closely. "I could protect you."

Ciel wanted to laugh. He didn't. "If I give my life to you, I get it. That is contradicting my intentions."

"Death is final in any case. The one that I could give you is quick and easy. And I can make it painless."

Ciel walked to the door and opened it. "My answer is no. I refuse. You can get Sullivan to form a contract with you, but I have other plans with my life. I will not spend it with a monster whose leash is made of mere words. Just like I will eliminate Claude, I will eliminate threats to my life. If you're bent on being one, I will gladly find a way to destroy you." He pointed out the room. "Kindly get out of my house."

The demon seemed surprised. He stared at Ciel silently as if he couldn't quite believe that had just happened. Then he jolted into motion, bowing deeply before he left the house. Ciel was glad to see that there was no smile gracing the creature's lips as it left.