Chapter Five
In Which The Tiger Tells All
On the second day of Sebastian's stay in the medicine den, Liz surprised him with a strange question.
"Sebastian," she said while sorting herbs. "Can I trust you to keep a secret?"
The cat in question had been bored watching her, and was beginning to go insane with his lack of work. With nothing better to do, he nodded. "Of course."
"It's about Claude."
"Oh?" Sebastian's eyes glittered as he looked over at her. He was now able to roll comfortably over on his back, and that's exactly what he did. For some reason, the upside-downness of it all helped him concentrate.
"You see, there is important information regarding Claude and the murder of Ciel's parents," Liz murmured. "Information that is not supposed to be leaked to Ciel. But, you know, keeping secrets from Ciel kind of hurts me—he's like a son, you know? Well, anyways, the truth is…Claude was the one who murdered Ciel's parents."
For a moment, it seemed as though time had stopped. Shaking off the initial shock, Sebastian stared wide-eyed at her. "And how am I supposed to know you aren't lying?"
"I was there when it happened," Liz said matter-of-factly. "And I tried to kill Claude as he escaped by starting a wildfire. That's what—"
"That's what burned down the mansion," Sebastian murmured, finishing the sentence for her.
"I was sure that he was burned to a crisp in the fire, but it seems as though I was wrong. That's why I never told Ciel who killed his parents, because I figured that Claude was dead. If only I had known…"
"If you know now, why aren't you allowed to tell him?" Sebastian asked out of pure curiosity.
"The Undertaker warned me not to tell him. He said, and I quote exactly, "It is for the boy's own good.""
And if Ciel knew this, and I was able to kill Claude, that means his wish would have been fulfilled and I would be able to take his soul… Sebastian thought to himself. "Well, that certainly is interesting," the mixed breed sighed, swatting at a shiny beetle as it passed him. The bug easily got away, and Sebastian sighed. "It seems like all of this "resting" has made me a housecat."
"No," Liz laughed. "You're just not trying."
Giving one of his signature smiles, Sebastian curled his tail tip over his nose and closed his eyes. Sleep wasn't needed for a demon; in fact, sleeping in a demon's world was viewed as simply laziness. But even Sebastian knew that sleep helps the body heal faster, even for demons. So he ended up letting himself drift off into the dream world, unconsciously wondering if his nap would bring about another nightmare.
Later that same afternoon, Ciel came to visit his butler. Finding him fast asleep, Ciel felt a slight smile twitch at the sides of his mouth. He looks lovely when he sleeps…Ciel thought, but he quickly shook it away. Putting a gentle hand on the side of Sebastian's head, he noticed how truly soft his fur was, like the down on a gosling. Moving farther down, he could feel the roughness of the cotton blankets, and then the softness of his fur. On the part of his back that was showing, Ciel noticed, that the fur was more wiry and thicker than the rest of his fur. Realizing what he had done, Ciel blushed and removed his hand.
What am I thinking? Ciel thought to himself as Sebastian's back foot twitched. Stroking him like he was some kind of house pet. He's my butler, for goodness sakes! And he's a demon. There's no way…
"Well, well, well, you little sneak," Liz snickered, a mouthful of marigold in her jaws. Putting it in her herb supply, she grinned over at him. "Running in my den while I'm gone. Looking for more poppy?"
Embarrassed that someone might have seen his little act with Sebastian, Ciel rubbed the hand where the feeling of soft fur still remained. "N-no, I just came to visit."
"I saw everything," the brown and white tiger grinned, flopping onto her stomach. "By the way you touched him, I'd think you were in love with that cat or something."
Ciel's blush deepened as she said that. "I'm not in love with him," he hissed lowly. "He's my butler for God's sake! And he's a demon. It's not like he loves me—I'm just a meal for him."
"Oh really?" Liz let the same beetle that Sebastian was in pursuit of earlier slide across her claws like a jungle gym. "You sure about that?"
"I'm very sure!"
Liz wanted to say something else, but she kept her mouth shut. No need to keep beating a dead horse. Ciel had already made it obvious how much he cared for the half-blood, no matter how much he denied it.
Gritting his teeth, Ciel turned. "I have to go. Hunting patrol." With that, he slid out of the den, leaving Liz behind to simply chuckle at his ignorance.