Sebastian flung open the curtains.
"Rise and shine, master."
Ciel resisted the urge to groan and pulled the covers closer to himself. "I'm sick, Sebastian. I'd prefer to have breakfast in bed. And later, please. I need some sleep. My head weighs a ton."
"Certainly not," said Sebastian firmly. "You have important guests today. Let's see." He unrolled a long piece of paper. "Ten thirty, business meeting with Lady Celeste Violet Rosso. She is here to give you an update about the current underworld affairs. Three o'clock in the afternoon is another meeting with Sir Jaime Vikings. He is, ah. I apologize. It appears that he has cancelled the meeting due to sudden and important family business-"
Ciel held up a hand and sighed. "I understand. But I will still dine in bed."
"Yes, my lord." Sebastian bowed and left the room.
Ciel watched the door close and sat up. His face felt hot in remembrance of what happened last night. How could Sebastian act like nothing had happened? The thought made his heart wrench suddenly in pain.
He heard a few knocks. "Come in." Sebastian pushed in a cart with his tray of breakfast.
"Earl Grey." He delicately poured the tea into the cup. "Your favorite." He handed the cup over to Ciel and proceeded to carry the tray over and set it up for his master to dine in bed.
"Porridge?" Ciel made a face.
"I made it for you, master. It is to ensure that you heal quick enough for business."
Ciel let out a bitter chuckle. "Of course. Why would you care? Business is indeed most important."
Sebastian made no reply as Ciel spooned a little and put it in his mouth. "Quite delightful taste. As expected from you, Sebastian." Sebastian handed over the napkin to him.
"Thank you."
Ciel had a quiet breakfast for the next few minutes.
"Lady Rossa will be here anytime now."
Ciel waved him off. "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, master."
"Go tend to her needs. Lead her carriage. Special treatment shall be given to the lady and her underlings. She is one of the Queen's most favored pupils. I want to see that she has no complaints about our service."
"If you say so." Sebastian left the room. Shortly after, he entered the house with a beautiful, charming lady of twenty. Following them were two young men about her age with identical looks, and Ciel strongly suspected that they were twins.
"Please sit. I do hope that my butler has given you the utmost marvelous treatment."
"Oh yes, he certainly has." The lady's voice were as delicate and wonderful as golden bells. "A pleasure to meet you, Lord Phantomhive. The Queen has told me a great deal about your doings. Pardon me for saying this, as it may offend you somehow. You are the most talented child I have ever seen."
Before Ciel could open his mouth to utter a few words of protest, the lady held up her hand.
"Please, allow me to elaborate. Talented as in, mature and tactful, like a full-grown adult. You wouldn't mind me treating you like an adult, would you? I surely hope not. Because I tend to be very strict when I want to."
Ciel sank back into his seat, closing his eyes and composing himself, careful not to show any signs of pleasure. Good, very good. She chose the best way to communicate with me. She knows I despise people looking at me as a child, and therefore carefully rephrased her words into neutral sentences, which flatters me in a way, and yet it's not exactly a praise. As expected from one of the Queen's favorite pupils.
"You are free to treat me the way you want to. Perhaps we should get into business, my dear lady. You have grabbed hold of certain important trading lists for me, no?"
"Yes, I have." One of the young men went over and handed over a package to her. "These, I must say, were retrieved by a man of the underworld. I know him well, but he does not know that I work for the queen." She gave it to Ciel and he slowly unwrapped the package. Inside were a stack of papers and signed documents.
"Here are a list of names to assist your investigation." Lady Rosso put a piece of paper on the desk and slid it towards Ciel. "Please do look it over. If you need further assistance, feel free to contact me. If it doesn't trouble you, I would like to invite you to my current staying place."
Ciel didn't notice when Sebastian shot a cautious glance towards Lady Rosso and he nodded.
The lady smiled the most gracious smile. "Wonderful. I do have some things I'd like to talk to you in private. Some matters that even James and Voren cannot know. Do you mind coming over and have a chat with me this afternoon?"
"Perhaps we could do it here-"
"Oh yes, certaily. But I do have a few artifacts I wanted to show you."
"Artifacts?"
"Yes, in fact, a few of the Queen's treasures that were handed down to me. Would you like to take a look?"
"I thank you for your invitation but I am not feeling so well today, so I will have to turn you down, Lady Rossa. It was most kind of you to invite me."
"Are you alright, my lord?" Lady Rossa laid a gentle hand on his with a concerned look. "Oh dear. then you must rest. I shouldn't have bothered you today. You have my deepest apologies. May I invite you over on Sunday then? I hope you'll have recovered by then."
"Yes, yes. I will also bring over the checked documents and discuss with you about the underworld matters. Thank you for coming. I hope I haven't disappointed you in any way."
"What nonsense. Surely not, Lord Phantomhive. I am but a fool facing such a prodigy. Well, I must take my leave now, and please get some rest, my lord. I am looking forward to meeting you on Sunday. The address is written there and given to your butler."
She bid him farewell and left.
A bit of a boring chapter, I must say. Sorry for that. But this is kind of a foreshadowing chapter. Sorry for not updating. I will try updating more frequently.