Hello, dear readers! We are back and getting closer to the more action part of the arc, meaning... the "Victorian boy band"! I still don't know how to feel about this idea Toboso had, but I must admit I was laughing so hard while reading it 😂! For now, enjoy Ciel plotting and Sebastian being... a model 😂!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kuroshitsuji or its characters. I entirely own only my OCs, arcs and ideas/themes not mentioned in any form of the franchise (manga, anime, games, movies or musicals).
Chapter 46: The Tutor, Infiltrating
"Oh, poor Madam Red... I would really love to have met you. What a pity..." Selina said with a sad expression and voice, as she closed one more heavy volume on anatomy, belonging to the deceased doctor-killer.
She felt part of the woman's pain very close at heart, and was sorry she had lost her way and sanity to the point of turning to a ruthless killer. However, finding these volumes kept in her master's library was a pleasant surprise for Selina, because it showed that the boy still felt something for his aunt and wanted to keep something of hers close to him, as a memento, aside his own memories. Plus, they were excellent material for their future biology classes.
The blond tutor got up, stretched to wake up her muscles and picked up the three really big and heavy medical books. She exited the library and headed for her master's study, passing outside one of the second floor living rooms, where the boy was meeting with Inspector Abberline, reporting about the autopsies on the "beautiful corpses". Selina betted these people had died due to multiple organ failures caused by massive blood loss... exactly as Wolfram had said it could happen in extreme blood-letting cases.
"Then what in blazes should we do?!" Abberline, the usually calm inspector was heard crying out, having lost his patience after the Earl had asked him not to act yet.
Selina paused as the door opened and the boy stood there; Sebastian always by his side.
"This is why I, the Queen's Watchdog, exist... Well, just sit back and enjoy the show... I will have their tails pinned in my fangs long before they have a chance to flee..." He said proudly and self-confidently, knowing his own watchdogs would always have his back.
Abberline was left speechless by the child lord's attitude, but also by the so smug expression master and butler shared... not that the passing tutor looked any different as she looked at her master obviously proud of him. The thought that the notorious Queen's Watchdog was in full power, crossed Abberline's mind sending an inexplicable coldness crawling through his spine... And of course, he was right to feel like that!
Later that day, the trio was sitting in a carriage, outside the Sphere Music Hall, trying to figure out of a way to infiltrate deeper in this organisation... until the perfect means appeared in a most unexpected form...
{~}
"Thank you very much! We look forward to your continued patronage with Hopkins tailor shop!" Nina said, cheerfully bidding goodbye to the people of the Music Hall when she exited.
Followed by her assistants-models carrying her heavy bags, filled with fabrics and all the equipment a tailor would need, the bold tailor started to return to her shop, when a carriage passing next to her slowed down and a totally unlikable male voice was heard.
"Your luggage appears quite heavy. May I offer you a ride, miss?" The voice said.
"I am quite fine, thank you very much." The tailor said totally disgusted by the cheap pick up line. For the life of her, she would never understand how men thought women could be charmed by such techniques.
"Oh come now, you know I handle rejection poorly. Come ride with us, Nina." The voice said turning to a more pleasant boyish one that Nina adored, because it belonged to the most delicate boy she ever knew.
"Oh my! It is the Earl!" She cried excitedly, as she saw him appearing behind the carriage's curtain.
Needless to say how her sudden change made the boy instantly lose his confidence and jump at the opposite seat, joining his butler and tutor, squeezing himself between them, since Nina accepted his invitation without second thought.
"Yes, that is correct! All of the costumes and outfits donned at the popular and trendy Sphere Music Hall... are made by yours truly at Hopkins tailor shop!" Nina was boasting in a while, as the carriage was on the way to her shop. "Just between you and me, I am not particularly fond of making clothing for boys older than the age of fifteen, but I was so deeply moved by the Hall's energy and enthusiasm when choosing me, that I decided to accept their request. All of the songs and clothing for the Starlight Four are created by Mr. Blavat!" She finished.
"Even the clothing?" Sebastian asked really surprised and impressed. Selina sitting on the other side of their master shared his feelings; that mysterious male witch was getting more complex.
"Yes! He always comes to give feedback on the fittings and such. Unlike a certain stubborn person who shall remain nameless, Mr. Blavat provides an endless flow of bold and novel ideas." She finished in a deictic tone and her target - Sebastian of course - had an annoyed and a little pained, as if he had received a couple of stabs, expression on his face that made Selina stifle a laugh. "However... If the Earl has taken time out of his schedule to ask me about him, then I surmise there must be something important about him." She added in an entirely sober and serious manner.
"Yes, good, I am glad you understand. That saves me a lot of time. As expected of the tailor shop that has been employed by the Queen's watchdog over many generations." Ciel said seriously.
"To receive such praise from your lips is an honour." Nina responded bowing her head humbly. "Having said all that, my knowledge is limited to the body measurements of Mr. Blavat and the S4. Along with those who hold the names of the great stars, I suppose. Funny thing is, no matter what I do or try, I am strictly forbidden from directly taking the latter's measurements." Nina informed her audience making them a little confused.
"So you were allowed to directly take the measurements of the S4?" Sebastian asked trying to understand to what the woman was referring to.
"Correct, but my insistence on measuring the other individuals always falls on deaf ears." The tailor seemed really disappointed for not being allowed to use her skills and talent to the fullest and create absolute perfection.
"Ho-Hold on a second!" Ciel suddenly interrupted her as a realisation hit him. "Are you saying that 'the persons who hold the names of the great stars' are not the S4?!"
"What are you talking about? The ones who hold the names of the great stars are much higher in rank than the S4. I am designing the clothing for everyone, including the S4 and the other individuals." Nina clarified and then got lost in one of her usual ramblings about how amazing and sexy were the Greco-Roman gowns she had designed for the guests. Ciel got flustered remembering how exposed and naked he felt in that clothe and almost panicked tried to bring her back in order. Selina and Sebastian exchanged a silent look, both impressed on how correct the demon's assumptions concerning the 'selected elite' turned out to be.
"I would appreciate it if you could elaborate about the people who hold the names of the stars." They boy Earl cried in a last effort to pull the woman out of her daydreaming.
"Hm? Oh... Well, I am not entirely sure myself, but... Mr. Blavat said they are the physical manifestations of the four guardian stars, or something similar... Master Sirius, Master Canopus, Master Vega and Master Polaris. There are four people who are called by these names."
"And where are those persons right now?" Sebastian asked.
"That is what I would like to know!" A fuming Nina responded. "During their fittings Mr. Blavat would take their clothing into the room, just past the doors decorated with the constellations, all the while forbidding me from entering!" In the end her voice was full of complain and anger.
"That is the same place where they drew our blood... which probably means... each star representative is beyond their respective door?" Ciel was again thinking outloud.
"Oh, Earl, did you not know?" Nina said quite surprised. "There are four doors, but they all lead to the same circular room... I managed to peek that much one time."
Ciel's mood shifted instantly, a very angry frown appeared on his face as he could not believe how easily he had been played in that case. "Then what was the point of being so melodramatic..." He almost hissed angrily.
"The dramatic, tense tone of their plays is an essential part of their religion... And that explains why the limited access events are run on separate days of the week." A really amused Sebastian commented.
"Nina, when is your next scheduled visit to the Music Hall?" The young Earl asked her having regained his control.
"Today we matched the outfits with the new song and completed the preliminary sewing, so I would expect to deliver the final product in one week."
"Please, allow Sebastian to accompany you. I will make it worth your while." He asked... actually commanded the tailor.
At that moment, a change none of the three had ever witnessed or expected to ever do was displayed on Nina's face. One second, she was sweet and submissive, as she bowed her head in utter respect saying "Of course..." and in an instant she turned to one of the ugliest demons Selina had ever seen. "...Not. In your dreams!" She roared leaving both demon and child speechless; Sebastian looked a bit offended.
"If you insist to have someone of yours to accompany me... then I would be more than happy to accept sweet Selina in my loving bosom!" She giggled happily at that, while eyeing the suddenly uncomfortable tutor and ignoring two red daggers aiming at her quite threateningly.
"Out of the question! I need Sebastian's observing skills in order to receive correct information." Ciel was unmovable once he made up his mind.
"Wow, my lord... Thank you for your vote of trust." Selina was finally heard, after such a long time; her voice full of irony, but said nothing more as the Earl glared at her in an entirely authoritarian manner.
"My tailor shop is at the forefront of cutting edge London fashion! I would not be caught dead with staff member who wears such archaic, outdated apparel on my team! It would do irreparable harm to our brand and reputation!" Nina kept screeching, after Ciel made clear he would not change his mind.
"Regardless of generation, this is a formal, timeless uniform..." Sebastian tried to explain, while being quite annoyed by the insolent woman.
"I do not want to hear it! If you wish to accompany me, then you will have to change into more acceptable attire!" The tailor announced, perhaps hoping that the Earl would give up on this plan, due to how expensive the whole operation of modernizing Sebastian could turn out.
"All right. Then you are free to go ahead and choose his clothing for him." Ciel said in a tone of finality, before he leaned back on his seat.
One could say that the demon butler looked so human at the moment. On the one hand, he was grateful to his master for assisting in protecting his mate from that female vulture. On the other hand, he looked extremely annoyed, angry and already tired at the thought of spending quite some time with the tailor, who would always find something negative to say about his person.
Nina kept boasting she would do her best and would definitely turn Sebastian to a contemporary gentleman that everyone would be envious about, since the Earl asked her to do so. In a few minutes they reached her shop and Nina immediately got to work... It would be so difficult to find fitting clothes for "that ridiculously and annoyingly tall, thin and pale man with no taste in clothes".
Truth is, it was quite an ordeal for Nina to find something, at least satisfying for the unlikable butler. The very popular duck canvas suit was too big for him and pale colours clashed with his already extremely pale complexion; they went on trying on suits of various styles but Nina felt none was good enough for the statuesque butler. Sebastian was obviously not enjoying it... in contradiction to his master and wife, who seemed to have a great time while the demon was changing in and out of clothes.
Nina's fantasy was obviously limitless and Selina was tempted to ask her if she had the ability to see the future... Especially when Sebastian came out of the dressing room wearing a strange jacket with fringes hanging from the sleeves and quite a lot of sequins; Sebastian seemed not knowing what to think about it, while Selina was having a really hard time to stifle her laughter.
"We're caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you too much, baby...
We can't go on together
With suspicious minds..."
Selina was singing, almost mumbling, trying to cover her smiling mouth or hold her sides as her shoulders were shaking from giggling. Ciel's lips were equally struggling not to curl upwards in an obvious impish smile... He really enjoyed seeing his smart-ass butler at a loss of words like that and unable to do something about it.
"The model is terrible, so nothing looks quite right!" Nina exclaimed in complete exasperation. "Next is this one!" She almost sent flying a suit that Sebastian caught while entering the dressing room for the... umpteenth time that day.
The demon's young master was sitting in a chair just outside the dressing room and his mate standing next to the boy, their eyes sparkling with mirth as he glared at them, sighed and went on.
"We really do not have to go to such measures... You know very well I can simply infiltrate them on my own." Sebastian sounded really tired and fed up behind the curtains.
"It is better to cover our bases. With Nina as a buffer, we can definitely stave off Blavat." Ciel responded and his voice gave away how entertained he was.
"I hear your words, but I am getting the impression you are really enjoying putting me through this." The demon sounded so innocent and pitiful now.
"Heh. How does it feel... being used as someone's dress-up doll until you go insane?" The boy Earl said, making clear this ordeal was partly a payback for how equally entertained the demon looked back then, when they were making the boy's wardrobe from scratch... So exhausting and insane for the still weak ten year old.
"Oh, dear me..." Sebastian said pitying himself, not for the first time that day.
"Oh, come on... Don't be so dramatic. Shopping therapy for clothes is one of the favorite... pastimes for women, regardless of era." Selina said with a wide smile.
Ciel suddenly shuddered, remembering how Elizabeth was squealing filled with enthusiasm the rare times they got out for shopping... It was really terrifying, and with such a look on his eye, he turned to Selina.
"Mrs. Selina... do you enjoy such a pastime too?" He asked with a hope that she would be different lacing his trembling voice.
"Well, my lord... I too am a woman. If you have the right company and more or less know what you are looking for, it can be so much fun!" She responded with a smile and a little nostalgia mirrored in her eyes.
"My lord, do not try to find logic in women... They are a completely different kind of... devilish creatures that can break even the strongest demon." Sebastian said coming out of the dressing room putting on a hat that matched the suit.
He wore a dark purple suit with faint, wavy stripes of lighter tone, a lavender vest and a shirt of purple body and lavender collar, buttons and cuffs, creating a striking antithesis that smoothly complemented Sebastian's pale skin and his raven black hair. The set was completed by white with a tinge of lavender loose gloves, similar hat with a black sash around it, purple-black bow-tie with a couple of white dots and black and white patent leather shoes.
"This is it! That is the best I can do for Mr. Stiff!" Nina cried out, throwing her hands in the air making clear she was done with all this. He was looking good enough to be allowed to walk beside her.
Ciel looked at his butler neutrally; he seemed just fine in his eyes, different but fine. Selina, on the other hand, had a different opinion; Ciel felt her leaning more heavily on the back of his chair and his ears caught a low "Wow" just like on Campania, when she saw him smashing the heads of the bizarre dolls. Ciel turned his gaze on her and saw her face quite flushed, eyes shining, wide open and glued on the demon. The boy sighed... he really hoped she would be different from other women, falling so easily for the demon's fake charms, but he was constantly greatly disappointed in her on that matter.
"Mrs. Selina, are you alright?" He asked in a bored tone.
"Mm?... Oh, yes my lord, perfectly alright. I was just... hit by a smooth criminal." She answered, dragging out the "smooth" part.
Ciel sighed and shook his head - all the fun he had, gone in a moment - stood up and with Selina on his heels, walked to one of Nina's assistants to take care of their purchase, while Nina - standing out of the dressing room - was pestering Sebastian with how delicate the fabric was and to carefully remove it, as he was changing back to his butler uniform.
"See you in one week, Nina!" An irritated Ciel bid farewell to the tailor in a while.
They finally exited the shop, after a small bickering episode between butler and tailor for the sake of his tutor's blue eyes, gold locks and... presumably perfect figure. He was too tired to bother but it had something to do about the content of a couple of boxes the butler paid for with his own money. Sebastian winked and teased his curious mate that she would soon find out what the boxes were... and indeed she found, but that is another story!
{~}
And just like Ciel said, in exactly one week they were meeting the eccentric tailor and her assistants a few meters from the Hall and Sebastian, in his perfectly preserved and unwrinkled purple suit, joined them as they headed to the entrance.
"We have come to deliver the apparel and costumes! We are from the prestigious Hopkins tailor shop!" Nina announced proudly while her... three assistants were doing some of the signature crazy posing that Nina thought were adding more glamour or something.
Sebastian was leaning on one side as he appeared behind the tailor, bending the other knee, one hand on his waist and the other in a quite dramatic pose, the upside of his wrist touching his head. On the surface he seemed very cool, confident and natural in all this, but inside anger was boiling; not because of the actual posing, he really did not care, but for having to submit to Nina's strange tastes of... presentation, marketing? Whatever was what she thought she achieved with these absurd shows. However, his own self-discipline and the flare of a familiar, amused aura across the street helped him calm down and smile as the new employee carrying bags would do.
After the small group was allowed entrance to the Hall, Selina - indeed standing across the street, her curiosity about seeing Sebastian and Nina in action not leaving her in peace - lost Sebastian from her sight, but knew exactly what he did and felt at every moment. It seemed one of the attributes of supernatural mates was that somehow their auras got synchronized, therefore it was easy for her to tell when he encountered a very angry, yet determined Lady Elizabeth.
The young girl, a master of swordmanship, attacked and tried to stab the demon with her blades and seemed she got quite close to succeed for Sebastian to get significantly surprised. However, he soon took her out, making sure not to harm her irrevocably. After immobilizing the unconscious girl, he continued his research without meeting any other obstacle and soon had collected a satisfactory amount of intel and evidence.
"Did you miss me that much, my dearest?" Selina heard the demon's smug voice right next to her ear so suddenly that she jumped startled.
"Wh-When? You were there..." She pointed at the Music Hall "...less than a second ago, I took my eyes off the entrance for a second and... Oh, fuck it... I will get used to it, eventually." She finally said; the colour returning to her face as she lowered her hand from her chest and her heart returned to the normal beating. Now, her eyes zeroed on his load and she freaked out a little. "Hey! Are you serious? Is that a way to carry a person, much less a young lady?" She reprimanded the demon as she saw Elizabeth bend over his forearm with her head downwards and his jacket tightly tied around her.
"Oh right! And I was just trying to figure out why I had the impression of not doing something correctly." He said innocently.
"The poor girl will get dizzy from all the blood getting to her head. She is not a lamp about to get slaughtered, you know!" The witch kept reprimanding the demon as he shifted the girl in his arms.
Selina untied the jacket and then wrapped the girl properly in the clothe and positioned her as comfortably as possible after checking for any grave injuries. Sebastian reassured her the girl was fine... thanks to herself for training him to control his strength and handle a human body gently; his words were simple but his voice laced with so many deeper meanings that made the witch blush uncontrollably for a few seconds.
"We need to make a stop at lady Sullivan's to give her something." He said when they started walking.
On the way, he quickly shared his findings about the blood laboratory he discovered, from where came the blood samples of all four types they would give Sieglinde to investigate. Selina, however, was more impressed by the rooms of the people who held the names of the stars.
Sirius seemed to be a noble-born, while Canopus a commoner or even a servant, judging by the so luxurious and simplistic rooms, respectively. Vegas must have been a young noble lady, her soft bed loaded with plush toys and... two vanity tables on the other side of the room; that was curious. Unfortunately, the couple could not make any assumption about the Polaris person since theirs was... a wreck of a room! The windows boarded up, the furniture broken to pieces, litters lying everywhere, the walls scratched like a wild beast had gone to a rampage in there. Selina seemed quite distressed and troubled by the state of it.
"A transfusion must have gone wrong and caused that reaction." The demon said indifferently.
Selina shook her head deep in thought. "No way! As far as I know, blood incompatibility can cause... Well, I'm not sure, but it certainly cannot drive a person to such a state. What you describe is... exactly as you said. A wild beast on rampage; it's impossible to have been caused by the blood."
"Then what could have caused such destruction? Even more, what could force a human into such a brainless, clearly instinctive state?" The demon said and as soon as he did a light switched on in the couple's brains, because such a level of destruction could easily be caused by... Undertaker's bizarre dolls, something they both had witnessed in quite an extent while on board Campania.
"Do you think he...?" Selina asked hesitantly with a small voice, laced by a slight fear. Yes, she had ended up developing a fear for what Undertaker's evident insanity could create; she was always scared of madness, having tasted it herself a little, but Undertaker's was really terrifying to her.
"We have no way to say for sure! We still need evidence to make such a hypothesis freely. Also, these rooms could easily be decoys against prying eyes." The demon attempted to calm his mate sensing fear in her aura, and in a way ordered her to keep this idea for herself, unless young master came to the same conclusion. If he did not, the demon thought it would be better to not affect his thoughts with quite baseless assumptions.
Selina agreed and they went on to Lady Sullivan's manor. Sebastian delivered the blood samples to the young scientist and Selina insisted for her to do a quick examination to Elizabeth. Sieglinde did and for everyone's relief she could not detect any kind of drug or hallucinogen to have been used to cause the girl's so sudden turn and the violently emotional outburst. After that short stop, they headed for the town-house, where their young master and a very anxious Lord Edward were expecting them.
{~}
Needless to say, how relieved both boys were to see Elizabeth returned and unharmed although unconscious. Edward squeezed her in his arms almost tearful from happiness, so much that Selina had to struggle to remove the girl from her brother's arms in order to change her clothes and get her to bed to get some needed rest; Edward stayed for quite some time beside her, obviously fearing of losing her again.
In the meantime, Sebastian reported to his master about the blood samples he acquired and then delivered to Miss Sullivan, and how ecstatic the young scientist got at the sight of them. He was certain they could expect results very soon. However, he failed to verify the existence of the four people "who hold the names of the stars" as Miss Nina put it.
Edward was quite categorical towards Sebastian, that even though all evidence were there and he had the chance to utterly destroy them, he did nothing of the sort. Sebastian simply smirked, knowingly, and went on to explain the boy his reason for not doing anything.
Just like during religious wars and crusades, the burning and destroying of churches and holy symbols did nothing towards breaking the attacked ones strength and moral. On the contrary, it strengthened and accelerated people's piety, reaching to the extreme of fanaticism - same goes for the Sphere Music Hall. Currently, S4 and Blavat were regarded as charismatic, perhaps even divine existences by the general public and forcibly exiling or destroying them would only cause the people's wrath making everything backfire. Ciel and Selina nodded at his words, fully comprehending and accepting his view... certain it derived from personal experience.
Edward did not like that train of thought but also could not deny the logic of it; but then... what options were they left with?
Sebastian stared his beloved mate for a while and then turned to his master, with one more smirk, in order to explain that not even a god or a demon could not touch or shackle a human's heart. But, was corrected by Selina who supported that was the case, unless the person itself willingly allowed to be shackled and found the bindings so enticing that refused to leave them or... allow others to release them, even when being fully aware it would be better if they broke these chains! Saying these, with a smirk reflected in her eyes, at first she stared at her demon, whose smirk widened, and then at her master. The boy understood perfectly what the couple meant, but his pride did not allow him to accept it. Unfortunately, sooner than he thought would be forced to do so.
"Everyone! We have trouble! It is Miss Elizabeth!" Agni barged in distressed.
They all rushed to the girl's room only to find it empty and some of the curtains torn in strips, tied together and to the bed post and then thrown out of the open window creating a makeshift air ladder. Edward kept looking out of the window quite terrified, Ciel was in a similar state but composed himself quickly and turned to the bed while thinking.
"But this is the fourth floor!" Edward exclaimed, not believing his eyes.
Sebastian and Selina were quite calm and unimpressed; Selina rolled her eyes and lightly sighed fed up with the young lord.
How was it possible he was the most astounded of all people present? Did he not know his little sister's skills or... chose to be blind to them and see her only as the sweet, little, domestic angel their era forced her to be? Sebastian's lips twitched, easily reading Selina's thoughts visible in her eyes.
"I thought it was about time for her to have woken up, so I came to check in on her and realised she was long gone, once I recovered from surprise..." Agni said, really regretful for allowing something like that to happen.
"Hey, it is not your fault. You could not possibly know what was going through her mind. We will take it from here." Selina reassured the Indian butler, patting his back in a friendly manner and gifting him one of her warmest smiles. He responded accordingly and with a deep bow left to join his own master.
"So she tied the curtains together and made an escape route..." Ciel started while Edward was still lamenting on what could possibly drive his sister to such extremes. The Earl took in his hands one of his bitter rabbits lying by the girl's side while sleeping; he threw quite a murderous look backwards to his butler and tutor. "You two... you were well aware of this... you actually expected it to happen."
"But of course. Regardless, what were you hoping to accomplish by detaining her? Did you plan on keeping watch over her like some prisoner? Perhaps chaining and putting her on a leash like a... dog would be more to your liking?" Sebastian kept asking shamelessly mocking his master; his eyes flashed red quite amused.
"You bast-!" Ciel started yelling at him, but the couple's calm demeanour cut him off.
"As I said before... It is simply impossible to shackle another's heart. As long as Miss Elizabeth's heart is captivated by the Sphere Music Hall, no matter how many times you drag her back here, the outcome will remain unchanged." Sebastian explained.
"What in the world is this thing that has taken ahold of Lizzie's heart?! What is this 'sparkling shininess' of Lizzie's that only that place seems to have?! I cannot possibly think of anything!" Edward yelled deeply frustrated.
Selina nodded in agreement. "Whatever it is, it seems to be the shackles to which she willingly chained herself, for some reason unknown to us, and obviously she doesn't want to be released. If we force her to leave there, she will react even worse, perhaps ending up hurting herself." She shrugged her shoulders like all this was something not so difficult for her to understand... perhaps even sympathise with the girl.
"In any case, it seems that indeed there is nothing we can do unless Lizzie herself wishes to return." Ciel said once he regained his composure. At the distance unfamiliar voices started rising along with Soma's cheerful one.
"But... we have no options, if we cannot understand what has her so obsessed." Edward responded and the voices were becoming louder, they were those of children.
"Lizzie is not the only one with this problem. The entirety of London is enamoured with this organisation that secretly conducts blood transfusion experiments. In order to stop further harm from occurring we also need to-" Ciel was saying while his anger and annoyance at the squealing children were becoming stronger by the second. He suddenly turned around and stormed out of the room. "Hey! I cannot even hear myself think! What in blazes is going on down..." He never got to finish as he reached the staircase and was left astounded by what he saw.
A sea of rag-dressed and dirty children had literally flooded the entrance hall of the town-house, gathered around a table where Soma and Agni were busy distributing curry buns, Sebastian's recipe that won the Queen's curry competition some months back.
"What, no one filled you in? They are here because we are having our food drive, of course!" Soma responded to Ciel's questions. "Noblesse oblige! That principle exists in England as well, does it not? I am a prince, and I am also governor of this mansion! It is only natural that I do charitable deeds for the common folk!" He finished crossing his arms over his chest, so proud of himself that it was like he was radiating a truly kingly light.
"Master Soma, you have grown into such a splendid young man!" Agni could not help but let his tears flow freely; he was so touched by his lord's generosity.
"Jesus, what a soft-hearted giant!" Selina thought of the Indian butler, not for the first time since she met him in person. She found it quite foolish to be that soft-hearted; but on the other hand she liked him exactly for that... he was the exact opposite of her black-hearted demon!
The tutor climbed down the stairs; once again patted the tearful butler on the shoulder and took upon herself to continue distributing the buns, since Prince and butler were quite focused on discussing with Ciel and crying, respectfully, but the hungry little children were getting impatient.
"But there are limits to such things! This chaotic scene just feels like you are handing out emergency rations!" Ciel said panicked.
"There are so many faces here that it is absolutely overwhelming..." Sebastian also said and for a moment he looked paler than usual. "Some of these homeless children are even from other sections of the city..."
The children started explaining that they came here for the "bestest" bread and for the people that were "super duper nice", but the demon could not care less either way, even more because his gaze had focused on the witch, his witch, who was almost glowing while distributing food and advices to the smiley children.
"Do not speak with your mouth full; do not eat so fast or you will choke; try to find some clean water and wash your hands before eating."
These were some of her advices and the children responded with wider toothless smiles and sparkling eyes. The demon felt transfixed watching the light side of her greyness manifesting so brightly and did not know what to think about himself! He was a demon disliking all these, but not when she did them... she was such a perfect and honest human! His master's low laugh pulled him out of his musings.
"Ha ha... of course... How did I not see such an obvious thing in the first place?!" The boy looked a little insane and that alarmed the demon for an instant.
"So... young master, you are not angry with us?" Agni asked confused, but ready to receive whatever punishment the young Earl saw fit both for him and his prince.
"Angry? Certainly not! The exact opposite, in fact! Excellent job, you two!" He said looking at them with one sparkling eye, and the look in it reassured the demon that the boy's sanity was still intact; he was just on fire because an idea came to him.
"What?!" Agni exclaimed, not believing his ears, as he knew how temperamental and cruel the young boy could become.
"I know, right?!" Soma cried, totally excited to finally have done something his 'brother' agreed on!
"Exactly, keep up the good work! Sebastian! Selina! In my office! Now!" Ciel ordered and almost ran to the said room.
Sebastian followed calmly, but Selina had to ask for Agni's assistance to untangle herself from the children that had circled her, drawn to her for some reason. As soon as she was released, ran to her master's office and found him behind his desk with a vicious smile on his slim lips. She really did not know what to expect and she certainly did not expect what followed...
Well... I also didn't expect what followed in the manga!
Sebastian in Elvis outfit: Guys, if you don't remember that panel, please, please, take a look at it. It was absolutely hilarious! On the one hand, I was freaking out because Toboso relapsed in writing ridiculous anachronisms (little did I know Ciel would soon make his own boy band...), but on the other hand I'm sure I almost fell off the bed from laughing, especially because of the faces Sebastian was doing throughout that scene! I simply could not resist adding it and having Selina commenting/singing about it! 😂😂
Sebastian's final outfit: One thing that fans do and I really really love is coloring the manga pages! I looked for a really good version to use, I found quite a lot... unfortunately, I don't think I'm allowed to include links here for the sources (if anyone knows any different, please let me know) and in the end, I did a mix and match, asked a friend's advice on colors that could suit Sebastian and... it turned out purple and lavender. If you like, let me know what you think about this choice!
Nina, Sebastian and packages: Originally, that was a scene included in the story, along with a scene revealing what's in the packages and what happens next 😏! But, as usual, it would be too long and quite a deviation from the main plot. However, if readers would like to read it, I can make it into a one-shot at some point 😊!
I still don't know when my surgery will be. I hope I'll be able to post one more chapter next Firday, but if not I might post it earlier or some announcement... I'm not sure, we'll see.
Till next time! Bye! 😘