Lilliana spied on the Trancy Manor from a distance. She had to fulfill her role and look after both demons to see if they were not cheating, but there was another reason why she came. True, she was supposed to go to work right now, but she had to see if Alois would be all right. He did suffer from a nasty wound, even though it didn't cut as deeply as Ciel intended. He was pretty injured as well, so it would make sense that his aim was off when he stabbed him. Luckily, the servants quickly bandaged him and made sure he got plenty of rest, but even at his weak state, he would still abuse Hannah and annoy Claude, who, she had to admit, looked very uninterested in his master, almost like if the shine around his soul faded and there was nothing special about it. However, this time, as Claude was changing his bandages, she was surprised to see him do something she never thought he'd do: smile. Not a smirk, but a genuine smile. What did Alois say to him to make him smile? Even more strange, Alois seemed to be very . . . scared at the sight. Lilliana would be too, but she was more curious to what he said to make him smile.

"Sneaking around here without your butler," a feminine voice said before a dagger was placed closely in front of her throat, making her unable to move. "Or are you trying to steal my master's soul?"

"No, Hannah, I'm supposed to be the keeper of their contract-,"

"I know about their deal, but that still doesn't give you permission to come here and spy on us."

"Isn't that part of my job?"

"I don't trust that your butler will keep his end of the bargain."

"And I don't trust that yours will either. He seems to have acted . . . different since we left." At those words, Hannah pulled the dagger away from Lilliana and released her.

"Yes, I must admit that I noticed a change in his behavior, but that doesn't give you permission to come here and spy on us."

"I am just making sure that he doesn't try to go after my young master since it IS his soul that is on the line, not Alois's. Besides, what would Sebastian have to gain if something happened to Alois? He's already pretty injured."

"My young master may be strong, but he too has his fragile moments and I don't want a being, especially a Grim Reaper, to try to prevent the fulfillment of their contract."

"I would never try to stop it. I'm a Rogue Reaper; I know the sanctity of the contract better than anyone. Even if I was told to stop it, I wouldn't." Soon, they heard a bell tower in the distance, meaning one thing. "Well, I guess that is my cue to leave." Before she left her side, she said one more, "I hope Alois will be all right. After all, he may be a brat, but we both know that he lost something very close to him." Hannah tried to stop her so she could talk to her some more, but she was already gone.

Lilliana clocked in to work, a little late, like usual, but a lot was on her mind. To her surprise, she wasn't stopped by anyone, especially William, telling her that she was late yet again and the next time would be the last, though he never enforced that. She even made it to her desk without incident and her files were ready for her. She examined them and noted the time and location of their deaths and the downtimes in between each assignment. It seemed like it would be an easy night, but then a flamboyant voice rang in her ear.

"Why do I have to deal with this soul, Will? I'm sure there are people more capable of handling demon work," Grell said as he not so subtly pointed to Lilliana, who couldn't help, but eavesdrop in their conversation.

"I don't want to depend on her when it comes to demon work. Besides, I'm afraid that she would be influenced by her demon brethren and would let the demon get what he wants rather than stop him from stealing the soul."

"Oh, when's the last time she's done that?"

"How about the fact that she never stops that demon Michaelis from killing people not on the To-Die list?"

"But doesn't she clean up after him and collects every soul? After all, she knows the consequences if she had a little taste," he said as he leaned close Will, who only sighed.

"Still, I am assigning you to collect the soul of Jim Macken, understand me?"

"Fine, fine, I'll do it . . . but only if you promise to go on a date with me afterwards~," Grell said flirtatiously, but only revived a death glare from Will. "I'll do it! I'll do it!"

As Grell passed her desk and out the door, Lilliana couldn't help, but think about the name that was uttered. Jim Macken. Why does that name sound familiar to her? She pondered and pondered until finally she figured it out. "No, he can't die yet," she said under her breath. Wasn't he recovering? Wasn't he going to be okay? Screw her assignments; she needed to go to Alois as soon as possible.

Alois was on a fast carriage ride to the Phantomhive manor. He persuaded Hannah to take him there after showing some emotion toward her and mainly because he was her young master and couldn't deny an order. Alois wasn't in any good shape to go out, but he was so determined to see Ciel Phantomhive possibly one last time before he died that he didn't care. Though, many obstacles in their way, making the carriage ride a lot bumpier than it needed to be, agitating Alois and eventually, tearing the stitches and making his wound bleed. However, out of nowhere, a red-headed figure appeared in his carriage.

"Hello~," Grell said to Alois.

"Who the bloody hell are you," Alois asked in surprise.

"Oh, I have no interest in babes in arms. I'm going to tidy this up quickly. Let's see, 'Jim Macken', that's your real name. What a dreary name for our protagonist, but no matter. After all, you're at death's grim door. Now, I wouldn't leave the office just for that, but you see, there is a teeny bit of an issue with your soul," Grell said as he looked over the file. However, before he could proceed, they both heard a loud sound from up above and saw the top of the carriage being ripped off. "Oh, I don't like the look of this." Soon, the top was ripped all the way off and the saw Hannah staring down at both of them. "Ugh, I knew it was a demon. I suppose you're not just a pretty face. Where did you pick up something so dangerous?"

"Kill Ginger here, Hannah," Alois ordered loudly.

"My, you're a hot-blooded little nipper, aren't you? I'm not looking to fight. I want to peacefully-," Grell tired to say before Hannah almost bombed herself onto the carriage below, aiming for a Grell, but luckily, he escaped before she landed. He jumped a little bit away from the carriage, sighed, and pulled out his chainsaw. "I better be paid extra for this."

Not too far away from them was Lilliana, who was watching the whole thing. She knew that they would send a Grim Reaper to try to retrieve a contracted soul, hoping to steal it before the demon had a chance, but she had to stop that. Though, luckily, Hannah was distracting Grell, but she wondered where the hell Alois went? She knew that Hannah was far too busy to protect him, so she figured it was up to her to find him. However, it didn't take very long for her to find him crawling away from the fight. She couldn't just watch him use all the strength in his body to crawl, especially when she saw the blood that was trailing behind him.

She jumped down to him and as he saw her, he shot a nasty look. "Have you come to claim my soul too? How very devilish of you."

"No, I'm not. I just want to help you," she said as she tried to pick him up, but he swatted her hands away

"Get your deathly hands away from me! Claude is the only person who should have my soul!"

"Just let me help you!"

"No," he said as he tried crawling away from her, but her patience was finally thinned too much as she just picked him up and found a tree isolated from the fight. "Let me go," he kept saying as he tried to get out of her arms.

"Both young earls just hate being carried," she said under her breath, but she soon gently rested him next to the tree. "You should be far away from that Grim Reaper," she said before sitting next to him. "You may be a brat, but you and I have something in common . . . We both lost someone dear to us."

"Oh, what could you have possibly lost? Your life? Oh sure, it must have been so bad to go from human to Grim Reaper!"

"No, you spoiled shit, we both lost . . . our brothers," she said in a surprisingly sad tone. Alois was surprised to see her sudden change in behavior. Not once while she worked with him did he see such a pathetic-looking deity. "You had Luka and I had Bastille. They both made contracts with deities and both lost their lives to those very deities. They were loving brothers who only wanted to do what would make us happy . . . but now they're gone."

"Oh look, you're crying. How pathetic," Alois said. Usually, Lilliana would be angry at him for saying such a thing, but she knew that he was feeling empathy under that hard shell and she laughed.

However, a wolf started to approach them and bared its teeth at them. Lilliana got up and got her Death Scythe ready in case it would try to kill Alois, but before it could, it was killed by a devilish butler. "What are you attempting to do, master? You haven't obtained Ciel Phantomhive yet," Claude said before throwing the carcass away from them. "And what are you doing here, Lilliana?"

Before she could answer, Alois said, "You're all I have!"

"Don't be ridiculous, master."

"Shut your trap . . . Shut your trap! You're the only one in my world now," Alois yelled before he hugged Claude's leg. "Hoheo taralna, rondero tarel! Don't leave my side! Never, Claude! You're . . . You are my Highness," Alois said with tears falling down on his face,

After a moment of silence, Claude knelt down to his young master and wiped the tears. "What a thing to say to a mere butler." However, the tender moment was cut short after Claude ripped out Alois's soul from his body, mortifying Lilliana. "Not to worry, master. A crude little soul who gives his love to a butler . . . I could hardly work up an appetite for that. I'll keep you always with me," he said as he put his master's ring in his pocket. "I have a use for your soul."

"H-How could you," Lilliana said, finally being able to say something. "He offered up everything to you . . . and you just . . . everything . . . fucking everything . . . was all based on a lie . . . and yet . . . you still ultimately betray him until his dying breath."

"I don't have time for you and your games."

"Oh, I see, that's the story," Grell said out of nowhere. When Claude turned around, he saw that Lilliana was nowhere to be seen, probably so she wouldn't be written up for being in the same scene with a demon. However, Grell was covered in blood, but not his own, which alarmed him. "The boy was slated to die tonight, but it wasn't affecting the soul ledgers. I did assume that a demon was involved, but . . . ," Grell said as he played with his hair.

"Are you going to steal the soul, Grim Reaper?"

"All that matters to me is that our spiritual accounts balance. I will watch how this plays out, though. I think it'll be interesting."

"So you're not on Sebastian's side, then?"

"'On his side'? Don't insult me with such a hackneyed phrase. The highest form of love will always be a death match! Anyway, I should get going. Ta ta for now~" he said before leaving his side.

"Interesting," Claude said before he walked up to the tree and hitting the trunk of the tree, making it shake and soon, Lilliana fell into his arms. "You still haven't answered my question."

"Let me go," she yelled, but to no avail. In fact, he pinned her by the threat to the tree instead. She even spat in his face, but he seemed to be indifferent to the gesture. Instead, he just tightened the grip on her neck.

"How pathetic of a Grim Reaper to have empathy toward a human. Have you lost that hardened shell that demons gave you? But still, that wouldn't make sense since Grim Reapers are also depraved of emotions. You must be weak to have any feelings toward a human out of all creatures."

"F-Fuck y-you," she tried to say, but he only tightened his grip.

"You didn't come here to claim his soul, but rather, you wanted to make sure he was going to be all right, and yet, look where we are." She tried to speak, but all that came out was a choked mess, which made him chuckle. "You have caused us a lot of trouble, Lily, and you need to be punished. I could turn you back into the demon you used to be or I can break you and make you suffer worse than you ever have. However, the torture won't begin until I have your master in my possession."

"Y-You won't be able to steal his soul as long as Sebastian is there to protect him," Lilliana said in a choked tone.

He chuckled. "I have a plan and you're going to help me."

Jim Macken was a young boy who lived in a little village. Ever since his parents died, he survived with his young brother, Luka, by stealing whatever they needed in order to survive, even if that meant that the whole village hated them for it. He grew bitter toward the people of the village that he wanted them all dead, preferably the most gruesome way possible. The only person that he cared about was his younger brother, who supported him and his wish with a smile and the usual response of "Yes, Your Highness".

However, one day, their wish came true and everyone in the village died in a fire that consumed the village. While they basked in their victory, they decided to steal everything that was left in the village, but sadly, as they rummaged the burnt village, Jim found an awful sight: Luka, the only light in his miserable life . . . lifeless. Not long after that, he was kidnapped and brought to a man with ill intentions towards the young boys brought to him. Physically and sexually abused, he seemed to waste away, that was, until he made a pact with a "fairy", or so he thought, until he learned his fairy was a demon. Soon, due to his more than needed cooperation, he became the sick Earl's favorite "son" and soon became Alois Trancy. Once his "father" died of unusual circumstances, he became the Earl of Trancy with his butler by his side.

Once their contract had been properly formed, Claude implanted the false memory that it was Sebastian Michaelis that had made a contract with Luka and devoured his soul. Though, it wasn't enough to just simply kill Sebastian; he wanted to make him suffer greatly and wither into nothing. An agony worse than death. Soon, it was clear what the terms of the contract were: "Make Ciel mine!"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Not too long after their assimilation into wealth and power, they gathered a number of demon servants, including the triplets, Thompson, Timber, and Canterbury, and Hannah Annafellow. However, not too long after that, they were introduced to a new "demon": Lily Bastida. The red-headed, red-eyed beauty came to the front door of the Trancy manor without any motivation other than she needed to be trained by "the best servants".

"Master, there is a young lady here is hoping to get a job in the manor," Claude said to Alois when they first met Lily Bastida.

"We don't need any more servants working for us. Just send her away," Alois said rather rudely, transforming bills he needed to sign into paper airplanes.

"Oh please, Earl Trancy, I need the job! I was kicked out of my last one when they learned my . . . secret," she begged, but he seemed to be intrigued.

"Your secret?"

"I-I cannot say-,"

"She is a demon as well, master," Claude intervened. His boldness surprised her, but he only smirked. "I'm surprised she is using the innocent act when she is just as debauched as the rest of us."

She tried to keep her begging face for a little longer, but she soon chuckled. "I guess I can't hide that well from a fellow demon."

"Well, if she is a demon, then she can work with us. The more help, the better."

"But you were about to throw me out a second ago-,"

"I will personally give her a tour of our mansion and explain to her what her position requires from her," Claude said as he put his arm around her waist, surprising her a bit.

"Of course," Alois said as he continued to make more paper airplanes and letting them fly as soon as the two of them left.

As their tour began, she examined every nook and cranny and detail of the manor. Everything just seemed so grand for her and Claude chuckled at her somewhat innocence. "I've never seen a house so massive in my life," she said.

"Really? Who was your previous employer?"

"Just some old creep with a lot of money. He tried to sleep with me many times, but I denied him, but he made the claim I was a demon and I was forced to leave in case they do try some religious shit on me."

"Interesting. Why did you always deny him? Being a demoness, I would assume that you would give in to his pleasures."

"I'm not a whore, Clause Faustus. I don't need to sleep with every man I see just because I am a demoness. I have some dignity."

"Hm, very interesting." He led her everywhere, including the basement, and finally, into the servants' quarters and finally, the head butler's private room. He led her inside and locked the door behind them. She heard the lock, but before she could respond, she was pinned to the wall by him. "Enough of this inexperienced demon act. Why have you come here?"

However, she chuckled, not caring about the danger she was in. "I haven't lied to you, Faustus. I'm a new demon and would like to be trained by the most skilled demons. What would I have to gain by stealing a contracted soul other than shame and punishment?"

"Still, how can I trust a demoness like you to not try anything?"

"How about this," she said before kissing him, shocking him and forcing him to pull back. "I will always be in your watchful gaze until that soul is yours to feast or before I feel like I have become the proper demon I was destined to be. Does that sound like a deal?"

After he calmed down, he smirked. "Yes, that sounds like a good deal." That would be a deal she wished she never made.

What will Claude do to Lilliana? Will it be for his benefit? Can Sebastian save her? Reviews are appreciated.