( chapter nine ! )
"Aren't you quite popular these days, Earl.."
The sitting room of Ciel Phantomhive's townhouse is once again occupied by himself, Leah, and Lau, a faint sense of deja vu overcoming the trio. For as often as they find themselves in there, the encounters start to feel the same at some point. The only thing missing is the nonexistent silhouette of Madame Red in her seat.
Seated in a chair in front of a long bookcase, Lau holds the newspaper up for him to read, "To be honest those two have been ultra suspicious from the get-go."
"That is true though.." Ciel looks annoyed as he opens an invitation, "I just can't see why those two would cause trouble."
"They seem nice. As strange as they are," Leah comments, fiddling with the fabric of her navy blue dress.
Ciel huffs as he looks towards Lau, "If they are criminals why would they come and stay with me of all people?" he questions. "They are not really all that suspicious at all, right?"
"Well then.." Lau smiles. "It would be pretty neat if it were nighttime soon, don't ya think?"
Later that night, Ciel and Leah both watch as Soma and Agni prepare to leave the building.
"We're off then!" Soma announces, Agni bowing at the door behind him. "Go get some sleep you two."
Releasing a noise of irritation, the Phantomhive watches them leave while his fiancé beside him yawns. "Are we following them?" she asks.
Parading through the streets, Soma and Agni visit buildings and shops and show their drawing of Mina, looking for the missing woman. Not far behind them, Ciel, Leah, Lau, and Sebastian watch from a wall, observing their whereabouts.
"It really does seem like they are just looking for that person.." Lau speaks with knitted brows.
Ciel shivers in his spot despite wearing his winter clothes, cold air releasing from his mouth. "In this country, the best place to look for news of that person would be in a club or a pub. It really seems like they aren't up to something."
"I told you. They are just a bit.. eccentric," Leah points out, shuffling closer to Ciel in the hopes of warming herself up. The fur of her winter coat slightly obscures her eyes, two little pom poms hanging from a string.
The group watches as Soma storms out of the pub, angrily stomping with Agni following him.
"It is now one am," Sebastian points out, checking his watch. "I predict they will return home soon. We should go home also."
Back at the townhouse, it is now two forty-five in the morning when Agni finally makes his move to leave. Lau seems surprisingly alert despite the time, however Leah and Ciel are practically falling asleep on each other, struggling to keep her eyes open.
Dropping lower on the roof, Sebastian hangs upside down and looks at the three through the window. "Young Master, he's making a move."
Ciel slowly blinks, trying to shake away the sleepiness. "Good, so—"
"Wait!"
Standing in the doorway is none other than Prince Soma, "You! Let me come also." he asks. "I have been aware for some time that Agni goes out while I'm asleep. I want to know what he is up to."
A silence falls upon everyone before they seemingly agree, preparing to put on their winter clothes to venture out in the snow at the late hour.
"No one let Anna know I'm doing this. She will be displeased.." Leah complains, yawning as she wraps her coat around her thin body.
Venturing through the snowy streets, it takes some time before they stop by a large manor, two men stationed at the front of the large gate. Agni is seen walking through, briskly entering the building, and doesn't notice the group following after him.
"So.. he went inside this building?" Lau questions, looking up at a tree peeking over the gate.
"This looks like.." Sebastian trails off.
Pressing his mitten-covered hand to his chin, Ciel's brows knit together, "Maybe finally we can see what is going on."
Cocking her head back, Leah stands closely next to Ciel and keeps an arm intertwined with his, bouncing in her spot to try and combat the cold. "What are you talking about?" she questions. 'Good Lord, it feels like my hands are going to fall off..'
"What's that supposed to mean?" Soma's tone is harsh as he begins to question things. "Who lives here?"
Lau presses a hand to the prince's shoulder, "Settle down, Prince. No need ta' panic." An uncovered hand goes to his chest. "If you go in, you shall see the horrible truth.. you and I.. eh?"
"In saying that you mean you have no idea what's going on either?" Ciel deadpans, trying to ignore his fiancé occasionally poking a cold finger to his cheek.
Lau flashes one of his ridiculous smiles, "Yes. So who lives here?"
"This is the home of Harold West Jebb. He is involved in the import of various goods," Ciel explains. "I've only met him once while off duty. He is rather creepy, not to mention his criminal record."
Slipping a hand out of her mittens, the brunette giggles to herself before pressing a freezing finger to Ciel's cheek. Her fiancé isn't as amused as her, feeling the cold radiating off of her and swatting her uncovered hand with his covered ones, giving a quiet 'your hands are freezing..'.
"Imported goods, eh? Then me and him are in the same business," The Chinese man smirks, folding his arms together.
Pressing a hand to his chin in thought, Soma side-eyes Lau who's a little in front of him. "Why would Agni want to visit such a person?"
"He mostly imports Indian spices and teas," Ciel says. "He runs a general store named 'Harold Trading'. He also runs 'Harold's Hindustani Coffeehouse'." The young Earl's sentence finishes a little abruptly, once again swatting Leah's hands away with more purpose.
"Mina's name appeared on some of Lord West's papers," Sebastian moves himself around to stand in front of the group, wall to his back. "According to what I read, business mostly took place in the Bengal area. The hanging incident may have hurt the business, however.. It seems such damage was avoided due to Lord West being absent while the incidents took place."
Ciel cranes his neck to look at the top of the gate, "I guess we'd better go in then.."
"If it's your wish," Plucking Ciel and Leah from their spots, Sebastian places his master under his arm and holds Leah up above his head, jumping over the gate with ease.
"Hey, you!"
"Oh!"
"I do believe it is much faster this way," Sebastian quips, placing the aristocrats down gently. "Do forgive me for handling you like that, My Lady." The butler bows as he kneels to fix their coats, Lau watching above while perched on the gate next to a struggling Soma.
Leah purses her lips in annoyance, not noticing the group of aggressive dogs approaching them. "It's alright."
Unlike the two on the ground, Soma does notice and tries to alert them, "Ciel! Leah!"
Finally glancing at the dogs that rapidly approach, baring their teeth, both Leah and Ciel stare in worry as the demon beside them radiates an odd energy. Discretely trying to place herself in front of her fiancé, Leah tries to use herself as a small shield to which Ciel holds a firm grip on her arm through his mittens, pushing her back to his side. But before their attempts to place each other in front of the other can be effective, the dogs seemingly walk away.
"Huh? The dogs are backing off?" Soma questions in surprise.
Sebastian smirks while Ciel beside him looks far from impressed, "Such cowardly dogs Lord West has raised."
"Yo, Earl!" Lau calls out, swinging a group of keys on a stick while an unconscious man lays behind him along with a door. "Look over here! Over here!"
Staring at the Chinese man in shock, everyone examines his calm demeanor.
"Aw come on now, I just put them to sleep it's not like they are dead!" A smile leaves Lau while he wags his finger.
"So what," Ciel releases a breath into his mitten, grabbing Leah with his free hand to make her follow. "Let's get a move on."
Escaping the cold, the group files into the building, Sebastian leading the way. As they enter, they notice a lack of guards but still try to be discreet, despite Leah's shoes making small click sounds against the floor.
"No guards inside?"
"I can hear two people," The demon butler hardly has to glance around before his eyes fall upon the stairs. "Let's go."
Venturing up the stairs and through the halls, they slowly get closer to the source of the voices.
"You did a good job."
Leah holds her breath to take her lightest steps, trying not to make noise with her heels or whine at the deer head mounted on the wall.
"Why give me that expressionless face?"
The group slowly peers into the open door, nearly stacked on top of each other to get a look. Leah and Ciel stay the lowest to the ground, their winter coats brushing against each other. Sebastian is slightly higher than them with Soma using him to lean against, Lau at the top but with the worst view inside the room, instead opting to listen the best he can.
"Take a cigar and loosen up a bit, alright?"
Inside the room are two plush lounge chairs, the longer one seating a disgruntled Agni as Harold waltzes around the room, a newspaper in hand.
"These are grade A Havana cigars. I got these babies from James Fox, he has a royal warrant," Harold seemingly flexes the lit cigar in his left hand, ignoring how Agni chooses to be unresponsive to his words.
"Oh well, it's your problem." Harold swivels on his feet, "Everything is going as planned. In one week it will all be decided." he leans down to take ahold of Agni's bandaged hand, "Only with this 'right hand of God' will I realize my dream."
The group stares at the display, Leah attempting to stay interested in the boring conversation.
Harold inhales another puff from his cigar, "I've been planning this for three years. So I'll definitely complete it."
"And if I accomplish this," Agni starts with a hesitant look. "Mina will—"
Everyone's looks heighten at the mention of Mina, only for it to be destroyed by Soma who bursts through the door. The Indian prince finds it hard to contain his anger as he sharply glares at Harold and Agni, who are more than surprised at his sudden intrusion.
"You said Mina?!" Soma shouts.
"You fool!" Yells Ciel, both shocked and frustrated that Soma would interrupt when they were just about to be able to hear potentially viral information.
Approaching from behind the teenage aristocrats, Sebastian places a hand over Ciel's mouth and an arm around Leah, slowly pulling them away from the door. "Shh.. He would recognize our faces. Let's just wait for now." he whispers.
"He wouldn't recognize my face, I don't believe my father speaks to this man.." Leah tilts her head, finding no recollection of ever seeing Harold before.
Ciel glances at Leah from the corner of his eye. "Your father is well known and you look a decent portion like him. Even if he doesn't immediately recognize you, it's still a risk." The young earl harshly whispers, earning an annoyed hum from his fiancé.
Shifting his attention back to the room, Soma currently holds a tight grip on Agni's shirt. "Agni! What's going on? You know where Mina is?!" Soma shouts.
"Ah, so this is your master? Agni?" Harold smirks.
"You.." Soma slowly turns his head to glare at Harold, "You were the one who kidnapped Mina?! Agni!" he lifts an arm to point at him. "Beat this guy!"
Behind his prince, Agni wears a conflicted expression with clenched teeth, balling his fists but making no move to obey Soma's orders.
"Agni! What are you waiting for?!" Soma yells, bringing his pointing hand down.
Lifting his arm, Harold nonchalantly points at Soma, cigar in hand. "Agni. Throw out this fussy prince."
"Huh?" Soma stares in shock. "Can't you hear me?" He tries to speak to Agni.
"It seems they are starting to argue.." Sebastian says monotonously, still peering into the room while Ciel, Leah, and Lau appear more disinterested.
"Well, back to what we were talking about before.. it seems Lord West is involved," Ciel shifts his eyes to watch Leah playing with one of the pom poms attached to her coat. "It also seems that this has something to do with the black market."
Lau smirks and rests his head on his hand, squatting on the floor, "So then this is in the Earl's jurisdiction. Since the black market is involved."
"Indeed," The Phantomhive glares in annoyance. "Reporting this to the yard could be problematic. Perhaps we should just go home now.. That would be nice but I have another idea. I want to watch West for a while longer. This time I will save that foolish prince."
"But won't he recognize you?" Sebastian tilts his head.
"Yes."
"Leave it to me. I have a good idea."
Discreetly moving from his spot beside the door, Sebastian takes the mounted deer's head from the wall and places it over his head. This behavior doesn't impress the aristocrats but they decide not to question it, placing trust in the butler as he stands on the sidelines and waits for a chance to intervene.
"Is this really what I'm losing sleep for? How boring.." Leah whines, pouting her lips.
A quirked brow appears on Ciel's face as he side-eyes his betrothed, "No one told you to come along. You invited yourself." he mumbles.
Turning her head to look at his deep blue eyes with her dull ones, the young Barrett glares. "Oh. So that's how it's going to be, Phantomhive?"
"Phantomhive? Going back to informal formalities? Is Daniel possessing you?" Ciel stares at Leah incredulously, noticing the shift in her tone.
"If that's how you want to be, then yes!" With a huff, Leah turns her kneeling body away from Ciel's.
Lau chuckles watching the exchange, marveling at the earl's unimpressed look. "Now, now.. Don't argue little ones. You'll give us away." The Chinese man lightly scolds the pair.
"Little ones?!" Leah turns herself back around to stare at Lau in exasperation at his word choice, mouth nearly gaping at his audacity.
Before Leah has a chance to throw a fit at Lau, Ciel promptly shushes his fiancé by placing a hand over her mouth. Small muffled words leave the girl as Ciel shifts her closer so they can watch what's going down in the room, realizing Sebastian had a chance to intervene amidst their arguing.
"Who the heck is that?!" Harold shouts in disbelief like anyone would to seeing a deer head on top of a body wearing a suit.
Sebastian turns his uncanny accessory to Harold before bowing entirely, "I am a deer sent to collect the prince."
"Using a stuffed deer.. Good one, Mr. Butler," Lau stares up at the empty spot on the wall that was previously occupied by the deer head.
"How is it good?" Comes from Ciel, who doesn't agree with Lau's praise.
"I can't believe he's being serious about this.. It reminds me of Thomas. And I hate when Thomas pulls shenanigans like this," Leah is also one to complain about Sebastian's methods.
Harold stands taken aback, "This is probably one of the Prince's spies! Agni!—"
"No, I am just a deer to the core," Sebastian cuts in.
"Destroy him!" Harold shouts, pointing a sharp finger in the butler's direction.
Agni hesitates, "Destroy him? I can't.."
"Shut up! Do you want me to take back my promise? I order you to do this! Do it now!" Demands Harold.
For the most part, Agni is silent as he falls to his knees, clenched hands, and a lowered head, "My God.. I only wanted to serve him. This right hand I use only for his sake.." The Indian man continues, begging for forgiveness while removing the bandages from his hand.
Watching from outside the door, Leah and Ciel both seem surprised at the turn of events happening before them. They are also unable to take it seriously with Sebastian standing behind Soma, deer head still intact.
Turning her head towards her fiancé, Leah lets the hood of her winter coat slightly obscure her eyes. "Would now be a bad time to ask if you'll be attending my birthday celebration?"
"Your birthday isn't for another few months, why are you asking now?" Ciel's brows knit together.
"My father was talking about it and I said I want to be like a princess and he took my words seriously so now he's planning in advance.. If you are going I would suggest preparing your best attire," Leah purses her lips, recalling Lucius ferociously making plans in his study.
The young earl fights back a groan, "Your father spoils you a bit much." Ciel treads lightly with his word choice, careful not to set the girl off.
"Are you saying you won't spoil me when we marry?" Leah pouts teasingly, knowing fully well that she is naturally spoiled due to her position in society.
A heavy flush makes its way over Ciel's cheeks, "That's not what I'm saying! It's just—"
Hardly having any time to finish his sentence, Ciel is cut off by Lau abruptly grabbing Leah and lifting her up to carry her, earning a small noise of surprise but no further complaints from the girl. It isn't until now that Ciel realizes the loud crashes in the room are becoming too frequent, along with yelling, but most come from Harold screaming over his items being destroyed.
"It seems things are getting a bit wild, we should leave Earl," Lau says, walking away as he holds Leah with ease while dragging Ciel with another arm.
"Wait! A commotion this big is going to attract attention! You need to bring him out also!" Shouts Ciel, making sure Sebastian can hear him as he's dragged off by Lau.
Hoisting Soma over his shoulder, Sebastian nods under the deer's head, "As you wish." With that, he goes out the window with a loud crash.
"It was incredible.." Lau marvels, thinking back to Agni's sheer power.
After the abrupt exit the group made, they are now safely back at the house and out of the cold, adorning more comfortable clothes. Leah in particular sits with her back to the fireplace, choosing not to acknowledge the deer head that now sits atop it.
"He was beyond human."
"It's called samadhi," Soma sits with crossed legs, an irritated look painting his face. "Anyone with it has that power."
Ciel looks up at Sebastian with confusion, an expectant expression. "Samadhi?"
"It's to do with their religion. It's like entering a type of trance, isn't it?" Sebastian starts. "Humans are strange creatures. Their blind belief that they call strong faith can call out enormous strength from within. The Vikings of the past called upon Odin. The holy knights and the crusaders fought in the name of Yahweh."
Sebastian hardly stops to take a breath, "For Agni, his belief in his one true god Soma allows him to use such a power. Something we could never obtain, bred from love and belief. The power of faith."
The young earl's expression is unimpressed while Sebastian smirks, choosing to look at his fiancé who also doesn't seem to care much for the current topic.
"Then tell me why did he betray me," Soma looks down before swiping his arms to clear the china off of the table in a fit of rage. "How did he leave me behind so easily?!"
Ciel stands from his seat to dodge the flying items thrown in his general direction, "You.."
"Why?! Why is it that everyone around me vanishes?! Why?!" Soma shouts.
"Well if you act like that—" Leah starts before being interrupted.
"Leah Barrett!" Anna appears in the doorway, ready to scold the young girl. "What are you doing up at such an hour?! I have been waiting for you to get you ready to retire."
In her seat, Leah's body tenses as she forces on a tight-lipped smile, staring at Ciel for help. "We just went for a little outing.." she tries to justify, "It's not like I have a bedtime, I'm not hurting anyone."
"Hurting anyone or not doesn't matter. Walk yourself to bed right now before I make sure Lord Barrett hears about this," Anna scolds, walking off to Leah's room to make sure everything is in order.
The young girl lets out a sigh, reluctant to listen to the maid but does so to not risk hearing any more of it from her father. Lifting herself from her chair, Leah moves around Lau's chair to lean down and hug Ciel tightly.
"I had fun!" She smiles, ignoring the heat radiating from her fiancé's face. "Goodnight everyone.."
A faint chorus of goodnight's streams as Leah retreats from the room, leaving an empty seat.
In the days that follow, Sebastian works hard to try and cultivate a curry that can rival Agni's. It's hard and tedious with Soma's judgment but the demon tries what he can, set on winning to obtain the royal warrant.
"How's it going?" Ciel leans on a cane as he enters the room, Leah attached to his arm with Lau walking behind them.
"Young Master, you shouldn't come down here right now.." Sebastian advises, watching Ciel, Leah, and a kneeling Finnian use their fingers to taste the curry.
Leah squints her eyes at the flavor, "I don't know how much more curry I can handle tasting.. Do find a good recipe soon."
"Three days until the contest," Ciel retracts his tongue. "It looks like you're researching very hard."
Both aristocrats seem finished, walking off towards the door, but not before Leah can give Finnian a kind smile goodbye.
"Oh by the way, for today's dessert I'd like to have gateau chocolat," Ciel says, letting Leah leave the room first. "Bring it to me later."
Walking out of the room with a smirk, Ciel and Leah both set down the hallway with Lau following their footsteps.
"You act as if you want your butler to lose," Lau lifts a hand to his chin.
"Impossible. But instead of getting the royal warrant, don't you think it would be more interesting to see that butler lose?" Turning his head around, Ciel continues to walk while flashing the Chinese man an amused smile.
Shrugging, Lau releases a breath. "The Earl is sparkling~ What a bully."
"Silence," Ciel tries to shush him.
"You love making Sebastian's life harder in the way I love making Thomas' life harder!" A bright smile comes from Leah, shining eyes as she sticks close to her fiancé.
Raising an eyebrow, Lau watches the pair in front of him as they walk.
"What a perfect pair you are."