The bluenette sighed and sat back in his chair, dropping the feather pen and stretching his arms out. He let out a yawn, turning to look toward the window and at the garden's vast greens.

The sunset was bright yellow with small tints of red. Ciel sighed again as he gazed at the roses in the garden. The white roses were slowly turning to a shade of black. The petals had fallen, turning to shades of brown. The slight breeze made the branches on the yew trees move in swift motions. Ciel's eyes contracted as he gazed at the sun setting. The setting evoked his thoughts, reminding him that he was only a soul case. Nothing more and nothing less.

A knock pulled Ciel from his morbid thoughts, "Come in." The command was laced with ire and exasperation. His fists tightened as he held his hands behind him.

The butler clad in black turned the knob, looking up to see his master facing him with hands behind his back. He lowered his gaze to avoid eye contact, "Lady Elizabeth has come to visit."

The lord's eyebrow twitched, "What for?"

"I did not question her purpose," Sebastian responded, his voice covered in solace.

"And why hadn't you? Would you let your indiscriminate mind do so with any individual?"

"My apologies, my Lord, but you shouldn't keep a lady waiting," the butler responded.

"Answer my damn question, demo--"

A bundle of pink frills came up behind the elder, smiling brightly at Ciel. "CIEL!" She ran up to him and hugged him, almost pushing the young master down to the floor. "I'm so glad you're still awake!"

Ciel hugged her back after regaining his composure, "It's merely sunset. Of course I'm awake. What brings you here?"

"Mother wanted me to discuss plans with you about the wedding! I've reached the age of consent, too, you know!" The blonde chimed, smiling brightly.

The manservant looked at the couple before him and smiled, "I shall return to my duties." Receiving a stern look from the young lord, Sebastian shut the door and turned toward the hallway.

He hadn't rejected her visit.

He made his way toward the kitchen to prepare a snack for the two nobles, perhaps even a dinner, accompanied by a serenade for those who were to be.

***

"M-M-Mr.Sebastian?" Mey-Rin's voice stuttered as she stood by the entryway of the kitchen. Sebastian's eyes widened slightly as reality came into view and he found himself boiling water for the past few minutes. The maid played with her fingers before continuing, "The young master was calling for you."

The butler's eyes were half lidded as he looked toward the young maid, "I will be there shortly." Mey-Rin nodded and scurried off toward the foyer. Sebastian turned off the stove and frowned at the dark residue left in the steel pot from the water. It would have to be cleaned and dealt with later, the demon concluded, making his way to the young lord's study.

Upon turning the knob, he heard giggles from Lady Elizabeth. He looked to his young lord who was holding his fiancée's hand with a free hand quickly jumping to the boy's mouth in shock.

"Have you no manners, Sebastian?" Lady Elizabeth argued, a faint blush dusted on her cheeks as she averted her gaze toward the windows.

"Ah, my apologies. I hadn't expected two of your age to be engaging in such venereal activities. Mey-Rin had informed me that you had asked for my presence, my lord?" the male simply responded.

"We were doing nothing of the sort. I had called for you half an hour ago. What took you so long?!" Ciel yelled, receiving a confused look from his fiancée.

"Ciel, it's only been a few sec--"

"I believe that was not the case, young master. Would you please inform me of why you required me?" the butler made note of the lady's interruption. He lied.

The child huffed and pulled his hand from Elizabeth's to fold his arms across his chest, "You didn't bring anything for us to snack on."

"I apologise sincerely. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes," the elder responded. Ciel looked to Elizabeth with a sigh as Sebastian continued. "Would you like to make your ways to the dining hall or would you prefer to eat elsewhere?"

"Shall we?" the lord stood up and held out a hand to his betrothed who smiled brightly in response as she took his hand.

The butler held open the door as the couple made their way out into the hallway, walking to the dining room with Sebastian following behind. Once seated, the butler signalled to the ginger maid to bring over the trolley that held the dinner of the two younger nobles.

Mey-Rin carefully walked toward the dining table, handed the trolley to Sebastian's care and scurried off, almost tripping by the entryway of the door. The ravenette held in an agitated growl as he lifted the lid from the silver tray, revealing a steaming steak.

A bright smiled plastered Lady Elizabeth's face as the aroma of the succulent meat enveloped her sensations. Ciel merely scoffed, grabbing his knife.

***

Left in the kitchen with dirty dishes and his thoughts, Sebastian gathered the events of the day that was about to come to an end. Arguments between him and his beloved young master had created tension and a terrible aura to find its way around the manor. The servants showed concern yet the butler merely minded them off, dismissing them for the day hours earlier than they should have, leaving the three to become preoccupied with worrisome thoughts.

The rest of the daily duties were now left upon the butler himself instead of being divided between all of the five servants. Of course, this was to divert the demon's attention from the situation he had placed himself in between him and his young lord. However, each attempt to distract himself only made his thoughts of the earl more frequent.

Thoughts of how the master would be lost completely to a young lady by the name of Elizabeth, how the master's attitude would affect his company, how the master's vexation would harm the relationship between butler and lord all clouded his mind. He envisioned a future that would appear to be rather impossible. The demon let out a small sigh and put down the rag, looking out the window to see that the sun was setting and the sky was grey where the moon was seen to be rising to place itself on the blank canvas fading from red to black.

As he looked back down at the dishes that remained, the butler picked up the rag and carried on with his task, hoping to be able to let go of any thoughts of his young master. Of course, his efforts had failed yet again as thoughts of the current situation settled itself in the demon's head. Throwing the rag into the sink, Sebastian rolled down his sleeves and pulled on his tailcoat.

The situation wouldn't get any better if neither of them would make a move to end what was happening. The one making the move would have the be the butler himself if the young lord wouldn't, otherwise the cessation would be enveloped in grief 's pure form. Making his way to the earl's room, Sebastian felt a tension in the air. The faustian crest upon his hand was burning and for the first time in a while, he had felt a pain in his chest. Was this nervousness? Was it fear? Was it something else?

As soon as he placed his hand on the dorknoob to Ciel's study, the seal was throbbing. Confusion enveloped the demon's mind before he suddenly realized why the contract was burning him.

Before he could react, a gunshot was heard.