𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓'𝖘 𝕷𝖎𝖔𝖓: 𝕮𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖙

Canvas Crime

Sebastian had set everything perfectly into place as his Master had commanded him to. Now, all there was left to do was wait. Ciel and Y/N stood in silence as they awaited the arrival of Maurice Cole. They had summoned him to the third art room to meet with them privately. The art room's walls were covered with canvases on all sides and there were at least forty canvases set up on easels to dry. The finest, and presumably, oldest pieces of art were hung up in sparkling, golden frames. Stools and small tables were scattered all across the room with painting supplies such as brushes and palettes all covered in stains and dried on paint. There were even clay and stone-carving supplies for pottery and sculpting. And the curtains that were draped across the windows were drawn just perfectly so there was enough natural light in the room to see, but not enough to fade the colors of the art projects.

The door slowly opened with a creak and the Earl and Lady waited with baited breath to see if it was their rival who stood just outside the door frame. Even in the dulled light of the art room, Maurice Cole's golden curls shimmered. He looked rather confused by the two nobles waiting for him. They had signed their letter to him, of course, and they had told him when and where to meet them, but they neglected to tell him why.

"Well? What do you want with me?" Maurice finally asked, unable to stand the silence anymore as he closed the door behind himself. "You've called me to this room and all... I really must be getting to the Swan Gazebo, you know." He tilted his head and crossed his arms with a sigh as he impatiently waited for an explanation.

"We won't take much of your time," Ciel assured the boy with a polite smile. "We simply wanted to confirm a small matter."

"Cole. Regarding your deliverance of our summons to the Swan Gazebo," Y/N spoke up as she stepped forward, giving the boy a harsh glare. "It appears that the message you conveyed to us was in fact incorrect after all."

Maurice scoffed and rolled his eyes, "you're still saying that? It's not nice to blame others for your own mistakes."

"Let's just say there was an uninvited listening audience to our first meeting. Curiosity killed the cat, I know, but that's not always the case, is it? You're a very pretty young man, Cole. And you've amassed a rather large following, even outside of your own House," Y/N told him with a grin. "Eighteen students are testifying that you 'mistakenly' said 'at 4 p.m.'."

Both Ciel and Y/N grinned as Cole's confidence seemed to slip. His shoulders slumped and his smirk disappeared. "Actually, to call it a mistake, a mere slip of the tongue, would be in itself misleading. Because you allowed your tongue to slip on purpose."

Maurice huffed once again and put a hand on his hip. "Such a false accusation is serious indeed!" He said as he dismissively waved his hand towards the other nobles.

"Then please, explain to us the incidents involving at least four other students, including Joanne Harcourt. He's a sweet boy from Red House, and almost as pretty as you. Yet, he's not very popular because you did unto him as you have to us." Y/N noticed the way Maurice's shoulders stiffened when she said Joanne's name. He was one of the boys Sebastian had dug up as one of Maurice's victims.

"Who?" Maurice asked, looking bored in an effort to cover up his panic. He was very convincing, and if Y/N didn't have a trained eye, she would've missed every sign that he was beginning to crack. Everyone had a breaking point. Some people were like diamonds and others were like eggshells, it all depended on where and how hard you pushed.

"He's one of the students who were invited to the Swan Gazebo by the Prefects. And oddly enough, all those who broke their appointment claim it was due to communication troubles with you," Ciel told Maurice, who obviously knew all of this already. But if they were going to be convincing and get the reaction they wanted, they'd have to put on one Hell of a show. "For a Prefect's Fag to cut down the weak as you've done... Goes to show just how much of a sly coward you are." Ciel's voice raised as he fired his accusation at Maurice, which had Y/N shouting before she knew it.