You Can't Hide Forever

His Butler, Merrymaking (part 1)

~~Ciel's POV~~

It was still early in the morning. I was in my study doing my work when Sebastian came in. He was holding an envelope.

Don't tell me...

"You have a letter, young master", Sebastian said. He placed it down in front of me on my desk and I picked it up. It had the Queen's seal on it and my suspicions were confirmed.

Her Majesty has another anxiety that needs to be taken care of.

I unfolded the letter and it was a command from the Queen. It read: "You will secure Houndsworth. The village is controlled by a nobleman by the name of Henry Barrymore. He has been informed of your coming and requests that you send a number of how many people you will be bringing, yourself included, in advance."

I sighed as I sat the letter down. Sebastian handed me a cup of tea.

All I have to do is secure the village, but I don't want to return to a destroyed manor. I will have to bring my servants as well. Me and Sebastian...2...plus Bard, Finny, Mey-Rin, and Tanaka...that's 6...plus Claire...that's a total of 7 then.

I turned to Sebastian. "Send a letter to Henry Barrymore of Houndsworth. Inform him that I will be bringing five other servants with me when I come. Include me in the total number. Get it mailed quickly. We leave tomorrow", I said. Sebastian opened his eyes in shock. I sipped my tea.

"A trip, in this season?", he asked. I looked at him calmly and lowered my cup.

"Sebastian, are you familiar with the leisure activity known as bear-baiting?", I asked him.

"The word seems entertaining and quite attractive to me, but I'm afraid not", he said.

"They tied a bear to a fence with a rope or cord, and fighting dogs surrounded it, bit at it, and killed it", I explained. He smiled brightly.

"My, that sounds very human-like", he said.

"It was banned by the Cruelty to Animals Act of 1835, but there was a loophole: the law didn't apply to the attack dogs. What do you think happened then?", I asked. Sebastian looked into space with a hand on his chin in thought.

"I imagine they began having the dogs attack their own kind. Perhaps you would call it 'dog-baiting'?", Sebastian said.

"There's a village doing just that: Houndsworth. The place was originally famous for rearing hunting dogs, but behind closed doors, they...", I said and looked down at the letter. "She is heartsick. We'll secure that village under the pretext of making it a health resort. That's the goal of this journey."

"A village full of dogs, eh?", Sebastian said. I looked up.

"What is it?", I asked. He bowed his head slightly.

"Merely that securing a construction site seems like a quite trifling job for you to be concerned with", Sebastian said.

"There is a reason. A reason why I, why the house of Phantomhive, must go to Houndsworth in person", I said. Sebastian finally gave in.

"Yes, my lord", he said and left the room. Before he closed the door, I saw Claire in the hallway. I couldn't stop myself from calling out.

"Claire!", I called. She jumped slightly, as always, and turned in my direction. She quickly entered the room.

"Yes, Ciel?", she asked. I smiled when she said my name and she smiled in return.

"I thought I would inform you that we will be leaving for Houndsworth tomorrow. Inform the other servants as well and pack a bag", I said. She smiled happily and nodded. However, her smile seemed forced almost.