Kuroshitsuji: The Contract from Birth [Ciel Phantomhive]

[15] Her Butler, Trailing

The next morning, what woke me up was in fact not Rodric, not Agni nor Prince Soma. It wasn't even Ciel or Sebastian. It was Finny and the twins. The first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes were the letters on the newspaper, which were so close that I could smell the fresh ink as it was rubbed around the tip of my nose. My fists clenched the sheets and I bared my teeth.

"Finny, not so close!" Erin's voice gasped, and the paper was pulled away, leaving me temporarily blinded from of the strong sunlight.

"Lady DelMare, we have news." Eren's voice told me softly, and when my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that they were holding Finnian by both arms, smiling nervously as the newspaper that had assaulted me floated to the ground. My eyes widened and I impatiently waved my hand around, expecting them to continue on. Erin jumped in realization and shoved Finny into her brother's arms, bending over to quickly pick up the tabloid and smooth it out on the bed before handing it over to me.

The large bold title instantly caught my attention, which read as such: 

ANOTHER MYSTERIOUS ATTACK
"A coffeehouse in Picadilly Circus was severely damaged," Eren added when he noticed that I had started to read through the article.

"The Master says that he wants to conference about this with you right away because he has a lead!" Finny finally exclaimed happily, knocking Eren back all the way into the wall with a single shove. I jumped and Erin screamed, while Finnian began to cry and fell to his knees on the carpeted floor below him. At once, Yuki, Rodric, and Sebastian skidded into the bedroom, eyes darting around to find the source of the loud commotion.

"I-I didn't mean to Mr. Sebastian!" Finny wailed, and Rodric went over to help Eren back up to his feet. Sebastian sighed heavily at Finny, but Yuki surprisingly was the one to go and comfort him. Bending down, she patted his head and assured him that Eren was fine. Erin quickly regained her composure and rushed over to her brother, analyzing and patting him down to convince herself that he was fine. From what I could see, he was only dizzy.

"See, Finny?" Erin said softly, bringing her brother over to him, "He's fine!"

Eren gave him a weak smile and I was pleased to see that this calmed him down immensely.

"I'm so glad everything's better now," I announced to them all, my teeth gritting in irritation, "Now, could you please leave the bedroom so I can change?!"'

-

An hour or so later, I was properly dressed and walking around the manor, searching for either Salvador or Baldroy, whoever was available to me to run a quick errand. As I turned the corner into the kitchen, I managed to duck just in time as a blaze of fire shot right over my head, missing my hair by a mere few inches. The usual ribbon that kept my hair tied back but let my bangs loosely frame my face came undone and I huffed, taking it out and undoing the bow that adorned the side of it.

"Condesa!"
"Gah! Countess, I'm so sorry!"

Two arms quickly pulled me back up to my feet and another pair of hands began dusting off the front of my dress, which I recognized as Mey-Rin. Once they were done, they took a few steps back and glanced away in shame while Baldroy tried his best to hide a rather large flamethrower behind his back.

"I'm not going to ask," I said, shaking my head, "I was just looking for someone to run me a quick errand while I'm still here at Ciel's Manor. I would be very grateful if it were carried out discreetly and rather quickly."

All three servants glanced at each other before jumping at the opportunity, raising their hands to volunteer for the task. I had to admit, I preferred Salvador since he was, after all, my own servant. But the enthusiasm that burst from each of them made me smile in appreciation.

"The Master's orders were to follow any requests from you, Miss!" Baldroy said, flashing me a bright smile. Salvador gave me a nod and I raised an eyebrow.

"We are at your service, we are!" Mey-Rin added with a quick salute.

"Very well then," I said, walking up to them with a leather pouch that clinked with each step, "Let me disperse the tasks then. Baldroy, I need you to buy twelve tickets..."

-

"Well let's be frank, that duo seemed terribly suspicious from the start!" Lau exclaimed, flipping through the newspaper in his seat. I took a sip of my tea as Rodric handed out the invitations Ciel and I had received, listening to Lau idly chatter about how he had been sure that since we met them in the alleyway, Prince Soma, and Agni had been dodgy.

"And yet here you are, only saying this now," I told him, and he shrugged with a smile.

"I still can't fathom why they would cause these incidents," Lau admitted. Ciel nodded in agreement before speaking, raising his hand in thought.

"A grudge against the colonial rule just doesn't seem likely." he stated while setting his invitation aside, "Even if they think ill of Anglo-Indians, attacking them indiscriminately entails too much risk."

"I think we're missing a key factor," I spoke up, setting my tea cup down. Ciel and Lau glanced up at me as I reached over for a biscuit, biting into it before speaking up again.

"Even if they were the perpetrators, why would they stay at the manor of the Queen's Watchdog and insist for the hand of Queen's Snake?"

Ciel huffed in aggravation, nonetheless nodding in agreement.

"It would make them awfully poor criminals." he said, closing his eyes, "Besides--"

"Well then!" Lau cheerfully declared, raising a finger to interrupt Ciel, "To expedite matters, you just have to trail them at night, right?"

-

Rodric and Yuki had already laid out an arrangement of warm winter clothing for me once night fell, and as I waited for Ciel to give me the signal to quickly change into them, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

"Something's not right..." I mumbled to Rodric as Yuki helped me pull over the large winter coat, "Don't you feel it, Rodric?"

He nodded, and Yuki hastily tied the ribbon around my hair like always before returning to the bedroom Ciel had let my servants use. We stepped out into the parlor where Sebastian, Ciel, and Lau were waiting, and I hurried to button up the last of the buttons on the front of my coat, seeing as they were ready to leave. Without another word, the five of us dashed out into the bitter winter night, the snow crunching beneath our feet with each step. We walked between alleyways and backstreets, avoiding the public eye and lamp lights of the street. The air was sharp, but what was at stake was more important that Jack Frost nipping at our noses. However, when we passed by a bakery that emitted a type of homely warmth, I couldn't help but pause in my steps, stopping at its front door to take in some of the heat and aromas of the freshly baked goods.

"Adelina!" hissed Ciel, rushing back to me. Embarrassed, I shook my head and picked up the pace to meet him halfway, when he dashed past me, hurrying into the bakery without hesitation. I blinked a few times, and in a few moments, Ciel walked back out, holding a paper bag. He stepped towards me and quickly placed it in my arms, before walking back to Sebastian. I too rushed to catch up with my demon butler, opening the bag with impatience in the process. As I walked on, despite the freezing feeling I had across my face, I managed to smile. There were two warm scones sitting at the bottom.

Finally, after what seemed to be a few frigid hours later, we all glanced around a corner and once again saw the Indian duo holding up that ridiculous drawing. By all appearances, as Lau quietly put it, it just seemed like they were trying to find Prince Soma's beloved Mina.

"Well," Ciel said with a shiver, his gloved hand resting on his chin. "The best place to look for a missing person is to inquire within local pubs and clubs."

I nodded and Lau held up his hand with a smile.

"Which is exactly what they've been doing!"

I huffed and rubbed my arms vigorously; trying to create a minimal amount of heat so I could last a bit longer out in the midnight snow.

"I suppose they really are just searching for this Mina," I said. After pondering about this for a few moments longer, Sebastian took out his pocket watch and glanced again around the corner, watching Prince Soma and Agni begin to make their way back towards the other street.

"It is now one in the morning." he quietly announced, pocketing the watch. "I predict they will return home soon."

"Then so should we," Rodric stated, and I was instantly picked up, just as Ciel and Lau were by Sebastian.

The situation only seemed to become more and more curious about these two men.

-

...My Countess orders, I obey; Anyone who dares interfere, will have Hell to pay...