Kuroshitsuji: The Contract from Birth [Ciel Phantomhive]

[38] Her Butler, Mislead

Sebastian's nasty comment did not hold a grasp on me as I was finished being dressed properly, and although I was already passed his bluntness, Rodric seemed to be in a much more tense mood now because of it, which was strange because such trivial things rarely affected him.

As a Demon, I did not expect such a reaction from him.

Then again, the one who had stirred it up had in fact been a Demon as well.

"What say you go on and meet with your family," Yuki suggested softly as she finished tying the strings of my boots, hair slightly askew, "I'm sure everyone is in terrible mourning right now, and to prevent any panic, you should stay safely within everyone's eyesight."

Handing me a handkerchief without as much as a glance, Rodric stepped out of the room curtly, wooden doors closing behind him.

I sighed, dazed.

"I hadn't seen Arnold for about a decade, and now he's gone," I mumbled under my breathe as Yuki stood up. "Maybe that's the reason I'm not sobbing so awfully like everyone else is."

Patting down the front of her dress, Yuki shook her head at my words and turned to fix the dresser, eyes locked on the small perfume bottles and accessories scattered on its surface. I stood up from the small cushioned seat when I noticed she wasn't going to respond to my musing and began heading out, hand clutching at the cloth tightly in hopes of maintaining a proper expression.

Though I wasn't quite sure what proper was in circumstances such as this.

"All will be fine!" Yuki's voice called once I had exited the room, making a small reassuring smile line my features.

As it would be, the idle sense of promise soon broke and chipped away the closer I became to the living room; sobs echoed off the hallway walls and mutters pounded away so deafeningly that I had to take a moment to collect myself and my thoughts before even daring to place a hand on the ivory door handle.

I opened the door softly to avoid capturing any possible attention and quickly slipped inside, walking behind the first set of couches that were occupied by sobbing family members directly by the door in order to make my way towards Isabella and Aunt Katherine. Both were in a state of shock, dazed and emotionless against the velvet cushioned seats beneath them.

When I tried to extend my hand out to hold Isabella's shoulder, however, a larger body stepped in between and I stumbled backward a bit in surprise. The uncles who were all huddled in a circle behind us glanced up for a moment before going back to their wary whispers and slightly panicked bearings.

"Oh, it's just you, Adelina," Uncle Bernard said, relaxing from the defensive position he was in. I blinked and nodded, a bit confused. Noticing this, he apologized and began to explain why he had almost knocked me to the ground.

"There's a murderer on the loose," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting around. Just as he was, the men in the room were all standing defensively and mistrustfully, even though just a few hours ago, we had all been sitting down at the same dinner table eating happily away.

I supposed a sudden death in the same household one was in would certainly stir up such survivalist fronts.

"Has your fiancée found anything yet?" Aunt Katherine's voice asked from behind my uncle, who then stepped out of the way.

My cheeks reddened at the word yet I shook my head solemnly, slightly disappointed I couldn't partake in the investigation myself. For all they knew, I was just the future wife of a successful Earl.

"I wanted to take a look at the body myself, since, after all, I am a doctor, but I was refused entry back upstairs by a pair of identical looking young servants." Aunt Katherine said with a sigh, glancing up at me. Mentally, I pinched the bridge of my nose as an image of Erin and Eren ran across my mind.