That Butler, New Face

That Butler, Confining

"H—He's dead...!" Arthur announced grimly, beads of cold sweat sliding down his face.

"What!?" Woodley exclaimed, turning his attention away from the fainted Phelps.

"No..." Irene said with a trembling voice. She and Grimsby stared at the gruesome scene with pale faces. Grey frowned and furrowed his brow. Lau, Ran-Mao, and Sebastian were quiet. Chêne was confused.

"... Are you sure?" Chêne asked hesitantly.

"He doesn't have a pulse," Arthur replied. The crease in her brow deepened.

"What was that voice jus... Whoa!" Bard exclaimed when he, Mei-Rin, and Finni entered the room, and flinched in shock at the sight that awaited them.

"I-Is this man dead!?" Finni asked anxiously.

"Yes..." Arthur answered, wishing it wasn't true. But the evidence spoke for itself. "The hemorrhage from the chest wound was most likely fatal. I can't be certain because of how dark it is, but—"

"Hey," Bard said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Ain't this room kinda hot?"

"Yes, it is," Sebastian agreed. "I had heated up the room in advance, but... perhaps he felt a chill."

"Perhaps..." Chêne said, though she didn't sound very convinced.

"I say, what on earth is the meaning of all this racket?" Ciel asked, making them aware of his arrival with Tanaka, who was carrying a candelabra.

"Young Master," Sebastian said.

"!!" Ciel gasped when he saw Siemens. "Lord Siemens...!" Ciel and Sebastian exchanged a glance. Chêne didn't miss it.

"I—In any case," Grimsby said, "let's just leave things untouched as they are until the Yard gets here—"

"No. We should move the corpse right away," Bard said gravely.

"Eh?" Grimsby said, taken aback.

"I don't wanna put it like this, but flesh rots faster than you might think," Bard explained. "Even if we douse the fire now, the corpse'll go right off if it's kept by the hearth."

"Flesh... rots, you say..." Irene said, horrified, turning green around the gills as she swayed a little on her feet.

"Irene!" Grimsby said, concerned. He quickly helped her steady herself.

"He's right," Arthur said, referring to Bard. "I also believe that we should place the corpse in a cool, dark place until the experts can examine it."

"Then let us relocate him to the cellar until the gentlemen of the Yard arrive," said Sebastian. "Finni, bring us a cot."

"Right!" Finni said, leaving immediately to fetch it. It only took him a few minutes to retrieve the item and come running back with it. Chêne watched quietly with the others while Sebastian helped Bard carefully move the body onto the cot, and Bard and Finni carried it away to the cellar.

"But that won't be anytime soon, now will it?" Lau said standing by the window with Ran-Mao, referring to Sebastian's comment about the Yard. Ciel and Chêne looked at him. "I mean, have you seen this storm...?" Lau asked, lifting the curtain a little more.

FSHHH.

The wind was blowing the rain so hard that the trees looked like shaky blurs in the darkness outside.

"... But that means we can't leave this place either, doesn't it!?" Woodley asked, getting upset.

"You only realized that now?" Lau asked him.