Kuroshitsuji: The Contract from Birth [Ciel Phantomhive]

[24] Her Butler, Traumatized

"You really ought to stop doubting the butler duo, Prince." He suggested before letting him go, brushing off both their fronts politely as Soma stared at the new curry in astonishment.

Ciel snickered and Lau smirked, enjoying themselves at the expense of the Prince. In any case, I shrugged the boys off and blew on the curry before popping the spoon into my mouth.

An explosion of spices burst in my mouth as soon as the curry had touched my tongue, leaving me in slight shock at the grand difference from the first few batches compared to this one. Not only was the flavor rushing and overpowering my senses, but the texture was now --even though I knew nothing about curry enough to critique-- much more pleasant than before, if that was possible.

The chicken was perfectly cooked, soft, delightfully spicy and tender enough to break away easily as I dug into the dish to spoon up a fair amount of sautéed potatoes, yellow rice and sliced carrots, each paired with its own red onion ring that gave off a Hispanic vibe, syncing perfectly with the curry aesthetic.

Whatever Salvador used in his molé had obviously done the trick.

Chewing the last of what was in my mouth, I blinked and turned to Rodric, who was watching me along with Yuki. She looked incredibly anxious whilst Rodric kept his expression to a minimum, clearly waiting for a type of criticism or compliment.

"This is amazing." Ciel finally muttered after a few silent seconds, which was rather shocking. A praise from the Earl himself was certainly something to be proud of.

However, the actual man whose word was law when it came to curry had yet to speak.

We all spun to stare at Prince Soma with grave concern as we awaited his verdict.

His silent marvel as he stared down at his plate in a hypnotic trance was more than enough to explain what he felt.

This was the dish.

"Are you having an epiphany, Prince?" Yuki asked Soma, biting her lip and prodding him gently on his shoulder.

Sebastian extended his arm to Yuki and she obediently stepped away, allowing him more room to speak with the Prince personally.

"Does it please you?" he asked, and finally Soma looked up at him with what seemed to be an apologetic smile.

"This is not Agni's curry." He said to him, but before anyone could speak, Prince Soma continued.

"This is a curry that contains complicated flavors and spices like Indian curry does. It now has the depth and fresh taste I could only hope for a British genius to be able to recreate... This curry is worthy of competing with the curry of God."

Both demons looked incredibly smug, and I rolled my eyes.

"It's delicious, butler."

He then turned finally to us all, now a bit puzzled.

"How did you manage this in one afternoon?"

A hand was gently placed on my shoulder and I turned my head to the side, seeing Yuki's proud smile beam. Still a bit angry with them all, I shrugged her hand off and leaned forward a bit, frowning slightly. Her hand now rested at the top of the chair and she was now watching me from the corner of her eye, making my skin crawl.

She could be rather scary when she wanted to be.

"Actually," Sebastian began, waving his arm towards me with a gentle smile, "Countess Adelina is to praise for her suggestion."

My eyes widened and a smug smirk instantly grew on my face, leading to a roll of Ciel's eyes and a chuckle from Lau. I shifted in my seat and straightened my posture as Sebastian proceeded, eyes closed as I listened to my commends.

"Using Salvador's methods and Mr. Agni's curry-making skills, we were able to produce a curry worthy of being called a winner. The key similarity that brings this dish together is actually an ingredient that is also essential in the Hispanic dish; molé."

He gracefully pulled out a circular bar from his front pocket, which was wrapped in a crinkly, bright yellow and red wrapping paper.

I blinked as I recognized the ingredient.

"Chocolate is what gives it the body it lacked before." Rodric finished, taking the chocolate and breaking it into pieces before having Yuki disperse them all to us.

As she walked around, I extended my hand for my own piece, and she slowly placed it down, seeming almost hesitant to do so.

I brought the sweet to my lips and bit down on the tip, feeling the flakes of the cocoa candy sprinkle on my tongue before biting down on it completely.

I froze.

The chocolate tasted sickeningly familiar.

It left an awful taste in my mouth as I swallowed it, until I couldn't handle its potent flavor anymore, placing it on the table and reaching for my cup of tea to wash my tongue away.

"How acrid." I muttered, glancing up in distaste.

My actions paused midway, cup still in my hand, as I tried to decipher what I had caught sight of.

Behind Ciel stood the silhouette of a man with a tall stature, wearing a tall hat and cane. He raised his hand gradually, until the cane was lifted over his head and in one quick, easy movement, it was brought down.

There could be no other words to describe the terror that coursed through my body as I heard the cane whip through the air.

My arms snapped up to block the oncoming strike, hands clenched shut and teeth braced, grit and ready for the impact. In almost a syncing motion, my legs were brought up towards my chest and I leaned as far into the chair as I possibly could, unable to move from my spot in paralyzed fright. My eyes, luckily, were able to look about even if I myself could not, and what I saw alarmed me deeply.

Erin had practically fainted as she leaned against the wall besides the exit and Eren had started to panic, sprinting about the parlor in such rapid strides that I flinched whenever he came towards me.

Something gently wrapped itself around me as I continued to watch the twins, tensing me up even more so than I already was. I strained to see who it could be, and the sight of Rodric's familiar pale lilac eyes loosened the vice my body seemed to be in, practically leaving me limp in his arms without a lick of energy left.

"Yuki, this is not the time to drown yourself in your own emotions." Rodric snapped cruelly, shocking me.

I'd never heard him speak so nastily to any of the servants before.

Yuki, in spite of that, instantly snapped out of her horrified trance, beginning to usher everyone out of the parlor, and if I heard correctly, from the manor as well.

Weakly, I began to shake my head at the embarrassment I had caused but no one seemed to take notice of it.

"Please, just do as I say without question Mr. Sebastian." Yuki's voice pleaded a few feet in front of me.

CRACK

Again, the process made a full cycle and I once again was frozen up in a curled ball, trembling in a freezing cold sweat.

"Everyone, leave right now!"

Ciel's voice echoed loudly throughout the parlor and I was whisked away from the room, held tightly in Rodric's arms as he took me to my bedroom in utter silence, eyes a glowing shade of pink as my own eyes began to flutter shut, until the world went (...CRACK...) black.

-

YES SHE HAS PTSD, AND YES THIS IS AN IMPORTANT HALLUCINATION AND FLASHBACK. YES THE CHOCOLATE TRIGGERED IT.

And yes, mole is a real dish and it really does contain chocolate. It's super yummy.

-

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