Kuroshitsuji: The Contract from Birth [Ciel Phantomhive]

[38] Her Butler, Mislead

"Yours, I suppose?" she asked, to which I nodded in response. "Yes, I suspected just as much. They said they were on strict orders to not let anyone past."

Taking a seat beside Isabella, I raised a brow in puzzlement and tried recalling when I had given that order.

"Who could have taken your life, dear Arnold..."

My eyes shifted to the left and the group of sobbing women caught my attention, each of their heartbroken cries followed by a generic consolation and another anguished weep.

"Everyone seems much more panicked than upset," Christian noted beside me, walking into our corner with the football balanced atop his forehead. "It's kind of selfish, but understandable."

George the Third mimicked his movements with an orange and Alexandra stood at his heel with a bright pink bow tied around her head. I smiled glumly, relieved to see that the children hadn't been affected by the tragic occurrence. The servants did their job well to assure that they did not see the body.

"I suppose so," I mumbled, thoughts circling.

Who could have managed to murder someone in an occupied manor and gotten away with it so smoothly? Of course, two distinctive Devils popped into my mind but I brushed them off just as quickly as they had appeared.

The likelihood of that having been the case was just as unlikely as saying Isabella was an oddball. Which she wasn't; she was the normal one in the family.

"I can't fathom this..." Melinda choked out, shooing me out of my seat so she could drape herself into it, hand resting on her forehead and skin pale. I glanced at Isabella, who only shrugged and shook her head at our aunt's dramatics.

Leaning against the nearby bookshelf, Alexander frowned and shifted his cape around his shoulders clumsily whilst his mask covered the top half of his face in an attempt to appear threatening. Isabella rolled her eyes at her brother but he did not take notice.

"I suspect foul play," Alexander commented, "I'll bet anyone a quarter."

"What can you buy with a quarter?" I asked, already converting pence to American currency in my head.

My calculations and Alexander's response were cut short by the bang of the living room doors being slammed open, shocking the women and children and scaring the men in the room. Ciel and Sebastian both made their way towards the middle of the room and I couldn't help but scoff at his authoritative glare.

"I suppose you think you're special since your fiancée is going to solve this case," Dianesse's voice blurted out to my left, which I ignored. Alas, she continued to speak and I was left with no choice but to listen.

"Just so you know, Arnold and I were going to be engaged the month to come," she said, her voice now cracking as she spoke his name. I relaxed my frown and glanced at her from the corner of my eye, seeing her lips quiver while she held back tears.

I stayed silent, held back my tongue and crossed my arms, looking forward. I supposed even a witch could have a heart.

A small heart.

A small, cold heart.

I could feel Dianesse's stare intensify as she refused to look away and I furrowed my brows, forcing myself to give her an assuring promise in order to soothe her mourning.

"Ciel will get to the bottom of it," I mumbled, eyes on him as he and Sebastian were approached by Uncle Gunther. "I promise you."

She stifled a soft sob, which prompted me to take a step away from her and towards my aunt Melinda, who had been continuing to feign unconsciousness.