King of Rosy Thorns (Black Butler)

Her son, New guest

Finny froze as he saw Sebastian and Ciel, his eyes were wide and his mouth wide open "m-master ciel? Sebastian?...." he questioned but his voice trailed off as Mary cleared her throat "apoligies sir, I shall take lady Briar back to her chambers" she said but I shook my head "it's alright...Finny, please tell Riccardo to make a small snack for Briar, I'll have Mary come down to retrieve it. Afterwards you are dismissed so you can rest" I tell him, he shook his head, clearing himself out of his stupor and nodded "yes sir. Sorry for the trouble" he says before reluctantly making his way down the hall, I wave my hand to dismiss Mary and she bows before following after the gardener, shutting the door on her way out. I sit back down a pull Briar into my lap, sliding a book over to her and she takes it, flipping through the pages as a distraction. I look back at the two and Sebastian narrows his eyes slightly "and who might she be?" He asks, I sigh "as I have said before, I am not in an arranged marriage. Two months ago I closed a case on ten missing orphan girls, the Viscount had been our suspect and we rescued Briar and another girl from his manor. The other eight were tracked down by Scottland yard and returned to their proper orphanges" I begin to explain, sliding the case file from two months ago out of a drawer and handing it to Ciel who takes it and flips through it. Briar giggles as she stares at the pictures in the book "with that being said I took in interest in her, she agreed to stay here with me in the manor. I hope to one day wait until she is old enough to understand that I wish to marry her one day" I state, holding no shame as Ciel nods.

It was time for the next stage. Ciel sighs and is quiet for a moment before speaking "how is her mental health?" He asks and I thought for a moment as Mary returned and Briar slipped off my lap to greet the housekeeper as she set the plate down on a side table, Briar jumping into a seat and eating as Mary kept her occupied. "I'll be blunt about this. You broke her. She is in a very fragile state. Sometimes when I walk in she mistakes me for you, finally returning. She's sad when she realizes its not, but she still smiles when she knows it's me. She still smiles and enjoys herself but her eyes hold no emotion. Whether she truly feels happy at times can only be shown when her eyes flicker with life, but soon it dies away. She has truly missed you, and to put it simply, is extremely lonely. She lost my aunt then you, and later, grandfather as well" I explain, Ciel frowns slightly but I couldn't read his expression. Sebastian had been observing Mary and Briar since this was a discussion between Ciel and I. Finally he nods and continues "what of her physical?" He asks, I hesitate "that question is...better explained by Dr. Black. All I can say is that she hasn't gotten out of bed since I turned three. Even when she does leave it's for no longer than an hour or two and maybe only once every two months" I answer. He nods with a small sigh, now it was his turn. The dark blue eyed demon runs a hand through his dark hair and straightens, his eyes staring into my own "As I am now a demon, I'm unable to tell how I feel about Y/N and you. I do know that I regret leaving the person I had once loved behind with a newborn, but that remains a mystery. I do not want to lie about my emotions since you don't deserve anymore pain, but the real reason I have returned is because I want to figure out how I truly feel about this place and the people in it." He explains before taking a breath, even though demons didn't need to breath, but he continued "I guess what I'm saying is that I wish to start over. To discover how it truly feel" he admits, fiddling with his fingers as his darkened gaze slides away from me. Mary straightens, taking Briar in her arms "apologies my lord but we must wrap this up. I will be putting Briar to bed now, excuse me" she says politely. Briar yawns "goodnight Devat..." she murmurs and I smile gently "goodnight Briar" I say. Once the two are gone, Sebastian turns his attention back to us and I sigh, Ciel sliding his gaze to me "I guess if you want to know about mother you will have to stay, it would be very rude of me to turn you away at such a late hour. However, I will allow you to stay for a week or two depending on my schedule. Once Mary returns she will escort you to your old rooms and explain the manor's rules. If you need anything Mary will be awake and wandering the halls, I will be in my chambers. Have a goodnight, gentlemen" I say, standing gently and straightening my slate blue suit coat that matched my hair.

The two nod and I exit, passing Mary on the way and telling her my orders. She bows and turns, going back into the study. When I return to my room I sigh "lovely...just lovely..." I mutter.

Mary's POV

As I lead the two demons to their old rooms I carry a lit candelabra and explain the rules "Lady Y/N's room is the room she had before your marriage, the master has requested nobody but himself and the doctor to enter her room unless she has specifically asked for them. With that being said, that applies to guests as well. As demons don't need to sleep I would prefer if you were to stay in your rooms at night, if I believe you are trustworthy enough I will allow you to roam in the late hours.

"Guests are not to leave without informing a staff member or the master himself, he likes to take precautions. The kitchen is off limits, Riccardo likes to keep his place spotless and will have a fit if anyone enters, I'm only allowed in to bring food out. The garden, of course, is open and so are the various other rooms such as the library, music room, teaching study, etc. The only two places off limits are the room in which Lady Y/N sleeps, as I said before, and the young Lord's master study. The master study is a private study room where he keeps items of special value or information and no one except him, myself, the doctor, and Lady Y/N are allowed inside" I explain to them, my voice calm and gentle but holding a monotone edge. Once I get to Ciel's old room I stop and open the door. It looked just as it was the day he left. Spotless. Ciel sighed "alright. I will retire then if that is all. If you don't mind Sebastian waking me in the morning that would be well preferred" he says and I bow my head "certainly. Breakfast is at seven o'clock sharp" I say. Finally I lead Sebastian to his old servant quarters and begin my nightly prowl. I'm certainly surprised that the young master allowed them to stay, I'm quite curious on how he might break the news to his dear mother...

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