𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓'𝖘 𝕷𝖎𝖔𝖓: 𝕯𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖎𝖕𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖉

Backstabber

TW: Mentions of a real corpse and a fake one, real and fake blood, murder, and Charles Grey is still alive(and sexist) (unfortunately)

"W-what?" Stuttered Woodley as he looked up from where he had knelt down to check on Mr. Phelps who had fainted.

"No..." Whispered Irene as she brought her gloved hands up to her mouth, absolutely mortified. Everyone just stood in silence. No one knew what to say. What were you supposed to say in this sort of situation anyway? A rich, German, asshole had just been discovered 'murdered'. Y/N had to admit, if she didn't know he was still alive she definitely would've thought him to be a genuine corpse. "Attention whore..."

"What was with that voice jus-Whoa!" Bard and Finny stumbled into the room, the Chef stopping mid sentence when he noticed the body sitting in front of the hearth.

"I-is this man dead?" Finny asked as he approached Professor Doyle and Y/N.

"I'm afraid so," Y/N said as she placed a hand on Finny's shoulder.

"The hemorrhage from the chest wound was most likely fatal," Doyle informed everyone as he moved away from the body. "I can't be certain because of how dark it is but-"

"Hey. Ain't this room kinda hot?" Bard asked as he wiped his forehead on the back of his hand.

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

"But to add that much fuel?" Y/N trailed off as she approached the fireplace. The fire itself was raging inside its cage, the flames much larger than necessary for feeling a small chill. When Y/N bent closer to the burning wood, she could catch small glimpses of sparking, dirty glass between the ashes and smoke.

"I say, what on Earth is the meaning of all this racket?" Ciel muttered as he rubbed his eyes. Mr. Tanaka had finally returned from fetching the young Lord.

"Young Master." Ciel froze when he saw Von Siemens before him. The Earl, the Lady, and the Butler all shared a knowing glance. This was just the beginning.

"I-in any case," spoke up Grimsby, "Let's just leave things as they are until the Yard gets here-"

"No. We should move the corpse right away," Bard interrupted the producer. "I don't wanna put it like this, but flesh rots faster than you think."

"Bard's right. Even if we were to kill the fire now, heat would still be radiating from the hearth. If we leave the corpse it'll be cooked and rot faster," Y/N added.

"Flesh... Rots, you say," whispered Irene as she began to tremble and sway.

"Irene!" Grimsby gasped as he placed his arms around her so she wouldn't fall like Phelps.

"They're right. I also believe that we should place the corpse in a cool, dark place until experts can examine it," Arthur suggested.

"The only place that would be fit at the moment is the cellar," Y/N noted.

"The Lady is correct. We shall relocate the gentleman there until the Yard arrives. Finny, bring us a cot," instructed Sebastian.

It only took the gardener a few moments to get a cot for Von Siemens. The gardener and the chef were made to relocate the corpse to the cellar. "The Yard won't be here anytime soon, now will they?" Lau asked as he opened one of the curtains. "I mean, have you seen this storm?" He asked as rain pattered furiously against the window.

"But that means we can't leave this place either, doesn't it?" Shouted Woodley.

"You only just noticed that now?" Lau asked. Even he had put that together a while ago. "Anyway, it's fine. We all planned to stay the night away," Lau shrugged with a smile.