𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓'𝖘 𝕷𝖎𝖔𝖓: 𝕯𝖎𝖘𝖈𝖎𝖕𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖉

A Culprit Caught

TW: Mentions of Charles Grey, snakes, blood, and murder.

"Ahh, I'm stuffed to the gills!" Earl Grey sighed contently as he pat his somehow flat stomach. How that man managed to eat as much as he did yet not gain weight was more demonic and other-worldly to Y/N than Sebastian. "That was sooo tasty! The Hamburg steak wasn't fatty, so I felt like I could just keep putting them away! As one might expect from the Phantomhive House, the meat in the kitchen is in a class by itself!"

"You do me a great honor with your kind words, Earl Grey," Ciel replied as Y/N, the servants and Jeremy all shared a quick victory glance. Their faux meat had been absolutely perfect.

"Well, now that our appetites have been appeased," Lau spoke up as he pulled his napkin from his collar, "Wouldn't you say it's about time you stopped teasing us and explain all the facts of the case, Vicar?" The table instantly went silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to eye Jeremy. Y/N was almost sure a few people even stopped breathing in anticipation.

"No need to be so hasty," Jeremy assured them as he dabbed his mouth with his napkin. "There is one thing we must see to first. May I count on your collaboration, my Lord?" The Vicar eyed Ciel who was still eating.

"Yes... What is it you need me to do?" The Earl finally asked.

"Then Earl Phantomhive... If you would please remove your clothes," The Vicar requested.

"Whaat?" Ciel and Y/N shouted in unison, both with the rage of all the demons of Hell.

"Listen well, my Lord. You must not utter a sound. You must not shudder in the slightest. Shut your eyes and sit until I give the word... If you do not... The 'Band of Death' will bind you faster than the eye can see." Jeremy's words and commands rang through Y/N's mind as she sat in the pitch darkness between Professor Doyle and Vicar Rathbone. The room was so silent, she could hear the others' breathing. Y/N was sure she could even hear someone's heartbeat pounding in their chest. Though, it very well could have been her own. Of course she trusted Jeremy and his plan, but with Sebastian gone it was her job to look after Ciel. She had naturally come to think of him as her own in a way, she was the closest thing he would ever have to a mother again and in many ways he relied on her as such. So it made perfect sense why this plot sat uneasy in her stomach, causing it to churn with anxiety.

"I am certain the culprit will come to the Earl's bed once again tonight. And there we shall take him by surprise and capture him. Fear not, all will be well. The villain is sure to appear..." Y/N repeated what Rathbone had promised them like a mantra in her head. "However, as we cannot say 'from whence he will come,' please be on your guard." That had been the part the scared Y/N. Sure, she knew exactly what was coming, a blessing for being from another dimension, but that didn't make the combination of the dark room full of strangers, including her murderer, and the raging storm outside any less eerie. And to add to that, now even through the shallow breathing, rain and heart beats, Y/N could hear a haunting slithering sound. Next to her, Y/N could feel Doyle inch forward. He had heard it too.

Slowly, that sinister slithering moved around the top of the room. It didn't take long before Y/N could hear that sound mixing with the rustling of the drapes that hung from Ciel's bedposts. Next the slithering made its way to the sheets and covers of the bed. "Now! Get away!" Jeremy suddenly shouted, shattering the silence that had settled in the room. Ran-Mao didn't hesitate for a moment after being given her command as she forcefully threw and kicked the thick covers away from her body which had been hidden beneath them. The comforter hit the ground with a 'thud' and Earl Grey flew to his feet.

"You're mine!" He declared as he ran towards the pile of covers, unsheathing his blade. But before he could strike the fabric, his sword was blocked with a loud 'clang' of metal on metal. Jeremy had managed to not only beat Earl Grey to the blanket, but he blocked his strike as well. The Vicar was holding down the sheet with a fire poker, and blocking Grey's blade with an ash shovel. "Wha-"