Echoing Melodies (Black Butler x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 15: Searching

Ciel and Valeria watched as Sebastian and Lilith danced around the ballroom, hidden by the crowd of people around them. Even with the thick crowd of people blocking their view, she could see Lilith's stone cold face. It made Valeria giggle softly, unknowingly causing Ciel to blush at the sound of her voice.

Ciel lightly grasped her gloved hand, intertwining her fingers with his own. "We have to go, we must start searching for any evidence."

Ciel tightened his grip on her hand, pulling her away from the entrancing performance to where the other servants were standing. He motioned for Finny and Adelia to come to them, watching as they put down their glasses filled with juice and rushed over to them.

"We need you two to look around the manor for any evidence," Ciel began. "If you find anything suspicious, you must tell us."

"Yes, sir!" They replied. They rushed off, heading for a nearby hallway.  

They didn't waste time heading for another nearby hallway, Valeria still grasping Ciel's hand. They tried to keep their steps as quiet as they could, lest they catch the attention of any of the manor's servants. It was of utmost importance that they draw no attention, one of the many reasons for why they asked Sebastian and Lilith to create a distraction. 

The hallways were dimly lit,  the only light coming from the flickering lightbulbs on the walls. They sped down the halls, looking around for Lord Tyber's bedroom, or perhaps his study. There was bound to be something incriminating there, at least somewhat. 

The Lord and Lady tiptoed their way to the entrance of the study, carefully listening behind the door for any movement before walking in. 

It was a tastefully decorated study, one filled with bookshelves as high as the ceiling, and a desk with intricate designs carven onto its surface. The room was slightly brighter than the hallway, a fire smoldering in the fireplace against the wall. 

Ciel gave Valeria a look, watching as she nodded and moved to the desk. Ciel followed, examining the front of the well crafted desk as she opened all of the drawers. From what she could see, there was only different pens, an assortment of papers, and a couple other things she couldn't make out. It was honestly very cluttered, but she couldn't really say much, as it was similar to her desk back at home. 

She began feeling around the sides of the drawers, looking for anything that could be of suspicion. She began feeling along the bottom of the top left drawer as Ciel began looking at the drawers on the right.

Valeria felt along the seams of the top drawer, soon realizing the bottom was false.

"Ciel, this drawer has a false bottom." Valeria turned to Ciel. He rushed to her side, taking everything out of the drawer and watching as she opened the false bottom.

Ciel reached inside, pulling out a piece of paper. Taking a closer look, it seemed that it had been there for a while, but it had been handled a multitude of times. The writing on the paper was neat and well inked, a wax seal adorning the top corner. Ciel recognized it as Lord Tyber's seal.

The list began with Tyber's signature, then one singular word. 

Victims.

Reading further, each line held the description of the victims, what they looked like, what he did to them, the date it was done, how they were found, and who found them. It was honestly terrifying the amount of detail that was kept within the letter, and it nearly entranced them enough that they almost couldn't hear the door slowly opening.