The Butler's Kitten -Black Butler

Chapter 27 - A Broken Deal

3rd Person POV

Arthur didn't care about the womanly screams of the other men, however. The young lord stood by his butler, and both seemed almost unamused. Arthur couldn't understand—a murder had just happened at this dinner party—not to mention the lord was a child! Instead, they shared one singular look of understanding before the young lord sprung into action.

"We need to move the body." The Earl nodded to his servants.

Irene waved her hands frantically. "No, we need to leave everything as it was for the yard to come to investigate!"

The cook huffed. "Sorry, miss. With the heat of the fireplace, he'd decompose quicker than the yard could get here in this rain. Sebastian, should we move him to the cellar?"

The butler nodded. "Finny, Bard, take Lord Simmons. Mey Rin, get Tanaka to start on tea for the guests."

Lau snickered, his date at his arm. "You'd be brave enough to let potential murderers out of your sight?"

The group mumbled their questions, but Arthur understood.

"The rain makes it too difficult for anyone to sneak in." He looked at the group. "One of us is the killer."

"Not me!"

"Well, not us either!"

"It was probably him!"

"I bet it was you!"

"Enough! We need to start ruling people out. We were all together, right? If anyone has a discrepancy that can be accounted for, that person should be suspicious. " Arthur yelled, getting sick of the noble class. Their bickering sounded like clucking hens. "Hand me some paper, let's look at alibis. Everyone, recall where you were, who you were with, and if anyone left."

A paper was taken from the desk in Lord Simmons, and different groups were formed in the various rooms. Attendees from all groups swore none of the others had left, and eventually, everyone was shown as innocent. Arthur knew that was impossible, someone had to have snuck away from their room at some point.

"It doesn't make sense." Arthur grimaced, going over the list again that had accounted for anyone. "Could there be a secret person?"

And in that moment, the thing everyone had forgotten about.

"Gonna drink some wine~ Gonna get drunk~"

A singing song from outside the room made everyone turn to the one person they had forgotten about. The other maid strode past the broken door in full view of all the guests, holding three wine bottles in her arms and singing her made-up song.

"Sebastian's busy with the guests, and I get to sleep early~" she sighed contently as the entire room looked at her pass by in morbid silence. "This night went way better than I thought."

"ALEXANDRA!"

The maid screamed, holding tight to her wine bottles as the butler advanced on her. Everyone glanced at each other as they started squabbling like a couple. Only the Earl rolled his eyes as Lau snickered at the two.

"What are you doing sneaking around drinking again?!" Sebastian hissed at her as she yawned boredly. From his tone, it looked like this happened often. "I let you go to sleep early!"

"Technically, Phantomhive let me go to sleep early." She rolled her eyes. "You were busy with the guests and I didn't think I'd get caught! I just grabbed some from the kitchen real fast."

The guests exchanged glances as the young Earl merely looked at his bickering servants with an expression of exhaustion.

"I give you an inch, and you take a mile!" Sebastian whispered sternly, still within earshot of everyone. He held out his hands for the bottles. "Really, on tonight of all nights!"