Laughter is Born From Madness

Chapter 72

The scene before Sebastian's vision began to change back to when he first appeared before his master. He watched the scene before him play out of him looking for the one that had summoned him until his gaze landed on a frail-looking Ciel Phantomhive. With a hand placed over the young boy's eye, Sebastian gave him the mark of the contract and murdered all of the masked people in the room.

The scene then changed to where the two stood outside the building that was in flames. Sebastian questioned him of where his manor was, but Ciel didn't know, due to not leaving the manor much and instead chose to go to the Royal Hospital in London. The young earl questioned the demon his name and Sebastian told him he could be named whatever his master desired. Ciel then chose the name "Sebastian" after his dog, causing Sebastian realize he ended up in the employ of an outrageously wicked brat...so he says.

By the time the two had reached the hospital, Ciel had bandages wrapped around his eye that covered the mark of the contract. He was then reunited with Tanaka, who was overjoyed to see the young master and told him of all that had occurred and that he didn't see the culprits' faces. He then gave Sebastian a pocket watch and asked of him to take care of the young master.

The two then traveled to Madam Red's home, where Madam Red greeted them with happiness. After their reunion, the two were about to depart but Madam Red stopped them to give Ciel a golden ring with the Phantomhive logo on it.

When the two arrived at the Phantomhive manor, the whole building stood in place but marked in different areas from the fire. The inside, no doubt, was completely ruined. Ciel walked ahead of his butler to where the graves of his parents stood, got on his knees and talked to them. This was the first and last time that Sebastian heard him address his parents. He then walked over to the manor and began to think of ways to repair it. By the time the sun began to set, Sebastian returned to his master and took him to the newly repaired manor that looked like an exact copy of the original.

Sebastian tried his best to attend to his master's needs as a butler should. However, he struggled a lot. The water for his master's bath was too hot and the food that looked amazing wasn't to the master's taste. The only moment Sebastian managed to appease his master was when he was going to bed and gave him a cup of warm milk with honey. But that moment was short-lived as Ciel reprimanded his butler and expected more of him the next day. The term "brat" was imprinted into Sebastian's mind from there on to describe his master.

The next day, Sebastian trimmed his master's hair after attending to his previous injuries and then began to give him his daily lessons. After getting part of the lesson wrong, Sebastian instructed him to remove his rings and then slapped his hands with the whip one uses for horse-riding. During tea time, Ciel poured the tea into his butler's hands due to it being "tea-coloured water". Afterwards, Sebastian instructed his master in hunting, who stood in wrong form. At dinner, Ciel refused to eat anything because a fork was tarnished and sauce was staining the rim of the plate. The next day Ciel was unprepared for riding a horse, due to falling a lot, and Sebastian was too noisy as he got rid of people that arrived at the manor to kill his master.

Every night, Ciel screams himself awake from every nightmare he has from the time he was trapped in the horrible place he never wishes to speak of. It takes him moments to minutes to calm down and come back to reality. On some nights, Sebastian would be requested to stay in his master's room just as a form of comfort.

As time went on, Ciel had gotten better at his lessons, Sebastian made competent tea, Ciel was able to hunt, Sebastian made meals up to his master's tastes, Ciel could ride a horse better, and Sebastian took care of threats to his master quietly. One day, a letter from Queen Victoria arrived, requesting the young lord's presence at Buckingham Palace. Ciel was then fitted for a new suit by Nina Hopkins. On the day of arrival at Buckingham Palace, Ciel Phantomhive received the dignity of earl and was restored his estate in his name. Later on in the day, as the duo were leaving, Sebastian suggested for his master to give up on his vengeance and simply live on a happy life. Ciel refused the idea, stating that he returned for revenge and that he will have it.

The mouthwateringly taste of Sebastian's master's soul remained the same until the presence of another human came into the duo's lives. He watched as the revenge remained as focus but noticed his master grow soft for a certain redhead and then grew romantic feelings for her. Sebastian, himself, believed her to be childish and strange, but also kind-hearted.

Sebastian's records began to speed up as his focus came back to the moment where he and his master were reaching out for one another.

"Sebastian!!!" Ciel yelled as Red screamed in horror in the background.

With a strangled yell, Sebastian reached further and grabbed a hold of his master's hand.