(𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧)

XXVIII. TRAIL

       once the duo escaped the portal, they couldn't help but feel a pang of ache buzzing in their head. it swirled through their mind, making them dizzy and their vision hazy. the two felt the blood streaming to their head when they started to spin around. their stomach was churning, coiling, & twisting distressingly. the bile rising up in their esophagus was threatening to spill.

       unintentionally, [your name] stumbled on her feet which caused her to fall on ciel's arms. he used his palms to support her elbows to refrain her from meeting the ground. she lifted her chin, the glossy texture of her eyes reflected on his sapphire iris, making it appear like a shiny gem. a mischievous smirk managed to travel its way to her lips, leaving him in confusion.

       ❝ guess you could say i fell for you, ❞ her mere and smooth response effectively flourished a coral pigment on his skin, ❝ figuratively and literally. ❞ she chuckled wholeheartedly and he lightly shoved her, self-conscious about his figure while he covered his face with his top hat.

         still flustered, he croaked out a few words whilst stammering, ❝ w-whatever, i don't have time to trifle, ❞ he released a sigh of annoyance and took another deep inhale after removing the accessory in front of him, ❝ moving on, i just want to clarify that the transmission experience was a heavy impact. considering our conditions, i believe we should take a brief rest. in the meantime, we can promenade around in this attic to find something related to what that flamingo woman said. ❞

             she hummed, bringing to a focus on their current predicament and excusing the previous event, ❝ she told me to follow the lamps, not sure what kind of lamp she was specifying since she was rather obscure, ❞ her fist slammed on her open palm, ❝ i'm betting that somewhere in this room has a painting that has lamps, whatever they are. let's go search for it and hope that it will answer to our questions. ❞ beginning to stroll, the earl caught her hand.

❝ wait, lady delores— ❞ a recognition of hesitance produced on his face as the question proceeds to dawdle in his mind. she delivered him a look of a query, feeling his dry fingertips applying soft pressure on her wrist.

❝ what is it? ❞ she timidly withdrew her arm at the contact to locate it on her back, ❝ you have a question, don't you? ❞ the suspicion piling on her tone made him more nervous, but he maintained an alleviating yet shrewd pace.

         ❝ yes, yes i do; are you genuinely alright? because from my inspection, i could identify there are no signs of episodes reoccurring lately nor there are regurgitation, ❞ his sharp eye narrowed at her frame, making it look like he was cornering a puppy in an alleyway, ❝ lady delores, i want you to be completely honest with me. ❞

        raising a strange brow, a chortle initiated from her, ❝ it's hilarious when you put it that way; a liar asking a liar to be completely honest with them. is my faith not enough for you? ❞ her expression twisted into a malicious one, ❝  but then i have to agree with you, i'm not really completely honest with me either. therefore, i had been lying to you. ❞ she simply shrugged and was dazed when she stared at the ceiling.

       ❝ quit playing trivial games with me, who are you exactly? ❞ he inquired, implementing a stern tone in hie voice, ❝ and what did you lie about? ❞

        her tongue clicked on the interior roof of her mouth, ❝ isn't it obvious? i'm [your name] delores. and i lied about the people being resentful over me. they weren't jealous lord phantomhive, ❞ she used her arm to slice the air defensively while shaking her head in disagreement, ❝ they were terrified because they think i killed them and they used that advantage to perform a horrible reenactment. ❞