The White Butterfly of Phantomhive

Chapter 36: Infiltration. Caught by a Doll

Ciel dashed off to an inconspicuous spot. During his face in his knees as he shakes uncontrollably. But it wasn't from the cold. He had been humiliated before...but this...was almost a close second. They had seen his mark...he felt angry, embarrassed, and insulted. Mei had managed to find him hiding away, and she, with caution, walked slowly towards as she took off her jacket. Once she was close, she draped it over the shivering Ciel and kneeled beside him. As she did so, Ciel suddenly lunges at her. Wrapping his arms around her waist and keeping her close. Holding her as if she were his lifeline.

She didn't know what to say to him to comfort him, so she opted to place a hand on his back and gently stroking his head. They were looking like real siblings now. An elder sister comforting her younger brother, easing the sorrows he faced. She had no idea what exactly happened to make him this way, but as his friend, Mei knows that she has to do what she can for him. Not long after, Sebastian had arrived with a towel in hand and draped it over the boy.

"You'll catch cold, my lord." Sebastian says as he kneels before them with a fresh set of clothes in his arm. "I've brought a change of clothing." He tells him. Mei patted his head as she tried to help him up. "Come on. You should change out of those wet clothes." She said.

"Enough..."

"Pardon?" Sebastian asks.

"I said I've had enough!" Ciel shouted, showing his disdain for the lifestyle he is forced to endure. "If I have to continue this, I swear I shall go mad!"

"Goodness, my lord. Giving up already, are we? It seems I overestimated your fortitude allowing such trifles to bother you. Well, that isn't like you at all." Sebastian says. Ciel's eye widen as his mind suddenly recalled his horrid past. Those wretched people! That bastardised cult! The nightmarish room!! THAT HELLISH MONTH HE LIVED IN!!! Ciel let out a sigh as he lets go of Mei. "Not like me, eh?" He says. He grips the jacket Mei lend him and rose up to his feet, flinging the jacket over his shoulder.

"Indeed, it's not. I'm the head of House Phantomhive and the Funtom Company, it's not like me to live like this. Still, there's a task to do." Ciel says with such an assertion. "We'll finish this as swiftly as possible." As a nobleman, he should not have to put up with this type of lifestyle. He decided to finish their investigation as quickly as possible, since waiting until they get promoted is too long and arduous.

"Indeed." Sebastian says with a smile and places a hand on his chest. Not long after, Mei stood on the other side of a tent, facing away from Ciel as Sebastian redresses him in his new clothes, drying him off and discussed about their new plan. Invading the first-tier members' tents at the first opportunity while they're outperforming. "Once we've searched the first two tents we can go home. My initial plan was to work our way quietly up the ladder. But with these wretched conditions, I simply can't last that long. I'm already approaching my limit." Ciel says.

"Personally, I would find brute force easier than infiltration. The Reaper keeps me from moving freely at night." Sebastian informs his master about William's restrictions. "Unfortunately, the fact the Reaper is here isn't enough to prove the circus guilty of anything, so behave yourself for now."

"Yes." Mei took a cautious peek around the tent and was thankful to find Ciel fully dressed with a blanket over his shoulders. She rejoined them and she asked, "Is there an opportunity to get inside their tents without them knowing?"

Ciel sat on a crate and nodded his head. "The time to strike is during a show and we expect them all to be away from their tents. Before anything, I need to slip free from that Freckle chap who tails me everywhere." He turns to the older girl and asks her, "Mei, have you gotten a roommate yet? How likely are you able to evade them?"