(𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙝𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙭 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧)

XXXV. MISLEADING

    in a swift— almost chopping —motion, [your name] snatched the key around the man's neck. she held it between her thumb and index and inspected it carefully as if it were a dangerous artifact. a curious shimmer in her eyes gleamed as the surface of the moon, in which it never died down to glow. no one knew what time it was or how long they have been in this mansion. from the looks of it, it seemed to be an endless night.

      nevertheless, they weren't concerned about the current hour since they were indulged in the newly dilemma. with these unkempt and tangled problems, it was difficult to weave through these in an orderly fashion. missing people, paintings, anonymous parents, and trust... these were all branches that have been all attached to one tree. which basically turned out to be relatively connected with each other.

     on the other hand, ciel was in his own world.

      he can never wipe the remote voices of the deceased people in his life that resonated in his ears like echoes to a water-well. ever since that moment before [your name] saved him from being consumed by the waters, he could not stop the graphic images from his past. it plagued his mind and he was unnerved.

❝ say, veronica, ❞ the [your hair color]ette's voice barged into his thoughts unceremoniously. she was seen to be aiming the key towards the ceiling, the vague source of light obstructing the object's back, ❝ you never got to report what happened between your urgent matters with that reaper while lord phantomhive and i were at the ice lake. ❞ she allowed the key to fall on the floor, the sound of rusted metal against cement tinkled.

    the latter perked at his name and he hoped no one detected the tense rise of his shoulders. veronica, whose eyes were shut like the blinds of the window, was listening intently to their conversation, ❝ he showed us a painting, except this one is secluded from all the others in the attic, ❞ she answered, the heavy and thick wings of her eyes hovering above her pristine seafoam optics as emeralds glistening under the zaffre sky that viewed behind the panes, ❝ it's in a parlor which is directly past the hallway we escaped from the basement. strange how they would put it there. ❞

       one of sebastian's perfect brows curved upwards in amusement, ❝ strange, you say? the only strange thing that is put here is the presence of lady delores. ❞ he says, pointing directly towards [your name]'s appalled expression. she blinked dumbly at the butler, her lips falling into a thin line.

     ❝ oh, i apologize for being such an offense- just a second, did you say, 'thing'? ❞ the appalled look on her face only increased into a flabbergasted look as she creased her eyebrows to the center, filling with concern and perplex. a hum fully resonates from the earl who stood beside her, whose chin held high with enlightenment.

     lady delores' face still occupied a sheer of confusion and it flickered in realization once her gaze focused on the faint door that outlined the wall behind her. a small knob that matched with the color of the wall appeared almost visibly. but the color contrasted it into a camouflage, making it seem like it never existed in the first place. veronica followed sebastian's finger where it was pointing at using her eyes and strutted past [your name]'s figure.

    she twisted the handle to open and revealed the entrance. the entrance leads to a passageway, in which dark shadows curled in the corners of the exposed door. all of them managed to see the remotely vague silhouette of stairs that descended to god-knows-where. no one dared to question it and they came to the conclusion to enter. veronica ignited a green-envy flame to float above her palm, creating some light source in the area.

     ciel strolled beside his 'confidant' who was staring straight ahead and not bothering to utter a single word. let alone acknowledge his being or breathe in his direction. it upsets him to the most because it felt like a long time of fraught silence. nevertheless, they pushed themselves forward to continue their journey.