Episode 40 Finale - Her Butler, Planning
“GAH!” Yumi exclaimed, grasping her hair tightly in her hands.
“Master,” I said, gazing up from dusting her office, “are you alright?”
She just set her elbows on her desk. “What do you think?”
“Well…” I said, setting the duster aside, “you just GAH’d, so I assume not.”
She just sighed and rubbed her forehead lazily. “Get the other servants. We have a problem.”
I watched her for a moment before stepping over to her, and I lightly caught her chin, raising it so her eyes met mine. “What’s bothering you, master?”
She stared at me for a moment, and she closed her eyes tightly, but I just ran my finger over her lip, making her part her lashes.
“What is it?” I urged. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”
She just lowered her head, sighing heavily when I let go of her chin, and she rubbed her eyes. “I found out who the father is.”
My eyes darkened immediately, and I stepped over to her desk and gazed down to what she was looking at.
There were files everywhere, covering the wood entirely.
I brushed some away, scanning the small images she stole of the Overtaker and Grell, as well as a singular image of Edward.
“Who is it?” I said then.
She just gazed up and stared down at her desk sadly. “You’ve noticed it, haven’t you?”
I gaze down at her then. “Please, elaborate, my lord.”
“There’s three stalkers,” she said quietly. “Ones that aren’t human…” she caught three photos, Grell’s, the Overtaker’s, and Edward’s, “but there’s one… that is.”
She set a final photo down, one of that woman… Claudia.
I squinted down at the photo then, watching her features.
“It would make sense…” Yumi said quietly, sounding genuinely exhausted. “I mean… the father being a mystical creature would make total sense, but… the Overtaker said it wasn’t him, and I believe him. Edward has no motive, he just wants food, and… Grell is just doing his job and being your personal pervert.” She sighed and gazed up. “I looked up Claudia’s IQ. It’s above average for women her age. She’s in her thirties and has an IQ over a hundred and fifty. Not only that, but… she has a track record that hasn’t alerted police, but alerts me. Look.”
Yumi pulled out a small file… a list of violations.
“Grand theft auto,” Yumi said quietly, “but she returned the car with… a missing part. The charger for a Tesla. Let alone the small trespassing’s she committed over the years… to hospitals, nonetheless. It says that there’s nothing stolen, but… still, it would explain why something odd was happening inside that hospital I found my parents at. Not only that, but she has a history with toying with robotics in high school and college, and inventor, but all her inventions never pass the legality test. There’s always something dangerous to them. All signs point to her… and she has connections with a demon and a reaper… which was why she’s never been caught. I saw no markings or signs on her contracting with Edward, but something tells me he signed with her in a different manor.”
I gazed down at her then, lashes lowering. “So… you think that Madam Claudia is ‘the father’?”
Yumi nodded, lashes lowering. “I don’t think, I know.”
And I believed her.
Honestly… I suspected Claudia for a while, but… she wasn’t my main interest right now.
“Master…” I said quietly, “you look ill. Are you alright?”
“I’m tired,” she said then, falling into her chair. “So, so tired.”
I watched her carefully. “But you’ve been sleeping. I’ve been watching and making sure.”
She gazed up at me hazily. “I mean emotionally. Everything’s happening and I’m just…” she sighed and closed her eyes, “done with it.”
I stepped over to her then, kneeling down to her level. “Master, do you need anything? You look very pale. Are you hungry, perhaps?”
She just shook her head. “No.”
“I know you’re emotionally exhausted,” I said gently, “but you do look ill. Are you being honest with me?”
She just closed her eyes tightly. “No.”
I stood up then, watching her carefully. “What’s wrong, master?”
“Fine, I’ll be honest,” she sat up and moved to set her head on her desk, “I am afraid.”
I stared for a moment. “Of what?”
“Of everything,” she said quietly. “Edward… Overtaker… The Father… In all honesty, I’ve been scared ever since that night my parents died.”
My eyes softened then, and I set my hands in front of me.
“You were my escape,” she said gently. “A lovely escape, a distraction, a protection, but… I was afraid of you, too.”
“Was?” I echoed.
“You are terrifying, I will admit,” she said solemnly. “But… you are no longer a harm to me. You are my escape, a path to happiness and elation. There are other harms, I’m afraid. Demons, reapers. Ones that I have no control over. And you know how I hate having a lack of control.” She clenched her fists slightly and released them. “Ugh… they’ve been killing so many people and I have yet to stop them. Let alone me. It’s clear that I’m their final target. Why else would my parents be their first victims? Why else have connections with that Damian?”
I just stepped over to her then, kneeling by her chair. “Master, look at me.”
She gazed down hazily, eyes looking bored, but she couldn’t hide the gloss of fear. “What is it?”
I sat onto my knees then, lightly pulling her arms to help her out of the chair.
I tugged her down onto my lap then, wrapping my arms around her when she gasped.
But after a moment, she settled against me and closed her eyes, fisting my shirt in her hands as she buried her face in my shoulder.
“Is that what this ‘death’ talk is about?” I said then, brushing my fingers through her hair. “You asked me earlier about how Ciel’s death affected me as well if you died, and ever since, you’ve been quiet and numb. You’re worried that Edward will take you from me, is that it?”
She nodded numbly.
I pulled her away slightly, running my thumbs under her eyes as she blinked lazily. “Do you have no faith in me?”
“I have all faith in you,” she said quietly.
I watched her darkly, but moved to slide her eye patch off, and she closed her eyes tightly when it fell to the ground, looking back up at me seconds later.
I ran my thumb under her marked eye, watching the pentagram glisten in the dim lighting. “I remember, master,” I said quietly, watching the light reflect in it so easily, “all those nights ago. The night I signed with you… the first and final time I dried your tears with my fingers.” I ran my thumb under it again, and her lashes lowered as a sudden numbness crossed her expression.
“You were so broken,” I continued gently, “tears streaming down your cheeks. So innocent and childish and… afraid. I signed with you, not only because your soul was tasty, but because I know you needed me.”
She gazed up then, confused.
“A lot of demons would take advantage of a broken soul like that,” I said quietly, “that’s what I did to Ciel. I knew he needed me, so I offered to save him, I used him.” I brushed her hair away from her face. “It was a mistake. Because not only was his soul mine, but he was mine, and he expected me to kill him all those years. It was a big mistake, indeed. I promised a child of twelve death for avenging his trauma. How sick is that, hmm? But… I do suppose I’m a demon, huh?”
She stared at me lazily.
“But… the night I signed with you so similar as his,” I said quietly then, staring into her dark eyes. “The blood slipping from your right eye when the contract was fulfilled. I originally was elated by it with Ciel, but with you… it hurt me.” I felt something cold twinge inside me, but attempted to ignore it. “I dried your broken tears of blood with my demon hands. I whisked all your worries away in promise that I would be your only fear, but… you sought comfort in me. When you were unsure of your safety, you asked me to stay in your room until you slept. You let me bathe you, clean you… serve you. You didn’t resent me once.”
She gazed down at my chest then.
“I haven’t dried those tears since that night,” I said quietly, watching her expression remain dark. “But, master… you are in so much pain, aren’t you? You hide it well, but it isn’t good for you.”
She remained silent, avoiding eye contact.
“Your family’s deaths,” I continued quietly, “the freak show, how your sister treated you, how your only family treated you. I was your solution, but the lead to your demise. You knew I was feeding on your pain to create a tasty soul, but you didn’t mind it.”
“That’s not true,” she said then.
I blinked, gazing down at her. “Master?”
“You’re lying to me,” she continued, looking up hazily.
Her eyes were so dark, and she looked so… numb.
“Master…” I said quietly, “whatever do you mean?”
“You weren’t feeding off my fear,” she said then, lashes lowering. “You were trying to save me.”
My lips parted.
“With Ciel, you were,” she explained. “You were using him, but he didn’t care. The reason why he didn’t was because he sought comfort in you. Like I do.”
I cupped her cheeks and lifted her face so I could see her eyes better, and she didn’t fight me.
“I was broken,” she said quietly, still looking numb and emotionless. “You were my savior. You dried my tears that night and promised to grant me a wish… one wish… for my soul. But you never wanted my soul. You just wanted me.”
My eyes softened.
“You wanted to save me,” she continued. “That’s what all this was about. You thought that the wish would make everything better, but you also knew it wouldn’t. You offered me a wish because you just wanted me to grasp onto something, a reason to be alive. So I did… I grasped onto it. But… all this time, I’ve been afraid. And not of you. Of the people lurking in the shadows, the murderers, the demons, the deaths that I must solve. I am always in danger… and… I honestly didn’t know how my father did all this, because I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”
“Master…” I said gently, heart warming, “what is your point?”
“I’ve been in pain,” she said quietly. “I hate pain, so I shove it down. I haven’t cried since that night because I’m afraid to. If I show weakness, then the monsters will come after me. I’ve been fearing the monsters. And you… you are my release. I need you.”
I lightly ran my thumbs under her eyes. “You need me?”
She nodded. “I need you.”
I just lightly brought my lips down onto hers, and she let her lashes flutter shut.
When I pulled away, she was whimpering slightly.
“Sebastian, I am so sore, I cannot,” she said then.
I smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I know. I just wanted a kiss, that’s all.”
She gazed up at me then, and I pressed my forehead to hers.
“Master,” I said then, “you have no need to be afraid. I will protect you from the demons and the monsters lurking under your bed. I will devour the souls who dare cause you harm, I will save you. Wasn’t that my promise?”
She nodded numbly.
“Do you have faith in me?” I said quietly.
She nodded again.
“Then you must trust me,” I whispered. “I will allow no harm to you. Ever.”
She smiled then, still looking a bit numb, and nodded again.
“Master,” I said then, “a month ago, I told you that in order for you to be mine… I need to rid of the beings planning your demise.”
She gazed up then, still looking uneasy.
“It is time we rid of them,” I said to her, smiling. “The Overtaker isn’t the issue right now, he’s merely a servant of the father. It is Claudia, herself, and Edward that bother me. I shall invest help with your servants and possibly the most annoying thing on the planet.”
Her face cracked a smile then. “Are you talking about Grell?”
“Indeed, that menace of a pervert,” I said then, sighing. “You see how much you trouble me? Ah, so irritating.”
She still kept smiling but still looked numb.
“It is time to rid of them,” I said to her then, lashes lowering. “I have waited far too long with no blood on my hands.”
She nodded, continuing to gaze up at me.
But still, I see pain in your eyes, I thought, lashes lowering. It cannot be held there for long, master.
I will allow nothing to break you, I swear on it.
And you will never leave me. I will not allow it.
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4mZNQN5oSz
59Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysmDz78SKE
