Ciel had a wonderfully mundane conversation with Leo–as mundane as you can get talking about Insight–and the night progressed without a hitch.
Ciel asked if Aurore had returned and brought any news to which Leo replied, “She did come back, but she asked to wait until you woke up before she told us anything. She said something about the situation not being the best right now.”
Ciel couldn’t help but find Aurore’s cryptic remarks to be quite unlike her.
His sister tended to be as honest as they come, and this sudden change made Ciel worry.
Clearly she had bigger things on her plate, which he could unfortunately relate to now.
It was pleasing to hear she would tell him when she returned.
Even if it might be more bad news, Ciel wanted answers.
His dream had given him none, so he felt it was only fair to get some in reality.
In the early morning, Leo finally decided to go to bed, and Ciel was alone once again.
Since he couldn’t sleep himself, he decided to visit the family’s library in search of any clues on this forgotten language he had discovered.
However, after searching for only 15 minutes, he found his curiosity waning.
Sure, he wanted answers desperately, but with the experience fresh on his mind, he found it difficult to avoid thinking about it while also searching for it.
With a defeated sigh he changed his focus entirely.
Instead, he decided to busy himself with his normal academic studies.
Ciel had always been a good student, and his habits reflected it.
Even breaks allowed for time to review.
He knew the academy wasn’t all about Insight.
His education was also important for his future.
My future…
Honestly, Ciel didn’t really have much in mind for it.
But yes, the future… it was better to think about that than the past.
Yes, much better.
He planned to follow in his adoptive parents’ footsteps and join the army, rising through the ranks as far as he could.
This wasn’t for personal ambition, but to make his family proud.
A Drake commanding armies was only natural, and Ciel didn’t want to be more of an exception than he already was.
Of course, this was easier said than done,He would have to consistently perform far above most of his peers, which Ciel knew would be difficult.
There were likely many others who received extensive training like him, and definitely some with far more talent.
Not to mention the unknowns surrounding Insight, which Ciel could only consider a coin toss for now.
At the very least, more time out on the battlefield would certainly beat the alternative.
The stifling politics surrounding the nobility was always an area he detested.
Considering their status, he couldn’t really blame them, but he didn’t have to like it.
As for the present, Ciel had only one goal for the next two days, and it was to stay out of trouble.
This meant no dreams and no attempted murders.
He would stay home, avoid sleeping, and behave!
At least that was what he wanted to do, but a few hours later in the early morning, the world showed him it had other plans.
Ciel heard screaming from outside the estate, and he abruptly sprang up and tried to look outside.
He saw nothing in the garden directly outside his windows.
Even the stars were mostly blocked as the familiar void-like tendrils stretched across the night sky.
The noise seemed to come from outside the estate’s walls.
Ciel ran out of the house, trailed by his two guards, and approached the main gate.
He remained cautious, ensuring he wouldn’t fall victim to any surprises.
Outside a guard went up and stopped him before he could leave, “Please remain inside, the threat has been dealt with, but there might be more.”
“Threat?
Was it another attack?” The guard nodded, “Yes, it has been resolved.
We’ll be interrogating right here and now.
Please return inside now.”
They really are targeting me, and they know I’m here too?
Ciel felt a lump begin to form in his throat.
Maybe staying at home wasn’t the safest idea.
“Can I stay for the interrogation?”
“No.”
Ciel frowned, “Why not? Isn’t it my life that’s in danger. Don’t I have the right to know what’s going on?”
The guard looked at him for a second, clearly feeling bad for him.
“Let me ask the captain.”
Ciel’s face lit up.
A few minutes later the guard returned, and escorted him outside.
The gate was bathed in torchlight, causing Ciel’s shadow to dance around the outer wall.
Further out, a few guards were patrolling the area, likely looking for other potential intruders.
The rest of them congregated around the outer wall of the estate, settled in a large circle around something or someone.
Ciel walked in, and the others stepped back to let him pass.
Next thing he knew, Ciel stood face to face with the perpetrator, looking at her with disdain.
She was an extremely attractive young lady, with a lanky and tall frame, a wide black coat wrapped around her shoulders, or what remained of it at least.
Underneath she wore a black blouse and brown breeches.
It was clear she was dressed for stealth and mobility.
A cloth was tightly wrapped around her head, covering her eyes, preventing her from seeing.
The guards had warned Ciel not to make his presence known, so this was the best he could do.
One thing Ciel worried about was how safe he really was here.
He had no clue if and how they had suppressed her powers, so after one last roving look, he quickly stepped aside and let the interrogation commence.
A woman came forward dressed in a distinctly pale yellow uniform, which Ciel could only assume was the captain.
She didn’t acknowledge Ciel as she stepped in front of the perpetrator.
She spoke clearly and with authority.
“Who sent you here?”
The captive didn’t respond, remaining completely still.
Expecting this, she walked up to her and gently laid the palm of her hand on the woman’s covered face.
Immediately, her face seemed to contort as she grimaced painfully.
The uncomfortable silence lengthened, Ciel watched the woman begin to slightly shift, and then writhe in pain.
The cloth covering her eyes grew damp as the woman began to sob.
“I… can’t,” she struggled in between breaths.
“I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to—” She stopped, seemingly choking on her own words.
“I don’t want to die!”
The captain took her hand off as the woman tilted her head up.
“Please, you have to save me. Please, I’ll do anything! I’m going to die!”
“How are you going to die?” The captain asked sternly.
“They’re going to kill me.
The woman said, still sobbing.
“I’m already dead. My life, it’s being taken. It’s not mine. No no no I don’t want to di—”
“Then answer me! You’re wasting your time and mine!”
“They’re paying us!
Life changing money, money that could save me… save us.
One job.
They gave us one job.
To kill Aster’s son.
To them, the world is saved once he is killed.
I don’t know more.
They won’t say it.
They’re just going to kill me!
They’ll throw me away like trash, my life is trash to them!”
Ciel shuddered.
Aster?
How long has this been planned?
The woman seemed to find it more difficult to speak now, her skin growing extremely pale.
“Please, they’re everywhere. All four sanctuaries. Nowhere’s safe!”
“Who is their leader? What is their name?”
The woman struggled to breathe or even move.
“I don’t know— they don’t tell me. They only call him..”
At this point the woman’s voice was hardly more than a whisper, her body shutting down on itself.
“The… Lifelord”
The woman’s head slouched as the last of her life left her.
Her body stiffened, and the captain instinctively backed away.
Just like that, she was dead.
Ciel felt a sickening sensation build up in his stomach.
It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but it was the first time he had witnessed it firsthand.
A woman had died because he had lived.