Getting through the crowd was harder than Ciel would’ve liked to admit, but he eventually succeeded in squeezing his way in.
“Hey Theo, quite the crowd you’ve got here,” Ciel said with a grin.
His friend chuckled softly.
“This just happens around me, after all. What about you? Meet any new interesting people?”
“Interesting is a safe word to use.”
“Haha, I can imagine. You never know who you could see here. Just before coming here I saw the king himself welcoming us in!” Theo said excitedly.
Ciel wasn’t impressed.
“Theo, if you keep making up stories, no one’s going to believe you.”
“You have to admit, it’s almost believable.”
Ciel chose not to entertain him.
“Have you seen Eve?”
Theo shook his head, “No, I just got here. Why?”
Ciel turned to look at the enormous crowd surrounding them before returning his gaze to Theo.
“Just wondering… I wanted to get her advice on something.”
“What’s wrong with mine?” Theo pouted.
Ciel gave him a blank stare before cautiously replying, “It’s a private matter.”
Theo’s eyes practically lit up, “Let’s go find her right now, give me a minute.”
Ciel reluctantly agreed and walked a few steps away as Theo began the arduous task of removing himself from this crowd.
Much to Ciel’s annoyance, it meant he stood there awkwardly for the next 15 minutes.
After an agonizing wait, Theo finally came to him
“Let’s go,” he said with a smile, completely foregoing an apology.
Ciel said nothing, choosing to focus on finding Eve.
He did his best to stifle his yawning, but Theo clearly caught on.
“Are you okay? Your eyes are all red, and your face is far too pale.”
Has it become visible now?
I really need to sleep soon…
Ciel exhaled loudly before replying.
“It’s been a little complicated… these past few days.”
Theo scoffed.
“It seems like it, if anything about these rumors are true.”
“Rumors… What rumors?”
Theo glanced around warily.
“Rumors about you, obviously. Practically everyone I meet is just asking about whatever is going on with you. Every single one I hear is more ridiculous than the last. Hell, one of them thought you were dead!”
He glanced around again, clearly realizing he spoke too loud.
“If everyone’s so curious, why haven’t they approached me as much? I’ve only gotten passing questions.”
“It’s exactly because of those rumors that they don’t approach you. Honestly, it’s hard to believe most of them, but when so many people say the same thing, it becomes the collective truth. So, are you– Hey wake up!”
Theo shook Ciel’s shoulder, causing Ciel to snap back up.
Theo looked at him with a concerned expression.
“You’re definitely not okay, how are you falling asleep.”
“…Crowds make me sleepy.”
“What kind of excuse is that, that’s not even a good excuse. You’re not thinking straight!”
“A better excuse at least,” Theo admitted.
“Whatever, if you don’t want to admit it, let’s find Eve.
If I catch you falling asleep again, I will pry everything out of you, deal?
“Deal,” Ciel said seriously.
Soon enough, they spotted Eve near the food tables.
Fortunately getting her took significantly less time, and Ciel was able to escort them to a more secluded area in the ballroom, near a wall on the edge.
Their voices would be somewhat masked by the music anyway.
Ciel spoke first.
“How was your entrance to the academy?
Eve’s lips tightened.
“I’m not even sure what to say… what we can say. We met individually, and they told us quite a bit about our Insight. These trials… They seem rather dangerous.”
Ciel frowned.
“How long until your trial begins?”
“A month. Isn’t that what you got?” She asked the two boys, receiving a nod from Theo.
Ciel hesitated, before replying, “No, mine is a little earlier.”
“Earlier? Why? Aren’t we all going together?”
Together?
Ciel hadn’t heard anything about this.
He considered asking for more, but stopped himself.
He remembered Professor Pearl’s warning.
The more you know, the less likely you’ll return.
Ciel agonized about it for a few moments, before relenting.
“It’s tonight. My ascension trial is tonight.”
“Tonight!?” His two friends shouted simultaneously, causing some nearby students to look their way.
They quickly grew silent for a while, but they both stared pointedly at Ciel.
“Tonight,” he repeated.
“It seems it has to do with the imprinting done in this place.”
“Imprinting? What imprinting?” Theo asked.
Ciel stiffened, realizing he said something he shouldn’t.
Quickly trying to salvage the situation he feigned ignorance.
“I’m not sure either, just something I heard a bit about.”
“What is it then? Tell us.” Theo pressured.
Ciel squirmed anxiously.
“Well… I’m not sure if it’s true. I don’t want to spread false rumors so early on. I’ll tell you when I verify it, alright?”
Theo seemed disappointed with that answer.
“So secretive all of a sudden,” he muttered.
Meanwhile, Eve simply stared at Ciel, her thoughts masked behind a poker face.
Ciel quickly shifted topics.
“Anyway, this is supposed to be a secret, but I wanted to let you guys know. They said it would take a longer time to return… maybe I’m getting a head start.”
“This seems dangerous though, Ciel. Going into these trials, without a month’s preparation, and without… anything. Is that really okay?” Eve asked worryingly. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
Ciel stayed silent for a moment.
Was it okay?
He couldn’t be sure.
“I’ll be fine. The academy is letting me do this. There has to be a reason.”
Eve wasn’t convinced.
“And if there isn’t, if they just let you die out there? One in two people don’t make it back, Ciel. And that’s with a month of preparation. Do you really think those are good odds?”
Ciel hesitated again as Eve pressed further.
“Ciel, you don’t have to do this right? Just ask them to reconsider. To give you more time… you deserve that much right? Your family… what would they say if they knew you were doing this?”
Ciel flinched.
My… family.
In a way, his parents did know.
They didn’t necessarily encourage it, but didn’t forbid it.
Aurore would never agree to it, simply because of the danger.
Leo would probably believe that he could defy the odds.
He was an idealist after all.
Ciel bristled at the thought.
“It can’t be that bad or they wouldn’t let me—”
“It can! Of course it can, why wouldn’t it be? Do you know anything about this trial that makes you think otherwise!?” Theo asked, more emotionally than Ciel was used to.
“Ciel, you know it’s dangerous, who are you trying to fool? This isn’t like you, taking on these risks.” Eve added.
“I can’t… I can’t help it…” Ciel whimpered.
“I’m not sure either. There’s just… something inside… Something that is telling me this is right. It tells me it’s the right choice… it’s coming from me. So that means it’s my choice, right? It’s my choice.” Ciel’s voice grew louder.
“It’s what I wanted.
I don’t need to hear about these dangers right now… I have barely over three hours left.
I just wanted to tell the people I trusted the most…
An uncomfortable silence permeated through the group, despite the music playing in the background.
After a while, Theo sighed loudly.
“Well then what’s the point worrying about what will already happen? Come on, enough of this talk. We got a whole ball to enjoy. It’s not everyday you get an entrance ball to the academy right? Let’s make the most of it.”
Eve looked like she wanted to complain, but Ciel quickly agreed.
“Sure, let’s go.” Turning to Eve, she looked at the ground for a few seconds before looking back up, a small smile on her face.
After a while, Ciel recalled what Theo had mentioned earlier.
“About those rumors… What were they saying about me?”
Theo grinned.
“All sorts of things, You had gone missing, you had run away from Leichren, you had joined a cult, you disappeared to another world. People sure have great imaginations, when it comes to stuff like this.”
Ciel stiffened.
“…Right, great imaginations.” He quickly decided to not address the topic further.
Despite his exhaustion, Ciel thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the night, reminding himself that even these posh environments could be fun with certain people.
Ciel laughed as he danced with Eve, masterfully matching their movements with a practiced ease.
Meanwhile, Theo danced with seemingly everyone else.
It was a night Ciel could imagine thinking back fondly in a few years.
Now he just needed to get there.