Dazzling light shone from the chandelier, bewitching the dance hall.
The people were dressed in impressive finery, though they appeared to be faint and there was no sound of their footsteps as the strings played in the background.
OO: “Where is this…?”
OO, who had just a moment ago been on a beach, was confused at having suddenly appeared in this strange scene.
??: “Princess.”
There was a dignified voice that came from nearby, and OO was shocked back to her senses.
Right in front of her was Earl Ciel Phantomhive with a refined smile…-.
An aristocrat from England during the reign of Queen Victoria, this young boy was the present head of the Phantomhive Household.
Ciel: “Is something the matter? I hope I didn’t tread on your feet.”
There was strength in Ciel’s arms as they encircled and supported OO.
As if from the secure sensation of heat on her back, the confusion suddenly changed into joy at the reunion…-.
OO: “Ciel! And everyone else…-!”
Behind Ciel was everyone else who had crossed time and space to arrive in the Dream World from another world… everyone whom she had met before when they had been riding on the luxury cruise liner, the Campania.
Grell: “Hey, OO! You haven’t changed one teeny tiny bit! I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing such a plain old dress to a dance! Here, take bigger steps like this! Like me, who has the grace of a grown woman! With passion!! Like a bright red rose in bloom!!!”
Ronald: “Uwa! Senpai, could you please put a little more thought into your movements for your partner’s sake~ And when you’re working too, if possible.”
Grell: “You’re so annoying! I’m the one with the patience to put up with you so don’t complain!”
Ronald: “Hah~. I wanted to dance with the princess too~… Thought I have a hunch I’m off duty right now- which means, hey OO! Come hang out with me when you’ve got some free time! I’m excited!”
William: “Ronald Knox. I hope you do not act carelessly when you’re outside of office hours. I request that you don’t hinder our normal operations after this. The amount of work we have is immense.”
Ronald: “Yeah I got it. But shouldn’t you be saying that to Sutcliff-senpai instead-? Here.”
Grell: “Aah, Will is watching me dance! That gaze like ice just goes right through me!!”
Ronald: “My hands are about to get pulled off Spears-senpai. Can I change partners?”
William: “Request denied. The matter of the Walking Dead has been left unattended and yet… why must I be associating with all of you and wasting my time like this? And to be around the likes of him… what a mess.”
Ciel: “…they’re so annoying.”
OO: “Haha, everyone seems to be having fun as usual.”
At that time…-.
Ciel: “…uwa!?”
Their steps collided and it seemed as if both would fall over.
OO reflexively closed her eyes but…
A graceful arm held her and she didn’t fall.
OO: “Huh…?”
Ciel: “…”
Ciel was scowling.
Somehow, the two were being supported by…-.
Sebastien: “My Lord. I am of the same opinion that they are quite rowdy. However, do you lack the ability to not turn your eyes towards them when you are dancing?”
Ciel: “Shut up.”
Sebastian, Ciel’s butler who had in that same moment still been playing the violin.
OO: “Thank you for saving us Sebastien.”
Sebastien: “My apologies Princess. It appears as though we have had the misfortune of wrinkling your dress.”
Sebastien was polite as he placed a hand to his chest.
With an elegant and provoking motion, he picked up the hem of OO’s dress and effortlessly folded it to the knee.
Sebastien: “I see. It seems like you’ve become slightly more of a princess since the first time we met.”
OO: “It makes me happy to hear you say that.”
Even the nostalgic sting of those words made OO happy…
OO: “I remember everyone on the beach, I had hoped that we could see each other again. Then suddenly I was here… it really is like a dream.”
A thin smile played over Ciel’s face.
Ciel: “So if you wish it, no matter what it is, it’ll come true huh.”
Was it contempt or pity… that hid behind that smile? OO did not know.
Ciel: “Isn’t the Princess of the Dream World amazing Sebastien?”
Sebastien: “Indeed.”
OO: “Ah…was it Sebastien that granted m wish then?”
Sebastien: “What would make you think that?”
OO: “Because you can do anything.”
OO remembered all the times she’d seen Sebastien’s superhuman behavior.
It had been inhuman…-.
Those words echoed in OO’s heart and her pulse started pounding.
Sebastien: “Princess?”
OO: “It’s nothing…just that if it was you Sebastien, I figured you could do it. This is like the work of a god…-“
Sebastien: “God? I am no god.”
Suddenly, the air around them seemed to cloud and vibrate.
Sebastien: “I am…-”
He reached out towards OO’s face.
Her field of vision was obscured, but through the cracks between those long fingers, she could see…-.
Sebastien: “One hell of a butler.”
For a moment, those words resonated near her ear, then OO was consumed by absolute darkness.
…
……
The sound of the waves echoed quietly, and OO was once more on the beach.
OO: “A dream…?”
As she looked around, OO thought back to what she had seen just before waking.
She had thought it was Sebastien, but it had been something different, something that made her shudder just to think about, something black…
OO: “A hell…of a butler.”
Her murmur was swept up by the salty breeze.
The breeze was lukewarm… pleasant, and vibrating with the echoes of a sigh from a Black Butler.
END