The days passed by, not a hint of the case popping up. Everything had resumed where it had been with no memory pointed towards the recent strings of murders. Even the young Phantomhive had all but forgotten about the case. That is, until a certain letter arrived.

Dear Lord Phantomhive,

I assume you find yourself done with the previous case having to do with my family. I only write to reassure you, and to also ask a favour. It's a small and simple one, but I suppose it could cause someone of your busy nature great annoyance. The funeral for my granddaughter is tomorrow, and I ask of your presence. If you could somehow find a small hole in your schedule, I would appreciate your appearance. I know she may have tried to harm you, but I assure you, it was not of her own volition. If you could perhaps forgive her enough to... Well, I suppose some things cannot be forgiven. Nonetheless, I greatly look forward to speaking with you.

Robert Rammarico De Ferreis

If you do not mind me saying, I am rather surprised, my lord." The voice of the black butler touched the ears of the boy. Ciel glared, blue eye narrowing to a fine point. This only gave Sebastian a smirk.

"I had thought you to dislike funerals. It only took a letter to make you appear, as well." The Lavender Heather flowers held in Sebastian's hand longed to appear on a grave, a petal falling off in solitude every other step or so.

"Indeed, I do. I find them useless and redundant. What is the point in gathering around a corpse to cry? That is not the reason I am here, though."

The duo crossed through the open gate, the butler's eyes looking over to more than several individuals. Those clad in black walked past the Lord, tears streaming down their cheeks, or faces hidden in shame. He ignored them, blue eye focused to the distance. He caught sight of a hunched silhouette standing where the crying masses had just left. The tall stature of the man defined itself more as the two approached.

"Lord De Ferreis expressed his wishes to speak with me. One would not dare to miss an audience with someone as influential and powerful as he is." With those words, Ciel approached the man.

The deep brown eyes of the man shifted over to Ciel, a sad smile meeting him. The man straightened his posture, extending a hand towards the Lord.

"It's rather pleasant to meet you when I am not in the process of planning how to have my body dealt with." He chuckled, wrinkles fully expressed.

"I'd much rather die than have to decide a coffin or mere ashes."

The morbid humor faded rather quickly as Robert glanced back over to the stone he stood in front of.

The freshly dug dirt held many flowers on it, all different in mass and color. Ciel seemed rather awkward to decide the place to set his, but he finally decided upon a side area.

"Thank you for coming, Ciel." The man expressed his deepest thanks, yet all Ciel could do was give a solemn nod in return.

"She seemed to be a rather nice individual, despite what her uncle had manipulated her into doing." Truly, he felt no strong feelings towards the girl. She was simply a fallen pawn, used by the very man she had trusted.

"Yes, she was. You have been made aware of Belial's confession, have you not?" Robert stuffed his hands into his pockets, eyelids drooping as he eyed the words etched into the stone.

"Yes, I have. He used his position as her true father against her. He claimed that if the secret were to come out, her fake father would most likely throw her out and she would never be a part of the household again. Not only that, The late lady De Ferreis..." Ciel looked away, as the facts of the case had been farther twisted than he had thought.

"Yes, it was a forced pregnancy. I was not aware. My own son, forcing himself onto his sister-in-law..." Robert sighed.

"Her death, as you know, was explained as an accident, yet that was not true. I can now see why her paranoia and anxiety had driven her to.."

"To take her own life?" He had thought so. The beautiful lady De Ferreis, mother of a child by her brother-in-law, could not bare the fact of the child not being her husband's. And so, she took it upon herself to carve out the cruelties that had been dealt to her, even if that meant carving herself.

"Everetta was so similar to her mother. Her only goal was to please others. Growing up, she would always look for the praise I gave her, completely forgetting about herself in the process. Perhaps I am to blame for this."

"No, I don't believe so." Ciel's eye followed Robert's, letting both of them stare to the headstone. The man chuckled, shrugging weakly.

"No, I don't suppose so, either. It doesn't lessen my guilt any, though. She was my granddaughter, the one that I was supposed to protect, even when I could not see the one harming her. I feel so utterly useless." Robert De Ferries turned, his chocolate eyes soft as they looked to the sky.

Not a cloud drifted by, giving the day a bright feeling that was so unlike a funeral.

"Do you have anyone you would like to protect like that, Ciel?"

Images of curled pigtails, circular glasses, straw hats, and a lit cigarette filled the boy's mind. They left a bittersweet flavour, yet the boy shook his head.

"No, I don't." To have no attachments was for the best. He could leave this world with no sorrow and no regret.

David smiled.

"How lucky you are."
Robert turned back to Ciel, extending his hand for the second time.

"Once again, I thank you for coming. I'm sure it puts Eva's mind to rest to know that you have no lingering anger."

Ciel took the hand, shaking it under the old man's tough grip. He could hardly believe this man had been on his death bed.

"She was simply a puppet of her grandfather, yet I don't house any particular feelings of hate towards him, either. He was a player who had hesitated. What I find odd is that you don't seem to dislike me. I was the one who apparently tore apart your family and took your granddaughter away." The handshake he was receiving was warm and kind, not cold and mechanical like he had expected.

A small smile appeared onto a grey haired man's face.

"Who truly has time for hatred anymore? I'm too old to hang onto petty things such as that. Even more, with Eva gone," His hand trailed across the stone, a distant memory coming back.

"I don't have time have for much of anything but memories." Robert turned on his black loafers, brown eyes pointed towards the distant gate.

"Goodbye, Lord Phantomhive. I wish you the best, and if you ever think of expanding into the perfume trade, remember that the De Ferreis manor will always offer you any assistance they can."

With these words, the old man began a rather slow and measured walk. It was several minutes before he had reached the gate, and even more seconds before he was helped into a nearby carriage. Ciel was left to the grave, his eyes tracing to the letters carved into the stone.

Everetta Inga De Ferreis- Daughter- Loved and Cherished by all, Remembered by Many- 1871-1887

Almost laughable. Those remembering her will eventually fade, leaving her only mark on the world as a crumbling block of rock.

Ciel's stare was only interrupted by the slight sound of a man behind him. He had nearly forgotten of the butler, but with the small noise, the image had flashed back to his mind. The boy turned, maroon eyes staring past him onto the gravestone.

"So she had become influenced by her need to please her uncle, and the guilt of being his bastard child. Do you suppose he told her of his forced relations upon the late lady De Ferries?" The demon's mind was still stuck upon the juicy details, but Ciel's eyes told him of his disinterest.

"No, I don't suppose he would stand to gain anything from telling her. Why the sudden pique of interest? You don't usually seem this interested in a normal case. One without Death Gods or Demon Hounds, anyway."

Sebastian smirked, placing a hand towards his mouth in thought.

"I find it rather amusing that a man's lust is the root of all of it, that is all, my Lord. His drive to conquer his brother's beautiful wife resulted in the child she killed herself for having, and the child responsible for so many random deaths. A single event, snowballing and causing so much more. So very true of anything, I suppose."

This observation did nothing to Ciel's expression.

"Is that all? I would like to arrive back to the manor before the sun goes down." The demanding tone did not shake the smirk Sebastian's lips. He bowed slightly, hand pressing onto his breast.

"Of course, My Lord."

For the last time, Ciel's blue eye ran over the name of Everetta De Ferreis, surely storing her fleeting and broken image at the very depths of his mind, along with all the others he had lost. There, her appearance would fade with every day that passed, making her image more and more unrecognizable before the boy would all together forget the happy softness in the emerald eyes looking for the praise she never truly received.

Until the day he had forgotten the happiness he saw in her, so like all the others he had, too, forgotten.

Thank you for reading. (And I do intend to write more Kuroshitsuji works, so if you enjoy my writing style, I suggest you stick around!)