The following story is a semi-sequel to One Hell of Reaper. I highly encourage you to read it before reading this one. Though, it follows the same storyline as the original anime, so if you don't feel like reading the whole thing, just read the chapters based off the episodes that lead into the Book of Circus storyline.

Book of Circus

Lilliana Kiliamo has been a maid at the Phantomhive manor ever since Sebastian Michaelis and Earl Ciel Phantomhive hired her as the head maid. She helped clean up after Mey-Rin, Finnian, and Baldroy whenever they made a mess of things, but she never hated the poor servants for their messes. She knew they were trying their absolute hardest, even if it didn't seem like it. They all didn't want to disappoint the master and especially Sebastian and who could blame them? Ciel, who was only a young boy, acted much older than his age. He was mature, stoic, and cunning, just like his father before him, but sadly, he and his wife were tragically killed in a house fire. Ciel would have died too, but somehow, he survived and not only that, he survived with only an eye patch and gained a butler all dressed in black. Sebastian was different from the other servants; he was the head butler and Ciel's personal assistant. He did everything with diligence and expertise that anyone could have mistaken him for something nonhuman. Though he was an excellent butler, he was also an outstanding bodyguard for his young master. He seemed to do almost the impossible to catch a runaway item headed toward his young master or push him out of the way of danger. Although the servants could too if they truly tried, they wouldn't be able to do even half the things Sebastian could do. He was just simply one hell of a butler.

Today, just like any other day, Sebastian and Lilliana woke up early in the morning to get their work done before the young lord and the other servants woke up. They knew that if they left the early morning chores to the three bumbling servants, there was a high chance that they would make a mess of things. Even so, Sebastian was the natural early riser, mainly because he didn't really need to sleep to begin with. Lilliana, however, needed all the sleep she could get. After all, she worked two jobs: the head maid of the manor during the day and a Grim Reaper at night. Her work interfered with her sleep schedule, and being a Grim Reaper, she needed rest, meaning that she did not rise as naturally as he did. So, every morning, his very first job was to wake her, which was not an easy task.

This morning was no different. The two of them shared a room, unknown to both the young lord and the other servants, who assumed that they had separate private rooms, ever since their "relationship" grew. They would never label it, but they found comfort in each other's presence, especially at night. As he changed into his uniform, he shook her and said, "Time to wake up, Ms. Kiliamo."

She stirred a bit and muttered, "Five more minutes."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that. A butler and a maid's job starts early," he said as he shook her a bit more violently. He was luckily she responded at all since she usually was a heavy sleeper.

"Can't you just do it?" she muttered as she rolled over away from him and tried to stay asleep.

He chuckled before saying, "Well, yes, but I'd rather have some help. Besides, the quicker we finish our chores, the more time we have for . . . other activities."

She slowly opened her eyes as she looked at the devilish grin that always made her smile. "You know you can't always use sex as a motivator, right?"

"But it does get you moving," he said as he watched her finally get up from bed and stretch her arms. She was still wearing her Reaper uniform (slacks, white button-down shirt, and brown vest), which meant she had a very long night at her job. All she was missing was her red heels and red spectacles that she put on the nightstand. She didn't really need them, but it was required of her. Since she was . . . different, they gave her the more demanding soul quota, meaning it was very rare she was not exhausted when she returned to the manor. "Do you need me to help you change?"

She chuckled as she said, "I know that the moment I start taking clothes off, you'll swoop in and fuck me senseless. Weren't you the one who said we had chores to do?

He smirked as he said, "Very well. Then I shall leave you to your dressing. Meet me in the kitchen when you're done." He then gave her a quick kiss before leaving her side. She smiled as she finally got out of bed and walked to the closet to change into her maid uniform. Although she didn't like to wear dresses, this was tolerable. She soon removed her clothes, first the vest, then the button-down shirt. Sometimes, she would wear a corset since a certain someone liked the look on her, but this was not one of those nights. She reserved that for times when she believed she wouldn't be worked too hard. However, she stared a bit at the two marks on her body: the Mark of Lust that was placed on her lower back when she and Sebastian first had sex and the Branding Mark that her brother, Bastille, placed on her during the Jack the Ripper case. She sighed, remembering her estranged relationship with him, but quickly put on her dress before she became lost in her thoughts.

After some time, she met Sebastian in the kitchen, who was carefully ironing the newspaper for the young master while also waiting for the tea to be ready. However, both of them heard a faint noise from outside the kitchen and Sebastian could easily detect what it was. He walked to the door and noticed that on the porch was an adorable black cat. He couldn't help himself as he kneeled down to pet the beautiful creature. Cats, to him, were the most perfect creatures on Earth, and there was no arguing about it. Lilliana only rolled her eyes as she set the tea and breakfast on a rolling cart and waited for him to finish admiring the animal, which, luckily for her, didn't take this long this time.

Soon, they arrived to the young lord's bedroom and Sebastian pulled back the curtain to let sunlight in as Lilliana started pouring his tea into a cup. "Young lord, it is time to rise and greet the day," he said, observing the child sleeping soundly in his bed, or at least, was. However, Ciel woke up a lot quicker than Lilliana and she soon served him his tea.

He took a sip and said, "Ceylon, isn't it?"

"Spot on, as always," Sebastian said as he handed the young lord his newspaper. "I took the liberty of bringing you a Ringtons varietal this morning."

Ciel took the paper out of his hands and started to read it, hoping to find something to keep his interest, like a murder or any other heinous acts the Queen could possibly have him investigate. Once he had finished his tea and skimmed through a few articles, Lilliana quickly left the room so that Sebastian could change him. Even if he was a child, she found it rather awkward to just sit there and watch him change. However, she knew his schedule in advance: a dance lesson, which she and Sebastian were eager to watch, a lunch meeting about his Funtom Company, and then finally, an evening meeting with Mr. Cedric Brandel of the Brandel Tea Company. It was always interesting to see how meetings with the young lord would play out. Most of the time, they were just ordinary, but then there were times that the guests would actually try to assassinate the young lord to be the ruler of the underworld without any repercussions from the law. Though, every single attempt against his life has been thwarted, for obvious reasons, but people still didn't know when to give up. Lilliana wasn't given a file stating that someone would die at the manor by her Reaper superiors, but that doesn't mean that absolutely no one would die. Souls that are killed by deities are not on the To-Die list, meaning that Reapers were not scheduled to collect them

Soon, she walked to the servants' quarters, where Finnian, Mey-Rin, and Baldroy were awaiting their daily tasks. She was reluctant to say their chores since there was a high chance of them fucking it up, but she had to make them feel useful. "Listen up. Here are your tasks for today: Mey-Rin, collect and launder the bed sheets, Finny, tend to the plants in the greenhouse, and Baldroy, you will see to the bread. And Tanaka, just keep doing what you usually do," she said with a smile, watching the old man sip his tea.

"Yes, Lilliana," they said in unison.

"Listen carefully. We are expecting some guests this evening-,"

"Crickey, you know what that means, then! I'll make a special-," Bard tried to say, but was interrupted.

"What that means is that you three will stay quiet and stay out of sight unless you have received my or Sebastian's express orders. Keyword: quietly. Now, everyone proceed to your stations."

"Right," they said as they hurriedly proceeded with their tasks. She took a deep breath and hoped this would be the day they would actually get their jobs not only done, but done right. Once they were gone, she started working on the tasks she and Sebastian were in charge of. Luckily for her, her Reaper speed and stamina allowed her to get through a lot of the tasks quickly, like cleaning every window in the manor, sweeping dust out of every room, and polishing any silverware needed. Although Sebastian could do this as well, faster even, she knew she was helping him out since he was always called by the young master to do a certain task at random times of the day. Besides, the quicker they finished their tasks, the quicker they can perform other tasks. However, she shook her head at the thought. "Dammit, Sebastian, putting these impure thoughts in my head."

"You called?" a low voice said from behind. She jumped and quickly turned around to find Sebastian.

She sighed in relief as she said, "Shit, you can't do that. You scared me half to death."

He chuckled. "Look who's talking." He looked at the silverware and smiled. "I see you proceeded with our tasks."

"W-Well, of course. We have a lot to do before our guests arrive," she said as she turned around and finished polishing the last knife and set it on the table.

"True," he said as he turned her back around so he could see her otherworldly green eyes. "But you have accomplished quite a lot while I was serving the young lord his breakfast. I think you should be rewarded."

She blushed as she looked away and said in a flustered tone, "W-Wait, right here? This early in the morning?"

"Are you protesting?" he said with a devious smirk as he guided her face back to his.

"B-But-," she said, but he soon kissed her. He expected her to pull away from him, but she soon relaxed and embraced him. However, before they could proceed further, they heard a feminine scream in the background. "I can only guess." With a sigh of annoyance, they both quickly ran to where they heard the voice come from.

They soon found themselves at the laundry room and Sebastian proceeded to open the door, "Mey-Rin, whatever-," he tried to say before he noticed a wave of soap bubbles escaping the room towards them. They moved out of the way in time, but found the whole room completely filled with bubbles and Mey-Rin seemed to be nowhere in sight.

However, with a quick shake, she revealed herself as she said in her cockney accent, "Oh Sebastian, Lilliana, there you are!"

"What happened here? Why are there bubbles everywhere?" Lilliana asked, trying to keep her composure.

"I used thirty cups of detergent like the instructions said to and it's a disaster! It doesn't make sense," she said as she presented the little box of detergent to them. The head servants looked at it carefully and then looked at each other with disappointed eyes.

Sebastian looked to her again and said in a calm voice, "Read the instructions again carefully. You'll find it is three cups, not thirty." Mey-Rin looked at it again and he was right: it showed III, but due to her poor vision, they blurred to make XXX instead.

"Honestly, being far-sighted isn't enough to excuse such foolishness," Lilliana said under her breath, but Sebastian could hear her clearly with his heightened hearing.

"No, carelessness is more correct," he said to her, but then looked at Mey-Rin and continued, "Please step aside." In record time, the two of them managed to clean up all the suds on the floor, wash the sheets by hands, and hang them out to dry, all while under the loving gaze of Mey-Rin, who absolutely loved her butler superior. "There, that should sort it. Now, do you think you're capable of cleaning up the laundry room by yourself?"

"Yes I am," she said with a salute as she rushed back inside to finish the cleaning. They sighed in relief.

"You know, for some reason, the public adores silly maids. Though, they've never had to work with one to fully understand the frustration that goes along with them," Lilliana said and he laughed, but he noticed something unusual in the bubbles and she knew exactly what he saw.

"Naturally. Always when I'm busy."

Sebastian was continuing with the preparations for tonight's dinner when he saw Lilliana walk in, Death Scythe in hand. He smiled as he said, "I think it would be best if you kept that hidden. If the others saw you carrying such a weapon-,"

"I would fit right in with them," she said as she held on to it for a bit. "Besides, you'll never know when we'll need it." However, they heard a slightly less feminine yell from outside the manor and they sighed in annoyance once more. They didn't even say a word as they both ran to the greenhouse, where Finny was supposed to be tending to the roses. However, when they entered, they noticed that it was incredibly hot, practically unbearable.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Sebastian asked.

Soon, they say Finny, who was crying since he was still so very young and naïve. "I'm so sorry! The roses looked like they were about to bloom and I thought I could, you know, speed them up by lighting the stove!"

Lilliana's composure loosened, but her anger was still kept under control as she said, "Carrying a stove to the greenhouse? You must be utterly brainless-,"

"No, brawny would fit better." Sebastian corrected before continuing, "There's nothing to it." In record time, he and Lilliana removed the stove and the enormous stone vases that held the dead roses outside, away from the unbearable heat inside the greenhouse. It always amazed Finny how strong the two of them were; any other human wouldn't be able to even lift one of the stone vases, let alone bring them all outside without any struggle. The same could be said for him, but his situation was unusual.

Once they were done, they sighed as Lilliana said, "That should be all of them, but it's quite unfortunate. We had planned to scent the manor with roses, but that will be impossible now."

"Finny, I expect you to finish the cleaning on your own," Sebastian said with a stern, yet calm expression to not frighten the poor boy any further.

"Y-Yes, I can," Finny said with more hope in his voice. At least he was usually a happy boy, so not much was needed to bring that jovial spark back.

As the two walked away, Sebastian said under his breath, "Goodness. Why must they vex me so?" However, she knew he wasn't talking about the servants and sighed before getting her Death Scythe ready.

After a bit of time, they walked into the kitchen, ready to prepare the dinner for tonight with the little time they had left. Lilliana had to wash something off her dress and stitch up the hole it made, which made Sebastian a bit sad to see. They planned to serve a freshly caught pheasant with champagne to perfectly pair it. Luckily, Sebastian was an excellent cook and arguably Lilliana was too, but he was superior by far. After all, he had to be a jack of all trades due to the servants' incompetence. Although she too cleaned up their messes, she was more in charge of cleaning since it wasn't too demanding for her. Being a Reaper, she had to separate herself from humanity, meaning she was not taught much of what made a human special, such as gardening and cooking. Demons, on the other hand, are very involved in human lives to know what makes them tick, meaning they picked up on certain skills.

Though, they were reminded that some servants needed to learn said skills as they heard a massive explosion behind them in the kitchen and Baldroy yelling and coughing from the smoke. "Why am I not surprised," Lilliana said as the two head servants walked to the "chef" of the manor with a flamethrower in his hand. "Let's hear it then. You might as well explain yourself."

"Well, I was thinking that since we had guests coming and all, we should treat them to a new menu, all special-like. Plus, I got this new toy from back home and wanted to try it out," Baldroy said in the innocent smile despite being covered in ashes.

"Of course. How many times do we have to tell you: cooking requires fire not firepower, you colossal idiot," she said with a hand to her face.

"Yes, idiot is quite correct," Sebastian said, giving up the politeness due to his boiling frustration.

"Wait, that's what she said first off. Nothing's changed," Baldroy said in confusion, unaware that they had to go through this process twice before.

However, they looked at the hole in the wall he had made and Sebastian sighed, "Here we go again. Lilliana, I'll have you finish up the cooking. I will return momentarily." Lilliana rolled her eyes, but did as told and continued to cook the unattended pheasant that hasn't luckily burned or caught any debris. She didn't feel like arguing with him right now. Bard was going to help her, but Sebastian stopped him and swiftly guided him outside the kitchen through the door. In no time, Sebastian had gathered a very tall stack of bricks and gave Bard his order. "Now, use these to patch up the hole in the wall." He handed them to Bard with ease, but he had a hard time carrying them. "And meanwhile, I'll just be confiscating this." Sebastian took the flamethrower with a sweet smile that would be suspicious to those who knew him well.

After some time, Lilliana was finishing up preparing the food when Sebastian came in with the flamethrower and a wicker basket of something inside. "I'm assuming you'll need my assistance?"

"If you must, but with all these interruptions, I've barely gotten anything done," he said as he straightened his white gloves.

"Then you must be very glad I'm here," she said with a grin before placing the food on a dinner plate.

He chuckled before checking his pocket watch and lost his smile. "And look at that. The guests will be arriving any moment. We must pick up the pace."

The moment they had all prepared for finally arrived: the guests had just pulled up, including Lau, Ran-Mao, and Cedric Brandel. Sebastian and Lilliana welcomed them inside the estate just as Ciel made his grand entrance into the lobby to officially greet them. "Welcome to the Phantomhive estate. I'm Ciel Phantomhive, the current earl and family head."

"Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Cedric Brandel," he said as politely as he could. "I had not imagined you quite so youthful, my lord."

"I told you there was no need to feel intimidated," Lau said with his usual playful smile as Ran-Mao held onto his arm. "He's ever so small and precious, isn't he?"

"Quite," Ciel said, trying to hide his displeasure from hearing a comment like that, especially in front of a guest, but knowing that Lau liked to tease him on a regular basis made staying calm easier. "I've had a small dinner planned for us. If you'll follow me, please." Soon, he guided them to the dining area, where Sebastian and Lilliana had prepared a champagne glass tower to ceremoniously pour champagne into in high fashion.

"Oh, how lovely!" Brandel commented as he watched the alcohol slowly reach from the top glass to the bottom with no spill.

"I could have simply set it some aperitifs, of course, but I thought this presentation would be more the thing," Ciel explained, showing off his wealth and power just a little bit.

"Er, if you'll excuse me, master," Mey-Rin said nervously as she walked in with a plate of hors d'oeuvres.

Lilliana noticed the poor girl was shaking like a leaf, which wasn't that unusual since she always had a fear of looking bad in front of the young master and especially Sebastian. Usually it was because her vision with her glasses was piss-poor, but she refused to take them off for reasons she would never understand. However, Lilliana noticed a moment too late that her shoelaces where untied and was about to warn her. "Mey-Rin, be careful. Your—,"

Sadly, it was too late: Mey-Rin had stepped on her shoelaces and tripped with a loud yell, unintentionally throwing the plate right toward the glass tower. Everyone watched in absolute horror as they expected a giant mess to unfold, but Lilliana and Sebastian knew they had to act quickly if they didn't want to ruin this evening. With lightning speed, they managed to collect all of the falling glasses and miraculously catch them before any champagne could spill out of them and placed them on the ground, both of them making their own mini glass tower. However, Sebastian had to be a little extra and managed to catch the runaway plate with the champagne bottle before Mey-Rin could even fall to the ground. Everyone was stunned, especially Brandel, who had never seen this kind of spectacle before.

"So . . . what just happened?"

"Please pardon us, lady and gentlemen. This particular vintage is a bit on the bubbly side, so I made the last minute decision to give it a nice decanting with Ms. Kiliamo's help, of course," Sebastian lied to make Mey-Rin's mistake seem like it was all planned. However, she left before Sebastian could have a chance to scold her when the guests weren't looking, but if he needed to do that, he would send Lilliana, who was even harsher when it came to scolding. As he looked at her, he could tell that she was planning on the choice words to say to the maid when dinner was over. He chuckled before continuing, "Please, have a seat and we shall bring you a glass."

"I'd say, good show! You two would lead to stardom in any acrobatic troupe with that trick," Lau said as he and the other guests began to take their seats at the dinner table.

"Heavens! Us, stars? Surely you jest," Lilliana said in the most polite and proper way she could. Out of all the servants, she was the one who was in dire need of an attitude check, but after years of intense training, she finally was able to pass as polite.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm simply one hell of a butler." Lilliana merely rolled her eyes as they began to serve the guests their dinner. The two head servants stood by Ciel's side as they watched the guests take bites out of their food, but also to keep a close watch on their strange guest.

"My lord, I must say, your home provides no end of surprises. The manor is so beautiful! I can hardly believe it was in ashes three years ago," Brandel said in his overly polite tone that was surely trying to suck up to the young lord.

However, in slight annoyance, Ciel said, "I find small talk dreadfully dull dinner conversation. Let's move on to the business at hand, shall we?"

Brandel was surprised by his directness, but obliged. "In the interest of sustained profitability, I'd like my company to begin marketing to children. And since children throughout Europe know of the Funtom name, it would be most advantageous for me to work with you, my lord."

"Indeed. Children are better judges of both art and food than most adults give them credit for, you know," Ciel answered.

"Indubitably, and meeting you only convinces me all the more. I'm beginning to think I've discovered the secret to the Funtom Company's success in that market."

"Oh? You're saying I'm a child, then. And that's why my company has been so successful. Is that what you're suggesting, Brandel?" Ciel said calmly, but it was clear he was insulted by the remarks given to him.

"Oh no! Why, I would never imply such a thing," he said with his arms up in defense.

"Easy, I'm only joking," Ciel said with a grin.

Brandel let out a nervous laughter to diffuse the situation and continued, "You do have a wicked sense of humor, my lord." They continued to eat their dinner for a while, making more conversation as the night went on. However, Lau, with Ran-Mao still by his side, and Brandel excused themselves as they went to the bathroom. This gave some time for Ciel and Sebastian to discuss some things before Lilliana excused herself. Just before 8 o'clock, Brandel returned to the dining room, where Sebastian had collected the dirty plates and glasses and proceeded to serve dessert. "I see that Lau is no longer by your side," he commented.

"He had to excuse himself. Pressing business he needed to attend to," he lied as Sebastian pulled back his seat for him and pushed him in.

"That man isn't fit for proper society," Ciel commented.

"Indeed. It's a shame. We have prepared a tasty sweet to suggest for your tea salon and he will be unable to sample it. Most regrettable," Sebastian said as he brought the cart closer to their honored guest.

"Ah! You've peaked my curiosity. And I see your pretty maid isn't here anymore. Perhaps she would have liked a sample as well," Brandel said, making Sebastian scowl internally, but he had to keep a straight face to not alarm him.

"She had to change her clothes due to a stain on her apron. She will return momentarily," Sebastian said before presenting the dessert: a galette de rois (King cake) with a paper crown surrounding it. "According to tradition, one slice contains a doll known as la féve. Whoever receives that slice will also receive this crown and will be declared king of the feast."

"Just the thing for children, I say. We think it will be quite popular. Young children love to play games. I know I do," Ciel said with a cocky smile, but not because of the clever idea.

"Oh capital! A sweet treat and a game all in one. Leave it to a little brat like you to come up with something an adult never would," Brandel said, finally losing his innocent act.

"What?" Ciel said, not out of shock. In fact, he had expected this.

Brandel quickly got up from his seat as he declared, "They may call you the queen's guard dog, but all I see is a brat hosing off! If there are two things in the world I cannot abide, they are cocky brats and losing money when I should be making it!" Soon, the clock started ringing and he knew it was time. "8 o'clock! Time for you to die," he said as he hurriedly ran under the table to hide. Underneath, he waited patiently as he heard gunshots fill the air and the sound of two thumping bodies hitting the table and floor. Darkness shrouded the room and soon, the gunfire ceased, leaving only silence to remain. With a cocky laugh, he triumphed, "I did it! It's over! I put down the rabid dog! The underworld has a new ruler now-!" However, the clock started to ring again and light returned immediately. Brandel was confused and got out from underneath the table, only to find that the young lord and his butler were perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry, Mr. Brandel. Did you misplace something of yours?" Sebastian asked as he began serving tea to the young master, who was enjoying his slice of the cake.

Ciel laughed as he said, "Oh dear. Had a bit much to drink, have you? Have some cake; it should help. And perhaps you should forgo the champagne for now," Ciel said with an innocent smile.

Brandel was in utter shock and didn't know what to do. Where were those assassins he hired? They should have shot the place up by now and killed the cocky brat. "Y-Yes," was all he could respond as Sebastian helped him into his seat. He was visibly shaking as he put a fork into his cake and began to eat it, but he felt something hard in between his teeth.

"Ah! My congratulations to you sir. It seems la féve was in your slice of galette." Sebastian said with an innocent smile. Brandel soon spat out what he assumed was a doll, but was scared when he saw a bullet come out of his mouth instead and onto his plate.

"Your friends left that little token behind, you see," a feminine voice said from behind him. "I thought it was best that we should return it." He turned around and saw Lilliana, who was now wearing her Reaper uniform: dark slacks, long-sleeved white button-down shirt, a brown vest, and short red heels. However, despite her unusual appearance, that wasn't the thing that frightened him most. She also had what appeared to be a large sickle, almost like the Grim Reaper's sickle. "They arrived earlier in the day; quite a bit before you graced us with your presence." Brandel was now terrified. How did she know about them?!

"Please don't concern yourself. We already gave them a warm Phantomhive welcome," Sebastian said with the same innocent smile that now left Brandel paralyzed in fear.

Earlier in the day, when Sebastian and Lilliana were interrupted by the servants constantly, they weren't the only ones distracting them. When Mey-Rin flooded the laundry room with suds, Sebastian could see the men reflecting from the bubbles and proceeded to exterminate the issue singlehandedly. Lilliana watched from a distance as she saw men being launched in the air due to Sebastian's inhuman strength. She would happily get involved if it wasn't Reaper Law that Reapers could not kill humans not on the To-Die list. She was already on thin ice as it is and didn't want to push it, even if she wouldn't get caught. When Sebastian had finished, he noticed the beautiful white flowers surrounding them and cut some, thinking they would make a good decoration. This was her cue to start collecting the souls of the fallen assassins so that no one in Headquarters would complain about a large amount of souls missing. Anyone killed by a deity, regardless if they are angel, demon, or Reaper, would not be on the To-Die list. That's why they were very reluctant to let her have this second job.

When they were done, they had to deal with Finny's blunder, but they both could smell cigarette smoke nearby and knew it was another round of men. Sebastian took them out the old-fashion way: forks and knives, while Lilliana watched again from a high enough tree branch. This time, the men shot at them, but it wasn't going to work. One did see her and shot at her right in the chest, which should have killed her. She did pretend for a bit as she fell from the tree, limp as a doll, until the very end, where she landed on her feet like an agile cat. Sebastian, seeing this, decided to kill all of the remaining men before handling this one. The last assassin looked in fear as she began to walk up to him normally and coughed up the bullet that was in her chest. He tried to run away, but ran straight towards the butler, who finished him off with a knife to the throat. He made sure that she was all right before noticing that a pheasant was caught in the carnage. When she confirmed she was fine and proceeded to collect the souls, he stayed behind a bit so they could walk back inside together.

When that was done, they had to deal with Bard's idiocy, which luckily came with a weapon for him to use. However, he told Lilliana to stay behind due to the last incident. Usually, she would protest, especially since he knew human weapons couldn't harm deities, but did not want to make a scene in front of Baldroy, who would get suspicious. Besides, after this next round, they would have little time to finish cooking anyway. Outside, Sebastian used the flamethrower to burn the new set of men, but also managed to roast some chestnuts and brought them back in a wicker basket that he quickly found. When he returned, that was her cue to leave the rest of the preparations to Sebastian and get to her other job. Luckily, fire can't burn Cinematic Records.

And now, here they were: showing off their hard work to the young lord and their special guest with the most sinister, yet innocent smiles on their faces. "N-No, that's impossible! There were at least fifty men out there! And just—just two of you!" Brandel yelled frantically. He was sure he was losing his mind.

"Well, technically only he welcomed the unwanted guests. I just observed," she said as she brought the Death Scythe closer to Brandel for him to see. "This is just for show."

"Lau informed me of your side business dealing guns on the black market, you see. That man actually does have his uses," Ciel said matter-of-factly while finishing his slice.

"Damn that rat! He turned on me?" Brandel yelled.

"Not at all. He was never actually on your side in the first place. Perhaps you are unaware that Her Majesty is distressed by the spread of gun-related crimes among the underclass." Ciel said as he was about to take a sip of his tea, but gave off a displeased look as he said, "Sebastian, make me a new pot of tea. These second-rate leaves are positively foul."

"Indeed," Sebastian said as he proceeded with the order. However, Brandel had enough of this and pulled out a gun from his coat pocket and aimed it right at the young lord.

"I'll kill you then," he yelled as he shot a few rounds, but soon realized that the young lord was not harmed despite being in the line of fire. Brandel was in disbelief, but noticed two things: one, Sebastian had caught the bullets in between his fingers just before they could hit him in the speed of light and that Lilliana's Death Scythe was wrapped against his neck, blade touching skin.

"I wouldn't advise doing that. You'll dirty up the carpet with blood and I don't feel like cleaning that up again," she said with a grin that was no longer innocent looking: it was purely sadistic now.

"This simply won't do," Sebastian said as he showed the bullets to Brandel. "You must be more careful, sir. You seem to keep misplacing your belongings."

"Wh-Wh-What's going on here?! What are you people?!" he yelled with the most terror he has ever felt in his life.

"Oh, we're no one special, Mr. Brandel," Lilliana said as she lowered her Death Scythe and walked toward Sebastian and Ciel, who was enjoying the spectacle. "Simply we are people who cannot be killed by the toys that your lot carry around." Out of fear, Brandel starting shooting whoever he could hit, but Sebastian and Lilliana were unaffected by the bullets and she made sure that the young lord was protected by blocking the bullets with her Death Scythe. Sebastian got close enough to put his finger in the muzzle of the gun and Brandel shot, only to have it explode in his hand and not harm Sebastian at all. With a bleeding hand, Brandel started to run for his life, but when he opened the door, he was shocked to see Sebastian, who he didn't see pass him.

"You've forgotten one additional item, I'm afraid," he said as he walked closer to Brandel, who at this point had nowhere else to go. Sebastian then placed the paper crown on his head.

"Y-You're a demon," Brandel exclaimed, which only made Sebastian grin.

"My. Very discerning for a human, aren't you?" There was no point hiding this fact when Brandel was about to meet his fate. Soon, the room was covered in darkness as Sebastian continued, "Yes. As you no doubt suspect by now, I am simply one hell of a butler."

"No! Stay away from me!" Brandel yelled, pleading for his life.

"Brandel, you've noticed nobody talks about what happens when the Queen's guard dog catches you. Any theories as to why that may be? Well, it's because dead men tell no tales, you see," Ciel said as he removed his eye patch, revealing his Mark of the Contract on his eye as Sebastian removed his glove to reveal the same mark on his hand. Soon, Brandel realized this was the end and screamed in fear as Sebastian's shadow grew stronger and stronger, surrounding him.

"Don't get too carried away. I still need that soul once you're done," Lilliana said as she glided a finger on the edge of the blade of her Death Scythe with that sadistic grin. Sebastian nodded as he proceeded to dispose of the vermin.

At Headquarters for the Reaper Association, William T. Spears sat at his desk, looking at a new file on his desk. It was an investigation for a traveling circus coming to town, but the names on this file and the stories behind them were fascinating for most Reapers. Not him, of course, since he seemed devoid of any emotion. However, due to the complexity of this case, he needed a partner, especially since some of the names were affiliated with demons, meaning they were most likely contracted. Though, he had to find someone who would be willing to take on extra work on top of the usual quota. He sighed since he knew he had to take on the extra work as well because a certain red-headed nuisance made work life harder since they were short-staffed and a lot of Reapers had to take on extra souls in their quota already.

Suddenly, his concentration was broken when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and said, "Come in." Once the door opened, he saw Lilliana enter and said, "Hello, Ms. Kiliamo. Your files should be on your desk."

"I know. I already got them. These are different," she said as she placed a folder on his desk.

He already knew what they were and sighed. "The demon went on a killing spree again?"

"He protected our young master, if that's what you're asking," she said, slightly insulted, but at the same time, she understood that he was taught to hate demons. She was raised with a different mentality.

"Right," he said as he looked through the large list of names. "And you are certain you collected every soul?"

"If I didn't, then it would be my ass on the line," she said as she noticed the other file on his desk. "Since when do you do field work?"

He looked at her confused until he remembered the file. "I don't, but this might be an exception due to its complexity."

"That sounds exciting. Mind if I take a peek?" she asked as she tried to grab the file, but he pulled it away before she could touch it.

"I wouldn't advise that. You do not need to be concerned with other cases, especially when you already have enough on your plate," he said with a cold expression that would scare anyone else, but she was used to it after a couple of centuries working with him.

"I guess you're right," she said with a sigh and a shrug. "I guess I'll head to work unless you need anything else from me." She proceeded to walk out, but as she did, she noticed the one other female Reaper in this sect walking toward William's office. Her name was Katia Vendoa, the American recruit that was assigned here for a special mission that was secret to Lilliana, but not William. She had her blonde hair up in a bun and her makeup was tasteful for the workplace. She wore a short sleeve blouse with a long black pencil skirt. Her heels were black and so were her spectacles.

However, she seemed to have lost her professionalism as she saw Lilliana and her heart started thumping. "Oh, hi, Lilliana," she said in an almost flustered tone. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I had to turn something in to William," she said as she got closer to her. "What about you?"

"S-Same," was all she could say.

Lilliana smiled as she quickly walked passed her. "I have to head out. I'll talk to you later." Katia kept watching as she left her side, her heart still thumping fast. She had developed a crush on her ever since she first saw her and not a lot of people knew it. In fact, only Grell seemed to know, even though he could never understand it. Ronald hinted to it, but never flat out asked if she liked her. However, for Reapers, relationships were seen as unnecessary and although there are Reapers who do develop feelings for each other, even same gender relationships were not uncommon, relationships in general were rare. Especially in this London sect, no one seemed to be together. There were flirts for sure, but no one exclusively belonged to someone. She feared Lilliana was the same way, but also feared someone might have claimed her in the form of a demon.

"Ms. Vendoa. Ms. Vendoa!" William practically yelled from inside his office. Katia shook her head as she reentered reality and proceeded to walk into his office. "What did you need to turn in to me?"

"Oh, just the completed files and a report," she said as she handed the paperwork to him. However, with the report, it was the same thing: no luck in tracking the assigned demon. Unknown to Lilliana, she was charged with the execution of her demon brother, Bastille Kilia, who was reported to be roaming the streets of London, keeping an eye out for his sister. Katia felt guilty about continuing with the assignment due to her love for Lilliana, but she had a job to do. Plus, they had to keep this a secret from her in fear she would break Reaper Law to protect him.

She was about to leave without another word, but he stopped her. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

"A favor?"

"I want you to read this file," he said as he presented her the file that he hid from Lilliana. Unlike her coworker, she was more obedient when it came to orders and took the file to read it. She noted the location and the names listed, but most importantly, the demon affiliations. "A simple soul gathering would be enough for me, but it's another thing to be involved with demons."

"Yeah, I agree," she said as she put the file back on his desk. "Is there any particular reason why you're showing this to me?"

"I'm afraid I would have to do field work since we are short-staffed, but this mission requires both an undercover investigation and possible recovery from multiple demons. I'm afraid that is beyond my skill. However, since you are capable of fighting off demons, I thought a possible partnership would be best."

"And you didn't ask Lilliana because . . . ?"

William pushed back his spectacles as he said, "I'm afraid she is too close to demons to be tasked with fighting against them. Besides, she has her other job to deal with and this would be too much for her."

"Right," she said before taking a deep breath. "All right, I'll help, but if I'm doing the demon hunting, does that mean you'll have to go undercover?"

"Unfortunately."

What will happen next? What is going to happen at this circus? How will the Reapers be involved? Reviews are appreciated.