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—

Saving Lucas did not benefit Sebastian in any way.

Sebastian could have just let the boy fall to his grisly end, yes, that would have been the most sensible thing for Sebastian to do.

Then there would be one less person taking up Ciel's time….

But Sebastian, for once, did the least sensible thing and caught Lucas safely in his arms before the small boy's body was dashed to pieces against the rocky cliff bottom.

Lucas looked up at Sebastian with wide eyes full of both horror and gratitude.

Sebastian gave Lucas a reassuring smile as he spoke, "Come, young master, we shall return to your parents quickly."

As Sebastian made his way back up the cliff with Lucas clutched tightly in his arms, Sebastian's smile faded.

How annoying.

Why had he gone to all this trouble?

Family.

In previous years, Sebastian had thought that being a butler was difficult, but family…...that was the truly difficult thing.

That was why Sebastian saved Lucas…..

Not for his own selfish end.

No, Sebastian saved Lucas so that Ciel wouldn't have to suffer the loss of her only son.

Sebastian saved Lucas so that his daughters wouldn't have to mourn their baby brother at such a tender age.

When Sebastian came into view holding Lucas in his arms, the grateful look on Ciel's, Charlotte's, and Isabel's faces made Sebastian beam with pride.

Sebastian saved Lucas because it was the best thing he could do for his family.

—

Moments before Sebastian emerged from the craggy cliffside, Ciel was still laying on Alois while Charlotte wept at his side and Hannah closed in to murder both of the women.

Charlotte couldn't see to defend herself and Ciel couldn't move or Alois would surely bleed to death…..

Ciel braced for the impact of Hannah's knife but instead, a splat of wetness fell on her shoulder.

Drip…...

Drip….

The bluenette dared to crack her eyes open.

Blood.

Not Ciel's blood…

Ciel turned her gaze upwards from where she was crouched on the ground and her eyes widened as she saw Claude standing over her, Charlotte, and Alois.

It looked as if Claude had run a large sword through Hannah's chest…...

"Hannah Annafellowz, I guess that's all you ever wanted to be, eh? A sheath for your fellow." Claude sneered as he pushed Hannah backwards while he withdrew his blade.

Ciel flinched when Hannah fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

The maid briefly locked eyes with Ciel in her last moments before she looked at Alois and lifted her hand.

Ciel watched as Hannah closed her fist around a handful of Alois's straw blonde locks.

It was there, with her fingers tangled in her beloved master's hair, that Hannah drew her last breath.

Ciel continued to lay across Alois while she swallowed hard and remarked to Claude, "You've actually done something useful for once, Claude."

Claude said nothing in reply, but Ciel could hear the very faint click of him adjusting his glasses.

Charlotte had been listening to every gasp and every word.

Isabel had been watching with watery eyes.

Both of the girls were speechless, but as Sebastian came walking up, smiles of joy began to dance on their lips.

The relief Ciel felt in her heart at seeing her little boy returned safely was indescribable.

Now Ciel just had to worry about her husband…..

While Claude worked to bandage Alois so that he could be safely transported home, Ciel looked over at Sebastian.

Ciel gave Sebastian a very firm pout and Sebastian recognized that as Ciel's way of thanking him.

In return, Sebastian replied with a smirk.

Ciel still held a silent grudge towards Sebastian, but he was finally at peace because he knew that even with the wrongs of the past, Ciel would now be forever grateful to him for saving Lucas.

—

Claude worked diligently and with Ciel's helpful cooperation, they were able to get Alois's bleeding under control.

The Trancy butler loaded his master into the carriage and once everyone was aboard, they began the ride home.

Charlotte, Isabel, Ciel, and Lucas all sat at Alois's beside while the blonde drifted in and out of consciousness once they arrived at Trancy manor.

A doctor was called and the Trancy family looked on anxiously while the physician closed Alois's wound with stitches.

Meanwhile, Sebastian left the manor and returned to the cliff to properly dispose of Hannah.

Digging graves was not one of Sebastian's favorite jobs, but, a butler that couldn't do that much wasn't worth his salt.

Once the hole was dug, Sebastian lifted Hannah with a frown and looked into her lifeless eyes as he asked with a sigh, "Why couldn't you have just followed the plan?"

Without another word, Sebastian laid Hannah in her grave and covered her body, filling in the deep pit.

Sebasian cleaned his gloves before he returned to the carriage and left the scene, hurrying back to Ciel's side.

Sebastian wasn't the one who had actually killed Hannah, that was fine, but there was one thing that deeply annoyed Sebastian…...

For once, Claude had actually performed well.

Sebastian supposed he could let that go just this once though, if at the end of the day, it meant that Ciel and his daughters were safe.

—

Hannah was gone.

Everyone knew the truth.

For awhile, life at Trancy manor was completely disrupted, but with time, things began to take on a new normal.

Lucas, although slightly traumatized, mourned Hannah and eventually moved on, glad that he was able to keep his sisters and parents.

Claude continued to be indifferent towards everyone and everything.

Sebastian stayed loyally at Ciel's side, and although the bluenette still refused to forgive him for abandoning her, Sebastian noticed that Ciel had softened towards him a little bit…

That made Sebastian smirk.

He was genuinely happy to see Ciel show even a shred of gratitude.

Alois healed from his wounds and was left with only a very thin, silvery scar across his chest and abdomen.

Earl Trancy's scar looked almost like a strand of a spider web.

Ciel enjoyed running her fingers over it when she and Alois made love, it reminded her just how close she had come to losing her husband….

Isabel and Charlotte, who had grown up so close to one another, handled their new world in different ways.

Charlotte's eyes eventually healed and her sight returned, although her irises remained a strange turquoise color.

The eldest twin was polite to Sebastian, but nothing more.

Sebastian remained aloof, trying to give Charlotte her space.

Isabel was quiet like always.

And though Sebastian could still read Ciel like a book, he wasn't sure how to interpret his youngest daughter's silence…..

Was Isabel angry?

Sad?

….Would Sebastian ever know?

—

Several months after the outing of the truth and the death of Hannah, Ciel lay in Alois's arms one chilly evening.

The bluenette sighed while the blonde kissed down her jawline, listening to the fire crackle soothingly in front of them.

"I love you, my darling Ciel~." Alois whispered, his breath tickling Ciel's ear while his hands swept over her slender body, encased in her nightshirt.

Ciel turned so their lips met and closed her eyes as she replied, "I love you too, Jim."

Louder.

Alois wanted Ciel to say that louder.

Alois giggled and pulled Ciel towards him possessively while they kissed, ready to take her into his arms.

Alois loved hearing Ciel say his real name.

But, Alois loved hearing Ciel scream his real name even more~.

—

While Alois began the task of turning Ciel into a whimpering, pleasured mess, across the manor, Sebastian was working in his office.

Sebastian felt that someone was staring at him, although he heard no footsteps signaling an approach.

Sebastian looked up and blinked in surprise when he saw Isabel standing in the doorway.

What should he say?

Isabel told him not to call her anything…

"...Good evening." Sebastian said after a lengthy silence.

"Hello." Isabel replied with a shy nod.

Sebastian waited on her to speak, but the youngest twin said nothing else.

Sebastian noticed that in her arms, Isabel held a book.

"May I…help you?" Sebastian asked.

"Maybe so…I have some…arithmetic problems." Isabel explained.

"I see." Sebastian said very quietly, as if he spoke too loudly, he may scare his timid daughter away. "Well….I'd be honored to help you."

Sebastian gestured for Isabel to sit across from him.

Slowly, cautiously, Isabel walked over and took a seat in the chair.

Sebastian spent the next couple of hours with Isabel, working through each problem that she hadn't understood during Claude's lesson that afternoon.

Sebastian and Isabel began to chat and they actually found themselves having a good time.

It was when they laughed over a joke that Isabel clammed up suddenly and frowned.

"What's the matter?" Sebastian asked, blinking in confusion.

Isabel pouted at Sebastian and looked away. "I…...I already have a father."

Those words hurt Sebastian more than Isabel would ever know, but they were true.

Sebastian had willingly abandoned Ciel, offered her to Alois or anyone else on a silver platter, and Sebastian blamed no one but himself now.

"I understand." Sebastian nodded.

Isabel frowned.

Sebastian dared to quietly make a suggestion, "Perhaps, though, since you already have a father, you could use a friend?"

Isabel blinked quizzically at Sebastian.

A friend?

A….friend, yes.

Alois would always be her and Charlotte's daddy, but…..maybe they didn't have to shut Sebastian out completely.

"Perhaps." Isabel nodded at Sebastian.

A moment later, Isabel and Sebastian resumed their laughter.

Outside Sebastian's study, Charlotte had her ear pressed against the wall, listening in, waiting to see if it was safe or not.

Charlotte would accept no one but Alois as her father, of course not.

However, Isabel had been quite intrigued with getting to know Sebastian and…..

Charlotte smiled.

A friend.

Yes, Sebastian as a friend wouldn't be bad at all.

Maybe they could all live together in peace with Hannah gone.

Alois and Ciel…...

Their son Lucas…...

Sebastian, Ciel's servant and former lover….

Charlotte and Isabel, twins fathered by Ciel's butler and adopted by her husband…..

….And Claude, who didn't care about any of it.

They were all just one large, weird family.

But they were all happy and that was all that mattered.