The Crimson Music Hall

Ever since Julia got into society, she was a very busy woman.

Juggling society, fiancee and his family and work.

That, and show the Queen the results of her work in sniffing out 'Society Undesirables'.

Because she was a Pro-Children Vigilante raising very educated and healthy children with a new set of morals in the hopes that future children won't be like them anymore, knowing how to be good parents to children while living a good life. They were all healthy, beautiful teenagers.

And, as East End, a once filthy smelly slums-at least, her territory was clean, has organized various habitable apartments each for a single person to a family of four with a living room, bedroom, toilet and kitchen that ensures everything drains properly and since she took ideas from Asia, built Communal, Gender-Segregated Bathhouses that ensures A LOT of Privacy for Commoners. A Penny for a bath, which is cheap, and if you've got no soap, they sell soap for a Penny too.

There's also a school built. One for General Education and another that's still not done yet, for Vocational Training.

The Queen had no idea the Oriental Quarter led by Lau who was Ciel's informant in Asia, has such knowledge. Then again, he's a Merchant who goes around to sell his products, be it food or services and goes around countries to learn something new that the Brain used for housing construction, as well as other things.

Her area of Slums however, was only for her graduates' use and children under her care, their family included. The improvements in structure, was thanks to the fortune she filched off the Aurora Society, taking advantage of the ruckus while gambling with her own life as the ship sank because of an Iceberg, carrying the heavy fortune on her back, considering she supports 700 kids until graduation day. Before that, her gang was a group of thieves!

And all her graduates already have jobs. Well-paying jobs that ensure at least, 100 pounds per individual and the most minimum pay simply because of gender-bias, was 80 pounds per year that if they marry, they could support a family of four in humble comfort. Their pay was THAT good simply for being educated.

Her buildings are very safe, secure, and in good taste of pastel color combinations, and legally done by-the-book. Properties purchased just so they can wreck what's on it just to build a better building. Its bigger and spacious and due to dresses, no danger of tripping and falling down unless you're THAT much of an idiot.

However, her graduates and children...are violent fighters as she says because better getting away injured than quickly captured and sold off. But as they have no fighting teachers, they had to learn 'bar room brawling', teamwork and do a lot of dirty tricks to win and stay free.

The Queen and her Butlers who went visiting the slums, caused quite a ruckus that the media had to follow just to know WHY.

And a part of East End that they never thought was possible, existed as well as the people living in it looked way better off than actual London Citizens. It was like a new world and culture to them.

Cleaner, better dressed, more cultured. The apartments are gorgeous but sadly, 'all occupied'.

The weird thing? The adults look like a typical Londoner, haggard from exhaustion and stress from jobs while the kids to teens are perfectly healthy. At least the adults are better dressed instead of wearing rags like any typical poor.

Well to be fair, families had their children work for Julia who pays them 20 shillings a week...basically a pound a week and four pounds a month which means in a year, children working for 'an unusual philanthropist organization' earns their families 48 pounds a year, making them the main breadwinner...and that's including free education and free food. Their parents were just starting to recover from malnutrition while the kids who get free food with full stomachs at school and work were naturally better off than their parents.

However, the only children welcome here, are orphans rescued off the streets, terrible working conditions and the workhouses. The only reason they made exceptions for families on East End was out of 'bizarre politics', making Richard repeat what Julia had every orphan know.

As predicted by the Queen, Julia's harsh words through her 'front face' set fire to society.

What started their hatred, was the Orphanage and the police after all that they all swore to be 'different'. Now that it went public, the Police now had media hounds on them as well as the government having an excuse to check on Orphanages just to see if they were doing their jobs right and if children under their care treated well through funds given to them instead of being 'another St. Mary's Orphanage' and seeing what Workhouse Life is actually like despite 'pretty words told to the naive media' who didn't look 'underneath the underneath' that Julia fought for children, intending to create what she called 'ripple effect'. So by setting example, future adults would be 'better human beings with actual humanity' than the previous generation.

Julia and her gang long dead by then but at least they left successors to their wills and their dreams realized most likely two-three centuries later that their country would be kinder to children and a better world made...through a mountain of corpses; that is, the corpses of generations of predecessors and successors who would keep fighting to spread their beliefs through marriage by finding decent people to marry, and teach them proper parenting and giving happy home lives to and for each other.

Julia was a dreamer, but a ruthless one the Queen could look the other way on since she has great impact on society...in the shadows.

The Queen was able to have many things changed that enabled her to be known as the 'Trendsetter'.

Now, if only the other was just as impactful...

xxx

Around winter...

'Hey Julia,' said Redmond, approaching her. 'There's these people Phantomhive's Butler left behind for education.'

'Huh?'

'Here they are.' said Bluer, letting in a man dressed like a Butler and a little girl.

'Guten tag, fraulein.' the man greeted. 'Ich bin Wolfram Geltzer und das ist meine dame Sieglinde Sullivan.' he curtsied.

'Ah, Deutsche.' Julia mused. 'They must be under National Security if li'l puppy dropped them off here...' she then coughed. 'Du bist hier unter Freunden. Ich werde nicht fragen, wie Sie in Earl Phantomhive involviert sind, aber was benötigen sie?'

'Englisch und richtige Erziehung eines Butlers und Adels.'

'Sehr gut. Ich bin ein strenger erzieher Herr Geltzer.' said Julia. 'Ich werde den jungen Fräulein über die guten manieren einer Britischen Lady persönlich aufklären und es rechtzeitig für ihr soziales debüt schaffen. Diese Jungs werden dir beibringen, wie man ein richtiger Britischer Diener. Zuerst werden diese jungs ihnen zeigen, wie dieser ort funktioniert, bevor sie ihnen während ihres aufenthalts ihre zimmer zeigen. Ich gebe Ihnen Ihren Zeitplan zum Abendessen.'

'Ich bin Edgar Redmond.' said Redmond, hand on his chest with a slight bow, a gesture copied by the P4.

'Ich bin Lawrence Bluer.'

'Ich bin Herman Greenhill.'

'Ich bin Gregory Violet.'

'Schön dich kennenzulernen!' Sieglinde chimed. 'Ich hoffe wir verstehen uns!'

When the P4 and guests are gone...

'Well, that went well.' Julia sighed. 'I can't wait for them to speak English...German is so stiff...'

'Well,' Julia and Richard got startled when Sebastian appeared by the windows. 'I hope they make it on time for meeting her majesty.'

'Appear like a normal person!- says Goethe.' Richard gasped out.

'Timeline so I can cheat my way somehow?' Julia asked him while twitching.

'You have a week as the master wishes.' said Sebastian as Julia did the impression of 'the scream'.

'A WEEK?! He's asking for the impossible even if I can cheat, that unreasonable midgeeeet!'

Sebastian snickered.

'Well, Miss Sullivan can speak English, the Butler can't...and her manners are atrocious that needs fine-tuning...she's a National Security Brain and details regarding her has to be classified due to the nature of what we put up with in Germany. All I ask is you simply do your job.'

Thus, Julia has the job of personally tutoring Sieglinde in manners in proper language, etiquette, manners for formal events using magic to drill it in permanently in her memory while teaching her what to expect.

A week later, Phantomhive Manor...

'Well, she's well-educated now.' said Julia as Sebastian took their guests away. 'I managed to squeeze stuff in despite my unreasonable timeline...' she said with a dark smile of annoyance oozing out of her.

'You can do it in a week if its you.' said Ciel while fixing his papers into a neat stack. 'Because the Queen wants to see her as soon as possible. I managed to buy you a couple days as her manners are atrocious but I can't put it off any longer.' he sighed.

'Even if I want to I can't ask.' Julia sighed. 'I also have my sights on some potential irritant in London through my informants, Can't leave it for long.'

'Surface or Under?'

'Under.' said Julia meaningfully in a grim stare. 'Because all things have to have a catch, right? Depending on how I see it and possibly tell uncle about it, the Queen might make you deal with it but until then...standby.'

xxx

Gray received a letter from his niece. He read it quietly before reading it aloud.

Good day, Uncle.

You know that new Music Hall that opened, Sphere Music Hall?

Everything about it, is strange. It opened recently and their debut
was just as flashy. Everyone from all and I do mean all walks of life
is welcome. Society Rules don't matter that people can be themselves
in there and ahem, let their hair down and relax. Not to mention, free
food with lots of meat made by skilled chefs and loads of expensive
drinks...just free for the taking. Everyone's happy and carefree.

Even I would be charmed by it.
But there's some red flags.

Why, after undergoing blood fortune-telling, are they all given bracelets
in accordance to the name of four stars? Sirius, Canopus, Vega and Polaris.
Bracelets in question are pure silver, going to sell a pretty penny but even
the poor would not part with it to the nearest pawnshop. Probably out of
fear that without it, they can't get free food anymore.

I went to one as soon as Violet and Bluer got wind of it and forbade my
kids from going until I'm sure its safe. The parties are picture-perfect too.
Hell, even I got 'classified'! What am I, an animal?! I'm Sirius by the way,
and a rare star...hmph.

When the party is about to end, a so-called 'Carol' is performed by a
quartet of four handsome young men...but its no Christmas Carol, its a
very lively, catchy performance you can't help but sing and dance along.
Even the nobles get into the dance.

Its the second night now and when I went to a tavern, I asked around.
Some prostitutes talked about it...apparently, if you have these classy
membership bracelets, you're welcome to a Closed Room Event held
on specific days of the week. Polaris takes place on Mondays and
Wednesdays, Vega on Tuesdays, Canopus on Thursdays and Sirius on
Fridays.

So...why is it that on week one alone, peculiar corpses are found?
Corpses so bizarre even the Yard had no idea how to document their
Cause of Death. They described it as 'works of art' because they've
got beautiful, unmarred pale skin and as if they're just sleeping
like Princess Snow White. They all have these VIP Bracelets. The
first two corpses was that of a Shoeworker's Assistant and a Laborer.
If this is anything like the Aurora again, I'll enjoy myself so I can
build a factory next to open up jobs. For now, the yard has it hush
-hush but what if a noble dies, eh?

Kisses,

J.

P.S- should I go to the Friday Event?

Phipps, Brown and the Queen mentally counted three seconds before Gray exploded.

'HELL NOOO!' Gray freaked out, crumpling and tearing the letter apart.

'That's interesting.' said Phipps.

'Interesting?! More like, shady!' Gray scowled as he stomped on the remains of the shredded letter. 'If she ends up like Snow White, I don't know what I'd do!'

'You know what to do boys.' Queen Victoria spoke, deeply interested. 'Investigate who's invested in this event. Marielle has done well.'

'Yes, your majesty.' her three butlers answered.

xxx

It took over a month, before Sebastian dropped by East End with a job for Julia and the Prefects...and their former fags.

Phantomhive Estate...

'OK, why're we all here?' Cheslock asked Ciel.

'The Sphere Music Hall has become a dangerous sensation that threatens London's security.' Ciel told them grimly. 'Have you ever heard that 'nothing is ever free'?'

'Everyone knows that...' said Julia.

'Indeed. To those who doesn't know...' Ciel elaborated on about the hall that Julia already knows about. 'So your task is this...WE will take away their customers, effectively saving their lives by being more charming, while Sebastian and I will get to the heart of the matter.' he said. 'Julia, I want you to make healthy recipes that will encourage blood restoration to cure the people off their anemia.'

'What's going on?' Soma asked, clueless.

'The Sphere Hall is a front for Blood-Letting.' said Ciel. 'On so-called Closed-Door Events, participants are drugged to sleep and their blood is drained without them knowing.' he told them grimly. 'However, too much and you die from Multiple Organ Failure from severe blood loss. The end result was so-called beautiful corpses that look like dolls.' the teenagers choked at this.

'In two weeks' time, all of you will become pop idols AND musicians!' Ciel barked. 'You will sing and dance while we handle everything else but we'll do something a little different.' he smirked. 'One less fan means one less corpse.'

He then laid out his plan.

All of them must have 'unique character personalities' to appeal to the public.

But with Edward being the bad boy...

'Er Ciel, there's one problem with that.' Julia twitched. 'The Dragon Lady.'

'Dragon Lady?' Harcourt blinked.

'She means my mother.' Edward sighed. Julia, according to Greenhill, originally saw him as fiancee material but she's terrified of his mother that as soon as she heard his last name, she quickly looked elsewhere!

'If she's not informed of his job in this operation and sees him in bad boy outfits, she'll come on stage, barge her way in and drag him home, causing a scandal!' Julia deadpanned.

'Right, I'll have to pen that letter too.' Ciel face-palmed. 'I can see that happening.' he sighed in a huff. 'Your job is to study Blood Transfusion with Sieglinde after creating healthy recipes great for helping the fans recover from blood loss. We need your brains working together.'