[CONTENTID1]As A Gentleman, He Obliges[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Backstreet Boys - Shape of My Heart

[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]From the start, the ride was clouded with both a silent and awkward atmosphere. Edward was looking out of the carriage window, clearly uncomfortable. Ciel, on the other hand, looked out of the other window as clusters of people passed by while Lady Harrietson was sitting proper on the opposite side of the two men, but from time to time, she as well looks out of the window with a smile as she saw glimpses of things that interested her. The two guards who were in charge of the carriage were silent, with Earl Grey absentmindedly staring straight with both hands behind his head as Sir Phipps had on his usual poker face expression, holding the reins.

After a fair amount of silence, Ciel, growing irritated, scowled. He didn’t mind the silence at all, in fact, he enjoys silence, especially since his mansion is always filled with noisy servants and loud explosions every day. It was just that this kind of awkward silence was getting on his nerves.

Smirking as he remembered Edward and Lady Harrietson’s first encounter, Ciel spoke up. “Something just occurred to me, why are both of you so quiet? Are you not curious about each other, especially since you will both be living in the same house for a while?”

“L-Living in the same house?” Edward stuttered with flushed cheeks. “Don’t say it so shamefully!”

“It is true though,” Ciel sighed as he crossed his arms, “and here I thought you were a gentleman who would not forsake a woman. As your cousin, I am disappointed in you, Edward.” Ciel eyed the man beside him, his own expression looking hurt.

“Both of you really get along well, do you not?” The lady chuckled. “But Earl Phantomhive, as much as I see your argument, slowly getting to know someone is not as bad as it seems as well. Right, Lord Midford?”

“Right,” Edward responded with a sigh, feeling defeated when the mission itself has not even started yet.

“Hmph, I could not care less,” Ciel replied as he went back to eyeing the townspeople outside the carriage window.

The carriage took a turn into an alleyway and once it got out of the tight path, the sun shone magnificently, making them squint to varying degrees to fend off the light. Once the carriage finally pulled into a stop, the two white clad soldiers got off first, with Phipps opening the door for the three inside.

The area in itself was quite serene. There were barely any visible sounds except for the swaying of the trees along with the slight tender chirpings of the birds. One might even think that they were nowhere near London, for that matter. And there, standing in front of them, was an imposing edifice. It did not look as grand as the Phantomhive manor nor that of the Midford estate, but it was still quite grand to an ordinary onlooker.

“What is this place?” Edward broke the silence as he carefully took in his surroundings.

“You could say a vacation house, Lord Midford,” Sir Phipps spoke.

Earl Grey whistled, “Quite grand for a vacation home, might I add.”

“This will be where you both will be staying for the duration of this mission, Edward and Lady Harrietson,” Ciel explained. “I would assume that a place like this would be less susceptible to infiltrations and–”

“Gah––!”

A cry of pain echoed nearby, making the two soldiers prepare themselves into a fighting stance with their hands ready to take out their swords. Ciel just sighed, while Lady Harrietson was surprised.

“Ugh––!” Another shriek followed.

“What was that?!” Edward asked, startled.

“You’re late,” Ciel eyed the figure who was getting closer until it revealed the black clad butler they saw not too long ago before they left the Phantomhive manor, “Sebastian.”

“My apologies, young master,” he replied has he placed a hand on his chest with a devious smile, “but it would seem that I had to take care of some business on the way.”

“And what kind of business?” Edward raised an eyebrow, concern evident on his face. “It awfully sounded like someone was–”

A sudden small glint of light flickered