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eclipsetickles · 20 days ago

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Y'ALL THIS IS MY FIRST COLLAB AND ABSOLUTE FAVORITE THING I'VE WRITTEN IN A LONG TIME. 😭❤️ Show this fic and @mcflerry some love (especially if you've been craving Lee! Sebastian like we have LMAO)

Truly Unorthodox Tutoring Tactics

Collab Fic with @eclipsetickles

Words: 5060

Rating: Mild

Content: Tickling, Pinning down/Restraining, Sebastian is a bitch who gets what's coming to him, protective dad Wolfram, takes place between Chapters 107 & 108, "Bold dialogue" indicates speaking in German

Summary: For the whole week leading up to the night before Sieglinde's meeting with Queen Victoria, Sebastian has been far more ruthless than necessary to the poor girl when teaching her ladylike behavior and table manners. Wolfram decides that it's time for the Phantomhive butler to learn a few manners of his own. (Lee!Sebastian, Ler!Wolfram)

Author's Note(s): Thanks again to @eclipsetickles for collaborating with me to write this gem, I had an absolute blast writing this with you 😭💜 (sorry it took so long for me to post it, I was waiting until Chapter 107 was animated in the anime so more people would be able to properly understand the context of this fic.)

The grandfather clock struck half past nine, its chimes resounding through the ornately decorated halls of the Phantomhive Estate. Within the manor sat Sieglinde at the table, not just for tea but rather another etiquette lesson from Sebastian. She puffed her cheeks out in annoyance at the criticism he had been receiving from the butler as she slouched over the table. She couldn't help but notice the critiquing look from Sebastian who stood just a short distance away, but she couldn't figure out exactly why she was getting such a look.

Wolfram stood only slightly further away from the lesson, but still close enough to be able to observe the two. His young lady’s safety and wellbeing were his greatest priority, after all. He watched as Sebastian pursed his lips as he furrowed his brow at the young German girl. “First of all, such a disorganized posture is unfit for one who’s to be expected by the Queen of England.” Wolfram’s own brow arched downward. How could his lady be sitting straight and stiff as a board when he’s been doing this to her for hours? The poor girl’s back must be killing her!

Sieglinde proceeded to try and sit up straighter, shifting her gaze to Wolfram as if she were hoping that he would speak up and make this lesson end. She had memorized the order to use her utensils, and attempted to eat her meals in a ladylike manner, yet even something simple as not sitting rigid meant failure. The worst part? She was to meet the Queen tomorrow, and it felt as if she would never be able to attend because everything she did seemed to garner disapproval.

Shaking her head she reached out to take a small sip from her teacup, only to jitter anxiously and spill a few drops on the table. Sebastian leant down to her upon seeing this, letting out a sigh. “My lady, how are you going to meet Her Majesty if you make messes of the smallest actions?” he dabbed at the stain on the tablecloth with a napkin, and Sieglinde set down her cup on the saucer, rather embarrassed.

“My apologies…” she said rather feebly, clenching her hands as if fearing another smack from that damned cane against her palms. Wolfram wanted to say something. As Ciel’s butler, Sebastian was ordered to teach the young lady whatever behavior and etiquette was required for a tea party with royalty. As her butler, Wolfram was meant to step in when she was in distress. Yet, every single attempt to voice his concerns about these lessons was brushed off rather rudely by Sebastian.

To say it got under Wolfram’s skin would be putting it mildly.

Across the table, Ciel proceeded to dig into his cheesecake, delicately slicing off a piece with the edge of his fork and eating the sliver of cake. Sieglinde watched almost studiously, taking note of every movement he made. With a newfound ambition, she lifted her fork and took a small bite, eyes lighting up with joy at the taste of the cake, and took another bite, then quickly another, immediately freezing upon hearing the cane smack against Sebastian's hands behind her.

“Aah?!” She yelled out as she jumped at the sudden sound, the fork slipping out of her grasp and onto the floor, the metal implement loudly clattering as it descended. Sieglinde bent down to grab it, only for the cane to come down on her wrist, making her yelp again, only a lot louder.

“My lady!” Wolfram called out, immediately rushing over. He didn’t care about whether he was going to get shut down yet again. His lady was more important.

“Wolfram. If I may say, you should allow your lady to fully immerse with the training. Time is running short and there is nothing more disgraceful than presenting poorly to the queen.” Sebastian raised an eyebrow, eyeing Wolfram in an almost annoyed fashion with a small huff. While he understood the reaction of running to their master's defense, this simply wouldn't do.

“She has been fully immersed! She’s been doing well!” The German butler insisted. In some way, he wasn’t wrong; Sieglinde had been doing rather well up until this point. She’d come quite a long way from the little messy eater she had been a week ago. And they had Lady Elizabeth to thank for that. “The only reason why she is slouching is because she is fired!”

Ciel looked over. “I assume what you mean is ‘tired’,” he offered flatly.

“Yes, that!” he replied, not taking his gaze off Sebastian.

With one graceful movement, the cheesecake in front of Sieglinde was gone as Sebastian removed it as if he wished to defy what Wolfram was saying, leaving a pouting Sieglinde at the table. Wolfram's heart broke into a million pieces at the sight. Sure she had successfully had more dessert this time, but it still wasn't fair at all. Ciel merely shrugged as he watched it happen, a little too used to Sebastian's unconventional training from his own experience.

“Simply being a little tired is no excuse for such ungraceful and disorganized consumption of desserts,” Sebastian ranted, his tone of voice a lot sharper. “If Miss Sullivan truly were tired at this moment, why would she have eaten a cake with such an unruly energy and pace that’s rather unsuitable for a young lady?” He scoffed and shook his head, picking up the fallen fork from the floor as he stared at the cake remnants that clung to its prongs. “Honestly, I’ve had far more success teaching a couple of street rats to read a few sentences. I’d find it amusing if it weren’t so pitiful…”

It was spoken under his breath, but it did not go unheard by Sieglinde, who looked down in complete and utter shame, as if she wanted to disappear on the spot.

Wolfram’s eyes widened, clearly just as shocked that someone would even dare to utter such a thing about the poor girl. The astonishment was quickly replaced by fury, however, and he clenched his fist and snarled. “You damn little–!”

Sebastian’s eyes widened slightly, putting a single gloved hand to his chin as if he were confused about the intensity of Wolfram's reaction. He set down the cake by the entrance to the kitchen, clearing his throat as if to dispel the tension in the room. “Wolfram, why don't we go discuss somewhere more private, away from the ears of our masters?” Sebastian smiled in a way that could only be seen as innocently devillish, heading for the corridor. “I suggest the guest room just down the hall may suffice.”

It took Wolfram an unsettlingly long time to offer a reply, a deep scowl practically engraved in his features. Sebastian’s smile remained, his eyes shut tight. It was partially to add onto the sweet innocent facade, but if his eyes had been open they would’ve clearly betrayed the unease he was currently feeling. The type of unease that felt like… maybe, perhaps, he’d dug his own grave.

“...Ja,” Wolfram replied, and in a flash he grabbed the butler by the wrist and stormed out of the dining hall. Sebastian nearly cried out in shock at how strong his grip was, for a mere human at that. But he offered no other protest as he was led out.

Sieglinde stared rather awkwardly at the swift change of events, but breathed a sigh of relief that the lesson was put on hold. Ciel, who also had looked surprised by Wolfram’s determination (if only for a moment) called out, “You’re going the wrong direction.”

The German butler didn’t even offer a reply as he turned around and went the other direction, down the hallway.

The butler couldn't help but smirk as they changed directions, feeling quite like the winner already, even knowing full well there was nothing to compete over.

“Should be right here!” Sebastian's self assured smirk widened as he opened the hand carved door with his one free hand, eye twitching as he felt Wolfram's grip tighten. Surely the man's strength was nothing he couldn't handle, but it provided a sense of unease as he wondered if he was justified being that hard on both Wolfram and Sieglinde. Surely the manners of a nobleman living in the great city of London and a witch in the isolated German countryside would have different customs, but place of origin shouldn't matter when preparing to meet the most powerful monarch in London. The meeting would have to go perfectly, or there may be unforeseen consequences for his young lord.

Wolfram only huffed through his nostrils, the gesture accompanied by the low growling he let out only further fueled the wolf-like comparisons that Sebastian constantly made in his mind whenever he laid eyes upon this man. He was impressed that this one individual—who had been posing as a witch’s butler—could pull off a better wolf performance than an entire group of men who were casted to play the werewolves themselves. Though, now likely wasn’t the time for any compliments, as he knew it wouldn’t save him from whatever Wolfram was planning at this moment.

What caught him especially off-guard is how Wolfram shut the door rather quietly, instead of slamming it behind him full-force like Sebastian had anticipated he would, with how roughly he had been dragged to the room.

“I suppose you do have a bit of grace.” Sebastian laughed to himself quietly, attempting to remain confident despite the creeping unease from the tension washing over him. “Now, I know you think your lady is doing just fine, but as a butler you should understand that fine simply isn't good enough for raising a proper young lady. Any butler who doesn't know that much isn't worth his salt," Sebastian explained, only tempting fate all the more. Wolfram gave him a vicious, silent look, gritting his teeth at being talked down to.

“I know that my methods seem rather harsh to you, but it’s only because you aren’t yet familiar with our customs. If we constantly spoiled our masters every step of the way, they would surely never grow to be what society expects of them—” He was grabbed by the shoulders and guided towards the bed.

“You, other butler, should understand,” Wolfram spoke firmly, the fire in his eyes clashing with yet complimenting the cold expression and tone of voice he used, “that putting down other servants’ masters is both rude and discourteous behavior. Not just as a teacher, but as a butler.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t even get a syllable out before Wolfram continued. “If we only put our masters down with every error they made, and never offered even a single word of positive encouragement or comfort, they wouldn’t be fueled with the motivation to keep trying, wouldn’t they?” He looked Sebastian dead in the eye and added, “It seems that you of all butlers don’t know that, though. Therefore, as your fellow butler, I shall seek to have that corrected as fast as possible.”

Sebastian frowned deeply, assessing what he had said, and while he was right in a way, Sebastian knew that harsh teaching was the only method he personally knew and it always worked out for him just fine. Perhaps he lacked that compassionate logic that humans had. Just as he was about to reply, he was cut off by the feeling of a strong force pushing him off his feet before he could even react. This isn't good… thought the butler who found himself with his back pressed into the bed of the guest room. "Now, Mr. Wolfram, let's not get too upset, how about we talk this out further like proper servants-”

“Words alone won’t teach you anything,” Wolfram only replied, pinning both the butler’s wrists above his head with one hand. “I thought you of all people would already know that, given you have that cane ready at every second. However, I won’t be needing any implements for this.”

“And what is… ‘this’, exactly?” Sebastian inquired. He wasn’t exactly scared per say, given that he’s been through and survived many things that would have a human dead within five seconds. He wanted to say that he’s been through worse, but he realized that wasn’t an appropriate statement to make. He couldn’t compare what was about to happen to him right now to all those previous happenings because he didn’t know what Wolfram was about to do to him.

Until, of course, he did it.

A strange sensation hit Sebastian, not quite pain but not quite comfortable. Rather, almost itchy. Nervous amber eyes met golden as Sebastian realized what he was feeling.

Oh...

“Mr. Wolfram p-please! I can assuhure you this won't help!!” Sebastian pleaded, not wanting to admit defeat, but being equally as worried about the punishment he was about to receive. Not one human in his entire lifespan had ever been brave (or foolish) enough to try tickling a demon, which meant that Sebastian never knew just how sensitive he was to such a feeling.

“Maybe it won’t, but I believe it’s still worth a shot,” Wolfram replied with a grin. He had already started his little plan by scratching his fingers into the pits of Sebastian’s arms. “Even if this fails, it’s very much worth seeing you finally be taken down a peg.” Those large fingers went from scratching to outright digging into the exposed armpits, the black cloth of the butler’s suit doing very little to protect him from the sensations. Within seconds, Sebastian’s eyes bulged as he began laughing and wriggling like a worm on a hook, trying to pry himself out from under the larger man. Every now and then he’d switch to either his sides or his ribs just to keep poor Sebastian guessing, his large fingers not stopping for even a millisecond.

“T-This is unorthodohohohox!” he managed. “C-Cease this at once, I tell you!”

Wolfram only seemed to let the protests coming from Sebastian encourage him, as he continued to scribble away under the smaller's arms, driving Sebastian absolutely MAD. The young lord would be displeased if he were to accidentally injure the other butler in an attempt to escape so he had no other choice but to try and hold out until Wolfram was quite finished. What came from the aforementioned butler's lips immediately after wasn't a good sign however.

“So, shall we commence your training? How about this? You protest to me in German, and I will stop tickling you.”

“Wh-” Sebastian would’ve gone dead silent at that moment if he wasn’t laughing like a complete buffoon, but the other butler’s fingers went from his armpits to his ribs, then from his ribs to his sides, then they went straight to his belly and his waist, constantly switching from area to area at lightning speed. “I am not doing thahahahahat!” he replied bluntly. “Stohohop this ‘trahahaining’ at once!”

“Suit yourself, butler.” Wolfram went from using one hand to using both hands to completely ravage the butler’s midsection, clawing at the sensitive pressure points that got the butler to squeak like a mouse ensnared in a trap.

While Wolfram was enjoying taking Sebastian down a notch, Sebastian couldn't say he was feeling the same way. That is, not out loud at least. He had to admit this was much easier to handle than some of the basic tasks he performed as butler to the Queen's guard dog, but there was no way in hell that he would ever give Wolfram any indication of that. What an undignified situation he had gotten himself into. The squirming butler could only hope that the walls in the manor were relatively soundproof, because he couldn't imagine others knowing he was being brought to his knees by something as silly as tickling.

“HEHEHERR WOHOHOLFRAHAM!!” he protested aloud, only able to force out those two words amidst all the bubbly laughter.

“Go on, Sebastian, just say what is it you want me to do and perhaps I’ll consider stopping,” Wolfram’s hands somehow managed to slip underneath the butler’s shirt, attacking the vulnerable flesh that was concealed behind it. His movements slowed down a bit at this point, but they did not cease completely.

“S-Stop this at once!” he demanded, trying and failing to sound angry through the giggles.

“Apologize first.”

“I have nothing to apologize for!” Sebastian defended. “My actions were completely necessary for the improvement of Lady Sullivan!”

Wolfram rolled the other butler’s shirt up. “Fine, have it your way then. I’m willing to keep this up all night if I have to.” Wolfram’s hands went straight to both of the butler’s underarms, scribbling at both the sensitive pits. Meanwhile, his mouth went straight to Sebastian’s belly, his sharp canines lightly scraping against the exposed flesh.

The mention of the ticklish onslaught persisting longer than expected, accompanied by the gentle but horribly ticklish scraping against his belly, Sebastian struggled to remember German sentence structure to even hope to string together a coherent sentence. “Plehehehease-!” Sebastian pleaded, knowing very well that was only the first word in the sentence that Wolfram wanted to hear. Try as he may, his words were drowned out and stopped short by the sound of his laughter. When Wolfram removed his hands and withdrew his mouth, Sebastian took his chance and attempted to speak as clearly as possible. “Please, just—” he tried only for his words to melt into a fit of giggles as Wolfram used an index finger to slowly and softly trace his trace midriff, circling dangerously close to his navel. “...D-Don’t even think about it.” It was phrased like a threat, but any threatening tone there may have been was ruined by his giggly stuttering.

Wolfram locked eyes with the ravenette, his gaze ironically looking far more devilish than the demon butler looked at this moment. “Are you ready to make up for your wrongdoings, butler?”

The Phantomhive butler huffed, trying and failing to wipe the twitchy grin off his mug. “I was merely following my master’s order!”

“Your master only asked you to teach my lady. He didn't tell you to he cruel to her, you decided to be that way. In other words, you're responsible for using the methods you personally saw fit, not him,” Wolfram replied firmly. Sebastian opened his mouth to speak… then paused. As much as he hated to admit it, the other butler did have a point. “Now I suggest you make the right choice now or else you’ll suffer dire consequences…” Wolfram trailed off, his finger slowing to a stop.

Sebastian only glared and gritted his teeth. Just why was this irresponsible buffoon so insistent on coddling his own young lady? If Sebastian had coddled his own master every step of the way, he surely wouldn’t be the strong and responsible earl he was today. “I do not regret doing what was necessary to shape Lady Sullivan into a proper young lady.”

Wolfram huffed. “Fine. If you’re going to die on that hill, you might as well die of laughter.”

The demon’s eyes bulged. “Wai-” Sebastian’s cackling soon resumed like it had never stopped as Wolfram’s finger plunged right into his navel, wiggling and prodding inside the space. “No! Nohohoho! Plehehease no mohohohore!”

Wolfram looked almost impressed at Sebastian's laugh reaching a new octave, which was a rather uncharacteristic sound. Never in a million years would he have guessed that the odd, perfectionist, and ever blunt butler was capable of even forming a real smile, much less anything like this. “Settle down, Mr. Sebastian, you’re making far too much noise… we cannot have Ciel and the young lady see you in such a state, after all.” He tilted his head in mock thought. “Perhaps we should put one of those mouth contraptions of yours to good use...”

“A-Absolutely not!” Sebastian spat back through his laughter. “T-Those are only for improhohoving your pronunciaaahahaha-!”

“Well, it seems to me like you’re struggling with pronunciations yourself. I can barely understand a word you’re saying,” Wolfram replied rather casually as his fingers continued kneading and scribbling against the butler’s tummy and sides.

"Why you-" Sebastian screamed out, his hands trying and failing to push the other butler off him. Damn you for being so heavy, he wanted to say, but knew that if he’d dug himself any deeper than he already was, he’d be back in Hell. “P-Please! Plehehehease!”

“In German, please.”

“Plehehehehease!” Sebastian begged once more.

“Please what?” Wolfram asked.

“Plehehehease stohohohop! Mehehercy!”

“Hm… not bad.”

The German butler promptly ceased his ministrations, taking his hands off the demon’s midsection. Sebastian took the time to compose himself, breathing a sigh of relief. Thank Lucifer.

“Now go on. Apologize for what you’ve done.”

…Damn it. This man surely is persistent. Sebastian sighed. “I already told you, those etiquette lessons were necessary for Miss Sullivan’s tea party with Her Majesty. It’s unfortunate she felt hurt by the methods, but I don’t regret doing what’s best for her.”

Wolfram’s brow furrowed, but his smile also widened. “...Hmph. Still stubborn? Very well.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened when he felt those large hands ensnare one of his ankles. “Wh-” he went rigid as Wolfram carefully but hastily removed his dress shoe from his foot. “W-Wait just a second—”

He couldn't quite tell why, but anticipation hit him like a train because though he wasn't sure exactly what level of reaction he would have from this new spot, a gut feeling was telling him that he would be near screaming. Not very gentlemanly at all (not that it mattered anymore. His dignity had already taken a swan dive out the window).

In near desperate attempts to get his foot back from the larger butler, Sebastian pulled and twisted however he thought would work but to no avail. “I'm begging you to reconsider!!”

“I’ll only reconsider if you simply say you’re sorry for being mean to my lady,” Wolfram replied, those large fingers of his hovering over the butler’s sock-clad foot. “And say it clearly and sincerely.” His lips turned into a cheeky grin, as he ran one finger along Sebastian’s arch, earning a barely restrained squeak from the demon. “Now, let’s try this again: do you have anything to say?”

Never in his life had Sebastian found himself cornered by a mere human before. It was impressive, it was admirable, it was humiliating. “Damn you!”

“...Very well.”

“No wait-!”

Sebastian was sent into hysterics the minute Wolfram began, already quite sensitized so even the lightest scratches were nothing short of unbearable. The larger butler’s fingertips would alternate between light scratches and strokes to all-out tickling to Sebastian’s sole. Oh how he'd get Wolfram back for this later, but he couldn't even consider how the ticklish sensations were making his brain short circuit. As a last resort, he gathered all his effort to try and kick the German butler's hand with his free foot, only to be expertly dodged. It can't be! Sebastian was for the first time in his life meeting his match in terms of sheer strength and fighting competency.

By a human no less. A human that served in the army and is a competent soldier, but still a human nonetheless.

“NOHOHOHOHOT THERE! PLEHEHEHEASE NOHOHOHOT THERE!” Sebastian pleaded and begged, his foot writhing in the other man’s strong grasp, toes wiggling and scrunching as those fingers scratched and tickled up and down his sock-clad sole, the sheer material offering very feeble resistance.

“You’ve heard of the big bad wolf and the three little piggies, haven’t you? Well, this time, the wolf has five little piggies to devour.” Wolfram tweaked each sock-clad toe with his hand, his fingers scribbling and prodding at each one, mimicking a wolf chomping down on its prey.

“PLEHEHEASE NOHO!” his voice cracked slightly, unable to contain the sudden outburst, throwing his head back onto the bed and attempting to hide a bit of his face for the sake of avoiding embarrassing himself further. As if it would help, his toes curled reflexively but it gave no relief at all.

Wolfram laughed quietly himself as he went on, making sure he had tickled every single area that he could.

“You know how to make this end, butler. Being stubborn will not do you any good.”

“OKAHAHAHAY! ALRIGHT! I-” Sebastian practically squealed out when Wolfram tickled that sensitive area on his poor little foot, underneath his toes. “I’M SORRY! TERRIBLY SOHOHOHORRY!”

“For?” Wolfram asked, slowing down just enough for Sebastian to speak clearly.

“I’m sorry for being a horrible teacher to your lady! Please, have mercy!”

“There we go.” Wolfram removed his hand completely, gazing down at the now panting Sebastian. An amused chuckle escaped him as a grin formed on his face. “I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting that to work. But it was the only method I could think of that wouldn’t cause any physical pain.”

Sebastian arched a brow in surprise at those words. Even after everything, Wolfram wanted to avoid causing any harm? Well, that wouldn’t be surprising. Lady Sullivan would surely scold her butler if he even damaged a hair on anyone else’s head. But… “You’re saying that-”

“That pain isn’t always the best teacher for everything? Indeed,” Wolfram answered with a fold of his arms and a proud smirk.

Well, he did have a point. What he just endured was humiliating, yes, but it certainly wasn’t painful in any means. As a matter of fact (and he would take this to his very grave) Sebastian had to admit that it was even kind of an entertaining experience. It has been a while since he’d laughed so hard.

“W—” Sebastian paused, thinking for a few moments. “Wolfram," he spoke, "I suppose… my earlier behavior was indeed unethical. Given that Lady Sullivan is unfamiliar with most of English culture, I should have taken that into consideration, instead of resorting to such harsh methods that she’s not accustomed to.” He sat up and looked Wolfram in the eye. “That and what I said during our last lesson… was also very insensitive and rude of me.”

He put a hand to his chest and lowered his head in a bowing motion. “For how I treated your lady, Mr. Gelzer, I am truly sorry…”

Wolfram nodded, crossing his arms as he listened to Sebastian's explanation. Surely it seemed genuine enough to accept, and he stood up straight, avoiding looking at the frazzled butler at the bed so as not to laugh at the sight before him. How satisfying to finally be able to get revenge on the ever pompous man.

“I will accept this apology of yours. However, I think I am not the only person you should pass on your apology to. I am sure someone else would like to hear it too.” Wolfram gestured towards the door, hoping that his young lady Sieglinde knew that Sebastian regretted what he had put her through. As soon as Sebastian sat up however, it was clear to see that he was still red in the face looking a bit flustered. “Ah… Take a moment to compose yourself. You wouldn't want the master finding out this… weakness of yours. Not yet at least.”

Sebastian sighed and rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t restrain his lips from curving into a smile. “Of course,” he replied, straightening out his hair, fixing his tailcoat and shirt, and putting his discarded shoe back on.

After making sure he looked like he wasn’t just held and tickled to near death, Sebastian stood up and walked towards the door.

“...Thank you, for your rather unorthodox educating methods, Mr. Gelzer,” he said, almost reluctantly, before leaving the room.

A short jaunt down the corridor led Sebastian right back to the dining room, where Sieglinde turned back in her chair to look who had entered the room, only to jump a little when she saw Sebastian. As she was about to explain herself for sitting improperly in the chair right then, Sebastian held up a gloved hand as if to stop her, and proceeded to drop into a deep bow, placing the hand on his chest. The small girl's eyes widened in confusion as she watched him.

“My lady Sullivan, I would like to apologize for all of my earlier actions ever since you first walked through the doors of this manor. This is not the standard of care you were meant to receive during your stay here and I deeply regret that I had critiqued you so unfairly and enforced such ruthless methods onto you. I am deeply sorry,” he confessed sincerely.

Sieglinde’s posture relaxed at that very moment, though her expression looked rather surprised, clearly not even expecting Sebastian to apologize. She looked in confusion at her butler, who had shortly followed behind Sebastian, giving the young girl a soft smile. “Wolfram, wha-”

“Fear not, my lady. I taught him a thing or two myself back there,” he said simply.

Ciel looked at the two with a raised brow. “You two were in there quite a while,” he pointed out. “And what was all that racket going on in there? We could vaguely hear it from all the way here.”

Sebastian’s face went blank in shock, but was quickly replaced with a smile hiding any and all signs of worry. “No one was hurt, milord. We simply had a… training session. You needn’t worry yourself with such trivial matters between servants.”

He then proceeded to turn to Wolfram with a much more serious face hidden from the young masters. “Isn't that right, Mr. Wolfram?” Wolfram met his gaze confidently, not intimidated in the least after what had just happened.

“Ja,” he said with a nod and a proud grin, then he strolled over to Sieglinde. “Come my lady. It’s about time you got some rest for the big day tomorrow.”

As he walked out of the room, Sieglinde in tow, he whispered to her just as he passed Sebastian, “You know, Ciel’s butler has a rather nice laugh.”

The butler in question stood stiffly a bit, his smile twitching a bit as his eyes went wide. He could vaguely hear Sieglinde giggling from down the hallway. Yes, he was definitely going to get this bastard back for this…

Ciel looked over at his butler, cluelessly. “...What’s that face for? What did he say?” he asked.

“...Come to think of it, my lord,” Sebastian said calmly, yet rather hastily, “it’s far past your bedtime as well.”

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