The shadows come and go as they please. It went through every nook and cranny to gather and disseminate information to whom they're contracted to; this service has been going on for eras and ages, throughout millennias. The shadow within this room also departs the same way as other shadows do, they dissolved, assimilating themselves into the shadows of items or beings, and travel by parasitizing them, almost impossible to be found, until they managed to find their way into their owner's hands. After the shadow had departed, we continued the discussion as to who will be the ones to be sent to the Dairy Lodge.

A little worried at the problems going on in the Dairy Lodge, since it was an area intended for the lodgings of workers to come and fro to the Char-Harbour, meaning a lot of people live there; I decided to nominate myself as one of the ones to be sent to the Dairy Lodge, and since I nominated myself, Ciel did so too. Grandfather-in-law, knowing both of our awakenings were very successful, raised no objections. However, my overprotective elder sister, immediately shot down the idea. Even when Ciel showed her prowess, she still stood her ground, under the reason Ciel and I were going to be married soon, and she didn't want to send us into danger.

"Knight captain, if you're worried about Layne and Ciel, why don't you accompany them to the Dairy Lodge yourself?" the old ringmaster asked.

He then added, "To be fair, we lack the personnel who could worm their way into someone's heart, like Layne; and if Layne is to be dispatched, Ciel would follow."

Still, my elder sister kept her silence. It was then that I plead with her, saying things along the lines of not wanting to see her hurt. I gave her a supposition that if and only if I were with her, I could de-escalate the potential conflicts that may arise, and if and only if conflicts do arise, she could protect me. The final nail in the coffin seems to be me saying that I will take the time each day, at least for one hour, to train weaponry with her, so that I may protect myself better. Of which I predict shall go smoothly, as I was a very renowned adventurer back in those days.

"How can I believe you'll attend training, with just your verbal promise?" she asked.

"Ciel will bring me to attend the training!" I pulled out all the stops.

Hearing this, her eyes sparkled, "I will bring Layne to train, and I'll also train with the both of you!"

Et Tu, Ciel?

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"Alright, I'll allow both of you to join in. We will go tomorrow before dawn, at exactly four in the morning, so the both of you will sleep in the Manor today. When the time arrived, we'll go from the Carter Manor to the Twin Bridge, where Theo will be ready with a cart and consumables we'll use for our act as a grocer. At the end of the day, three of us will stay at the Dairy Lodge while Theo went back and forth every day to exchange information until the d-day. Are we clear?"

Her general-like presence necessitates both Ciel and I to reply to her, "Yes! Ma'am!"

"Alright, dismissed," she played along with our childish antics.

=======

The sun was already on the verge of setting when we finally arrived at the manor; the reason being the time we took to pack up our belongings, since mine was still at Ciel's apartment. Another reason was the time it took to drop the detective off at the Innsmouth Residency, southwest of the manor; that means we did a back and forth, went past the manor before doubling back. We do indeed came at the right time, since dinner was just going to be served. That's why my father tasked me to escort Ciel to her room, which was across mine, and to refresh ourselves in the bath.

A little while after I'm done bathing, I went outside my room, donned with my casual wear that was a tad too fluffy for my taste; but since it was the one prepared for me, I wore it without minding it too much. Around one to two minutes after I was done bathing, Ciel's room could be heard unlocking from the inside. What greeted me was her enchanting figure, refreshed by the warm bath. Water could be seen trickling down her hair towards her chest, dampening her perfectly dry clothes.

"You're still drenched! Why did you come out?" I asked.

Without saying anything, she handed me her towel. That gesture of hers made me remember the promise we once made, back in the good old days; for me to help dry her hair whenever we went out of the bath. Taking the towel, I sat her down in front of the mirror, inside her room, before starting to delicately dry her hair whilst talking about the days gone by.

"Here's the towel, your hair has been dried, and styled perfectly," I gave my honest comments.

"Thank you for drying my hair," she replied, as she always did.

I bowed deeply, theatrical, playing as a noble, "You're welcome mademoiselle, may I have the honour to escort you to this fine establishment's dining room?"

Witnessing my play-acting, she chuckled and curtsied, before replying, "You shall have this honour monsieur, please escort this humble me to wherever it is you deem correct."

"Ahem," a cough interrupted our play-acting session.

"We've been waiting for you two for fifteen minutes straight, and behold what I've found." elder sister Sarah said, laughing audibly, one that I've never seen before.

"S-since when were you there, elder sister-in-law?" Ciel asked embarrassedly.

"From the start of the play," she replied, still can't get over her laughing fit.

Clearing my throat repeatedly, hiding my embarrassment, I said, "Let's go to the dining room, everyone's waiting for us.

"Yeah, let's go!" Ciel parroted.

The dining room that night was raucous and full of laughter, all because of the little skit we did.

Still.

We dreamt of nice things.