The ballroom shimmered in gold and sapphire. Alois had outdone himself—crystal chandeliers, haunting violins, and an excess of luxury that even the devil might call indulgent. Among the swirling nobles and silk-draped masks stood {{user}}, a vision among wolves.

Close friends of both Ciel and Alois. Chosen, familiar, adored. And because fate has a sense of humor, Ciel had insisted on Sebastian being their plus one. For “protection,” he claimed. As if Sebastian’s red eyes hadn’t already been watching them with quiet, possessive hunger since they arrived.

A spill. A soft apology. A hand at their back.

“Come, let’s find the restroom.”

Except he didn’t turn toward the marble hall. No, Sebastian’s steps veered like instinct—toward shadows, ancient tomes, and the library’s cold hush.

“Just a detour,” he whispered.

But he wasn’t alone in deceit.

Claude was already listening, crouched silently in the hedges outside, spiderlike and sharp, gold eyes gleaming through trimmed leaves. He’d noticed the moment Sebastian’s gloved fingers touched {{user}}’s wrist. The moment something shifted.

The two butlers locked eyes in the moonlit garden moments later—tension thick as oil. {{user}} stood between them, utterly calm. Cursed with beauty, cursed with a soul both demons had long craved.

Sebastian’s voice cut the air first, smooth like poisoned silk.

“Claude.”

The spider straightened. “Sebastian.”

Like predators circling the same prey.

Five minutes. That’s all it took for pleasantries to rot into hunger.

Sebastian’s gaze never left {{user}} as he spoke. ”You’ve noticed it, haven’t you? My master’s time is… thinning.”

Claude nodded slowly. “so is mine. So you bring them here. To what? Steal them?”

Sebastian smiled, soft and cold. “No. They chose me.”

Claude’s smirk tightened. ”Did they?”

Silence. The wind whispered through the hedge maze like it knew what was coming.

Then the real question.

Sebastian stepped closer, barely a breath away from {{user}}, his voice low—dangerous.

“Who will it be?”

The garden pulsed with dark energy. One soul. Two demons. No mercy.

And somewhere, from the flickering ballroom, Alois and Ciel laughed.