The Butler, Confining (その執事、収容, Sono Shitsuji, Shūyō) is Chapter 40 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
Summary[]
The chapter begins with a recap of Georg von Siemens's death, where his body is found on a sofa. It is found that the source of death is a fatal stab wound to the chest. Ciel Phantomhive and Sebastian Michaelis enter the room last, and, when they see the body, exchange a look of surprise and suspicion. As the rest contemplate what to do with the body, Baldroy suggests that they move it, especially with the high room temperature (which he also comments on). With that, the body is moved to the cellar as they await Scotland Yard to come, and the storm to subside.
Once everyone settles down somewhat, Lau comments on how the mansion is now a deserted island, meaning that all of those in it are trapped, and that this could only mean that the killer (presumably one of them) would still be in the mansion. Tension rises as everyone starts blaming each other, but an idea from Irene Diaz silences them. She states, since the door was locked when they first arrived, it would be logical for the killer to have broken through the window, locked the door and got out through the window to escape. However, Charles Grey disagrees with this, saying that, if someone came in from the storm they were in, it would be likely that the killer would at least leave footsteps, of which there were none. Sebastian then speaks up, saying that the rooms in the house had complex key designs, to which all the keys were locked up, and that only he knew the combination of the safe they were stored in. This being said, he concludes that it is a "locked room murder".
Everyone starts arguing once more, denying their own presence as murderer in the case. Blame is thrown around, until a too-calm Lau suggests that, if you had an alibi in the time in which Siemens was killed (which was between the time that he rang the servant's bell and the time that Sebastian and the others arrived at his room), you had an alibi. Grimsby Keane, Irene Diaz, Charles Grey, Patrick Phelps, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ran-Mao, Lau and Karl Woodley all have alibis. The blame is then turned towards the Phantomhive servants, but the say that they were all cleaning at that time period, which left no one other than Ciel as the prime suspect, who admits to having no alibi. Finnian vehemently denies this but is silenced. Lau then suggests to confine Ciel, to which the latter agrees, if not exasperatedly. They plan on chaining him to one other person to keep an eye on him. Sebastian volunteers, but is then denied this privilege along with the other Phantomhive servants, in case they help him escape. That left Arthur (albeit unwillingly) to be chained to Ciel, even sharing the bed they sleep in.
In the bedroom, Arthur and Ciel engage in light conversation, where Arthur accidentally provokes Ciel by asking him why he does not remove his eye patch, attempting to remove it. Ciel goes into an angry fit, but not for long, explaining that it was an injury he got when he lost his family. He recounts how it had been a long time since he had slept with someone, recalling that the last time he did so with his mother and father was a long time ago. Arthur pats him on the head, stating how he feels sad for him due to the fact that he has siblings himself. Finally, they go to sleep, with Arthur questioning whether a child could have really committed a murder.
The scene then cuts to Sebastian, who goes to prevent the fire in the hearth from burning out. He is revealed to have found something interesting, saying "This is..." before the scene ends, and there is a man in the background, a sharp object raised in his hand, ready to strike at Sebastian, who has his back turned.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Arthur Conan Doyle
- Georg von Siemens
- Sebastian Michaelis
- Mey-Rin
- Lau
- Ran-Mao
- Charles Grey
- Irene Diaz
- Grimsby Keane
- Karl Woodley
- Patrick Phelps
- Baldroy
- Finnian
- Tanaka
- Ciel Phantomhive