During the summoning ritual we see the lead cultist considering which twin should be sacrificed first. However, I strongly believe Smile was actually the one to make that decision.
As Ciel is taken out of the cage, it is stated: “It was a meaningless, pointless, ruthless choice.” At first I automatically assigned this statement to the cultist, as he did seem to have initiated the taking.
But, this statement could be Smile’s take on having pushed his brother out of the cage after succumbing to sheer dread.
The statement from Smile’s POV could then be interpreted as the following:
a) “meaningless”= it was nothing personal, he was just afraid;
b) “pointless” = there was no use to it, they were both going to be sacrificed, Smile seemingly gained nothing by shoving Ciel first;
c) “ruthless” = now in retrospect, Smile is calling himself out on the lack of compassion shown for his brother who was also understandably scared and did not want to go.
This was simply an explanation as to how the statement could potentially relate to Smile. The reason I think it does, in fact, imply Smile is because:
- Ciel is not as naive as his little brother. While still inside their confinement, he seemed perfectly aware of what was going on. Logically speaking, the chances of him being taken out first were obviously 50:50. Yet for some reason, he is absolutely shocked once dragged out. Not frantic or in any way apprehensive even (as one might imagine a child would be) – but simply stunned at first. Smile, on the other hand, has the stare of a madman.
- ONLY AFTERWARDS do we get to see Ciel actually paying attention to what's happening in the moment. Smile looks like he instantly regrets his potential choice of action.
- Next, we look at the final, very intimate moment between the twins. In this shot, Ciel honestly just looks very confused – dare I say hurt. Smile just looks scared and out of touch.
Now, we know this is an important instance – as we see Ciel’s same exact expression during Smile’s dream. Interestingly though, we don’t have a good view of his left arm there. But here – we can clearly tell that no hand has been placed on him yet – yet he’s clearly already moving away from Smile (his shirt flaunting, dynamic poses, background details added to make the scene appear even more dynamic).
- This is just my take on things, but I believe the scene was intended to be deceptive (as is everything in Kuroverse...). I do not own a physical copy of the issue (Midorimatchi was kind enough to provide ), but looking at the uploaded pages online, the actual order of the pages was accentuated and caught my eye. When pieced together, it appears as though the cultist pulls on Ciel who is then ripped from Smile who then leans towards them. But following the actual page order, the dynamics of the image would be Smile pushing him - Ciel stumbling - and the cultist catching him and choosing to play along with the outcome. Don’t these two look drastically different?
- Finally – perhaps the strongest argument being – what else could he have done then? Smile feels extreme guilt for what had happened that day. He is obviously not delusional, as his once caring brother is also blaming him. At this point, we’ve literally seen everything, there was nothing left prior to Ciel’s stabbing that Smile could have done to harm his brother.
This could possibly explain Smile’s self-loathing. The boy had always harboured an inferiority complex due to his brother displaying better qualities than him – but it runs deeper than cute personality nuances: All this time Ciel proved to be a caring and valiant individual up until conversely, Smile couldn’t handle the momentary suspense and was selfish enough to shove his brother first because he was so frightened. Smile pushed him first, and the cultist seemingly went along with it, probably enjoying the sad sight of an act of desperation.
Smile himself says he’s selfish, and surely perceives himself as mere scum for what he’d done. He no longer has any sense of self-worth.
Not to mention, Ciel was an obsessive sibling very much afraid of Smile ever leaving his side. For Smile to have literally pushed him away into danger after all he did for them would be the worst possible betrayal from Ciel’s perspective. Compared to Ciel, Smile does come off as quite the villain.
{ edit | Nov 17th, 2018 } I left this on Youtube 2 months ago and forgot to add here so, claiming it until next chapter is out lol
A --> post <-- I'd found by Dork Shadows providing compelling indication in favour of this theory.
Also, thanks to said post, I finally managed to spot a direct link :)
Just as Ciel says this in Smile's dream, Smile is symbolically placed right back into the site of action - their cage! They're both talking about the same thing.