Is this really the time for a game of chess?

Obsessing about it won't help you solve the case.
Why not just leave it all to Sebastian, dear?

Because he's simply my chess piece.
I'm the one who moves him by giving orders.
But he's no ordinary piece.
He can move as many squares as he needs to...
Like that.

Ah!
That was against the rules, you know!

Indeed, it would be if this was a game.
But rules such as that have no true meaning in the real world.
There are always knights who break the rules, and pawns who betray.
If you let your guard down... it's checkmate.


- Opening -


His Butler, Chance Encounter


You must have had other options in life besides policing England's underworld.
I'm sure my sister -- your mother -- wanted something else for you.
And yet after their deaths, you returned to be the Queen's guard dog.
Is it because you're trying to avenge your parents' murders?

The need for revenge is a funny thing; it won't bring back the dead, nor will it bring them happiness.

But, then...

To answer your question, I didn't return to the house of Phantomhive for my parents.
I did it for myself.
I want to find the people responsible for what happened.
And I want to make them experience the same pain and humiliation that I suffered.

I still remember when you were born, though it seems so long ago.
You were so tiny and fragile, I remember thinking, "No matter what, I have to protect him."
You know I was never able to have a child, but there was you.
And I've come to think of you as my own son.
Which is why I wish you would quite this.

This is a task I've freely chosen.
It's still my choice to make, and no one else's.
I don't regret my decision, and I won't be coddled, by anyone.

I have it now. Thank you.

My lady.

Promise me: say you'll never leave his side.
This is a dangerous world for a boy.
Make he doesn't lose his way.

Fear not. I swear, I shall stay by his side until the very end.

I'm here to escort you back home, my lady.


Well then?

No matter how I look at it, the result is still the same.

Yesterday's murder -- the viscount didn't do it.

Exactly. None of the people in his mansion could have done it, either.

Indeed... No person could move that quickly.
Anyway, tomorrow we'll start...
Sebastian! You didn't...

Of course I didn't, my lord.
I told you, I never lie.
Now. Involved in medicine, ties to secret societies or black magic, lacking alibis for the nights the bodies were found:
The only human who fits all criteria is the Viscount Druitt.

You know more about this than you're letting on, don't you?!

But I'm simply one hell of a butler.
As you well know, I only carry out those orders my master has directly given me.
You need only say the words, my lord, I become either your pawn or your knight.
Now, master, move me into check.


He'll show if we stake out this place, right?

Yes.

You know... I've realized the murdered prostitutes had other things in common besides their profession.

The most beautiful, glossy black hair.

But I still don't understand why he had to kill them all.

So very lovable.
lt could almost be a sin...

And what's more, I...

So soft... Ah, so soft...

Listen when I'm talking to you!

Oh... I apologize, sir, but she's so beautiful. And soft...

How could someone have gotten past us?!

Let's go, sir.

Come away!

You've made quite a bloody mess of things in there, Jack the Ripper... or rather, Grell Sutcliff?

No... No, you're wrong! I...
I-I heard the scream and rushed to help, but...

You can drop the innocent act, Grell. It's over.
You know, this is actually the first time I've met someone like you in the human world.
You played the role of "helpless butler" well.
Your act had almost everybody completely fooled.

You... you think so?
How kind.
That's great to hear.
After all, I am an actress.
And quite a good one at that.
Of course you're not really "Sebastian" either, are you?

Sebastian is the name my master gave me, so that is who I am... for now.

Ah, you're playing the "faithful dog."
Well, you're handsome enough to get away with it.
Anyway, here we are, Sebastian... No, I'll call you Bassy!
Let me introduce myself: The Burnett butler, Grell Sutcliff.
What do you say? Let's get along. ♥
Ah, it's so nice to talk to you in my true form!
I admit I was surprised when I first met you, I've never seen a demon playing a butler.

But I could say the same about you.
I never thought I'd find one of your kind playing a butler either.
You're supposed to an intermediary between man and God -- a grim reaper.
Why would a divine being like you pretend to be a servant?

Why, indeed? For now let's just say that it was out of love for a certain woman.

And that woman would be?

You don't really need to ask, do you?

Madam...

Well, I hadn't counted on this.
I didn't think anyone would be able to tell who Grell truly is.

Naturally you were on the suspect list from the very beginning.
But all of your alibis seemed flawless.

You mean you actually suspected your own aunt?

I was looking for a murderer; degree of relation to me did not matter.
None of the humans on the suspect list could have been responsible for all the murders.
But if one of them had an inhuman accomplice, that would change the game completely.
It had to be someone who could enter and leave the room without being noticed;
someone who could travel from the viscount's home to the East End instantaneously.
In the end, you two were the only ones who could be Jack the Ripper... you Madam Red and Grell Sutcliff.
I began to look into what else the victims had in common besides prostitution.
And then, I noticed they'd all undergone a certain surgery at the hospital where you work.
We made a list of all the patients.
One, the only one who was still alive, was a woman by the name of Mary Kelly.
We knew if we waited around here you would come for her eventually.
But we were too late...

My darling nephew, how unfortunate this turned out to be...
If you had let it go, we could have played chess again.
But now... you've taken everything!

What is that?!

Grim reapers use tools for harvesting souls.
That is his reaper scythe.

Don't you dare call it that!
This is so much more than a scythe; I worked very hard to customize it!
This is a special "death scythe" of my own design.
It can hack anyone into tiny pieces!
I've been far too well-behaved.
I'm getting. Out. Of. Shape. ♥
I would love to exercise my skills.
So. Shall. We. Play? ♥

Perhaps you could be a bit more respectful of my position? I'm on duty after all.

What a stoic man you are! That makes you even more irresistible!
You know, red is my favorite color.
It's perfect for hair, for clothes, for lipstick.
So, I painted all those women with pretty, pretty red blood.
So, Bassy, now I'll make you even better looking than you are.
I'll tear you up from the inside, and trust me I'll make you like it.
♥ You'll be as lovely as scattered rose petals.

You are a grim reaper; your job is to quietly harvest the souls of the dying.
And as a butler, your job is to follow your master like a shadow.
You have violated both of these expectations.
And quite frankly, I find it sickening.

Bassy, you wound me.
You know, I'm more deadly efficient than I seem! ☆

In my name and that of the Queen, I order you, Sebastian: put an end to them!

Indeed, my young lord.


- Intermission -


Ooh, yes! Please run away! We can play tag, Bassy!
But see what happens if you're not fast enough -- you get cut!
It's more fun when it hurts a little bit though, isn't it?

You're still the Queen's guard dog, which means that now I'm your prey.
But if it's hunt or be hunted...
There's only one thing I can do!

You're a doctor! How could you do it?!

You wouldn't understand if I told you!
You're just a child!
You... You brat...
You shouldn't have been born in the first place!
Sister!

Master!

Stop, Sebastian! Don't kill her!
Your arm...

Oooh, how sweet you are, Bassy!
Really, what a prince.
Sacrificing your own poor limb to save that kid...
On the other hand, you're a disappointment, Madam!
Come now. Hurry up and kill the brat already!

I loved my sister... I loved her husband... I loved their child...
I can't. I can't kill him. I can't kill their beloved son...

Really? You're getting soft-hearted on me all of a sudden?
After all those deaths?
If you don't end him, he'll end you!

Madam...

But... this dear boy...
This child is my-- Ugh!

Too late for that! How disappointing!
What use do I have for you if you're just another woman!?

Is that her?

A part of the reaper's job is to replay and examine the memories of those who are on the To-Die list.
From that, we determine what kind of person they were, we see from their own perspective what kind of life they lived, and we decide whether they should live or die...

Their lives flash like before their eyes.

Oh please, that's such a pedestrian term!
It is so much more than that.
This is the reaper's true power: the Cinematic Record!


Rachel, Angelina, come say hello to our guest, Lord Phantomhive.

I had hated the red hair I inherited from my father.

Your hair is very beautiful, An.
The color of spider lilies.
Red suits you very well.

But I came to love it after all. I came to love the color red.
I came to love him.

An, I have wonderful news!

My sister...
Once again, I hated the color red.
But... I could never bring myself to hate them.
Eventually, I, too, met a man and got married.

What do you think -- a boy or a girl?

Men are so impatient. How would I know that yet?

It didn't happen at all in the way I wanted it to, but still, I thought I'd found happiness...

That carriage hit someone! Call a doctor, quickly!

Then it all slipped away...

Your husband died instantly.
And in order to save your life, we were forced to remove your uterus and your unborn child with it.
I'm sorry, but we had no choice...

Everything... Everything slipped away from me...
I lost the man I had learned to love... and the child I loved so dearly before it was even born.
The stain spread...
It covered everything...
That color I so hated... the color red...
My sister was buried with the man she loved.
If only... If only my heart had been buried in the ground along with them.

Honestly, a child would only be in the way.
I don't know who the father is, and my customers wouldn't like a child hanging around.

I had lost everything in my life.
That woman had what I wanted most... what I would never get the chance to have again...
And she threw it away without a second thought.
I wanted to stain her too...

Hello, you're that d--
Wh-What are you doing?!
No, no, wait!

I decided to stain everything red, with my own hands.

My, my! That was quite a little show!

That's when I met my blood-red grim reaper.
A few months later, my missing nephew suddenly reappeared.

Oh, Ciel!

With him, he brought a butler dressed in black...

You're really safe...?
I got at least one thing back.

Thank goodness, at least we still have you...
Let me take a look at your darling face.

The child of the man I loved... and my sister.
If this child could come back, then why couldn't my beloved?
Why wasn't I the one he chose to marry?
I finally decided that I would right all the wrongs I had been dealt.

You've taken everything!


How beautiful you were dyed crimson covered in your victims' blood.
I loved you so.
What a disappointment you turned out to be in the end.
You don't have what it takes to wear red.
Your cheap little melodrama ends now.
It's over, Madam Red. Goodbye.

Well, what are you waiting for?
I thought I ordered you to put an end to Jack the Ripper.
It's not over yet. One is left.
Stop standing there and kill him!

Certainly.

I was going to spare you -- professional courtesy and all that -- but if you insist, I'll send you and the boy to heaven together!

Heaven? You're joking.
I know nothing of heaven.

You would kick a lady in the face?! Where are your manners, sir?!

Terribly sorry. You see, I am simply one hell of a butler.

Ha! You think a demon like you can beat a reaper?

Certainly.
You see, if my master tells me to win, then I shall win.

You care a lot about that puny little brat, don't you? I'm jealous.
Demon or not, you'll still be destroyed if I reap you with my death scythe.
Aren't you frightened?

Not at all.
I belong to my master.
My soul and my body, down to the last hair are his.
The contract remains, so I follow his every order.
That's what it means to be a butler.


- Ending -


The red spider lilies blazing in the fields.
The red cardinals singing in the trees.
All must eventually wither and die.
Falling prey to the deadly laws of nature.
Please excuse me.
I cannot allow myself to be affected by such vulgarity.
I shall have to dispatch him in a deadly efficient way.

Next time on Black Butler: "His Butler, At the Funeral."

You see, I am simply one hell of a butler.