45 Ciel’s Plan

It was the third day after Charles arrived at the Belle's residence. Although he tried to convince Kate to become his disciple, she rejected all his advances. It was regrettable, but he decided to back down for now. There would be plenty of opportunities to talk to Kate after she succeeded in passing the exam for Saint Claire Academy.

"Ciel, make sure to visit me when you return to the city," Charles placed a hand on his disciple's shoulder. "Also, make sure that Kate passes the exam. I checked her mock test results and they were…"

"Terrible," Ciel answered before his mentor could finish his sentence. "Don't worry, teacher, I will make sure that she passes the exam."

"Do that, if possible. I don't want to abuse my authority as a board director to open the backdoor for her."

"I assure you that there's no need for that. Teacher, Kate will definitely pass."

"Good. I believe you," Charles replied. "Although, I don't know where that confidence of yours is coming from. Have you already seen her 'future' test results?"

Charles was not unaware of Ciel's uniqueness. He had already experienced his "future sight" once and it had saved his life. If the boy was certain that Kate would pass then she would pass. The old man gazed at the girls who were standing at a distance to send him off and waved at them. The girls smiled and waved back at him. Charles knew that these girls would have bright futures ahead of them.

"Teacher, what are you talking about?" Ciel answered in a relaxed manner. His nonchalant attitude made Charles helplessly shake his head.

Since the boy was not going to answer his question, the old man decided to play a little trick. He lowered his head and whispered. "So, which one of them will be the future Mrs. Summers?"

"Teacher, it would be best to go while it's still early," Ciel replied. The smile on his face was enough to tell Charles what he needed to know.

"Hah, so you're not going to tell me, huh?" Charles chuckled and stepped back. "I suppose I'll find out in a few more years. Very well, until then, make sure to take care of them. I'd like to see who you will end up with. Oh, by the way, my granddaughter--"

"Please have a safe trip, Teacher. Here, let me open the door for you."

Ciel politely opened the car door for his teacher and assisted the old man in entering the car. For some reason, Charles felt that his beloved disciple was pushing him inside the car so he would stop talking. The last words that he said were loud enough to reach the little girls. The old man looked in their direction to see their reactions. Chloe had narrowed her gaze, while Kate gave Charles a reprimanding look.

'My goodness, are they really kids?' Charles thought as he entered the car. 'I guess this will make things a bit more entertaining at the Academy.'

With one last wave of his hand, Charles bade goodbye to his old friends. He purposely ignored Mark and treated him like air.

'Bastards need not be paid any attention!' Charles snorted.

Arthur, Alice, Mark, Andrea and the staff of the Belle Estate were also standing at the main entrance to bid their guest goodbye.

The adults had already talked about the important matters at hand. They also made contingency plans just in case something came up. Although it was only a short term fix, it was still better than having no plans at all.

Ciel watched as the three black mercedes drove through the gates of the estate and disappeared from view. He wanted his mentor to stay for a few more days, but he knew that he was a busy man.

"Let's go back," Ciel said as he reached out to hold Chloe and Kate's hand. "We still need to study for the exams."

"Um? Ciel, I think it would be a good idea if we take a break from studying today," Kate immediately rejected the idea. Whenever she opened a textbook her head started to ache. She had to do her best to convince him not to do any studying today or she might go crazy. "Breaks are important too! We can't be studying all the time."

Ciel didn't say anything and merely smiled. He knew that forcing Kate to study in her current state would only be counter productive. Like what his mentor said, Kate's test results were terrible. However, Ciel was not bothered by it. He knew that Kate had a way to pass the exams if push came to shove.

"Alright, we won't study today," Ciel compromised. "But we will resume it tomorrow. No excuses, understood?"

"Yes!"

Kate smiled happily as if the weight of the world had disappeared from her shoulders. Chloe didn't say anything from the side, but she too was secretly happy for the one day break that her Big Brother announced. The pitiful girl didn't voice her complaints because she wanted to pass the exams, but she was also at her limit.

"So, what do you girls want to do today?" Ciel asked.

"I want to watch T.V!" ←- (This is Kate)

"I want to be with Big Brother." ←- (This is Chloe)

[I want my darling!] ←- (You already know who this is.)

Ciel pondered for a bit before nodding his head. "Good, let's watch T.V"

The three kids went to the living room to watch T.V while Claire headed back to the library to read more books. The adults didn't stop them from taking a break and left them alone. After making sure that they were served refreshments, Heinz returned to his duties as well.

After an hour, Kate got bored from watching T.V and pestered Ciel to tell her what he did in the city. Chloe was also curious so she joined Kate in making Ciel talk about the things he did in his teacher's residence.

"There's really not much to tell," Ciel began his tale. "The sun had already set when I arrived at my teacher's place. After having dinner with his family, I decided to rest early because I was exhausted from the journey."

"What happened when morning came?" Kate asked.

Ciel leaned back on the couch to make himself more comfortable. "After that, I told my teacher that I never won against you in chess. Not even once, so he became interested in knowing more about you. My plan was to invite him to come back with me so he can meet you, and perhaps make you his disciple."

"Eh? But I rejected him," Kate replied awkwardly. "Should I have accepted his offer?"

"You don't have to force yourself. If you don't feel like becoming his disciple then you can just say no."

"But, you did all that for me. Would that cause trouble for you?"

"Not at all. The reason why I asked him to see you was because I wanted him to test your skills," Ciel smiled when he remembered his teacher's expression after being beaten by Kate. He looked like someone who had just eaten a cockroach. "My goal was for him to be 'interested' in you."

"Eh? Why?"

"For added security. Teacher is one of the board of directors at Saint Claire Academy. If he's backing you up, then no one would be stupid enough to cause trouble for you."

Kate felt touched because of Ciel's reply. She didn't know that he went out of his way just to add another layer of protection for her after she successfully enrolled in the Academy.

"You shouldn't go this far for me," Kate said with a frown. "If you're worried that I'll get bullied in the academy then you can put your mind at ease. I won't let anyone bully me."

"Kate, you underestimate the greed of people," Ciel said as he poked Kate's nose. "Some will go out of their way in order to get what they want. The rich and influential people in the academy eye scholarship students as potential subordinates."

"Although everything looks calm on the surface, hidden actions are being done behind the scenes," Ciel added. "Aren't you afraid that people would scheme behind your back?"

"Nope!" Kate said with a fearless smile. "If they try to bully me, I'll just beat them up."

"You're so silly, you think violence is the answer for everything?" Ciel reprimanded.

"Hehe, even if I don't beat them up, I'm sure that you will protect me," Kate said matter-of-factly.

Ciel had an amused expression as he gazed at Kate who had a smug look on her face. Indeed, he would make sure that Kate would be safe inside the academy grounds and having her form connections with his teacher was only the first step. He planned to use his circle of friends to make an intricate web of people to protect her.

Saint Claire Academy was not just a school for the elite students of the country. It was also the place to nurture outstanding talents that will serve the country. Ciel would never allow Kate to be taken advantage by the corrupt families who wanted to increase their power and influence.