10 Little Cat meets Little Fox

A convoy of vehicles drove steadily along the highway approaching the countryside. Between two black Mercedes-Benz, a red Bentley Continental stood out, making a conspicuous scene.

Elizabeth was seated at the backseat of the red Bentley along with her two daughters. Claire seemed bored and watched the scenery through the car's window. Chloe, on the other hand, was leaning on Elizabeth's shoulder with her eyes closed.

"Madam, we will be arriving at the Belle's Estate in an hour," the driver said while keeping his attention on the road. He said this because his young Lady Chloe had been asking the question "How long till we get there?" repeatedly while they were traveling.

"Thank you, Sebas," Andrea replied. "Did you hear that Chloe? You will be able to see your Big Brother Ciel in an hour." She then caressed the side of Chloe's face. "Are you ready to see him?"

"Un!" Chloe nodded her head happily.

A soft snort was heard from the left side of the car where her twin sister was seated.

"What's so good about him? He's just slightly better looking than the other boys in my class," Claire mumbled. There was a hint of irritation on her face. Clearly, she was not too keen to meet her twin sister's beloved Big Brother.

Elizabeth gently pulled Claire towards her and patted her head. "Don't be like that. We will be staying in their estate for a week. Be good ok?"

How could she possibly not know the cause of her daughter's irritation? As their mother, she was well aware that Claire disliked Ciel. The reason? It was because whenever he was around, her sister, Chloe, would cling to him as if her life depended on it. This act annoyed her because she felt that Ciel was taking her sister away from her.

[A/N: Claire is a siscon. Don't tell anyone, not even Elizabeth. Shhhh...]

Elizabeth tried to mend their relationship, but Claire refused to acknowledge Ciel. If not for the fact that he was able to help her sister improve her condition, then Claire would have long prevented her sister from meeting up with him.

"Sister, please don't fight with Big Brother," Chloe pleaded. "It's been so long since I saw him. I don't want him to hate me."

"Don't worry, I won't fight with him." Claire smiled sweetly. 'I'll just beat him up if he ever makes you cry.'

---------

Inside the Belle Manor...

"They will be arriving soon, are the guestrooms ready?" Andrea asked Heinz who just returned from inspecting the guest rooms.

"Everything is ready, My Lady." Heinz bowed. "Should we inform the young master that the Lady Chloe will be arriving soon?"

"No, don't tell him anything Heinz."

"My lady, are you perhaps thinking of..."

The corner of Heinz's lips started to twitch. He had a feeling that Andrea didn't inform his young master about Chloe's arrival because she wanted to see some drama unfold. He sighed helplessly and didn't say anything else. Truth be told, he was also curious about how Ciel would handle the situation. He just hoped that his young master would be able to weather the approaching storm.

---------

Two children were playing chess on the terrace. They just ate breakfast and had nothing planned for the day. Ciel suggested that they play chess, and Kate readily agreed.

"I overheard the maids talking about some guests arriving today," Kate said as she moved her bishop. "Do you know who they are?"

Ciel carefully observed the chess board before moving his knight. "No."

"I don't know why, but I suddenly had a bad feeling."

"Oh? A bad feeling you say?"

"Yes. I believe Mama Andrea called this woman's intuition."

"Oh? A woman's intuition?" Ciel smirked. "You're still a little girl. Shouldn't it be called girl's intuition instead?"

Kate ignored Ciel's teasing and placed her queen down. "Checkmate. Looks like I win again!"

Ciel stared at the chess board in disbelief. It was indeed a checkmate. He glanced at the smug-faced girl in front of him. Kate was giving him the you-will-never-win-against-me look, which made him question his chess skills. This was their third game and Ciel didn't win even once.

If Kate only knew that Ciel was the grand champion of last year's UK Chess Challenge Gigafinal, she would have said something along the lines of "Hehe, you a chess champion? Did you fight against three-year-olds? It's fine Ciel, you can keep on dreaming!"

Luckily, she didn't know, or else, Ciel would have died of embarrassment.

"Let's play again?"

"Eh? I don't want to. Ciel, you're no good in chess. Let's play something else."

'No good... I'm no good?'

Ciel sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. He still couldn't accept the fact that he was easily beaten for three consecutive games by the glutton in front of him. If the grandmasters who oversaw the tournament saw this scene, they would have fought each other for the right to take her in as their disciple.

Should I recommend her to my mentor? Ciel seriously considered this option. While he was busy contemplating on how to introduce Kate to his mentor, a loud "BEEEEEP!" broke the silence of the morning.

"Oh! The guests have arrived!" Kate stood up from her seat and grabbed Ciel's hand. "Let's go and see who it is."

"Alright," Ciel held her hand and headed to the main entrance. He was also curious who their guests were.

--------

Andrea, Heinz, and the maids of the house, went to meet their guests at the entrance. The three cars entered the gate and drove up the driveway. After a while, the door of the red Bently was opened by a man wearing a black suit.

A delicate looking girl with light-brown hair wearing a pink dress stepped out of the car. She had a charming smile on her face. The type of smile that would make people want to pamper her. Her sapphire green eyes looked gentle and warm. She was the very picture of purity and innocence.

Standing by her side, a girl that looked exactly like her, stood with a bewitching smile of her own. The smile carried a bit of mischief as if she would like to see a certain someone suffer from her tricks. Although she was a girl, her presence was not gentle or timid. Instead, she had a feral air around her.

Standing behind the two girls was a beautiful woman. Needless to say, she has the same hair and eye color as her daughters. She smiled at Andrea and gave her a wink .

Andrea stepped forward and opened her arms. "Welcome to the Belle Family Estate. I hope that you will enjoy your vacation here in our humble home."

"Aunt Andrea, I missed you," Chloe stepped forward and gave Andrea a hug.

Andrea bent down to kiss the young girl's cheeks. "I missed you too Chloe."

"Thank you for having us, Aunt Andrea," Claire said with a smile.

"And thank you for visiting us!" Andrea kissed Claire's cheeks. "I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Oh, I'm sure we will." Elizabeth placed a hand over Chloe's shoulder. "Especially my darling Chloe. She's been looking forward to meeting her Big Brother."

"Mommy, please don't say embarrassing things." Chloe buried her little head on her mommy's chest. Her face was beet red and the color extended all the way to her ears.

Claire snorted, but didn't say anything. She couldn't possibly bad mouth Ciel in front of her mother could she?

Suddenly, Chloe raised her head and gazed at the direction of the main entrance. Her blurry vision locked unto a young boy with blonde hair and light blue eyes. Even from this distance, she was able to see him clearly.

"Big Brother!" Chloe forgot that there were other people around her and immediately ran towards her dearest Big Brother.

"Chloe?" Ciel gasped as she saw the familiar girl running towards him. "Watch out!"

Chloe didn't notice the stairs leading to the main doorway. She was too excited to see her Big Brother that she forgot about them. When she realized her mistake, it was too late. With a surprised "Ah!" Her foot tripped on the stair and her body crashed to the floor. Luckily, Ciel reacted quickly and managed to catch her just in time.

"Geez, you should be more careful," Ciel said while carefully supporting her to a standing position. "How many times should I tell you not to run because it is dangerous?"

"Sorry," Chloe replied in a soft voice. She lowered her head and secretly blamed herself for being too excited. Did I make Big Brother angry? "I will listen to Big Brother's advice. Chloe will be a good girl."

"Good." Ciel patted her head.

"Hehe." Chloe giggled and gave Ciel a hug. She buried her head on his chest and slowly inhaled his familiar scent. "I missed you, Big Brother."

"I missed you too," Ciel replied as he returned her hug.

The two hugged for a while until a light cough was heard beside them.

Who dares to disturb my reunion with Big Brother?! Chloe frowned and raised her head. She squinted her eyes and saw a girl with reddish brown hair standing beside Ciel and holding his arm.

"Big Brother, who is this girl?"

"Ciel, who is she?"

The two girls stared at each other. The two of them only met today, but their instincts were telling them that the other person was someone who liked Ciel. They became wary of each other and started to observe one another.

For a brief moment, Ciel thought that he saw a silhouette of a little cat behind Kate and a little fox behind Chloe's back. They were both hissing at each other, and sparks were flying out of their eyes.

Not far away from them. The corner of Andrea's lips curled up.

"It has finally started. This is going to be exciting!"

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