038. The Butler, Wretched

The Butler, Wretched (その執事、惨憺, Sono Shitsuji, Santan) is Chapter 38 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
==Summary==
An unnamed eye doctor/writer has received a letter and is on his way to visit someone.
At Phantomhive Manor, Ciel Phantomhive questions how long Soma and Agni intend to stay with him. Soma wants to play, but Ciel states that he is busy and tells Soma to practice chess on his own, which he agrees to do.
Elsewhere in the manor, Mey-Rin and Baldroy make small talk about the weather when the door is suddenly cut down by some of Queen Victoria's men. They request Ciel's presence, while Baldroy questions who they are. With that, one of the men attacks Mey-Rin and Baldroy, but they successfully dodge and respond by using guns and a kitchen knife, respectively, as weapons. However, the man's exceptional skill brings him close enough to break Mey-Rin's guns. Before he can deliver a killing blow, though, Baldroy stops him, prompting him to stomp on Mey-Rin's chest instead.
She collapses and the man moves to cut down Baldroy with his sword. However, Sebastian Michaelis intervenes, using a sweets tray to create distance between the man and Baldroy. The man snacks on the sweet he stabbed, while his comrade helps Mey-Rin up. The men properly introduce themselves as Charles Grey and Charles Phipps, code-named Double Charles and members of Queen Victoria's Private Secretarial Officers, as well as her butlers. They explain that they are there to deliver a letter to Ciel.
Queen Victoria wants Ciel to host a banquet and entertain a guest in two weeks' time. Ciel wonders why, and they explain that the queen was not pleased with his report on the Noah's Ark Circus undercover operation. Thus, although the request is simply to the noble Earl Ciel Phantomhive and not to the Queen's Watchdog, it is a chance for Ciel to regain some of his former image. Charles Grey is also the overseeing officer, and asks to participate as well. Ciel accepts both the mission and Grey's request. Grey states that the attack on Baldroy and Mey-Rin that morning had been to confirm the safety of the mansion, which Ciel says is flawless. They then take their leave.
Ciel orders Sebastian to begin preparing and contact Undertaker and Lau, which he agrees to do. Outside, Grey cheerfully comments about how fun that was when they run into Finnian, who looks less than pleased. They pass each other, while Phipps comments that "this side looks too easy" as he appears to attack Finnian. However, what he actually did was very quickly embroider a flower onto Finnian's straw hat, which Grey questions him over while Finnian cheerfully thanks him.
The eye doctor/writer arrives at Phantomhive Manor. He comments to himself that he has decided to write down everything that occurred "that stormy night." A bloodied Sebastian is then seen collapsed on the ground with his eyes wide and mouth gaping.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
*Arthur Conan Doyle
*Soma Asman Kadar
*Agni
*Ciel Phantomhive
*Sebastian Michaelis
*Mey-Rin
*Baldroy
*Charles Grey
*Charles Phipps
*Queen Victoria
*Finnian
*Tanaka
==Trivia==
*A map of Europe is shown during the conversation between Ciel, Charles Grey, and Charles Phipps. It, however, shows the 21st-century borders of several European countries despite the fact that the series is set in the late 19th century. The most obvious changes apply to Germany, which back then occupied a large portion of what is now western and northern Poland; Austria and the Czech Republic, which was not an independent country at the time, being part of Austria-Hungary.
==Navigation==
pl:038. Ten kamerdyner ma parszywe szczęście!
es:Capítulo 38
it:Capitolo 38
Category:Chapters
Category:Phantomhive Manor Murders Arc