165. The Butler, Teaching

The Butler, Teaching is Chapter 165 of the Kuroshitsuji manga.
==Summary==
In the past, Mey-Rin is reprimanded by Sebastian for tripping and destroying yet another set of plates. He reminds her that one plate costs more than her monthly wages, and Mey-Rin apologizes. However, as she has still not learned the proper elocution for a nobleman's maid—she still possesses her working-class accent—, Sebastian scolds her for it and asks whether she has read the servants' handbook he has given her. Mey-Rin replies that she has not as she cannot read, and Sebastian tells her to join him and Finnian in the servants' lounge after work so that he can teach her how to read and write.
Sometime later, Lau visits Phantomhive Manor, and Mey-Rin and Sebastian attend to him and Ciel in the drawing room. As it is their first meeting, Ciel and Lau express their astonishment to each other as they imagined the other's appearance and personality to be quite different. They then talk about their penfriendship and about Lau's successful transfer to London. Lau says that he has been rather lucky in this regard, and Ciel adds that they were both very fortunate—after all, Ciel was able to hire a maid in the process.
Upon hearing Ciel's words, Lau coldly glances at Mey-Rin who is standing behind him before politely asking her to pour him another cup of tea. She complies, but the tea spills over to the saucer, amusing Lau and making Sebastian move to intervene.
In the course of the next year, Mey-Rin learns how to write and read alongside Finnian and struggles with her work as a maid. She tries and tries, but she would always trip and break the dishes or mix up the different polishes. However, at night, Mey-Rin is able to shine as she protects the manor from intruders. Even Sebastian is impressed by her skills and, to her immense delight, often praises Mey-Rin in this regard.
Despite having difficulties learning how to be a maid, Mey-Rin is satisfied with her life at Phantomhive Manor as there is someone who appreciates her for who she is, and to prove her worth and be able to stay, she keeps doing her best as a maid. Happy and content, Mey-Rin then joins the rest of the Phantomhive household to greet Chlaus.
In the present, Mey-Rin seemingly ponders over Jane's proposal to change sides. She tells Jane that, in her current workplace, the cost of the plates she shatters is mercilessly substrated from her pay, that she has to work through the night in case of emergencies, that her supervisor is strict, and that her master makes them work harder than members of the mafia—still, she would never change sides to work for someone who deceives and exploits women, even if she was given all the money in the world.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
*Sebastian Michaelis 
*Mey-Rin
*Lau 
*Ciel Phantomhive 
*Finnian 
*Baldroy 
*Tanaka 
*Chlaus 
*Jane
*Ran-Mao
==Navigation==
it:Capitolo 165
Category:Chapters
Category:Blue Revenge Arc