#previous contracts

Are these all by the same anon? Seems so. Anyway, I wish to address them together, since they all have something in common: To what extent is Sebastian expected to act “human”?

Sebastian’s prior knowledge and forced limitations

Freezing waters. I don’t think Sebastian couldn’t magick anything right then, but I doubt he was thinking too hard about all the ways he could have made things easier for his young master, either. It should go back to the terms in the contract for following orders. Soon after the contract begins, our earl does tell the demon to make himself and his actions seem human. He never says the demon cannot magick things, he just says to make it all look like it’s humanly possible... to outsiders. And no one else (alive) seems to be in the vicinity right then to witness him using his demonic powers. But the terms include him following direct orders, so he doesn’t have to do anything in particular that he isn’t ordered to do. We could say Sebastian doesn’t magick a boat, warm blankets, hot tea, etc. simply because his young master doesn’t tell him to. Also, we get something very interesting (I think so) from this scene: Sebastian takes the temperature of the water into consideration, and that’s significant to show us he’s learned more about human frailty since the contract began. It’s in this same arc that we see Sebastian’s cinematic records, including how he apparently didn’t know that extremely hot bath water would be too hot.

Teaching techniques. Soma gave Sebastian as much honest feedback as he could. But we have to remember he was terrified of Sebastian. Given the push and pull of them testing the limits of their contract, as well as our earl’s dark streak, I doubt our earl ever did anything “lovely” or “cute” when Sebastian messed up. If he had, that really should have been shown. Same goes for some instance where our earl messed up but Sebastian went easy on him; I don’t think it happened. Instead, what we see is our earl and Sebastian each being rather cruel when mistakes are made... but easing up and showing each other pleasantries when the other does something right/shows significant improvement.

About the most “helpful” thing our earl has probably done, regarding Sebastian learning to be a butler (or chef, etc.), is give him detailed feedback on what he considers successful vs unsuccessful. Same goes for Sebastian giving our earl hints and other advice, instead of just punishing him for mistakes. But that would require covering a lot of training, and Yana-san probably wanted to focus on the high drama of the situation. So, we get all the abusive behaviors towards each other... at first. As they each get better at their various tasks, they are kinder to each other and more helpful. There is a bit more guidance in their approaches to teaching. They become more rewarding in their reactions.

I cannot say much regarding learning speed, though. The way it’s shown as a montage, it’s really hard to tell how long it takes either of them to accomplish a particular task. One might expect a demon to learn everything almost immediately, but some things are clearly harder for him to comprehend, like the human sense of taste. This puts him at a disadvantage when he’s trying to make food and tea without (openly) using any magic. Not all humans like the same foods or flavors.

Learning curve. Using magic and doing things “the human way” are so completely different. That first night, for instance, Sebastian magicks all of that food, the dishes, the utensils, etc. based on what he had learned during previous contracts. He’s never had such a young master before, and this kid just survived a month of malnourishment (among other things). This suggests his previous masters were adults who tended to have lavish food preferences... and liked things salty, heavily spiced, and rich/heavy/hearty. The sorts of “full flavored” meals that Chlaus admits he’s grown tired of. The sorts of lavish feasts that Baron Kelvin relishes. Sebastian was told not to magick any more food and drink, and he had to learn about his new young master’s personal food preferences. He had to toss out what little he knew of cookery and start from scratch.

I admit I’m not sure why everything was so perfect/spotless on presentation that first night, but then he later shows up with imperfectly plated dishes and dirty utensils. I have to assume that, again, it’s just different if he’s being told to do things without any semblance of magic. He might have also initially underestimated the standards of a child. Remember that the presentation that first night was based entirely on previous contracts with adult masters. For a little while after that first night, he might have been under the impression he’d be able to get away with sloppy presentation. He was soon corrected on that notion! 😆

We know too little about any previous contract that had him hanging around Schönbrunn Palace. In fact, we don’t even have confirmation that was a contract.... That’s merely our assumption. Even if it’s a good assumption, we still wouldn’t know the master, their wishes, how long the contract took to fulfill, etc. The demon might have used obvious magic to fulfill most of the master’s demands, but it could be that most of this was done in private... and that that master had no issue with this... unlike our earl, who finds it disturbing. At the palace, the demon might not have needed to magick anything. Depends on why he was there. And, if he did need to, he could probably do so when no one was watching.

Regarding the bath water and later the hot tea, I think a lot of it has to do with the demon not being used to this sort of treatment from a master. Again, the demon has never had such a young master before. His previous masters were probably much easier to please... and self-sufficient. 🤔