#previous master

Sebastian is a young demon?

That's pretty much my thoughts on it. For a demon, he might be "young" and somewhat inexperienced, despite any humble bragging or outright boasting.

At some point, the demon gives up "messily sampling" souls and starts accepting contracts. But the only hints we have about his previous contracts suggest there might not have been many. In fact, we only have hints about two previous contracts: one in the second half of the 18th century in Austria and maybe one in the later 15th century in Italy. Those assessments are based on things he says about the Viennese Waltz and the outfits he changes into when our earl seems shocked by his first appearance as a human.

If he slept between those contracts, that means a lot of time spent in his own realm, away from human contact.

I wouldn't say our earl is the first child he's ever interacted with, but he's definitely the only child contractor he's ever had, and he says so. He admits he's not used to caring for a human who can do so little for themselves, and he's not used to masters who expect the demon to cook from scratch, appear to do things the human way, or generally "act human". And even though Sebastian suggests a human lifetime isn't a long amount of time for him to wait for his "meal", Othello suggests that most contracts don't last long at all, because most humans have very simple wishes when they make contracts.

The demon learns knowledge and skills from contracts, and judging by the things he didn't have skills with or knowledge about (like choosing dish patterns [according to the Character Guide], making tea, cooking, bathing a person, water temperatures that harm humans, particular illnesses like asthma, or even how to get the best work out of the other servants), he's never had contracts before where those skills or that knowledge was required.

🎉 Scenario request: the Phantomhives live

How about what the twins' tenth birthday party might have been like, if the attack had never gone through as planned?

Twins: *looking at the clock, as it strikes 6pm*

Tanaka: *knocks on the door and gently opens it* Young masters, it's time for your party to start.

Twins: Yay!

Ciel: Presents!

Our Earl: Cake!

Tanaka: Ho, ho! Soon enough.

They make their way downstairs to the great hall of Phantomhive Manor, where party games have been set up. Their parents, many of the servants, and several guests are standing around.

Twins: Games?! *running from booth to booth to see what's there*

Rachel: Boys, boys! Over here.

Everyone to the twins: Happy Birthday!!!

Rachel: Happy birthday, my dear sweet angels!

Vincent: Happy birthday, boys!

Diedrich: *deadpan* Yes. Happy birthday. *whispers to Vincent* When do we get to the food?

Vincent: *chuckles and waves it away, not whispering* Undertaker's concerned if there will be enough wood to build your coffin someday.

Undertaker: *chuckles and winks at Vincent and Diedrich then tips his hat to the twins* Happy birthday, young Phantomhives. I hope you enjoy this day to its fullest. Someday, the birthdays will end and--

Vincent: *stepping in front of Undertaker to cut him off* Enough of that for now -- *nervously* haha -- this is a day of fun.

Diedrich: *mumbles* Seriously. And people think I'm the death of the party?

Rachel: *directing the twins away from all that* Come say hello to the other guests. Helloooo, An! Hellooo, Midfords!

Madam Red: Hello, sister! Hello, my lovely nephews! I have a huuuge gift for each of you in the pile.

Twins: Yayyyy!

Francis: Happy birthday, Ciel and E--

Lizzie: Happy birthdaaaayyy! Cieelll! I have something extra special for youu~~<3!

Francis: Elizabeth, calm down. That's not very lady-like behavior.

Lizzie: *puts a hand to her open mouth* Sorry, mother.

Alexis: *very serious™️* Happy birthday, boys. Ten years already. *puts out a hand to shake hands, but when Ciel puts his hand forward, Alexis grabs him by the hand and pulls him into a bear hug. Pulls our earl in for a group hug* *gushing with love and joy* Ooooh~~<3! *calling to Vincent* They are growing up so fast! Cherish these precious moments! *finally lets the boys go, and they catch their breaths again*

In turn, other guests wish the boys a happy birthday, and they play games until it's time for the feast, consisting of all the boys' favorite dishes. Then cake. And then presents... while Diedrich sits next to the platters of sandwiches and keeps nonchalantly selecting them. Vincent nudges Undertaker and tilts his head at Diedrich, and in response Undertaker tsks and pulls a tape measure from who-knows-where. Perhaps it was actually up his sleeve? 🤷🏻‍♀️

The boys received a veritable mountain of gifts, ranging from the practical (like hand-knitted socks from a maid and finely made socks and shoes purchased by Francis) to the fabulous (like Madam Red's: she nearly bought out the entire boy's section of Hamleys. When the boys got to Elizabeth's gifts, she became very excited. She gave Ciel a handkerchief she had painstakingly embroidered with his initials.

Ciel: It's lovely. I can tell your embroidery work has improved.

Lizzie: It has! It has! And.... I'll embroider more items for you, Ciel!

Our earl tried to be enthusiastic about the gift he received from her: replacements for some Noah's Ark animals he had misplaced. But then he saw that two were a mated pair he didn't previously have, and that made him happier.

Our earl: *genuinely thankful* Elizabeth, thank you for the carved animals. I don't think I had this pair. *holds up a set of leopards* By the way, have you ever noticed the pair of lions on those sets always both have a mane?

Lizzie: *finger to her lips, confused expression* Oh? No, I'd never noticed. Isn't that the way they should be?

Tanaka: *overhearing* Hoh, hoh, hoh....

Our earl: I don't think so. Only the male has a mane. Where are all the lionesses?

Lizzie: *still a bit confused* I have no idea. Oh! So, what are you going to open next?!

Later. Around 10pm, way past the boys' usual bedtime, the twins are still full, done with opening gifts and playing... and exhausted. Diedrich has run out of sandwiches, and most of the guests have said their farewells....

Twins: *yawning*

Rachel: *seeing them and stifling a yawn of her own* Alright, angels, it's off to bed for you two. Tanaka, please see to them.

Tanaka: Yes, my Lady. *turning to the boys* Come along, young masters.

The boys grumble, as young children often do when they are tired but don't wish to admit it. But they go with him, giving in to the call of sleep and pleasant dreams.

They head upstairs. Then, as they head down a hallway, the boys see their father, Diedrich, and Undertaker heading down the same hallway but in the opposite direction, towards Vincent's private study.

The twins can make out some of their conversation:

Vincent: Come along, Diedrich. We have things to discuss.

Diedrich: *mildly protesting in hushed tones*

Vincent: Good grief. Must I have a butler provide another platter? Yes, ok.

Undertaker: *snickers at Diedrich and tilts his head* Perchance I might finally get to have one?

Diedrich: Undertaker, you ate half of a cake, and it wasn't even a sma--

Undertaker: *turning to Vincent and cutting Diedrich off* What have I been saying? Something had been brewing for months now.

Vincent: Yes, yes. That incident earlier today was a close one.

Diedrich: *starting to fade out* Good thing we thwarted it just in time. Otherwise, the entire party could have been ruined.

Vincent: *barely audible now* My boys would have been devastated.... *fading out completely at the end*

The twins were too far away to hear anything more of their conversation, but they exchanged glances, just briefly. What was that all about?

Polaris is a butler who lost their previous master. They’re an anxious mess, the most unstable star lord so far, and a glimpse into their room shows they are obsessed with violence, which probably comes from their episodes. I’m sure you already know that some people in this fandom theorize Grell’s butler persona reflects what kind of person she used to be.

At the end of chapter 169, Polaris says “…as I’m a butler, even in death.” or in Japanese: “私は死んでも執事ですか？” The “death” part might be a figure of speech, but the English version was translated to keep the word intact. I wonder who else speaks this way?

Polaris’ use of formal speech (including the first-person pronoun 私) and their heavy cloak don’t reveal much about their gender or sex, although being a butler is a male position.

but also,

Undertaker doesn’t care enough about Grell to make her a bizarre doll, and it would be a stupid way to get an advantage over her.

Undertaker needs fresh corpses to make dolls, and he probably can’t travel back in time.

Polaris lost their master while they were still alive, but Grell betrayed hers after she became a reaper. Polaris is also probably connected to the Phantomhives since they care so much about r!Ciel.

Grell possibly having to fight her own body is… not the most subtle metaphor.

What are your thoughts?

Thoughts on Polaris theories

The idea of Grelle's old human body being used for Polaris would support the serious theory that reapers are reborn into new bodies, but otherwise this is definitely crack theory. Why Grelle? Besides, how long ago did Grelle originally die? Undertaker not only wouldn't have a reason to keep that body so long (not even using it for the Campania), but he would have likely lacked the ability to keep the body intact long enough until the advanced bizarre doll techniques were developed.

My theory about Polaris is he's a former Phantomhive butler killed during the attack (shown in ch133, ch134, ch151 and possibly elsewhere), which explains his station as a butler, his devotion to real Ciel as well as the loss of his previous master. The way he says he doesn't want to lose his master again, and since real Ciel was the original heir and was technically head of the household before he was sacrificed, Polaris (if he was a Phantomhive servant before) might also be upset about temporarily losing real Ciel, too, not just about permanently losing Vincent.

Take note of Undertaker's expression when Polaris talks about losing his master. To me, Undertaker is on the verge of crying, like he actually did, in front of Diedrich no less, over Vincent's death. Whomever Polaris is talking about, they strike a nerve with Undertaker, as if Polaris' previous master meant something to Undertaker. Of course, I think Undertaker's Cedric, Vincent's father.