Traveling Time & Space!

There is simply something about the way she brushes his cheek, she way she silently looks at him, the way they just click as partners and trust each other whenever they're working on a case. How she was almost unconscious and bleeding in his arms, but still looking at him as if he was the most precious flower in the world. The most obvious thing to me is how she never rejects his hugs and any form of kinship with him. We all know Mao Mao can reject people (La clan) if she wants to. She feels safe with him, she feels comfortable enough to throw a fit to taste poison, to get a little bit too excited for ingredients (climbing on his desk) and to dance around him.

jinmao in a nutshell:

— Ciel's sister who is dating Edward !

★ Of course Edward is the perfect boyfriend. For obvious reasons, you've grown up together; you've known him since you were children, and although it probably wasn't planned at first, things eventually happened and neither of them put up too much resistance. You'd always thought you'd probably end up marrying a complete stranger. Ciel had known Lizzy his whole life, and at least he'd been lucky. With you, it was something entirely different… though somehow you'd ended up in a similar situation without meaning to.

★ If anyone loves this situation, it's Lizzy. She already adored you even before all this; you'd spent some time together, so knowing that you two somehow ended up together would make her happy, and she'd probably end up being your number one fan.

★ And if anyone hates this, it's Ciel. Well, even though he always says so, you know him too well to know he's probably lying. And even though dinners and holidays end up being even more chaotic than before, maybe sometimes it doesn't bother him too much. He knows his older sister is with the person who will take the best care of her. Besides, it's fun to tease Ciel by reminding him that you're a closer family now and forcing him to attend family dinners.

Essentially, they’re likely to be revealed as a pair because they were together (or in love if you will - it did take two people to tango Francis and Vincent into existence), basically confirming the fandom’s long-standing grandfather theory.

Additionally, the panel in chapter 103 makes even more sense now, as it connects to the first one I mentioned. The only three names listed are Claudia's, Cedric's, and Vincent's, and it explicitly refers to his lineage.

(created by @into–the–abyss and me; look here for our complete list of Kuromysteries)

One of Black Butler’s most mysterious characters is Claudia Phantomhive. There are many speculations about her, yet very little information is given in the manga. However, it seems like she could play an important role later on. So here are a few thoughts about Claudia:

Facts/What do we know about her?

From the shinigami’s family tree of Ciel’s lineage we know that Claudia was born on April 5th, 1830. On June 13th, 1851 (which was a Friday the 13th), at the age of 21, she gave birth to her son, Vincent, which makes her Ciel’s grandmother. However, Ciel never met her since she already died at the young age of 36 on July 13th, 1866 (which also was a Friday the 13th).

We know that Vincent’s father was Cedric K. Ros… so Claudia must have had a connection to this man. And Undertaker possesses a mourning locket with Claudia’s name and a strand of her hair. So they obviously knew each other as well and it’s likely that they were close since Undertaker called the lockets his “treasure”.

That’s pretty much everything the manga tells us about her that we can be certain about. So the following are theories based on the given facts:

Claudia’s last name: Phantomhive

Claudia’s death certificate and the family tree that the shinigami have tell us that her last name was Phantomhive. Vincent’s father’s last name, however, was NOT Phantomhive. That’s quite unusual because especially during these times it was common that the wife take her husband’s last name (like Frances Midford) or at least that the man passes on his last name to his children. Also, it’s very likely that Claudia was married since she had two children and a son born from an unmarried woman probably wouldn’t have inherited the earldom.

So here are two possible explanations as to why Vincent has his mother’s last name:

Claudia’s birth name wasn’t Phantomhive. She married the Earl of Phantomhive but had a secret love affair with Cedric K. Ros… and got pregnant. Her husband never found out and raised Vincent as his son and successor.

Claudia’s birth name was Phantomhive. She may have been the only child of the previous Phantomhive generation and therefore, inherited the title and the position as the Queen’s Watchdog after her predecessor’s death. She may have even married Cedric but kept her last name and passed on her title to her son.

The second option sounds plausible because it’s likely that Claudia was the Queen’s Watchdog at some point (see below). And based on the family tree, Claudia’s parents don’t seem to have had another child. However, Frances isn’t included in the family tree, either. So it could be that it only shows Ciel’s direct ancestors.

It’d also be interesting to know whether Cedric is the father of Frances as well. The family tree only shows one branch coming from Cedric and Claudia, leading to Vincent. But again, this may be because it only shows Ciel’s direct ancestors. But it could also mean that Vincent was Claudia’s and Cedric’s only child meaning that Frances has a different mother or – what’s more likely – a different father. If that’s the case then maybe explanation no. 1 makes more sense.

Was Claudia the Queen’s Watchdog before Vincent?

Since the Phantomhives have been serving the Queen as her Watchdog for several generations and Claudia was a Phantomhive, it’s possible that she, too, watched over England’s underworld on behalf of the Queen. We know that Frances is a strong woman who’s very talented in fencing. If her mother worked as the Watchdog she surely was a strong woman, too, and may have raised her daughter to be able to defend herself.

Claudia most likely had connections to Undertaker. Since Undertaker seems to have been an informant for the Watchdogs for a long time it’s possible that they’ve known each other because of her work as the Watchdog.

It must, however, be mentioned that in the second chapter when Ciel talks about his ring he says that it once belonged to his grandfather. This implies that not Claudia but Vincent’s father was the Watchdog – or at least that’s what Ciel believes.

However, there’s this image in chapter 15 that shows the line of previous Watchdogs and the person behind Vincent – and therefore, Vincent’s predecessor – is clearly a woman.

This may be the only picture of Claudia!

So we can conclude that it’s very likely that Claudia acted as the Watchdog until she died. She may have taken over this position after her husband died if Vincent was still too young at this point or she could have taken over the title from her father. Ciel said himself that he doesn’t know much about his grandmother so it’s possible that he doesn’t even know that she worked for the Queen. Since Claudia died when Vincent was still young, Vincent may not have talked about her very often. This could be the reason why Ciel knows so little about her.

Connection to Undertaker?

One of Undertaker’s treasured lockets has Claudia’s name and a strand of her hair in it.

This probably means that Undertaker knew Claudia when she was alive and that she was important to him. It’s certain that Undertaker has some connection to the Phantomhive family. Other than the locket, he mentioned that he knew previous generations; he cried over Vincent’s death and he seems to keep a watch on Ciel. We don’t know his motives but it’s possible that it started with Claudia.

Undertaker said that he hasn’t been an active shinigami for at least half a century. That means he could have been working as a reaper when Claudia was born but quit around the time when she was a child (around 10 years old). Could she have anything to do with Undertaker becoming a deserter?

A popular theory is that Undertaker and Claudia may have been lovers. The strand of her hair in the locket forms the infinity symbol that can stand for never-ending, limitless love. Undertaker might even be Cedric which means that he would be Vincent’s father and Ciel’s grandfather. The German reapers implied that Ciel’s lineage could be the reason for him being able to see shinigami and if Undertaker was really his ancestor maybe his shinigami blood would explain this. It would also explain Undertaker’s grief on Vincent’s death. However, Cedric’s name in the family tree has a date of death (though, technically, Undertaker did “die” in order to become a shinigami in the first place). But he must have already been a shinigami when he met Claudia and we don’t know if shinigami are even able to reproduce.

So maybe they were lovers, maybe they were friends who met because of Claudia’s work as the Watchdog or maybe Undertaker’s ties to the Phantomhives go much longer back to even Claudia’s ancestors. The only thing we can assume is that they knew each other and that they probably were closer than just working partners.

It’s also worth thinking about whether Undertaker’s Bizarre Doll project has anything to do with Claudia (e.g. a way of bringing her back to life?). (Look here for more about the Bizarre Dolls)

How did Claudia die?

As mentioned in the beginning, Claudia died at the very young age of 36. So she must have died from an unnatural cause. It could have been an illness or maybe an accident but there are two other options that seem more likely:

She could have been killed. If Claudia really worked as the Queen’s Watchdog she surely had many enemies. It’s possible that the same people who are responsible for Vincent’s death also killed Claudia. Undertaker once implied that he isn’t very fond of Queen Victoria. Maybe his dislike for her results from the knowledge that the work for the Queen is what got Claudia (and Vincent) killed.

The other possibility is that Claudia has killed herself. That would mean that she became a shinigami. The fact that Yana revealed how shinigami come into existence could mean that this will be important for the plot at some point. And, again, this could be the reason why Ciel’s lineage is special in the shinigami’s opinion. Maybe they were referring to Claudia. So if she has really committed suicide it would raise the question why she would have done it – especially since she had two young children. Here are some headcanons:

She killed herself with the knowledge from Undertaker that she would become a shinigami and had planned to become a deserter in order to be with Undertaker forever. However, since Undertaker seems to be alone now something must have gone wrong.

She was threatened by someone and thought that killing herself would be the only option to save her children.

She found out about something terrible (maybe related to or caused by her work as the Watchdog). Not being able to bear the guilt, she decided to end her life.

Whatever the reason for her early death may be, it’s likely that it’s somehow connected to her being a Phantomhive and possibly the Queen’s Watchdog. Dying young seems to be an unlucky fate of all Phantomhives. Claudia was 36, Vincent was 34 and Ciel’s fate was sealed once he made a contract with a demon.

Conclusion

“An unmarried woman of 21 could inherit and administer her own property. Even her father had no power over it. Once she married, however, all possessions reverted to her husband. She couldn’t even make a will for her personal property, while a husband could will his wife’s property to his illegitimate children. Therefore, marriage, although her aim in life, had to be very carefully contemplated.”

http://www.literary-liaisons.com/article009.html 

Does anyone else feel like Undertaker seems to act more distant towards to R!Ciel, like Tanaka? 

By R!Ciel’s side, and in doing his duty by him as butler, Tanaka appears cold, as if he is just going through the motions, whereas he was a far more animated individual in O!Ciel’s service, often going above and beyond the call of duty and clearly doing what he did for O!Ciel out of care and respect as well as duty.

With R!Ciel, he appears to have checked out, and while he does his duty, there is none of the feeling. 

I think that Undertaker, to an extent, shares this disconnect. In Chapter 151, R!Ciel asks him for assistance with his Earl duties twice, but is flatly rejected both times. 

This struck me as a little odd. Whenever O!Ciel asked Undertaker to do something, though Undertaker was never willing to give his assistance without proper ‘payment’ (laughter), he at least offered O!Ciel the opportunity to get what he wanted (and O!Ciel did). Even when his true identity was revealed!

With R!Ciel, Undertaker completely snuffs the possibility of even trying to help. 

Yes, he really might not have a single clue about how to do what R!Ciel is asking of him, and I might be thinking too much into it. He would probably be a crap butler, but so was Sebastian when he started out. Undertaker knows this. Besides, wouldn’t Undertaker just find it hilarious, especially the reaction of his disgusted master when he shows him how terrible of a job he made of… well, everything!

I’d imagine Undertaker would much rather have that than sit in one place and read a book for two hours.

For Undertaker to make excuses, however true they might be, seems weird. He is speaking to ‘Earl Phantomhive’, whose predecessors he has assisted and cared for for at least two generations.

I wonder if this may tie in to the RCMT - Real Ciel Mastermind Theory, in which R!Ciel had involvement in or outright planned the Phantomhive massacre.

Undertaker would know this (as he rescued the boy and his ‘episodes’ from the fire… at least he claims to have anyway). If true, then Undertaker would have more than enough reason to only assist the boy insofar as it benefited his goal, but nothing more.

R!Ciel appears to respond in kind, by being curt and rude towards him, in spite of the fact that he owes Undertaker his ‘life’. 

Undertaker is literally the reason he is able to sit at a desk and look at paperwork. Hardly a ‘useless arse’. Then again, with his attitude towards Sebastian, R!Ciel is quite a different master than O!Ciel, so his attitude towards UT could be a product of that.

Alternatively, Undertaker’s response to R!Ciel’s requests may have to do with both his and Tanaka’s (seemingly) shared dislike of R!Ciel’s readiness to get stuck into his role as Earl (and, more importantly, Watchdog).

Very glum faces, both. I’m very interested to see their dynamic and relationship going forward, how much their shared long history as people close to the Phantomhive family informs their actions and connection.

Anyway, it seems clear that neither man is thrilled to see R!Ciel jump into O!Ciel’s shoes, most likely because they know what the role entails, possibly because of what it means for O!Ciel, or a mix of both. Maybe they fear what R!Ciel will do, what his newfound power could cause, for himself and O!Ciel.

Undertaker, as we know, hates the Queen, the Watchdog duty she places on the young Phantomhive heir, and now R!Ciel has returned, to see him willingly take that burden and that tragic fate on his shoulders must rankle Undertaker as much as it did with O!Ciel.

It’s difficult to know what Tanaka is thinking. Perhaps he is concerned for O!Ciel, or wary of R!Ciel’s intent, or perhaps he shares Undertaker’s desire for the boys to free themselves of their duty and heritage and find happiness.