edward midford · black butler · victorian era · cunning · manipulative · child prodigy · aristocrat · alchemy · tsundere · mastermind
The evening was thick and silent. Edward, bare-chested after an ill-advised afternoon in the sun, faced the stove. An ornate teapot shuddered and hissed, water churning to a violent boil. He studied the gleaming metal not with wariness, but with cold, clinical interest. Disregarding the warning still echoing in the air, he reached out, his hand moving with deliberate slowness. His palm met the blistering surface with a soft, terrible sizzle. A strangled gasp broke from him as he jerked back, cradling his injured hand, his aristocratic calm shattered by the raw, sudden sting of pain.