Who Attacked the Phantomhive Manor?
I had previously wrote about this back in 2022, but I thought I could expand on it two years later. (If anyone is interested: https://www.tumblr.com/salty-protagonist/694488877301399552/who-is-behind-the-attack-on-the-phantomhive-manor)
In essence, I thinks it’s quite possible that the Phantomhive family organized the attack. I will answer questions as bullet points so feel free to look at the ones that seem interesting. :)
Think about it, is anyone actually dead in this series? Grim reapers and bizarre dolls are technically dead too but they account for half of the characters. Vincent could’ve come back somehow. But I don’t think that’s the case, he probably never died in the first place.
There are some instances through different chapters that support this theory, but let’s try to focus on those that tie back to the Phantomhives.
Tanaka is loyal to the Phamtomhives. So loyal that he sided with RCiel once the child came back. Before him, his master was Vincent. Considering Sebastian met Tanaka after the attack, the words in the panels above relate to Tanaka’s own experience. This may’be been regarded as a random motivational quote only if this wasn’t Kuroshitsuji.
About the death of Sebastian the dog, I had previously said why would random criminals not kill the dog if they were just after the twins and instead go through the trouble of putting a muzzle on it. But the dog is killed later in Vincent’s bedroom. Only people OC saw in the room were the bodies of his parents and a random blond servant.
Just for the sake of mystery, I will assume that there wasn’t anyone else in the room. So someone in the room that OC did see could’ve killed the dog. 🐕
Phantomhive manor had so many workers for every task before the attack as we all know, with Tanaka being the head butler. While butlers do swear loyalty to their masters in this story (Sebastian, Agni, etc.) others have a higher possibility of betraying their master.
The other servants could‘be been working for a family member other than Vincent. This is quite a reach considering there isn’t much to know about the generation before Vincent. However, the servants did say that they had a surprise for the kids.
I think that because Tanaka is the one who mentioned the surprise, he was the one servants informed of about wanting to create a specific circumstance for the surprise which is just the attack. Because Vincent trusts Tanaka, he wouldn’t see it as a threat, which may not have been the case if it was mentioned by another servant. I’m not saying Vincent didn’t know about the “surprise” beforehand, but he may’ enjoy been deceived in about the details.
The blond guy from the previous question could’ve pretended to be dead after killing Sebastian. The blood splatters don’t match any heavy injury on his body.
Weren’t we shown what happened in the flashbacks?
Technically, but only from OC’s point of view. Before Ciels were revealed to be twins, all the childhood flashbacks were from his perspective too. So Yana Toboso was able to hide such a crucial information while leaving clues behind for the readers. RC being the first to go out to explore on 14 December without the readers not seeing anything, weird sounds and OC blacking out during transportation are all gaps in the readers (and OC’s) knowledge.
For transportation, considering the children were worth a lot more when they’re together, why did the kidnappers separate them and risk something happening to one? Why did RC reach the selling location before OC instead of bringing them together and saving on costs. And why weren’t RC’s tied?
They tied up OC’s legs while he was unconscious. Then they put him in a locked suitcase in a locked car with two kidnappers who were probably armed. Why wasn’t the same measures applied to RC.
Now, I’m not saying a 10 year old child was the one who coordinated the attack, but he may’ve more information that would make him not run away since he is “the true heir.”
Is twin Ciel really that suspicious?
Yes. Let’s focus on the ring. Why didn’t the kidnappers take it? They should’ve searched the kids to see if they have any goods or weapons on them which would risk the sale. Phantomhive ring is bigger compared to others as well.
This is a reach but it may’ve been a tracking device. In general, I don’t refer to Green/Emerald Witch Arc much in my posts. But, they discovered tracking devices within protection amulets back then. It can be an indirect hint to this.
For those who may think why Sebastian didn’t notice anything, it’s because he doesn’t have the detection skills for a tracking device. He was surprised to learn the truth about the amulets in Germany too.
This would also explain how RC was able to follow OC and his demon with Undertaker anywhere they went. RC reappearance was very well coordinated too. He went to the house in London because he knew OC wasn’t there. Agni and Some may’ve been unexpected variables or UT knew they were there before sending RC. Additionally, RC was able to appear just as OC entered the mansion and the police came in really timely manner. All of these suggest that there could’ve indeed been a tracking device.
No normal child would examine his father’s corpse for jewelry upon first impression. The ring was probably given to RC by someone else. But he instructed to tell OC otherwise.
Who attacked the Phantomhive Manor?
I think the real culprit was Claudia or any family member who had the blood of Phantomhive. Maybe they’re yearning for immortality and require quality material for UT’s research. Maybe they’re aggrevated regarding something that happened in Germany, or with Queen Victoria. But it’s likely a Phantomhive (other than RC) attacked the manor with the help of servants, UT and possible outside help.
The scene from when twins were even younger could even be a foreshadowing to the attack. OC kept waiting for revenge and to find the culprits, but it was someone he knew and trusted in reality.
I’m taking this story as evidence because similar things have happened in the story. One example I liked for direct foreshadowing for the twin theory is Maurice Cole (bad guy, make-up dude, Weston academy) who said he did those bad things because he felt insignificant in his brother’s shadow.
I referred back to a lot of older chapters so many of these may be popular ideas that I’m not aware of. Thank you for reading this very long post.