Black Butler season 4 episode 4: Ciel and Sebastian dig deeper into Weston College's mystery

Black Butler season 4 episode 4, titled His Butler, Colluding, was released on May 4, 2024, at 11:30 pm JST on Tokyo MX, BS11 and other local networks in Japan. The episode saw Ciel Phantomhive meet the Four Prefects and bring up the topic of Derrick Arden.

However, their reactions and cryptic answers led Ciel to believe they had been hiding something about the boy. As such, he played his unique card at the end with Michaelis Sebastian's help to try and unravel the mystery.

Notably, Black Butler season 4 episode 4 covered chapters 72 and 73 from Yana Toboso's manga.

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Black Butler season 4 episode 4 highlights: Ciel plans his next move to probe deeper into the mystery

Picking up the events from the previous episode, Black Butler season 4 episode 4 begins with the students from the Sapphire Owl house flocking around Ciel Phantomhive, congratulating him on becoming the Drudge of a Prefect's Drudge.

Undoubtedly, the unwanted attention wears Ciel down. Michaelis Sebastian jokes that he should become an actor. At the same time, he applauds him for eliminating Maurice's threat.

However, Ciel reminds him that he is far from achieving his ultimate goal, which is to follow the Queen's orders and investigate the reason behind several students severing contact with their parents and the outside world.

Sebastian, as seen in the episode (Image via CloverWorks)

Interestingly, Black Butler season 4 episode 4 reveals that neither Ciel nor Sebastian has seen a single such missing student at the premise. As such, they speculate that something peculiar has been occurring at the school.

Enslaved by the institution's rigid rules, Ciel can't even make the necessary inquiries. However, since he has gained the P4's favor, he aims to directly ask them about the missing student, Derrick Arden.

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Ciel meets the P4 at Swan Gazebo and brings up Derrick Arden's topic

Black Butler season 4 episode 4 switches the location to Swan Gazebo, where Ciel Phantomhive shares a casual meeting with the P4 as a Drudge. He learns about the annual cricket tournament, which makes the four houses competitive.

Apparently, it's a traditional school tournament with a hundred years of history behind it. Even the Queen observes the victorious house's boat parade from Windsor Castle, but that's not the only charm of the event.

Ciel in the Swan Gazebo (Image via Cloverworks)

Black Butler season 4 episode 4 reveals that even the outsiders are welcome during the evening celebration, both before and after the tournament. The Prefects indulge in a casual banter over the subject of Bluewer's four sisters, who will attend the party.

Meanwhile, Ciel Phantomhive observes Gregory Violet, the Violet Wolf's Prefect. Having heard the rumors that Derrick has been transferred to the Violet House, Ciel knows he must converse with Gregory to figure out the boy's whereabouts.

However, once he realizes it's nearly impossible to converse with him, he brings up Derrick Arden's topic in front of all the Prefects, referring to him as his friend. Suddenly, the mien of the P4 changes.

Yet, Ciel observes that barring the Four Prefects, their Drudges aren't surprised to hear about Derrick.

Gregory Violet, as seen in Black Butler season 4 episode 4 (Image via Cloverworks)

Following that in Black Butler season 4 episode 4, Ciel Phantomhive presses the house captains slightly more to unravel more information about Derrick. The Prefects reveal that although the boy was talented, he was peculiar.

As such, the Headmaster transferred him from the Scarlet Fox to the Violet Wolf, the house for the gifted students. However, the Prefects cannot give a unanimous answer as to what Derrick's unique gift is.

Undoubtedly, it raises Ciel's suspicion, and he feels as if the Prefects are hiding something grave, but he decides to drop the subject for the time being, lest they get suspicious of him.

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Ciel and Sebastian continue their investigation and the former thinks of a brilliant plan

The next day, Ciel Phantomhive invites Edward Milford behind the school to enquire about Derrick. The boy reveals that Derrick wasn't the only student to be transferred.

Although he doesn't know much about the other houses, several students were transferred from the Red House (Scarlet Fox) to the Purple House (Violet Wolf) around the same time on the Headmaster's call.

Following that in the Black Butler season 4 episode 4, Ciel meets McMillan and asks him whether he knows about the students who got transferred to the Purple House. Interestingly, the boy divulges some of their names.

McMillan, as seen in the episode (Image via Cloverworks)

Aside from McMillan, Ciel asks several other students about Derrick. However, no one can exactly tell him about the boy's perks, except that the Headmaster transferred him to the Purple House.

Ciel is surprised that not a single student has questioned the authority's decision. Besides Ciel, Michaelis Sebastian does some digging on his own. He asks the vice-principal about Derrick, but he also doesn't know the reason behind the boy's transfer, except that it was the Headmaster's call.

During the class, Sebastian slips a note to Ciel, inviting him to the Sapphire Owl's library at night. The boy does as instructed but almost gets noticed by Lawrence Bluewer. Ciel and Sebastian finally exchange their findings and realize that they have hit a wall.

Violet Wolf house, as seen in Black Butler season 4 episode 4 (Image via Cloverworks)

As such, Ciel thinks of a different plan in Black Butler season 4 episode 4. He moves out of his dorm at night with Sebastian and reaches the Violet Wolf's house. Without depending on his butler's powers, the boy hurls a lantern at the dormitory to set it on fire, intending to force the students to come outside.

Sebastian recites Weston College's 87th article, according to which, every student must promptly evacuate to the schoolyard and answer the roll call taken by the prefects, in case of an emergency like the onset of a fire or other calamity.

Black Butler season 4 episode 4 ends on a tantalizing cliffhanger, with Ciel Phantomhive and Michaelis Sebastian awaiting the mysterious boy, Derrick Arden's appearance.

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