"Then — was there someone with Lilith before who looked a lot like me?"
Elena had not finished speaking before Severina's hands went still.
She raised her head slightly and looked at Elena through the full-length mirror in front of them.
Her right hand lifted a strand of Elena's distinctive grey hair, then let it fall again.
"Yes... alike. Truly alike, especially the color of the hair and those eyes."
At that, Severina shook her head again.
"But she was not like you, in name or in temperament."
Elena had noticed the gesture too, and pressed on.
"Then what was her name?"
Severina did not answer that one straight away; she seemed to have fallen into thought, or perhaps into remembering.
After a brief silence...
"Eve. Her name was Eve."
"Eve..."
Elena repeated the name quietly.
She searched her memory and turned up nothing connected to it; the name left no impression on her at all.
Then again, that stood to reason — never mind that this was her first time in this domain, she had no memories from before she crossed into this world either.
And the world was vast; it was hardly strange for someone out there to look a great deal like her.
But if that person was not here now... then Lilith had surely done those things to her too?
Damn that old hag.
Elena silently cursed Lilith one more time in her head.
Next came the last question she wanted to ask, though she already had a guess of her own.
But she had nothing better to do, and perhaps the answer would differ from what she expected.
"Then, last question. You said earlier that someone had been frightened off by Lilith. Was the one who got frightened off... Eve?"
"That's right~"
Severina answered without hesitation.
The answer was exactly what Elena had thought: it must have been Lilith's nasty streak that drove Eve away!
On that point, she genuinely sympathized.
What she was more curious about was that Eve had actually managed to escape from that old hag Lilith, which left her rather impressed despite herself.
Just then Severina finished the measurements and patted Elena's shoulder.
"There. Questions asked, measurements taken. Put your clothes back on~"
As she spoke, Severina put the measuring tape away and handed Elena back the maid outfit she had taken off.
Elena took it and changed back into it. In the full-length mirror, her reflection stood in the maid outfit.
Come to think of it, this was the first time she had seen herself in this respectable version of the uniform, and it looked a great deal more normal than the one she wore at the villa.
The black-and-white against her long grey hair had a charm of its own, and it made her linger in front of the mirror a little longer than she meant to.
"Time to go out, little cutie. Don't get too taken with yourself~ Lilith will be getting impatient."
Severina's voice pulled Elena out of her self-admiration, and she led Elena back outside.
In the front room, Lilith sat in a chair to one side with a book in her hands, reading quietly.
Only when the two of them appeared did she close the book and look over.
"What took so long? Have you been doing something bad behind my back?"
There was a note of displeasure in her voice, like a child in a sulk.
"Relax. We only chatted a while. I'm not going to steal your things~"
Severina soothed her with a laugh, and reached out with her right hand to shove Elena forward.
Oh, crap!
Elena's heart leapt, and before she could react she had been pushed right in front of Lilith.
Thankfully she braked in time, or she would have gone straight into Lilith's arms.
That was close, far too close!
Elena let out a breath. What did these two take her for!
If she really had collided with her, she would likely not be sleeping tonight.
The Lilith in front of her, however, looked rather disappointed — though that expression lasted only an instant.
"You didn't say anything you shouldn't have?"
Lilith turned the question on Severina.
"Rest easy. I merely answered a few of the little cutie's questions honestly. I didn't spill any of your little secrets."
Severina answered Lilith's question honestly, and yet somehow said nothing at all.
"...You had better not have. Hmph."
Lilith gave a small snort and seized hold of Elena, who had been standing to one side quietly enjoying the show.
"Elena, don't you believe a word from her. Nothing that comes out of her mouth is true."
"Eh? Ah? Oh... understood."
Lilith then dragged Elena toward the shop door.
That left Elena rather speechless. Why did these two have to drag her into their battle!
And this Lilith — how had she suddenly turned into a little girl? It was too much of a shock to her worldview.
"Goodbye~ Remember to collect the clothes in three days."
Severina waved after the departing pair.
"And little cutie~ Do remember what big sister told you~"
As her words finished, the two of them stepped out of the shop into the alley outside.
Only once the shop door had closed did Lilith let go of Elena.
"There. The clothes are ordered, so shall we go and eat next?"
Lilith looked at Elena, her tone shifting back to the one Elena knew.
"What would my little maid like to eat~?"
How does Lilith change faces that fast? So she puts on a respectable act in front of Severina!
Elena could not help complaining inwardly again.
"Anything. It's not as though I know what's good here."
Elena rubbed the arm Lilith had grabbed, which had gone a little red, and gave Lilith no warmth at all.
Part of that was because of Eve, of course, which had convinced her further that Lilith was a nasty piece of work and thoroughly deserved the bounty on her head.
"Hm? Has my little maid met another woman and forgotten all about her Master~?"
Hearing Elena's answer, Lilith produced a kindly smile — oh, no, a threat, rather.
And what Elena felt in response was plainly nothing but fear, and she hurried to patch it over.
"Th-that is, what I mean is, entirely as Master commands!"
"Is that so~"
Lilith pulled that kindly smile back a little, laid a hand on top of Elena's head and pressed down hard, plainly still annoyed.
"And here I thought my little maid wanted to take another woman as her Master~ How nice that she doesn't~ Good girl~"
"H-how could I, ahaha."
Pinned under the hand, Elena tried to pry Lilith's fingers loose, but even using both of her own she could not shift her an inch, and in the end she gave up.
"Mm-hm~ That's good then~"
After that, at Lilith's "invitation," the two of them made their way to the center of town and found a rather special restaurant.
As for why it was special...
Because this establishment did not even pretend. Its signboard said, in the plainest possible terms:
【House Specialties】: Our signature blood tofu, specialty blood cuisine, and house-mixed blood cocktails!
Anyone could see this was no restaurant run by ordinary humans!
And most importantly, the Lilith beside her looked positively expectant.
"Come along~ Elena, this place's blood cuisine is thoroughly authentic~"
That line of Lilith's frightened Elena even more. The blood this place used wouldn't be...
She did not dare follow the thought any further, and swallowed on reflex.
"Um... could I possibly..."
"You could not~"
Elena was cut off before she could finish, and was then hauled bodily into the restaurant by Lilith.
What lay ahead of her was hell itself!