The next morning.
In Lilith's bedroom.
Elena surfaced blearily from her dreams, and the Lilith who had been beside her had gotten up at some point.
She was alone on the bed, the space next to her empty, with some residue still left of last night's being held and buried in softness.
When had Lilith left?
She did not know. She had slept far too deeply — quite possibly the most comfortable sleep she had had in a long while.
She rolled over, and last night's images replayed in her mind unbidden.
Lilith's defenseless sleeping face, the feeling of being held, the warmth of being pressed against her chest, and...
That moment when her outstretched hand rested over Lilith's heart.
Looking back on it now, she regretted it enormously. It had been such a good opportunity, and she had not taken it.
"Why didn't I do it... dammit, what was I even hesitating over..."
She rolled over again and buried her head in the pillow, muttering to herself.
Perhaps it was regret. Perhaps it was self-reproach.
But either way, a missed chance was a missed chance, and what she had to do was seize the next one.
Although she could not guarantee that even if there were a next time, she would be able to make up her mind.
And so Elena dawdled a long while before getting up, still wearing that mortifying cat set.
She went back to her own room first, meaning to change before going downstairs, and standing before the wardrobe she hesitated again at the pile of clothes.
In the end she chose the maid outfit — not the going-out version, of course, but the one she wore at home.
As for why she chose that?
Because she could not be bothered, obviously. She had no desire to be teased over her clothes again, and she was used to it by now; there was nothing much to be embarrassed about.
Once changed, Elena went downstairs to the living room.
Lilith was in the kitchen making breakfast, and a good deal of food was already laid out on the table.
Elena walked over quite naturally and sat down in her place.
Lilith came out of the kitchen just then carrying the last dish, set it on the table, and sat down across from her.
"Good morning~ Did you sleep well last night~?"
"I did n..."
Elena started to snap back on reflex, then abruptly pulled it in.
She did not know why herself. Perhaps she simply did not want to lie, since she really had slept comfortably.
"Mm."
In the end all she gave was a vague murmur, and then she buried herself in her food.
Lilith did not press further, and surprisingly did not seize the opening to tease her either, only eating her own breakfast quietly.
Except for glancing up at Elena now and then and smiling.
Breakfast ended quickly in that silence.
And just then, Lilith, who had been quiet for a long while, suddenly spoke.
"I have some work to do today, so there's no need to call me for lunch. Just brew a cup of tea and bring it up. Is that all right?"
Elena hesitated a moment, then nodded.
"...Mm, understood. Go and get on with it."
"Good girl~ Call me if you need anything."
Lilith came over to Elena, ruffled her head gently, and then left and went upstairs.
Elena let out a breath. Being alone was rather nice; at least she did not have to face Lilith.
Since last night she had felt that something had changed, though she did not know what — only that it seemed, well, this was not so bad?
"No, no...!"
She shook her head hard and threw the strange thought out.
"Honestly... what have I been thinking about lately."
She muttered to herself again.
"Never mind. Let's find something to do..."
She looked at the plates in front of her, cleared them herself, carried them into the kitchen and washed them slowly.
After that she did the laundry, hung it out, and finally cleaned the living room.
Once everything that could be done was done, she settled back onto the living-room sofa.
Looking out the window, the sunlight was lovely, the freshly hung laundry swaying gently in the breeze, everything so natural and quiet.
She had barely stopped moving before she could not help her thoughts wandering again.
She remembered Sarah saying the Organization had sent two more people, with no telling when they would arrive.
And no telling whether Sarah had reported properly, either — otherwise the Organization would send still more, and the betrayal charge might really stick.
Vier was still waiting for her to come back, and she had no wish to drag Vier down with her.
Except... could she actually go back now? The question came to her unbidden.
She was living rather well at present, even if she could not leave and her freedom was restricted.
At that thought, her hand went to her throat without meaning to. Empty. The collar was not there; she had taken it off herself long since.
And yet she felt that even with the collar gone, something had quietly taken hold of her again.
"Haah..."
She sighed, stood up and stretched.
There was no use thinking about it. Life went on the same, and the contract still had to be carried out.
It was only being put off a little longer. Once she had investigated everything she wanted to know, she would not hesitate again.
She made herself that promise once more.
Time slipped by again.
At midday Elena toasted some bread and spread a little jam on it to fill her stomach, and of course did not forget to brew Lilith a cup of Blood Iris.
When she brought the tea up to Lilith's bedroom, Lilith was working hard and did not even exchange a couple of words with her.
Finding it dull, Elena did not stay long and went back to her own room to lie down.
When she woke again, it was already evening.
She could not remember how she had fallen asleep, and the room had gone pitch dark by now.
She switched on the light and went over to the window.
Looking out through it, the sky outside had gone completely black.
Stars hung glittering at the horizon, and the grounds around the estate were very quiet, with only the faint rustle of wind through the leaves.
It struck her suddenly that it was this late and Lilith had not come to call her for dinner, which was rather strange.
Could Lilith still not be finished working? She had not eaten at midday either — surely she would not skip dinner as well?
And then Elena realized she had actually started worrying about Lilith.
She found that rather unacceptable, and shook her head quickly, trying to stop her thoughts wandering.
Then she went to close the curtains; the wind coming in was too cold, and she was not wearing much.
And just as she caught hold of the curtain to draw it, her eyes flicked out the window again without meaning to.
A figure flashed past in the moonlight, over by the outer wall of the estate.
Unlike Sarah, this one's stealth was a great deal better — though still conspicuous, to Elena.
What she could be certain of, though, was that one of the killers Sarah had mentioned had arrived.
This was the second.
And this one felt somewhat familiar. The build, the technique — both pointed her toward one particular person...