The answer to this question was affirmative. Alice's speculation had been partially confirmed: "Cassandra" had indeed never brought up this matter voluntarily, but she had probably guided it behind the scenes.
The only thing Alice was unsure of was whether Sylvia's decision had been influenced by Fate.
But she had no way to determine that, because she did not know exactly how much of her abilities "Cassandra" had retained, and Sylvia obviously could not have known either.
After ending the Spirit Channeling, Alice stared at the corpse on the ground and fell into troubled contemplation—how was she supposed to dispose of a corpse?
She looked around, and her gaze finally settled on the open coffin.
Corpses belonged in coffins!
Having made her decision, Alice picked up Sylvia's corpse, tossed it into the coffin in one motion, then closed the lid and clapped her hands in satisfaction.
A few seconds later, she silently pushed the coffin lid open again and stared at Sylvia's right eye in thought.
...Should I find her a monocle to wear?
Alice took out the monocle Amon had given her. After hesitating for a moment, she gave up on the idea and instead pulled the dagger from Sylvia's chest.
She was lucky. No blood spurted out, so she did not have to worry about staining her clothes, though it did not matter even if they got stained.
Alice held the dagger and drew a circle over Sylvia's right eye.
—If crows could be distinguished by the color of their feathers, then scars should work too, right?
Wait, did crows even come in seven colors?
Unfortunately, that question was destined to go unanswered. Alice looked around, considered it for a moment, and tried to push open the door.
The door easily opened to either side. Outside lay a