The next day, as the sun rose, Elsa gathered the children together for their last breakfast at the Manor.
"All right, children. Once you've finished eating, go pack your things. We're getting ready to leave." Elsa clapped her hands and addressed the girls, who all looked up at her.
"Elsa, do we really have to leave? I don't want to leave this place." The younger girl wore her hair in a bun, and her round face still had a little baby fat. Sadako looked at Elsa with watery eyes.
Elsa was at a loss for words, unsure how to answer the child's hopeful plea. "I'm sorry, little Sadako." She silently lowered her head.
"You don't have to apologize. It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, everyone wouldn't have to leave. I'll go right now and tell those bad people that I, Hina Hiruko, will be waiting for them to come cut me down."
Hibana shot to her feet and shouted at Elsa in outrage.
"Hibana, what nonsense are you talking about? How could I ever let you leave alone?" For the first time, Elsa, who had never lost her temper, raised her voice at the girl.
"Big sister..." Hibana was stunned to hear her unfailingly gentle sister speak to her so sternly for the first time. She should have been angry, yet instead, she felt a warmth unlike anything she had ever known.
Seeing how dejected Elsa looked, the considerate children stopped saying they didn't want to leave.
"I'm sorry, big sister." Little Sadako, who had been sniffling moments before, suddenly walked over to Elsa, tugged at her skirt, and spoke timidly.
Elsa scooped the little girl into her arms and walked over to Hibana. "Never say you're going to leave alone again. Everything we do only has