Winnie's secret

Should I try letting her take the lead in the investigation from here?

"I'm about to research the history of the Difference Engine anyway, so I probably won't have time to spare for this."

"Let me see how you'll follow this lead, how you'll play this 'game' of your own."

Over the next few days, Elliot stopped controlling the game himself, but unlike before, he didn't stop watching entirely. He brought his books into the secret room to read, studying while keeping part of his attention on the movements of the cards on the table.

But the girl's choice still exceeded his expectations.

She paid no attention to the lead at all!

Elliot went from anticipation to confusion, and finally to resignation.

Vanessa really did put the old man's last words out of her mind, contentedly immersing herself in her bare-bones version of a "peaceful life"-

She slept in the drawer during the day, occasionally went to Winnie to cadge some bread, and worked at night.

What a creature of comfort!

Elliot was so annoyed he laughed. Now he didn't even want to ponder the Difference Engine anymore. All he wanted was to take firm control of the girl!

Lord Elliot couldn't stand to see people idle.

Vanessa had been very happy these past few days.

She felt that the force controlling her had disappeared completely, taking the last of her stress with it.

There was no more sudden loss of control, as though that experience really had been nothing but an absurd nightmare.

Perhaps that lofty being had finally decided she was too insignificant, too boring, and was no longer willing to waste even a fraction of its attention on her.

That was perfectly normal. Vanessa was a boring, weak person to begin with. She couldn't even manage her own life. Who would take an interest in her?

As for what the old man had said, she hadn't paid it much mind. She had a job now, with no worries about food or drink, and needed nothing else. Naturally, she had never set foot in Rosin Alley.

She would be quite content to go on living like this.

In her free time, she visited Winnie a few times, bringing her some potatoes she had roasted herself and receiving even more bread in return.

The hospital had its own cremation furnace, though it wasn't often fired up. Of course, Vanessa hadn't used it to roast the potatoes; she had used the stove-when she solemnly stressed this point, Winnie burst into giggles.

"All right, my dear chef. Thank you for not tormenting my stomach with a fire used to burn corpses, though that might have made them smell even better."

Vanessa blushed. The roasted potatoes really weren't much to look at, but they were already the best she could manage. Her life before had consisted almost entirely of studying and working, and she had barely ever tried cooking.

Although both of them had grown up in an orphanage, Winnie had always taken very good care of her.

Vanessa's mother, with whom she had depended on for survival, had died when Vanessa was very young. She hadn't had many friends after being sent to the orphanage either. With Winnie around, at least she could avoid being bullied.

For that very reason, Vanessa treasured their friendship all the more.

Yet it was precisely that attention that gradually made her realize... something was off about Winnie.

Winnie worked at a bakery and would pack up and leave around six or seven in the evening. Vanessa's work started just a little earlier than that, so she could often catch a quick glimpse of Winnie before she finished work.

Since her friend was still on the clock, Vanessa usually just offered a brief greeting before hurrying away.

But more than once now, she had seen Winnie secretly touching up her makeup before leaving work.

Winnie was naturally pretty, and makeup made her even more radiant. Even Vanessa, her friend, would feel her heart beat a little faster when facing her.

But why did she make a point of touching up her makeup before leaving work at night?

Questions crowded Vanessa's mind, but she had no opportunity to look into them. After all, when Winnie finished work, she had to start hers...

Just as she made up her mind to find a chance to ask Winnie about it properly, she ran into Winnie while working.

Vanessa had originally been in a good mood that day.

After several days, she had finally received another delivery job for the Wild Dog Gang, giving her a chance to see the back-alley doctor, Miss Dorothea, again.

The two chatted quite a bit, and Dorothea even asked with concern whether she needed help contacting Director Randall.

Vanessa naturally waved off the offer. It had been a long time since she had last been controlled. Director Randall might be willing to help, but he would certainly charge a large sum, and she was very poor.

As usual, Vanessa hauled a corpse on her way back. Although she had been working for several days, she still couldn't quite understand why she sometimes had to deliver corpses and sometimes had to bring them back.

It made the hospital seem like some sort of corpse-processing factory.

But Vanessa chose not to look into it. When Old Razi assigned her work, she simply did it.

This attitude of not asking too many questions even earned her a rare word of praise from Old Razi, who said she "could probably last half a year before going completely mad."

Pulling the flatbed cart out of Dorothea's little house and through the maze of alleys, Vanessa happened to glance toward an alley entrance and saw a familiar figure.

Naturally, the alleys in the dock district had no gaslights, but the moonlight was very bright that night, and Vanessa could still make out the person's face.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, then felt as though all the blood in her body was about to freeze.

"Win... nie?" Vanessa's eyes widened in disbelief.

It was indeed her friend. Winnie stood alone at the mouth of the alley, and she looked up in some surprise when she heard Vanessa call.

"What... what are you doing here?" Vanessa's voice trembled as she stared blankly at her friend.

"It's already dark. This is Wild Dog Gang territory, and you, you're wearing makeup..."

Winnie's carefully tended long hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, and her makeup was more elaborate than usual. Even the dim light couldn't conceal her captivating radiance.

"Vanessa?" Surprise first appeared on Winnie's face, then gradually gave way to a complicated expression. Looking at Vanessa's face, as though the sky had fallen, she suddenly let out a laugh.

"Sasha, what on earth are you imagining!" A little embarrassed, Winnie lowered her voice. "I'm waiting for someone, for my... friend."

Only then did Vanessa notice more details: despite being in the heart of Wild Dog Gang territory, no one had come to drive Winnie away. When Vanessa approached Winnie to speak, someone in the distant shadows was clearly watching her warily.

Winnie's clothes weren't revealing either; if anything, they were relatively conservative.

Only then did Vanessa let out a long breath.

But on second thought, she felt something was still wrong.

"A friend? This is the Wild Dog Gang! Who are you waiting for? A man or a woman?"

Winnie blushed and averted her eyes.

Vanessa hurriedly pulled Winnie aside and tried to persuade her. "You... oh, how could you get mixed up with someone in a gang? What decent people are there in gangs? With what you have going for you, you ought to find someone better!"

Winnie turned her head aside, avoiding Vanessa's piercing gaze, a barely perceptible trace of bitterness in her voice:

"But I'm... just a bakery clerk! Finding someone in a gang isn't so bad. At least I'd have someone to look out for me."

"I just want to survive."