She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Dorothea and smiled. "Thank goodness, it really is you. I thought you were someone bad."
"Elsa, you-you hid under the bed by yourself?!"
"Yes, I heard several people coming in outside and got a little scared, so I rolled off the bed-hehe, I'm very good at hide-and-seek."
The girl grinned. Her voice was very gentle, but her face looked somewhat grotesque. The overgrown scar tissue made her original features almost impossible to discern.
She nuzzled against Dorothea's arms, looking very happy.
"Elsa, what happened? Why did you move out of the Canal District? Where's Father?"
Dorothea held Elsa tightly, as though afraid she would dissolve like smoke the moment she let go.
"Sis-too tight-I can't breathe-"
Only then did Dorothea snap out of her daze. She hurriedly loosened her hold with great care and set Elsa on the bed.
That simple movement alone left Elsa's face a little paler, with fine beads of cold sweat seeping from her forehead.
She was in even worse condition than Vanessa.
"Are you-my sister's friends?"
Once Elsa's breathing had steadied a little, she looked curiously at Vanessa and Allen by the door.
Her eyes were a pure, unblemished white, like the first snow of winter.
Vanessa looked at those strange white eyes, then at her white hair-all of it was completely different from Dorothea.
Was this the mark left after being sacrificed by the Genesis School?
"Elsa, answer me first!" Dorothea pressed urgently. "Did Father go bankrupt? Where on earth is he?!"
Elsa's eyes dimmed a little. "Yes, he-was cheated. We owed a lot of money, and he went mad. He's been missing for a long time-"
"Then-"
Before Dorothea could ask any more questions, a noise suddenly came from the doorway, and the living