He sat there in silence, the blood on his clothes long since dried and darkened, yet his gaze was as sharp as a blade, mingled with a trace of madness and deathly stillness, like a stray dog that had lost its home.
Vanessa opened her mouth, but could not get any words of persuasion out.
She turned to Dorothea instead.
"You! You're the top student at the Medical School! You have a bright future. There's no need to throw your life away here with me, is there?"
Dorothea elegantly wiped her mouth and answered with a smile, "That's true, but you have two degrees, Vanessa. Surely your future is twice as bright as mine?"
A vein throbbed on Vanessa's forehead.
"Until I get my diploma, I'll remain at Miskatonic University. Perhaps I'll become a full-fledged investigator in the future... but."
She changed tack, turning to look around the old but cozy little house, her gaze growing more complicated. "If a certain Miss Crow were to visit occasionally, she wouldn't be turned away at the door, would she?"
"Of course... she would! Why should I let you in?"
"I paid for today's ingredients and seasonings. The tableware, too," Dorothea said leisurely, a little teasingly. "I forgot to mention, although I'm not nobility, my family is reasonably well-off."
Her gaze swept meaningfully over Vanessa. "You won't be able to work as a caregiver anymore, so you won't be earning any money, will you?"
"Your family's well-off, and you still went out working as an unlicensed doctor?"
"I had no choice. Not everyone can be like you and finish their thesis just by leafing through books in the library." Dorothea's tone grew more complicated. "I've been investigating Mad Rat Disease for some time now. It's just... I failed."
Vanessa folded her arms and