“I… I…”

  Elsa’s gaze dropped to her own hands, then flew to her face. Her eyes were wide with utter disbelief. “What… what’s happening? I remember… I was dead. But why… the sword… the blood…”

  Her words trembled, laced with a terror at her own transformation.

  Pandora took a deep breath, forcing her voice to stay calm. Okay, play it cool. “Elsa, listen to me. You didn’t truly ‘die.’ I… I have a special kind of power. A power… that’s a lot like alchemy. I just used it to… to pull you back.”

  She chose her words carefully, deliberately hiding the truth of the System. For now, this was her power.

  “So… I’ve been ‘reborn’?”

  Elsa’s head snapped up, her eyes shining with disbelief, only to be replaced by a deeper fear. “But… just now… I tasted blood… Delicious blood… It was yours! Wasn’t it?”

  Her voice broke, a tearful, pleading sound. Her body trembled with guilt. “Please forgive me, forgive me… I… I actually hurt you! I’m not worthy to serve you anymore!”

  “Silence!”

  Pandora’s voice cracked like a whip, laced with an authority that brooked no argument. The blood loss made her pale, but her eyes were hard as flint. “Elsa, look at me!”

  Pandora rarely displayed such majesty, and Elsa couldn’t help but be awed, instinctively lifting her head even as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “This isn’t your fault, Elsa,” Pandora said, her words deliberate, her voice weak but irrefutable. “This is the price. The price to bring you back. A fire needs fuel, Elsa. My blood… my blood is the fuel that sustains you!”

  Pandora took a step forward, staring at Elsa with calm resolve. “Listen to me. You are my most loyal handmaiden, my cherished friend. Your soul, your will… the very fact that you are alive is more important than anything! I will not permit you to say you’re ‘not worthy’! Take it back!”

  Elsa stared, transfixed. She stared at Pandora’s pale but determined face, at the unconcealed resolve in her eyes. All those familiar feelings from deep within her memory—the care and respect from My Lady Pandora—flowed into her cold, chaotic heart like a warm current.

  “My Lady…”

  Tears welled in Elsa’s eyes again, but this time, they weren’t of fear or guilt. They were of an indescribable, moving emotion.

  She slowly sank to one knee, gently took Pandora’s left hand, and pressed a kiss to it.

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  Pandora managed a smile, trying to act with the “dignity of a viscount” and help Elsa to her feet, but the weakness from her anemia made her stagger.

  Any trace of majesty vanished in an instant!

  “Alright, alright, none of that,” Pandora gave up, forcing a smile to ease the tension. “You already ‘died’ once for me. This time, you just get to live a little differently.”

  Elsa didn't seem to catch the jest in Pandora's tone. She was about to open her mouth to declare her loyalty again, when—

  Thump! Thump! Thump!

  Heavy blows pounded against the thick oak door.

  Along with the impacts came the teeth-grating scrapes and snarls. A grim reminder that the danger hadn't passed. Not by a long shot.

  “My Lady,” Elsa’s voice was tight with frustration. She looked at the door, then down at her own hands. A strange light glinted in her eyes. “But, My Lady, rest assured. The me of now… is completely different from the me of before. I can feel it. The power after my ‘rebirth’ is far greater, and my body has become incredibly tough. And… look—”

  As she spoke, she cupped her hands, empty.

  The next instant, the greatsword materialized in her grasp.

  Only this time, the thorns on the hilt had vanished. And the blade… it looked weaker, less defined than its pure greatsword form.

  Even so, Pandora’s eyes lit up.

  The sword could be summoned in her human form. That meant Elsa was a fighting force all on her own!

  Elsa gripped the greatsword, her knuckles cracking softly. Her tone held a strange confidence. “I feel incredible right now. I bet… I could take on ten of my old self! That might be an exaggeration, but clearing a path shouldn’t be a problem. And I feel… the mutation, I don’t think it can hurt me anymore.”

  As Elsa spoke, she was completely unaware that Pandora was watching her with a look of astonishment.

  It clicked. The Elsa standing before her wasn’t the same Elsa. Not really. She had the memories, the emotions, but her true nature… she was closer to “my own alchemical creation.”

  And Elsa didn't even seem to realize it.

  Maybe… that wasn’t such a bad thing…

  The thought flitted through Pandora’s mind. She shook her head. “Not now, Elsa. It’s too late. The night is too dark; it’s been less than two hours since midnight. Our vision is limited, but those ‘things’ have exceptionally sharp hearing. Rushing out now would be the same as walking into a trap.”

  As she spoke, Pandora tiredly rubbed her brow. The dizziness from the anemia hadn’t faded. The adrenaline was wearing off, and now, with the good news of Elsa’s return, the exhaustion was crashing down on her all at once.

  “If we can, I think… it would be better to wait until dawn. Maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem. Maybe, when the sun rises, Father will return with the knights…”

  Pandora rubbed her eyes, the exhaustion making her feel a bit dazed. The “resurrected” Elsa had given her new hope, making her subconsciously think towards the best-case scenario.

  Elsa saw her exhaustion. She immediately moved to support Pandora, her voice gentle. “You look exhausted… I completely agree with your analysis, My Lady! But please, wait just a moment. Allow me to prepare a comfortable place for you to rest…”

  As she spoke, she glanced around. Her gaze swept across the empty, “bare-bones room.” The bare brick walls, the cold floor… not even a blanket in sight.

  A flicker of embarrassment crossed Pandora’s face. Right. I did that.

  Pandora looked awkward, but Elsa seemed not to notice at all. Or perhaps, as a “handmaiden,” managing her mistress’s emotions was part of her “daily duties.”

  Elsa didn’t ask for a reason, didn’t even mention it.

  She just smiled, a touch of that uncanny charm in it. “My Lady, if you wouldn’t mind… you could rest your head on my lap. It would be more comfortable.”