Alexandra looked at the scene, trembling.
What she just saw was so frightening that her legs gave up almost instantly once it was over. She didn't want to fight anymore. She clearly didn't have the level, even with her grimoire.
"As you could see, I am cursed. If my blood gets in contact with poison… Well, I guess I will die gruesomely."
"Hey…"
"Call me Shogo."
"Sho… Shogo… that… that was bibliomancy, right?"
"It was."
"Did… Did you do that to yourself? The curse, I mean…"
"No. I am not a bibliomancer. I don't even know how to read or write."
"Then! Who?! Who did that to you?!"
"That would be my Master."
"Your… master?"
"Yes."
"The same that healed me?"
"Hm."
"I… I see."
Alexandra was confused. Her eyes didn't lie to her earlier – she saw a code being able to evoke the concept of "Death" just with a simple sentence. Maybe Shogo didn't understand herself since she wasn't a bibliomancer, but evoking life or death just by writing the corresponding words was ridiculously difficult. It was way easier to kill by describing how the victim will die rather than just saying "The victim is dead."
Moreover, creating a curse which instantly kills a target with a condition as simple as "get in contact with poison" was not less difficult. What IS a "poison" to begin with? The only person able to define the term is the bibliomancer that created the curse in the first place.
Whether it's used to curse or to heal, the more a code's conditions are hard to attain, the stronger the resulting effect is. Normally, Alexandra would be pushed to think that the said poison was a specific substance, explaining the power of the curse – the logic was that it is more difficult to be in contact with one specific thing than a group of things. However, after seeing that, her miraculous healing, and the time travel earlier, she wasn't so sure anymore.
"Anyway, marshmallow girl, as a bibliomancer, you probably understood what happened better than me. Do you believe me now?"
Alexandra lowered her head.
If that doll's master was hostile, she was as good as dead. Besides, why did she curse her own doll to die instantly from contact with poison? Dolls can be unreliable, sure, but the curse in their collar is generally enough to keep them in line. Was that Shogo so dangerous that its master needed to have an easy way to kill it at any time? Well, if it truly could travel through time, it was probably way more dangerous than most angels.
Shogo approached Alexandra and squatted, her hands on her knees. "You think too much." she said.
"... Maybe…" Alexandra replied.
Shogo extended her hand to Alexandra.
"I won't kill you again today. Can you at least trust that?" she asked.
"Do I have a choice here?"
"What do you think?"
A bitter smile drew itself on Alexandra's face. She looked at Shogo and took her hand.
"As if you don't know!"
–––
And that's how she found herself eating with Shogo.
Needless to say, Alexandra didn't like the situation she was in… AT ALL.
She was just checking if the food wasn't poisoned, but the way Shogo acted made it look like they were lovers having a way too sugary diner-date. She wasn't really embarrassed by the situation, no, she was disgusted. She was just trying to restrain herself from puking.
A doll was the lowest possible filth that could be. Being in a situation that seemed even remotely romantic with one was like being in a relationship with a pig – just the idea was revolting to her.
Yet, she didn't have any choice.
Even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, Alexandra was afraid of Shogo. She didn't want to do anything that would anger her even slightly. She was always trying to follow her whims since the doll was… difficult to read to say the least – expressionless, toneless, and with an alien mindset. For instance, she put the little bottle of poison just in front of Alexandra's plate while only saying: "You can use it."
The question was: "For what could she use it?"
If Alexandra dropped that bottle's content on Shogo, it would instantly kill the doll, but earlier, it did say that it would murder her again if she attacked. Sure, Shogo did also promise not to kill her again today, but Alexandra didn't buy it.
The reason?
Earlier, Shogo denied having killed her at all, which was contradictory – if Shogo did indeed not kill her, it meant that the promise wasn't valid since murdering her wouldn't count as killing her AGAIN – if Shogo did kill her, it was even simpler since it proved the doll was a liar.
So…
If Shogo put that bottle at Alexandra's reach, it was either as a trap, or as a way to tell her to kill herself with it. The result would be the same anyway.
"Say 'ah~'"
Then again, maybe the doll wanted her to think that way... She was overthinking this whole thing wasn't she?
Alexandra looked at Shogo with tired eyes. Even in psychological battles, the doll had an advantage, but she wouldn't give up just yet.