Back in the present, inside the living room, on the same sofa where Noel had been sitting alone earlier, Lilith now sat pressed against him, clinging to him as if the events from just minutes ago had never happened.
Together, they looked across at Selena, who sat quietly in front of them.
For a brief moment, Noel's mind wandered.
He remembered his own shameful past — the days when he still didn't understand the meaning of failure, when arrogance had filled him to the brim, and he had believed, without question, that the world revolved around him.
He remembered the first time, he met Selena, and for a moment, he wanted return back to his room.
In the end, he chose to close that chapter, attributing it to nothing more than the reckless ignorance of his six-year-old self.
"Have you finished talking with Serah? You know, that business you left for?" Noel asked suddenly.
Selena had been staring at him since she arrived, silent and unmoving. And so, he decided to speak first.
