Just stay by my side

Back in the present, Noel, who was breathing in and out slowly inside his room, and had finally felt the headache vanish, tried to gather his thoughts.

The part of his memory that returned didn't tell him much. It was mostly vague — jumbled even — and from a time when he was too small to understand everything.

Even so, he remembered his gentle mother, and his strict father.

He could also vaguely tell that they were some kind of noble family — a strong one.

And he remembered that he had emotions back then… no, even stronger than normal emotions.

But that was it.

Now, Noel was certain that before he lost his memory, he had not been like the current him. But what happened to lead him to his current state, he couldn't tell at all.

Even then, a small smile appeared on his face.

After all, making progress — even if just a single step — after twelve years was, in his mind, still a huge progress.

That's why he closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink into those memories again.

What happened to his parents?

He wondered, going through the clues available to him.

In the end, he found no answer.

But his thoughts settled on one particular memory.

Among all the jumbled fragments, the one from when Lilith was born stood out more clearly than anything else. And right now, his mind was mostly caught on that.

He could feel how important that moment had been to him. And he could also feel how there was an imperceptible change in him afterward.

Lilith and Selena were the only two people who could draw a reaction from him after he woke up — with nine years blank from his mind.

Lilith was understandable — she was his sister.

But then… what about Selena?

He wondered, as he stood up from his place and left the room.

Noel knocked twice on the neighbor room, but didn't wait for an answer. He opened Lilith's door and stepped inside.

His sister, in the middle of changing her clothes, had just pulled her shirt halfway off. Only her panties, and bra remained — and she paused, caught mid-movement.

Noel didn't flinch at the sight, and there was no scream from Lilith when she noticed him.

"Should I come later after you finish changing?" he asked, his expression calm, the usual gentle smile on his lips.

Lilith, flashing a mischievous smile of her own, continued pulling off her shirt as she replied, "No, come in. I'll be done in a second."

That's what she said — but Noel, who walked in and sat on her bed, ended up waiting for more than a few minutes before she finished removing the shirt that had already been halfway off when he entered.

Lilith was clearly taking her sweetest time, dragging out every motion as she slowly peeled the fabric away from her skin.

What should've been a simple change of clothes turned into something else entirely — a quiet, teasing show filled with soft poses and deliberate movements.

Noel rested his chin on his hand and watched her calmly, his expression unchanged.

Then, Lilith finally moved on from the shirt to her bra. As she unclasped it with slow fingers, she turned toward him and asked, with a playful tilt of her voice.

"Are you not staring too much, brother?"

Noel smiled and replied, "Should I not?"

At his question, Lilith bashfully turned her eyes away, her cheeks already tinged with red as she mumbled.

"Well… you can~"

'That's why I'm showing you in the first place.'

'But… why is there no reaction?'

Lilith wondered, frustration slowly blooming inside her.

To her, Noel's gaze — though it seemed to appreciate her beauty — felt more like someone admiring a painting. Cold. Distant. As if she were a work of art, not a woman standing bare before him.

Which meant that all her efforts… were meaningless.

Even then, she kept trying. She still wanted a reaction.

Any kind of reaction. No matter how small.

The bra dropped to the floor. The panties followed. She stood naked before him… then pulled on an oversized T-shirt, letting it fall down to her thighs.

But Noel's expression didn't change.

That was the final push. Her frustration and irritation, quietly building this whole time, finally boiled over.

Now dressed in only the T-shirt, Lilith glared at him and snapped, "Okay, I finished. So what do you want?"

It felt like her words could have just as well meant: Say what the fuck you came for, then get the fuck out.

But Noel, instead of getting annoyed, only let out a soft chuckle at her cute display.

Then he stood, took a single step toward her, and without warning — pulled her into his arms.

He hugged her tightly.

And Lilith froze, startled by the sudden move. She felt his hands, one resting gently on the back of her head, and the other wrapped around her waist, holding her seemingly with all his strength.

She stayed frozen for a moment before wriggling slightly in his embrace. Then she tilted her head back, just enough to meet his eyes — those steady gray eyes, now inches from her own.

"Is there something wrong with you?" she asked.

Noel gave her a beaming smile as he replied, "I just wanted to hug my dear younger sister. Should I have not?"

"Hic…" Lilith hiccuped, her cheeks flushed crimson all the way to her ears as she stared at his smile.

She should have been annoyed by his question, especially in her current state. But her mind fixated on something else.

Dear younger sister.

His smile. His gentle expression, which felt different from all the others she had seen in the last twelve years.

And so, Lilith found herself standing there like an idiot in her brother's arms, just staring at him.

In the end, it was his gaze — so soft, so warm, like it was telling her she was the most important person in the world — that slowly brought her back to her senses.

She shook her head slightly, as if to tell him not to stop. Then, silently, she buried her face in his chest.

Noel took note of every reaction — her trembling shoulders, the way she leaned into him — with a calm smile. And in that quiet moment, he asked himself a simple question:

What do I think of you?

He remembered the day, twelve years ago, when he first woke up. Lilith, only five years old at the time, had been there beside him.

Special.

That was what he thought of her back then.

But now?

Precious.

But… why?

He didn't know.

Even the memory he had just regained didn't tell him that.

The child he was back then hadn't known… and neither the adult he was now.

Noel, holding his sister tightly in his arms, felt her body trembling. He felt the damp spot forming on his shirt where her face rested.

And so, he made his decision.

Do what you want. Just stay by my side.