Chapter 35 – 35: A Conversation Under Pressure

The knock was soft, almost polite.

Noel blinked once, then dragged himself off the edge of his bed and toward the door.

He opened it, towel still hanging from around his neck, his hair damp from the recent bath.

“…Hey,” she said simply.

Standing there, in a white robe and still drying strands of black hair sticking to her neck and collarbone, was Elyra von Estermont.

Noel arched an eyebrow.

“Hello??” he said, voice dry.

“To what do I owe the unexpected and pleasantly suspicious visit at this hour?”

She didn’t answer.

She simply stepped past him and into the room.

Noel blinked.

‘Alright. I guess you don’t need an invite.’

Elyra walked with quiet confidence, the kind of presence that filled a space without saying much.

She didn’t glance at him again, just scanned the room with those sharp grey eyes, analyzing everything like it was a crime scene.

She stopped when she spotted the packed suitcase by the door.

“You are ready?” she asked.

“Clock’s ticking,” Noel replied, closing the door behind her. “The place shuts down in two days. And they said to be prepared as soon as possible.”

She turned in place slowly, her gaze sweeping across the plain stone walls, the barely-used desk, the neatly made bed, the total lack of anything remotely decorative.

“Not a single change,” she said flatly. “You haven’t modified this room at all.”

Noel shrugged, walking past her to grab a clean shirt from the chair.

“I’ll get to decorating once my life expectancy improves.”

Elyra sat on the edge of his bed like she owned the place.

Noel watched her from the corner of his eye.

‘She’s not here to chat about curtains.’

Noel slipped his shirt on, still watching her from across the room.

Elyra sat on his bed like it was hers now, legs crossed, fingers resting lightly on her knee, expression unreadable.

Noel crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, towel still draped around his neck.

“I’m gonna go out on a limb here,” he said, “and assume you didn’t drop by just to check on how I’m recovering.”

Elyra tilted her head slightly.

“Yes and no.”

That made Noel pause.

His brow furrowed just slightly.

‘What the hell does that mean?’

‘Yes and no?’

She didn’t elaborate.

She just let the silence hang in the air, waiting to see if he’d fill it for her.

He didn’t.

She glanced at the suitcase again.

“You really didn’t waste any time,” she said, tone neutral.

“Yeah, well. I like to stay prepared,” Noel replied. “Besides, I figured I should enjoy this vacation before I’m sent back to my lovely, welcoming family.”

Elyra smirked faintly but didn’t laugh.

Then her eyes locked on his.

“Call it paranoia,” she added, “but I don’t believe in coincidences that stack up that perfectly.”

‘Of course.’

‘This isn’t a visit. It’s a goddamn interrogation.’

Noel gave her a slow nod.

“I figured this conversation was coming eventually.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Then you won’t mind answering a few questions.”

He smirked slightly.

“Ask away. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

Elyra didn’t start with a question right away.

Instead, she leaned back slightly on his bed, her fingers tracing small circles against the blanket, her eyes watching him with a calm intensity.

Noel didn’t like it.

That look.

She wasn’t here to flirt or talk about the weather.

“You know,” she said casually, “I haven’t forgotten what you said to me… the night after the party.”

Noel’s expression didn’t change, but his fingers twitched slightly at his side.

“When you grabbed me,” she continued, “dragged me into a back alley like some lunatic.”

She raised her arm slightly — the one he’d grabbed that night.

“The bruise is gone, by the way,” she added dryly.

Noel’s jaw flexed.

“I said sorry.”

“You did,” she nodded. “But you also said—’If I don’t do something, a lot of people are going to die.'”

He looked away.

“Was in a bad place. I’d just seen some shit.”

“You weren’t panicked,” Elyra said, voice sharper now. “You were cold. Focused. Like you already knew.”

‘Fuck.’

He didn’t respond, but she wasn’t done.

“You’re quick on your feet. Too quick. You avoid questions like it’s a sport.”

She reached into the inner pocket of her robe and pulled out a small cloth-wrapped object.

Noel’s eyes narrowed.

“I’ve gotten used to you dodging,” she said. “So tonight, we’re going to do this differently.”

She unwrapped the cloth slowly, deliberately.

Inside sat a dull grey crystal pendant, etched with faint runes.

Noel recognized it instantly.

‘Of course. Of course she brings a damn truth charm.’

“This is a lie-detection artifact,” she said. “Three questions. You won’t be able to lie while it’s active.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“You just carry those around?”

Elyra smiled faintly. “Only when I visit people I don’t trust.”

‘Fair.’

Noel sighed and dragged a hand down his face.

“You seriously going to use that on me?”

“You gave me a bruise and a cryptic warning. I’d say it’s fair.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I’ll assume everything you’ve told me so far has been bullshit.”

She stepped forward and held the charm between them.

Noel looked at her, then at the charm.

‘Shit.’

He nodded once.

“Fine.”

The crystal pulsed softly as it activated.

A faint hum filled the space between them.

Elyra’s expression didn’t shift. Her voice lowered slightly, now smooth and precise.

“First question,” she said.

“When did you first start suspecting something was wrong at the academy?”

The charm pulsed once.

Faint. Warm. Subtle.

But Noel could already feel it tightening in the air like a vice around his chest.

He couldn’t lie.

Not right now.

Elyra stood in front of him, calm and unreadable.

“First question,” she said again, “when did you first suspect something was wrong?”

Noel’s jaw tensed, but the words slipped out of him whether he liked it or not.

“First week. I saw a group of students sneaking out after curfew. Thought it was just kids being reckless. Then I noticed it wasn’t random. Same time. Same faces. Every time.”

Elyra didn’t blink.

“And you followed them?”

“Eventually,” he muttered. “They led me to the old enchantment tunnels. That’s where I started finding things.”

The charm pulsed again.

Truth confirmed.

Elyra gave a small nod.

“Second question,” she said. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

Noel didn’t even try to resist this time.

“Because I didn’t know who to trust,” he said simply. “Didn’t know if a professor was involved. Didn’t know if saying something would make me disappear before I could confirm anything.”

Elyra studied his face.

“And me?” she asked. “Why tell me anything at all?”

Noel let out a slow breath.

“I didn’t plan to,” he said. “But you’re smart. Observant. I knew if I didn’t loop you in, you’d figure it out anyway… and maybe not be on my side when it mattered.”

Another soft pulse.

Another truth.

Elyra stepped closer, her voice a little quieter now.

The charm still hovered between them, glowing faintly.

She looked straight at him.

Her gaze wasn’t sharp now.

It wasn’t interrogating.

It was… still.

Careful.

“Third question,” she said, “and last.”

Noel already felt his chest tighten.

She paused.

Then asked:

“What do you think of me?”

The room went silent.

Noel stared at her.

His brain scrambled for a dodge, a joke, anything.

But the charm gave him no way out.

His voice came out lower than expected.

Steady. Honest.

“I appreciate you,” he said. “Not because you’re useful. Or dangerous. Or brilliant — even though you are all those things.”

He swallowed.

“I appreciate you because… you don’t look away. You don’t pretend. Even when it would be easier.”

Elyra blinked, the faintest motion breaking her composure.

Noel kept going.

“I’ve seen your type before. People who hold everything together for everyone else, who don’t get to break because they’re the ones expected to lead.”

He looked her dead in the eyes.

“And I know you’ve been overlooked. Forgotten. Even when you should’ve been the one they chose.”

A flicker crossed Elyra’s face — just for a second.

Not shock.

But… understanding.

Recognition.

In another world, in the pages of a book, Marcus never picked her. She fought, she led, she survived — and he still walked past her like she was nothing.

Noel knew that.

And now, so did she.

The charm glowed one final time, then dimmed and faded out completely.

Elyra lowered her arm slowly.

She looked at him.

Not with suspicion.

But with something else.

Quiet.

Weighty.

“I see,” she said.

Noel leaned back slightly on his bed, voice dry again.

“So… are we good, Officer?”

Elyra finally smiled.

“For now.”

The tension in the room had thinned, but it didn’t vanish.

It just settled—shifted—into something quieter.

Something heavier.

The lie-detection charm sat dull and inert in Elyra’s hand now, the faint pulse of truth gone from the air.

Noel sat on the edge of his bed, watching her as she stood, composed as ever, her expression unreadable.

She made her way toward the door, steps unhurried, deliberate.

Noel thought she might just leave with a quiet nod.

Instead, her hand rested on the handle—but she didn’t open the door right away.

She looked back at him, eyes catching the light in a way that made them seem sharper than before.

“I appreciate the honesty,” she said. “Even if it had to be pulled out of you like teeth.”

Noel gave a tired shrug. “You’re not exactly the kind of person who inspires carefree confessionals.”

Elyra let out the faintest sound—something between amusement and acknowledgment.

Then, as she opened the door halfway, she glanced back once more.

“Oh—and Noel?”

He looked up.

Her voice dropped just enough to make sure he heard it.

“I still have that favor.”

She didn’t smile.

Didn’t smirk.

Just said it like it was fact.

Because it was.

“Keep that in mind,” she added, softer. “I always collect.”

Then she slipped out of the room, the door clicking shut behind her.

Noel stared at the door for a moment.

Then exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand down his face.

‘Of course she brings up the damn favor now.’

‘Knowing her, she’s already decided exactly when to cash it in.’

He lay back on the bed, arms behind his head, eyes staring at the stone ceiling.

‘And knowing me… I’ll let her.’

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