Chapter 393: A Gentle Moment Amidst Chaos [2]

Lyria blinked. "...Huh?"

"I said okay." He opened his eyes and looked directly at her. "If you’ve decided to do it, then I’ll support you."

Her lips parted slightly. "You... will?"

"Of course." Noah’s expression softened.

"But don’t misunderstand. If you collapse halfway through, I’ll carry you away myself. Me or anyone here won’t let you throw your life away."

Despite the seriousness of his words, a small smile appeared on his face.

Lyria stared at him. The tension in her chest eased a little. A hope sprouted. "Okay... the magic circle is deform slightly because of Vorthane’s intervene. Wait for a while, Uncle please prepared it back."

Caelthas nodded and moved to circle, mages followed him.

While Noah suddenly lifted one hand and gently brushed a loose strand of blonde hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

His fingers were cold against her cheek. Yet the gesture was so tender that Lyria suddenly forgot what she had been about to say.

Noah glanced at her slightly disheveled braid.

"By the way, give me the gift I gave you yesterday."

She stared at him in confusion. "Gift?" She remembered the gift he gave her.

"The ribbon." He spoke.

"Yes..."

Lyria didn’t understand as why he was asking this. Reaching into her storage ring and retrieving the pink ribbon he had given her the previous day.

Noah accepted it. "Turn around."

"W-what?"

"Your braid has come undone. Turn around."

Lyria obeyed, although she couldn’t quite understand why he was worrying about her hair at a time like this.

Behind her, Noah carefully gathered end of the loose strands of her braid.

His movements were slower than usual because of his injuries, and the blood covering his hand had frozen from the intense cold radiating from his body.

Fortunately, the ice prevented it from staining her hair or the ribbon. With surprising patience, he gently fixed the loosened end of her braid.

He separated the strands, braided them together, and secured them with the pink ribbon.

It wasn’t the most complicated hairstyle, but he took his time making sure it looked neat.

Lyria remained completely still.

She could feel his fingers moving through her hair, occasionally brushing against the back of her neck. Why was he doing such useless thing right now?

Her heart began to beat a little faster.

Why does this feel so embarrassing. Here she was, standing in the middle of a disaster, feeling strangely conscious of the boy fixing her hair.

Finally, Noah finished.

"There." He gave the ribbon a final adjustment. "Perfect."

Lyria turned around.

Noah was looking at her with a small, satisfied smile.

"Now you are ready save that tree." He said with light joking tone. As if trying to ease her.

For a moment, she could only stare at him.

He’s smiling... despite his injuries and the blood covering his clothes, he had taken the time to fix her braid.

Lyria instinctively lifted her right hand and touched the pink ribbon resting against her shoulder.

Thump.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Thump. Thump.

Warmth spread across her cheeks. What’s wrong with me? She lowered her gaze, trying to hide her reddening face.

This is the worst possible time to feel embarrassed! ’Why am I suddenly so nervous?’

But no matter how much she tried to calm herself, the warmth refused to disappear. Somewhere deep inside, a small, unfamiliar happiness? She didn’t know... she couldn’t point it out. She couldn’t explain it.

Perhaps it was because Noah had come to save her. Perhaps it was because he had trusted her determination.

Or perhaps it was simply because, he’s action which have no reason in place and situation like this had brought unexpected ease and warmth.

The tension and worry she had just few minutes ago suddenly vanished.

"T-thank you..." she whispered.

Noah tilted his head. "For what?"

Lyria’s face grew even warmer. "For... fixing my hair."

"Oh. You’re welcome."

He said it so casually that she almost wanted to complain.

Noah noticed the small smile appearing on her face. He didn’t comment on it. Instead, he gently squeezed her shoulder.

"You can do it, Lyria."

His voice was calm and confident.

"I believe in you."

Those simple words struck her more deeply than she had expected.

Damien, Brandon and others had said this to her before.. but now hearing them from Noah’s lips felt different.

She slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

His glacier-blue eyes were still cold, but the faint smile on his lips made them seem gentler than usual.

Her cheeks remained flushed. "T-thank you, Noah..."

Nearby, Damien watched the exchange in silence. He glanced at Lyria’s blushing face, then at Noah’s unusually gentle expression.

His mouth twitched. Seriously? Right now? He decided that this wasn’t the time to interrupt them.

"Cough!"

A cough suddenly broke the silence.

Both Noah and Lyria turned toward the sound.

Aelyssa stood nearby, one eyebrow raised. "Well, I’m glad you’ve both found the time to encourage each other."

Lyria’s face turned scarlet. "Y-Your Majesty!"

Noah, on the other hand, remained completely composed. "Right. Sorry."

He didn’t look particularly sorry.

Damien turned his face away. For some reason he felt more shame than those two.

Aelyssa shook her head, despite her city had turned into chaos, she still remained calm and slightly amused because of the young humans in front of her..

"Now, then. If you’re determined to try again, Lyria, we should begin immediately. The magic circle has reform, and Caelthas has already started arranging the necessary preparations."

Her expression soon turned serious.

"But I want you to understand something. We will support you, but I won’t allow you to sacrifice your life recklessly. If your condition worsens, we will stop the ritual. Is that clear?"

Lyria nodded firmly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She took a deep breath and carefully stepped away from Noah.

Her legs still felt weak, and pain lingered in her abdomen, but she was able to remain standing.

Before she turned around, she glanced back at him.

Noah was watching her. When their eyes met, he gave her another small smile.

Lyria instinctively touched the ribbon in her braid. Her heart fluttered once more. Then she turned toward the World Tree.