Later that night, Liebe teleported back to his prison room.
Horn said, "Are you satisfied?"
Liebe said, "Yeah. Seeing a glimpse of her smile was enough."
Horn said, "Next time, watch where you are walking."
Liebe said, "I didn't try to bump into her literally. I was trying not to make eye contact, you know."
Horn said, "And in the process, you quite literally crashed into her, and I had to switch with you."
Liebe said, "And for that, you have my gratitude."
As in the Black Rose HQ, Licht was sitting in Liebe's chair as Elizabeth entered the room.
Elizabeth said, "Brother—"
Licht said, "Yeah."
Elizabeth said, "Brother, won't you go to bed?"
Licht said, "Well, I want to, but I can't. Sitting here in Liebe's place, I can see the weight of what Liebe has to carry—the worries, the work. And since he isn't here right now, it's my job to make sure you guys don't have to worry."
As Lichee entered the room:
Lichee said, "Licht, I want to apologize."
Licht said, "If it's about your battle with Lilith, it's alright. None of us blame you. You did what you had to."
Lichee said, "That isn't why I'm here." As she bowed, she said, "Licht, no, everyone, I'm sorry. I lied about my identity."
Licht said, "What? But you were telling the truth when we asked about your memories."
Lichee said, "In the beginning, it was true. My memories were indeed locked away. But Gelda removed the memory lock. I was aware of who I truly am, but I decided to keep it hidden. And I regret it."
Licht said, "It's alright. We all have our sides of the story. And when we accepted you, we accepted you unconditionally. And that's what matters."
Lichee said, "My name was a guess that was incorrect. I'm not Lichee Falaffle from the future. The sad truth is, I'm Lilith Faust from the past."
Licht said, "And here I thought you wanted to say something important, and here you are saying the most useless things. Who you are isn't what matters. When we brought you in, we brought you in as you—a part of our family."
Lichee said, "I know. I see that now. Seeing the future, it hurts. Astreous sent me here saying I needed to be more like a hero, to learn from the hero of this generation. But now that I have seen the sad truth—me being the hero who kills Liebe and Liebe's hero status being revoked that night, seeing myself killing Liebe and everyone cheering at Liebe's defeat—I don't want to become a hero anymore. I hate this future more than anything, where the true hero is stuck in prison and a false hero such as myself is winning."
Licht said, "It's alright. None of us blame you, alright? After all, you and Aunt Lilith aren't the same. And that's the truth."
As Lichee couldn't speak, she was tearing up.
The next morning in HQ:
Elizabeth said, "Vice Captain, can we talk?"
Gelda said, "Sure, come on in."
Elizabeth said, "There is something on my mind that I need to talk about."
Gelda said, "Well, that's what I'm here for. Good to see there are people who at least want my advice, not counting our idiotic captain. But what is it?"
Elizabeth said, "Well, Mom, I have been lying to you. I lied about last night."
Gelda said, "Oh?"
Elizabeth said, "I snuck out with the extra food and went to Arcame Prison and well, gave Liebe the food."
Gelda said, "I see."
Elizabeth said, "I'm sorry for lying."
Gelda said, "I knew you went. Actually, we all did."
Elizabeth said, "If you did, then why didn't you stop me?"
Gelda said, "Why would we? We all feel the same way about Liebe, no matter what. So why would we stop you? Now, what is it that you needed to get off your chest?"
Elizabeth said, "Well, Mom, the thing is, before leaving, Liebe asked me if we were OK. And I don't know why, but I couldn't look him in the eye. I felt daggers in my chest. I couldn't hold back my tears. All I could say was, 'Yeah, we are fine. Don't worry.' I had to lie, and it hurt. What was I supposed to say? It felt like no matter what I said, it would all be a lie."
Gelda said, "You did your best. It's alright."
Elizabeth said, "It isn't alright. We are all falling apart on the inside, yet we are just hiding it. All of it. We all miss him. We are all crying, but we just can't show it."
Gelda said, "I know how it feels. It's OK. And I'm done waiting. It's time I had a talk with Lilith."
Meanwhile, in Liebe's office:
Licht said, "Mia, get me an ice pack."
Mia said, "What happened? You aren't sick, right? Do you have a fever?"
Licht said, "No. It's just my head hurts like crazy. And whenever I try to sleep, I'm getting weird dreams of a girl. I feel like I have seen her my whole life, but I don't know her."
Mia said, "I see. If not being able to sleep is the issue, please try to relax. You have been working non-stop for the past 36 hours."
Licht said, "I'm fine."
As Gelda went to House Faust, she knocked on the door to Lilith's room.
Gelda said, "Lilith, open the door."
Amongst sobs, Lilith said, "Lilith isn't here."
Gelda said, "Shut the crap." As she teleported inside. The floor was wet from tears.
Gelda sat on the bed and said, "Now tell me, crybaby. What the hell is wrong with you?"
Lilith said, "Why? Why is fate so cruel? Why did I lose Liebe again? I almost killed him—like Tenebris. Why?"
Gelda said, "Shut up. You have no right to be crying in despair after abandoning him. You have some nerve. Liebe deserves better." As Gelda grabbed Lilith by the collar.
Gelda said, "You have no right to be crying. If you want to die so badly, beg Liebe for forgiveness, and I will end you myself. I won't allow you to die with trying to end Liebe as your last act."
Lilith said, "I can't. It's far too harsh. I just want to die. Please end this, Gelda."
Gelda said, "You think you have it tough? Goddamn come to our HQ and see. We are all broken apart from your BS. Every one of us is surrounded in a pool of our tears. We all want Liebe back. If you want to die so badly, after we get Liebe back, I will end you myself. But that's not reality. You don't get off that easy after making that child suffer for more than a decade. I will make you take back every moment and apologize to Liebe till the moment you die. Even if it means I have to end Markus myself. Even if I have to end it all, I will carry those sins myself."
As Gelda let go of the collar, not even Gelda was crying.
Gelda said, "You have no idea how much it hurt to see that child crying, fighting, coming home injured every day. And seeing you two fight—I couldn't bear it. So please, just get up. Let go of this belief that apologizing is hard. Yeah, it hurts. But waiting for the right moment destroys you. Please—"
Lilith got up, her eyes puffy from crying.
Lilith said, "Fine. I will try again. I can't atone for what I did. But maybe... just maybe I can beg for forgiveness. Even if it's for nothing, I will beg Liebe. Even if it means with my life."
Gelda said, "Good. Let's go. Let's see Liebe again."
Meanwhile, in prison:
Horn said, "So what is the plan?"
Liebe said, "I don't know. For the first time ever, I don't have a plan. I just want to be alone."
Horn said, "Is that 'alone' you are hiding it, Faust?"
Liebe said, "What?"
Horn said, "You are hiding your emotions. Your heart is full of rage, hatred, grief, sadness. Yet whenever someone comes to see you, you put on a fake smile, as if the present doesn't bother you. Why do you do it? Is it because you deem none of them are worth seeing your heart? Or do you lack trust?"
Liebe said, "It's between me and my mother. They don't need to be bothered. And right now, even breathing hurts. I just wish this heart of mine would stop beating.