Apples. Peace Apples.
She had no idea where she had heard the saying: an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Noel felt that even if a stranger handed her an apple, she could eat it with a smile.
But not if it was Jonas.
Never mind accepting this peeled apple. Noel felt as though she was the peeled apple herself, every disguise stripped away by Jonas, leaving only snow-white flesh exposed before him.
Why did he have to come now...?
A flicker of despair rose in Noel's heart. She never used coincidence as an excuse to comfort herself, but this time, she truly hoped it was one.
"Don't like eating them whole?"
Jonas did not look at Noel, who had turned her head away. With the psionic energy at his fingertips, he slowly carved the apple into rabbit-shaped pieces. That made it much prettier.
"There. Easier to eat now."
Jonas speared a rabbit-shaped apple slice with a toothpick and brought it to Noel's lips. Seeing that she still refused to open her mouth, he simply ate it himself.
Only after swallowing the piece did he slowly speak. "Eat a piece of apple, and you can ask me one question. How does that sound?"
"..."
Noel remained silent, but her hands moved quickly. She picked up a piece of apple and ate it in small bites.
"First question."
Noel looked at Jonas, her hands resting in front of her lower abdomen. "How did you know?"
At this point, she no longer intended to comfort herself by calling it a coincidence.
Jonas had chosen this exact moment to come here. He must have discovered something about their plan!
But aside from Gale, that unpredictable factor, where else had things gone wrong?
"Question rejected. You'll have to be more specific, Miss Noel."