Oh. That's it, then. Kaede presses one hand to her mouth, terrified of what might come out if she isn't careful, terrified of what she might ask of him in her selfishness. She cannot ask him to stay. She cannot ask him to forget he ever saw what he saw. There's no way back.

She draws in a deep, shuddering breath, and through her tears, she says, "You can go, if -- if you want to go. I don't know how to release you, but--" She gives a tiny, high-pitched laugh, gestures at the bookshelves all around her. "I can look it up--"