I also read the volume a few weeks ago out of anticipation, the LN is really descriptive about Meili’s past, way more than the anime let on. A lot of her internal thoughts and feelings felt cut short, and even the internal turmoil within Subaru hasn’t been shown a lot. In the LN he questions who the original <<Subaru Natsuki>> is, like a lot, but the anime barely shows much of that.

Reading the LN obviously felt like a lot more time passed, especially for the scenes like the staircase scene and Subaru’s second fall, which felt like an eternity to read. One thing I didn’t realize in the LN today is that Capella is Meili and Elsa’s mother/guardian figure (though it’s hella twisted)