“Can you prove you’re a member of the Cavendish family?”

It was a question that might offend someone truly of Cavendish blood, but Catherine had no choice. If David’s claim was legitimate, Saul’s vacant position—left without an heir—would rightfully go to him.

Fortunately, David nodded without showing much displeasure at the question. He too seemed to understand such an inquiry was natural. To prove his claim, he pulled out a somewhat crumpled and damp-edged envelope from his br*ast pocket.

Catherine observed the Cavendish family crest stamped on it—a serpent coiled around a lily.

“This is a letter from Saul. I received it a week ago.”

David briefly looked down at the envelope in his hand before placing it on the table.

“And the gamekeeper will recognize me. Saul never cared for hunting, so he probably left everything as it was.”

At his response, Catherine turned her gaze toward the window. The downpour, which had seemed to be subsiding slightly, grew stronger again as dawn approached. The howling wind sounded like the threatening growl of an angry beast, and the heavy rain made it impossible to see even a foot ahead.

Sending someone to the hunting grounds in such weather was unreasonable. Whether David truly was a Cavendish or not, verification would have to wait until the downpour eased. Catherine exhaled softly.

* * *

Important truths sometimes become visible when one looks beyond their essence.

Staring at the pitch-black landscape outside the window, Catherine realized that the darkness, though seemingly impenetrable, revealed something peculiar. Through the darkness that hung like the back of a mirror, Catherine saw David’s gaze fixed on her as she turned her head slightly.

David’s stare, visible from outside her direct line of sight, evoked an unpleasant sense of déjà vu in Catherine. Those blue eyes resembling Saul’s… She had thought their color was the only similarity, but now wondered if that had been a hasty assumption.

Catherine lightly bit the inside of her dry mouth before releasing it. Both men had something in their gaze that captivated others. Catherine remembered Saul’s eyes—glossy like his dry temperament, dead eyes resembling those of a lifeless beast.

They only lit up when piercing Catherine with hatred and obsession that seemed to burn the end of life, or when persistently staring into empty space like someone in a trance, seeing something invisible.

Sometimes such negative moments were so intense they became unforgettable. Saul had been that way, and David appeared to be the same.

Catherine stared at David’s reflection in the window. She directly confronted those cold eyes, devoid of the inexplicable warmth and kindness he had shown since their first meeting.

But in the next moment, Catherine blinked and lowered her gaze. She did so because those blue eyes had suddenly slid to stare into the darkness.

For an instant, their gazes might have met. It seemed both possible and impossible—she couldn’t be certain. Catherine simply lowered her eyes, pretending not to notice David’s gaze watching her through the window.

Turning her head sideways and unconsciously exhaling softly, Catherine realized she had felt relief at seeing David’s reflection in the window.

Honestly, Catherine found David unsettling from their first encounter. He was a strange man, and nothing about him was clear—from his very existence to his attitude toward Catherine.

To Catherine, David existed beyond her realm of comprehension. Indeed, the situation would seem bizarre to anyone. The unknown brother of her husband, showing excessive kindness and goodwill to his widowed sister-in-law… He even seemed to acknowledge Catherine as a Cavendish, while even the family’s retainers considered invalidating Saul and Catherine’s marriage.

But what if his displayed attitude had some underlying motive? Catherine recalled David’s cold gaze reflected in the window. Feeling an urge to laugh, she pressed her fingertips firmly against her lips to hide it.

Struggling not to smile, she turned her head completely toward David. This time, their gazes met directly. Unlike what she had seen in the dark window moments ago, David now wore a face full of kindness. Catherine lowered her eyes slightly and smiled.

“It’s late. You should rest now.”

Catherine said, looking at David. She intended to observe him over time. It was too late at night to do anything else anyway. For this reason, without waiting for his response, she immediately rang the bell on the table. When the butler promptly entered the room at the sound, she ordered him to prepare one of the third-floor bedrooms in the main building.

“Thank you for your kindness.”

David said while the butler stepped out to relay Catherine’s instructions. His tone suggested he knew that third-floor bedrooms in the main building were guest rooms reserved for very close relatives. Catherine briefly studied David’s grateful expression, hoping to discern something else, but soon averted her gaze, turning her head slightly as she rose from her seat.

“Rest well.”

David also stood up following Catherine and returned her bow. The sound of rustling clothes filled the air. The butler, apparently finished preparing for the guest, stood at the door talking with a servant. Catherine was watching this scene when she noticed a presence entering her peripheral vision.

Turning her head upon sensing this presence, she found David standing close, looking down at her. The distance between them was so small that they could touch with just one step.

Sister-in-law. David’s voice whispered near her ear.

“What should I call you?”

His voice was so low that no one but Catherine, who stood close by, seemed to hear it. It sounded like he was simply asking for her name. Yet it was difficult to take it at face value. David’s tone was strange, and his steady gaze was almost intimate. Catherine immediately realized the question meant more than its literal meaning, but she looked up at David feigning incomprehension.

Their eyes met. At that moment, Catherine thought his blue eyes resembled a winter lake. Seen from such close proximity, they had a cold, clear light, with iris patterns spreading like loose ripples in a net.

Catherine blinked. She shifted her gaze from the golden afterimage that flickered like fish scales following the movement of his eyelids, and looked at his hair sliding over his dark eyebrows as it fell across his white forehead. Catherine opened her mouth.

“The same way you have been…”

As she answered, Catherine tried to step back but stopped. Before the gap between them could widen, the man’s warmth touched Catherine’s hand as he stepped half a pace closer. It was hot, unlike when they had first touched in the chapel…

And then his lips fell upon her knuckles. Watching David’s golden curls descend before her, Catherine unconsciously twitched her fingertips. The hot breath seemed to move away, then distinctly slid deeper up her hand again.

Catherine left her hand where he had pulled it, but when she felt his lips touch the base of her thumb, where a pale liquid had dried, she instinctively clenched her captured hand.

“Da—”

Catherine opened her mouth in surprise, about to call his name, but closed it when she felt his hand gripping hers firmly in response. She stared blankly as the golden curls shook and the white face hidden beneath them was revealed. Finally, David lifted his lips and looked up at Catherine obliquely, asking again.

“What should I call you?”

Unlike the mischievous attitude he had shown moments before, his tone was now supremely respectful and innocent.

“…Catherine.”

Catherine threw out that single word and pulled her hand away with a dismissive shake. As soon as the warmth receded, she immediately stepped back. Having received the answer he wanted, David finally released her willingly.

Madam. At that moment, the butler, who had apparently finished talking with the servant, turned from the doorway and called to Catherine. The butler seemed unaware of what had transpired between them, blinking in confusion at the lingering lukewarm atmosphere that had not yet dissipated.

However, he quickly returned to his usual composed demeanor and addressed David.

“I’ll show you to your room.”

David nodded readily.

“Have a peaceful night.”

Catherine. He whispered her name in a monotone voice before following the butler out. For a moment, Catherine could hear David saying something to the butler outside the door. The sound gradually faded away. Catherine stood dazed at the doorway until his voice could no longer be heard, until a servant, puzzled by her behavior, called out to her.

“My lady?”

Clutching her knuckles, Catherine looked up.

“You must be tired. Wouldn’t it be best to rest now?”

Only after hearing this suggestion did Catherine feel overwhelming fatigue washing over her. It was already well past midnight. She stared blankly at Saul’s letter left alone on the table and the pitch-black window outside, then gently closed and opened her eyes. The desolate wind clawed at the window like a sobbing woman’s cry.