Ironically, what prevented Catherine from remaining a doll-like existence was the presence of the evil thing. The love that the evil thing had cried out, its very existence, had set Catherine in motion.

Unlike the silent Saul, the evil thing’s constantly whispering desires had knocked against the walls surrounding Catherine. This was what made Catherine question and seek answers.

Suddenly Catherine raised her head.

“Cathy…!”

Saul’s voice calling her along with the deepening light was approaching… No, no. She stopped her movement and bit her lip. She felt something was off.

“Cathy,” and in such an urgent voice. Saul would never call her that way.

Catherine didn’t know Saul and generally couldn’t understand him, but because of this, there were a few things she could be certain of. The foundation of ignorance and misunderstanding was like facing mirrors.

Saul didn’t love Catherine and wouldn’t love her. And Catherine had no intention of denying the coolness she felt at her fingertips.

“Catherine…!”

Before she knew it, the light shining from beyond the corner had grown even deeper. The light reflecting on the wall cast shadows like cut pieces, drawing clear boundaries.

And the clearer those boundaries became, the more Catherine realized that the owner of the voice she was hearing was someone completely outside her expectations.

She could tell instinctively. It wasn’t Saul. It wasn’t even the evil thing. This was because she finally heard a small sound she hadn’t noticed before, having been distracted by the voice.

Tap. Tap. She heard the dull sound of something striking the floor. It wasn’t the sound of footsteps, but rather something closer to the sound of striking with something narrower.

Like a cane.

Just as Catherine had this thought, a long shape suddenly appeared from beyond the corner. At first she thought it was a shadow because it was so black. But when she saw light flowing faintly along its outline, she could confirm what it was.

As expected, it was a cane. And then, seeing the figure that appeared from beyond the corner, Catherine immediately understood why she had mistaken the owner of the voice.

“Cathy…?”

It was the former Count. She could see him turning his head toward where Catherine was, like someone who had heard something, and raising his lamp. Catherine squinted in the reddish light.

Meanwhile, he tilted his head lightly like someone who couldn’t see anything, then turned and walked blankly toward where Catherine stood.

Tap. Tap. The cane struck the floor with dull sounds. The former Count seemed to have trouble with his leg. The light swayed and flickered unsteadily following his uneven steps. Though she hadn’t intended to look, her gaze naturally went to his limping leg because of the swaying light.

At the same time, Catherine couldn’t help but recall the end of the commotion that had occurred on the stairs she had seen earlier.

His appearance as he embraced his young son who had been thrown down and rolled down the stairs like carelessly thrown clothing… and how his leg had been bent in a strange direction.

“Catherine.”

At that sudden call, Catherine startled and instinctively stepped back. She knew it wasn’t calling her, Catherine herself… but because she had been watching his uncomfortable gait, it somehow sounded like a reprimand.

But that too was Catherine’s mistake.

The former Count simply illuminated the dark parts of the corridor with his lamp’s light, like someone searching for something. And after confirming that the person he was looking for wasn’t in the corridor, he moved forward again without hesitation.

Tap. Tap. The sound of the cane striking the thick carpet continued without interruption.

Along with that sound, the flickering light also gradually approached. The light soon climbed up, wetting the hem of her long skirt. It caressed Catherine’s clenched hands, her stiffly hardened arms and shoulders.

Then it covered the vision of Catherine, who had been watching the former Count approach without blinking once. It touched her gently, then slowly moved away…

Catherine, who had stepped aside toward the window to make way for the former Count despite knowing it had no particular meaning, was looking at the retreating figure while recalling the face of the man who had passed by her.

This was because she belatedly realized something she hadn’t noticed when she first saw him on the landing, having been surprised by the loud calling.

Catherine was surprised that the former Count resembled Saul. It wasn’t just the voice that was similar. The impression she got up close and his gaunt face were also alike. Since they were father and son, perhaps it was natural that they resembled each other…

But what Catherine felt most similar between them was something difficult to explain, a kind of will.

When the former Count passed in front of Catherine, she felt she would never forget the image of him she saw at that moment. His distorted face clenched in endurance of pain, yet his straight-backed figure walking without letting out a single groan…

If she hadn’t looked at his face from close distance, his steps were so steady throughout his retreat that she wouldn’t have noticed.

His straight gait reminded her of Saul’s strong hands that she had grasped. Catherine let her unconsciously bent fingertips drop and exhaled a long breath. Though she couldn’t know what Saul had struggled so hard for, she could clearly guess who the former Count’s steps were for…

Catherine stopped her toes that had been tilting diagonally like someone about to follow the former Count without realizing it. Her heart fluttered for no reason. Catherine suddenly felt suffocated and placed her hand on her chest.

Ripples formed like throwing another stone into calm water.

Strength entered her fingertips. Under her pressing hand trying to stop that undulation, she could feel the rapid pulsing of her heart. Thump. Thump. The movement striking her palm that was pushed to one side was fierce because too much force had been applied.

“Catherine…!”

Catherine startled and raised her head. Tap. Tap. At the same time, the sound of the cane striking between footsteps, the call searching for the Countess, penetrated her ears. The sound that came again like urging why she wasn’t following seemed to ring sharply in her ears.

But even at that sound, Catherine didn’t move. She could vaguely guess what she would see if she followed now. Because of this, Catherine hesitated. Even setting aside the inexplicable suffocation, she couldn’t tell if there was a reason to deliberately see this.

But… on the other hand, the thought followed that the evil thing wouldn’t show such scenes without reason.

Should she follow or not? While she hesitated, the Count’s figure was already moving far away.

She knew she shouldn’t listen to the evil thing’s words. But… Catherine bit her lip. If she didn’t follow, what could she do in this situation? Should she return to Saul’s study?

But what if the evil thing was still on that path? Tapping the back of her hand, Catherine thought.

She felt an impulse to throw all of this away and flee outside the mansion. But even that wasn’t feasible. To go downstairs, she would have to pass through the corridor following the former Count who had gone ahead.

Her hesitant steps swayed like leaves swept by wind, unable to find direction.

The contemplation couldn’t continue for long. She hadn’t been given much time to begin with. Let’s go back. Catherine, who had been watching the increasingly distant light, repeated like making a resolution and turned her gaze away.

The bet with the evil thing didn’t matter anyway. She should have done this from the beginning. 

Moreover… no matter what the evil thing showed her, Catherine would never agree to the claim that the evil thing and Saul were the same being. So following what it wanted to show her was pointless.

Catherine turned around without hesitation. Since quite some time had passed since facing the evil thing, it probably wouldn’t still be there. When it wasn’t there, she should meet with David and Samuel to discuss what to do.

As she fully tilted her toes away from the receding light, her skirt swayed in soft curves. Meanwhile, Catherine stood with her back completely to the light.

Tap. Tap. Pretending not to hear the urging sound of the cane striking the floor, Catherine retraced the path she had come. She slowly passed the window where light was beginning to enter again and entered the inner part of the corridor where no light reached.

She moved deep into the corridor dark enough that only her feet could barely be distinguished, and just as she took a step toward the turn.

“…?”

Catherine stopped her steps with a start. It didn’t take long to realize something was wrong. Catherine blinked. Ahead, she could see a corridor lined with long glass windows. She could see light faintly seeping toward the windows, and shadows cast like bars beneath them. And further ahead, the distant light she could see…

[Catherine.]

At that moment, that familiar voice was heard. Catherine startled and turned around.

“Cathy, my Cat…”

It was a call that sounded sweet and intimate, like softly rolling the tongue inside the mouth. She felt sensations washing over her like someone caressing her cheek and breathing into her ear right beside her. 

Catherine reflexively covered her ears, hunched her shoulders, and stepped back once more.

She unconsciously looked around, but the evil thing wasn’t visible. All she could see was the light flickering at the edge of her vision…