Deep, heated breath flowed down her shoulder. Warmth that penetrated between strands of fallen hair brought trembling that rose and fell with each breath.

Catherine froze for a moment, then snapped to attention at David’s hand gripping her shoulder.

“…David?”

“Catherine, just a moment…”

When the flustered Catherine called David’s name again, only then did he respond. However, even that wasn’t a complete answer. David’s voice sounded like it was simmering low.

It seemed like he was suppressing ragged breathing after bursting into tears, or perhaps trying to hide the violent gasps after running hard.

She couldn’t tell which it was, or if it was neither. David pressed himself firmly against Catherine, seemingly trying to hide even the trembling that came with his labored breathing.

Her caught shoulder hurt, making Catherine frown. As she opened her mouth to say something, Catherine hesitated again at the moan-like sound pouring into her ear. She listened carefully. 

Though he seemed to be trying to hide it, the somewhat panting sound that hadn’t quite settled caught Catherine’s attention.

“David, please let go for a moment.”

Catherine urged David with slight unease. Because their bodies were touching, she could feel his trembling completely. Something was definitely wrong. However, that urging didn’t continue for long.

Catherine, just, for a moment. David’s voice continued, pleading in a choppy tone. David’s expression was far from normal, and his strength holding Catherine so she couldn’t move at all was tremendous.

Catherine, who had been observing his condition, eventually waited quietly, doing what he asked.

It took some time for his body, which had been heaving with suppressed breath, to settle down. While waiting for him to calm down, Catherine glanced sideways down the corridor. The corridor was pitch black without a single light visible.

The young Cavendish brothers were nowhere to be seen. Catherine unconsciously tried to get up again, then hesitated at the force still holding her. She lowered her gaze to the back of David’s head, his face buried in her shoulder.

She saw his shoulders trembling as he exhaled thinly. After watching that for a moment, Catherine turned her gaze away.

No movement was visible in the dim corridor. They seemed to have truly disappeared. Why suddenly? Was it because David appeared?

Perhaps that might be the case. The only difference from before, when she had no choice but to see the memories, was the fact that he had suddenly appeared…

Catherine couldn’t hide her empty feelings and let out a light breath. At that moment, David lifted his head in surprise. Catherine, startled by his sudden movement, also dropped her gaze. In an instant, their flickering gazes met.

Even in the dim surroundings, their eyes were clearly locked on each other, recognizable enough to see one another distinctly.

At the same time, Catherine felt an indescribable lukewarm atmosphere settling between the two of them. She also felt something rippling from the hand gripping his shoulder. Strange silence continued.

The two looked at each other and blinked. They blinked like they were matching their breathing.

Perhaps for several seconds… That peculiar atmosphere was broken when David’s hand, which had been pulling Catherine toward him, fell away. His hand, loosened like something had flustered him, slowly slid down across Catherine’s back.

When Catherine rustled and sat up, David’s hand, which had barely been resting on top, soon fell to the floor.

“…Are you alright?”

Hair that had fallen forward blocked her view. Catherine pushed the fallen hair behind her ear and looked down at David, who was still lying down.

Even in the darkness, Catherine could see David’s blue eyes looking at her. David, who had been breathing vacantly, opened his mouth.

Um, yes… However, it sounded like he wasn’t alright at all. I’m fine, probably. Perhaps because it sounded that way even to himself, David’s voice continued with another answer a few seconds later.

“I think I… bumped into something wrong…”

Even that voice was still close to powerless muttering. It seemed like his mind was elsewhere. Still, because it sounded clearer than before, Catherine lightly bit her lip and let out a thin sigh of relief.

She had worried he might be injured because she heard moaning sounds, but fortunately that didn’t seem to be the case. After confirming David’s condition, Catherine belatedly realized they were still tangled together and sat up to move away from on top of him.

“Wait a moment. I’ll get up right away.”

Whispering, Catherine lowered the hand that had been pressed against David’s chest to the floor.

“Just a moment.”

At the same time, she felt David also making movements to sit up.

Suddenly, a somewhat hot-feeling hand overlapped Catherine’s hand on the floor. A tingling sensation sparked up like static electricity.

Catherine reflexively curled her fingertips. Catherine, who had been half-sitting up, hesitated. Just that much, David’s movement of supporting his body with his arms also stopped.

David’s hair swaying appeared before her eyes. Because both had sat up together, Catherine ended up sitting on David’s thighs. The moment Catherine realized this, David lifted his head.

They seemed about to collide. When Catherine’s body tilted backward trying to avoid him, David put strength into the hand he was holding and gently pulled her toward him. David spoke.

“I’ll, do it.”

While Catherine hesitated, not understanding what he meant to do, David’s hand fell away. He slowly pulled his body backward from underneath Catherine, who was in an awkward position with her knees on the floor from trying to sit up, pushing away.

She felt her skirt rustling following his movement. Catherine, who had come to her senses, also leaned back and sat down. It didn’t take long for the two entangled people to completely separate.

Catherine arranged her disheveled clothing while looking at David’s silhouette visible a little distance away. Judging by how he was hunched over, he seemed to be arranging his appearance as well.

Meanwhile, Catherine turned her gaze again toward where the young Cavendish brothers had disappeared. Looking at the black corridor beyond where nothing was visible, just like before, she thought belatedly.

“David, by any chance…”

Did you see them too? Catherine, who was about to ask, hesitated because she didn’t know how to explain what she had seen.

When she had encountered the evil thing and witnessed strange sights while talking with it, she hadn’t thought it strange because of the chaotic situation flowing by, but when she actually tried to ask out loud if he had seen young Saul and him, those words sounded truly strange.

Catherine hesitated for a moment.

To ask if he had seen the young Cavendish brothers, she would have to explain how she came to witness such a scene…

But because the situation had been so chaotic, Catherine couldn’t grasp how to explain it, even though she had experienced it directly, and only moved her lips.

Hmm… Only a meaningless murmur flowed out. David, who had lifted his head at his voice, was staring intently, his gaze growing longer.

After retracing her memories for a long time, Catherine suddenly remembered that the last time she had seen David was in Saul’s study.

Remembering David, who had seemed unconscious, and the collapsed Samuel, she lifted her head. Catherine asked.

“Come to think of it… are you alright?”

Then, seeing David here, Catherine guessed that Samuel must have regained consciousness too, and was about to ask where he was. Catherine belatedly noticed David’s suddenly quiet state and blinked.

Calling “David?” Catherine slowly stood up. The rustling sound of fabric brushing was heard. David’s reaction came only then.

Ah… A short sound flowed low, like someone who had gained some belated realization. Then she glimpsed him shaking his head somewhat confusedly. David asked back belatedly.

“Ah… sorry. What did you say?”

Catherine frowned. David didn’t look well. He seemed simply distracted, but Catherine somehow got the impression that he was hiding something.

She wasn’t certain. However, David’s attitude that had continued from a while ago somehow kept bothering Catherine.

Catherine considered pointing out that fact for a moment, then stopped when she felt David’s gaze on her.

“I asked if you were alright.”

Instead, she repeated the question she had asked before.

“Before leaving the study, your condition seemed a bit strange…”

Because David seemed unable to understand her words, whether from distraction or some other reason, Catherine added an explanation.

Then Catherine, who had unconsciously looked again toward where the young Cavendish brothers had disappeared, stopped her movement abruptly. Catherine’s eyes narrowed. She blinked, unsure if she had seen correctly what was visible beyond the corridor.

Certainly, light seemed to be faintly shining from the far end of the corridor that had appeared completely black until just before.

When Catherine first noticed it, it was too blurry to distinguish, but after waiting a moment, it became clear that the light was gradually deepening into a distinct color, drawing reddish boundaries in the dark corridor.

“…David, do you see it?”

Catherine asked while looking at the light that was deepening enough to be clearly recognizable. David, who had been watching Catherine suddenly stop speaking, turned his head diagonally toward where Catherine’s gaze was directed at that question.

At the far end, light could be seen shining. The gradually brightening light pushed toward the two people facing each other across the corridor.