At that calm tone, the evil thing’s gaze remained on Catherine for several seconds. It looked at Catherine quietly with an expression that revealed nothing of its thoughts.

“I promise.”

Then it soon nodded readily and answered. However, that wasn’t a complete answer. The evil thing added, like suddenly remembering something.

“But… I cannot promise anything regarding Saul.”

“Because you are Saul, and Saul is you?”

Like affirming those words were correct, the evil thing remained silent for a moment. Under Catherine’s gaze watching the reddish light quietly rippling over its face, it closed and opened its eyes like substituting for a nod.

Then, seemingly troubled by its inability to give Catherine the answer she wanted, it continued.

“Everything else, I promise will end completely…”

So decide here and now. Whatever you choose, I will respect it. With those quietly falling words, the evil thing stepped back with an attitude of completely entrusting everything to Catherine. 

Then it pressed its thin lips firmly together and quietly stared at Catherine.

Catherine hesitated at the evil thing’s proposal. Its offer was tempting. The choices were also simple. Continue the wager or stop here.

Catherine looked at the evil thing that obediently stepped back, then lowered her gaze to David. Just like Catherine hadn’t anticipated this situation, David seemed not to have guessed this situation at all either.

She could see his face had turned pale and rigid. Catherine didn’t know at all what David was thinking now, but she thought it was certain he was confused.

Suddenly, a sound like the sky collapsing came from far away. Rumble. The evil thing, which had been standing still like listening to that sound, looked at Catherine and moved its lips silently. Next.

And Catherine clearly read that whisper.

“You mustn’t accept…!”

David’s pleading voice was heard. However, Catherine didn’t answer.

“Catherine…!”

Between the pitiful continuing calls, the dull sound of lifting the cane and striking the floor rang out. Following the cane that struck down between David and Catherine, David’s gaze rose. For a moment, the gazes of the two beings met.

In an instant, the air tightened sharply. At the tension felt on his skin, David unconsciously swallowed dry saliva. Stop. A voice without inflection fell.

The evil thing’s gaze, looking down at David with only its pupils lowered, pierced sharply. The evil thing’s threatening voice continued, reciting like stating an obvious fact.

“Show respect.”

If you want to hear his decision. Then it moved its gaze warningly to David’s thigh placed near the cane. Like warning that it knew what was beyond that, hidden by the coat.

David groaned silently. His completely disheveled, sharp-sounding breathing filled the quiet surroundings.

In the midst of that, Catherine lightly bit her lip and released it, then closed her eyes like lowering her gaze.

Then she traced the ring on her ring finger with her fingertips, feeling the prominent Cavendish seal on it.

Her fingertips moved along the shape of the lily and the coiled snake that wrapped around it.

Catherine didn’t have much time. During a very short time of only seconds, perhaps minutes, she had to make a decision. Catherine thought.

Continue the wager or stop it. Thinking of those swept up in this affair, stopping seemed right. 

But if she stopped the wager… the chance to know the truth would disappear forever. Catherine stopped the hand that had been touching the seal.

“While you cannot trust me, how can you trust the Cavendish brothers?”

Catherine recalled the conversation she had shared with the evil thing. Perhaps those words from the evil thing were merely a trick to bewitch Catherine.

However, even if that were so, Catherine couldn’t help but agree with those words. Because the Cavendish brothers had remained silent throughout the affair involving the evil thing, Catherine felt that even if they told the truth, she wouldn’t be able to believe them…

Rumble. Finally, thunder was heard.

In the midst of sounds rolling in like pounding the quiet space from all directions, Catherine slowly opened her eyes. At the same time, reddish light that dimly illuminated the surroundings flooded into her previously black vision.

Looking at the deeply hanging shadows reflected within it, Catherine suddenly thought this situation was like a terribly poor farce. Catherine looked at David.

To Catherine, David was someone who had spoken false love. He was cunning and selfish, yet sometimes faithful, and it was heartbreaking how he loved and hated his brother.

Catherine guessed from his attitude that there must be some story between the brothers, but separately from that, she could never understand his behavior of remaining silent throughout and asking Catherine for silence as well.

However, even so… perhaps Catherine had loved David too. For different reasons than the false love he spoke of, since the day Saul breathed again, Catherine had sometimes wanted to accept him as family. Perhaps she could have done so a bit faster…

“Catherine.”

The evil thing’s voice urging a choice fell low. Catherine raised her lowered gaze and stared at the evil thing.

Catherine’s deep green pupils slowly slid. Starting from the neatly arranged black hair, they fell along the white forehead shadowed palely, the prominent brow bone, the somewhat sharp-featured eyes and red pupils beneath it, the straight nose bridge, and the gaunt cheeks. 

Then, passing the firmly closed thin lips, they returned to the evil thing’s red pupils.

Catherine looked carefully at the evil thing, at the appearance so similar to the one she loved, like trying to leave it forever in her memory. It didn’t take very long. Finally, meeting its gaze, Catherine soon opened her mouth.

“I’ll continue.”

“Catherine!”

At the same time as the short answer fell like a declaration, David, who had been anxiously waiting for Catherine’s answer under the evil thing’s restraint, shouted.

However, Catherine didn’t look back at him. There was no reason to look back.

Along with the sound of striking the cane down, she dimly saw the evil thing block David once more at the edge of her vision.

David rebelliously grabbing the cane, the evil thing pressing down on David’s leg crushingly with its boot without blinking an eye, passed by in sequence.

Gasp. The sound of sharply drawing breath was heard. Then soon, the sound of choking, unable to swallow even that properly, followed. Ca, therine. Please. David’s barely audible voice continued between them. Catherine didn’t answer.

However, Catherine slowly closed and opened her eyes. Not consciously acknowledging what appeared at the edge of her vision, she didn’t turn her gaze from the evil thing with a composed expression.

The evil thing also stared at Catherine with an undisturbed expression. It looked at her silently for several seconds like trying to discern Catherine’s true intentions, then asked in a calm tone.

“You won’t regret it?”

Catherine couldn’t help but smile at those words. It was because the evil thing’s question sounded inappropriately tender.

The evil thing asking that reminded her of Saul’s question when he put the family ring on her finger on their wedding day.

It had been the same then. Saul had acted like someone hoping Catherine would throw away the ring and run away. Looking back, Saul must have already known then.

Catherine found Saul’s silent cunning endlessly amusing, and the tenderness that prevented him from being completely cunning was lovable beyond help.

That was probably why Catherine had grasped that hand then.

She couldn’t say there wasn’t a single point of regret about it… but even so, what Saul had willingly given to Catherine, how Catherine could always remain herself before him, and that hand he had extended to Catherine on the day they first met… prevented the decision to take Saul’s hand from remaining merely as regret.

Even if time were turned back to that moment, Catherine would take that hand once more. And someday she might regret it again. Like thread and needle, regret always followed choices. However, what to tie that knot with was up to Catherine.

“I’m prepared to take responsibility.”

Catherine had a premonition. She would regret this too someday. But at the same time, she knew it wouldn’t remain only as regret.

The evil thing, which had been quietly staring at Catherine, nodded briefly at Catherine’s answer. Good.

Then it stood with its back to David and gestured toward the path leading to the other side of the corridor where light shone.

“Then follow the light.”

I will illuminate the truth you must see. The evil thing’s answer fell. However, Catherine didn’t move for a moment. She just looked at the evil thing for a while with an expression revealing nothing of her thoughts, then asked it.

“Can you promise that you won’t harm anyone?”

At that, the evil thing’s gaze fell to its feet. Like knowing what Catherine had in mind, it glanced down at David’s back, who was crouched almost collapsed on the floor, unable even to breathe properly. Then the evil thing obediently stopped restraining David.

Gasp. The sound of painfully drawing breath was heard, but Catherine stubbornly didn’t look back.

Even knowing this would be a selfish choice, she had no intention of backing down at all. There was no reason not to seize this opportunity that might not come again.