To be caught so openly in this strange act of greeting the strange object….

May, who was internally screaming, looked at the man standing silently with trembling eyes. Dominic’s face was cold, with emotions impossible to read. He looked a bit tired, but he certainly didn’t appear surprised.

Still, she needed to make some excuse, but her mouth wouldn’t easily open. It felt like searching for an exit in a place surrounded by thick walls on all sides. …What had she said last time?

“Th-that thing you saw through the window, please forget it. I was just playing by throwing it around….”

“……”

“Ah! I also have a habit of rubbing it against my cheek because it’s a cherished item…. I lent it to Johan for a while, and I was so happy to see it after a long time…. But since it’s an embarrassing sight, I’d appreciate if you could pretend you didn’t see it….”

At that time, Dominic hadn’t expressed any doubt about her rambling excuses. He had simply nodded as if he understood.

Although the situation was a bit different now, May decided to make a similar excuse again. In other words, she intended to brazenly insist on an implausible reason. But then….

“Um, this is….”

Just as she was about to begin, Dominic said in a calm tone,

“There’s no need to make excuses.”

“Uh….”

“We’ve already greeted each other.”

“…What?”

May’s bewildered voice echoed emptily through the corridor.

Johan brought the frozen May down to the first floor. Dominic quietly followed behind them, and throughout this time, the compass continued to float freely.

It seemed quite frustrated from pretending to be an inanimate object as usual, exploring here and there like a fish in water. So naturally, May’s face turned ashen every time she heard the rattling sound from behind.

She wanted to open her mouth to hear an explanation about the current situation, but somehow it was difficult to part her lips. Her lips, having lost the chance to make excuses, only trembled as if locked.

Eventually, when the three people and one compass sat around the table where breakfast was served, she felt a sense of resignation.

As May kept her mouth tightly shut, only the sound of utensils colliding could be heard at the table. Of course, in terms of table manners, not talking was correct, but….

‘I can’t breathe….’

Even though she had closed her mouth, the complete absence of conversation made the dining table feel even more uncomfortable.

As her hand slowed due to distraction, Johan, who was sitting next to her, occasionally fed her food. She couldn’t tell whether she was receiving it with her mouth or her nose.

May mechanically chewed her food while stealing glances at Dominic. The man, eating with a clean attitude devoid of unnecessary elements, still maintained a calm appearance. Unbelievably so for someone who had seen a strangely animated object.

Moreover, even during this time, the compass was hovering around him. It looked full of curiosity, like a dog exploring a person it just met. Although the man with lowered eyes ignored it….

‘Why does it keep going to the lawyer’s side….’

Since it had never done this with Johan or Aiden, she felt bewildered.

Did it like that cold-looking man? If a bad object likes someone, does that mean the lawyer is a bad person? No, by that logic, I would be a bad person too….

Meaningless random thoughts continued.

She even secretly gestured to the compass, but it was a meaningless act for an object without eyes to speak of. Unable to confirm whether the compass had seen her hand or not, frustration mounted. In fact, it was already a meaningless act since she had been caught….

Finally, May, who had swallowed her sigh, turned her gaze toward Johan. She belatedly wondered if he knew something about this situation.

Eventually their gazes met, and the man’s golden eyes, which had been watching her with his chin propped up, curved pleasantly.

“I wonder when they became so close.”

His tone was as calm as if mentioning a neighbor’s child who had become friends with his own. May nodded her head slowly, unable to hide her displeasure.

“……”

Johan fed her food once more.

…Crunch. Her face looked quite serious as she chewed the apple that entered her mouth. It was due to something like cognitive dissonance because the rest of the people were acting too calmly.

In other words, it was close to the question: Am I the only strange one? Or is the situation before my eyes not as unusual as I think? As a result, her trembling heart gradually began to subside.

Of course, even so, it wasn’t a particularly good feeling. That this extraordinary situation was becoming normal…. May drooped her eyebrows as she watched the compass, which seemed to have become happier and started bouncing.

“…Um, no jumping on the dining table.”

Johan burst into small laughter at her timid assertion of table manners.

* * *

After finishing her meal, May had tea time with Johan after a very long time. Between them, the compass that didn’t hide its existence was proudly emitting light.

Seeing the table that had become quite beautiful and splendid because of this, May wore a tired expression.

“Actually, I was surprised… I didn’t expect you to give the compass back….”

Johan smiled with furrowed eyebrows at her subsequent words.

“Even when I left the mansion, I didn’t expect to give this back to you again.”

He was contemplating how much he should tell May.

Would it help her to know that the compass was a positive entity? Or would it have the opposite effect? It wasn’t easy to gauge.

In the end, as he chose a temporary hold, May unintentionally provided the correct answer.

“But when you first gave it to me, I was really happy….”

May, who trailed off, poked the compass with her eyebrows furrowed. She momentarily made a nauseated face as if recalling some situation. Not stopping there, she even drank her tea as if bile was rising.

Johan raised his eyebrows at her subsequent words.

“When I saw the compass, my stomach suddenly became very uncomfortable. I wanted to vomit, and I felt unpleasant, so I wanted to avoid it. Though it got better quickly….”

“……”

“C-could it be that the compass did something bad to me?”

There was a hint of worry mixed in May’s eyes as she asked this. It wasn’t quite fear, but there was a concern stemming from having heard from Johan until now that the compass was ‘evil.’

Johan looked at May’s eyes and slowly shook his head.

“No…. I think it was a temporary collision.”

It didn’t seem like a good option to tell her the true identity of the compass right now. That rejection reaction was clearly due to the compass’s power suppressing the thought-form’s energy, which was ultimately not a bad sign for May, but….

“Collision?”

‘If the thought-form feels threatened, I need to be more careful.’

Because if it felt more threatened, an extreme situation could occur.

“…Yes. It happens occasionally. When the body has a rejection reaction to the energy possessed by the thought-form. It seems a momentary collision occurred due to being separated and then coming into contact again. Of course, it’s not a big issue, it’s a natural phenomenon.”

After saying that, Johan spoke again after a brief pause.

“And the reason I gave this back is… because I can’t get rid of the compass right now.”

May blinked with a puzzled expression at that.

“What do you mean by can’t get rid of it…?”

“Exactly what I said. Neither my grandfather nor my father could make any meaningful attack against the compass. Just like I couldn’t before. So for now, I judged it better to watch for an opening while staying beside the person it recognizes as its owner.”

It was actually an absurd story. Returning the object for such a reason was essentially no different from saying he would use May as bait. But she seemed to accept it to some extent.

Her innocent face stared at Johan. In her black eyes floated a rather trivial determination. Interpreted, it was a determination to diligently create that opening… quite admirable, but simultaneously displeasing.

‘…How foolish. She should be angry that she’s being used as bait.’

But he couldn’t point that out right now. Johan inevitably continued with a slightly bitter smile.

“…Still, I guarantee that the compass won’t put you in danger.”

And May smiled brightly after hearing Johan’s words.

“Yes…. I’ll believe you.”

Her eye corners curved into half-moons looked quite harmless. As their eyes met, suddenly, his past attempt to lightly exploit her unconditional trust came to mind. Though it wasn’t long ago, that time felt like ages away.

The trust he had actually gained was quite heavy for him, so he looked at May for a while without speaking. He couldn’t even gauge how much he should cherish this woman who followed him so obediently.

Naturally, he thought, ‘What should I do with this?’ He wanted to keep her close all day and shower her with affection. In fact, even that didn’t seem enough.

May, receiving such a gaze from the man, hurriedly added,

“A-actually, I still don’t feel that this compass is bad… so I’ll keep your advice in mind, even if just consciously…!”

She seemed to have misinterpreted his intense gaze. She then spoke firmly with her hands tightly clasped together.

“If I notice any bad signs, I’ll tell you right away. I promise.”