"What were you scared about?" Y/n asked.

Katarina hummed, "I was scared.. of losing myself."

Y/n perked up, 'Huh, I never took her to think deeply like that.'

"Is that so?" She played along, asking, "Why?"

Katarina took a moment of silence between them.

"There are voices.. they're loud, they were only whispers I could ignore but now they've suddenly become louder since days ago." She said.

Y/n didn't know what she meant, "Voices? Have there been students bad-mouthing you upfront lately? I can report them to the council office or to the principal directly, who are they?"

"No, that's not it.." Katarina was beginning to feel drowsy with her being so close, and that alluring scent on her made it all the harder to stay awake, "They're in my head... I can't.. I--I hear them in my head, I'm scared I might lose myself and get devoured by my curse."

Y/n raised a hand over and gently caressed her face, "It's okay, I'm right here."

Katarina's eyes began fluttering shut, "You promise you won't leave me..?"

Y/n's eyes widened, blushing a little, she smiled to assure her.

"I promise, Lady Katarina..!"

"Pinkie promise it." Katarina hummed, her voice, slowly turning soft, "I don't want to lose myself from this curse....."

"Pinkie promise, okay..? So, you should try and rest up a little for now." Looks like her personality is getting more affected by it now that y/n's been drawing this near to her since the first day they met in that infirmary together.

...

Y/n was busy studying, sitting on the bed, back laid on a pillow while Katarina slept like a baby, arms wrapped around her waist.

She just sat there, fortunately, she got Katarina to take their shoes off, humming to herself, she was almost done with her study and it seemed more than two hours have passed by them.

It's always like this, Katarina naps while she does her thing or falls asleep halfway doing whatever she might be doing.

'I wonder what Lady Katarina meant about losing herself, it was a little scary hearing her say all of those things a while ago...' wondering to herself, she turned to the last page of her study before shutting it with both hands.

She was done, looking over to Katarina who was still napping beside her.

'Should I wake her up now?' she thought.

'No, no, maybe one more hour. She seemed so weirdly tired...' she shook the thought away and laid back down on the bed.

For a moment, she sat there quietly before opening her book to a random page somewhere in the middle.

She had fallen asleep after a while of boring herself reading through a couple of pages again.

...

Anne knocked on the door, calling, "Lady Katarina?"

She called a second time while knocking.

"Lady Katarina???" She called a third time knocking more.

Before deciding to open the door to check.

She was met with a surprising scene.

Who is this woman beside the lady she served since she was young?