Clara tells Daniel how The Red House awakened her love of reading, comparing its first-time wonder to a first kiss. Daniel, overwhelmed by Clara’s intimacy and confidence, listens in silence and falls deeper under her spell.

Clara explains that she spent years searching for other books by Julián Carax, only to find that nobody seemed to know his name. She recounts a rumor shared by Monsieur Roquefort: a mysterious man hunts down Carax’s books in libraries and shops and destroys them by fire, for reasons unknown.

Clara then shifts to her family’s story in Barcelona. After her mother returned to Spain sick and determined to learn what happened to Clara’s father, a detective uncovered only a broken wristwatch and the name of the killer: Javier Fumero, a ruthless opportunist who moved between factions during the war and later became a decorated police inspector. Clara’s mother dies soon after, and Clara goes to live with her uncle Gustavo Barceló, who has remained her closest family and reads to her every night.

Daniel impulsively offers to read to Clara, expecting rejection, but Clara warmly accepts. She adds that she no longer has Roquefort’s copy of The Red House, and that retelling it would flatten its beauty.

When Barceló returns with a teasing smile, two hours have passed. Outside, Barceló drapes his coat over Clara as the evening turns cool, and Daniel asks permission to visit and read The Shadow of the Wind to her. Barceló mocks Daniel’s eagerness but leaves the choice to Clara, who invites Daniel to come the next evening at seven.