Daniel opens Clara Barceló’s bedroom door and finds Clara naked in bed having sex with her music teacher, Adrián Neri. Shocked and unable to move, Daniel watches until Neri notices him, stops, and abruptly disengages while Clara clings to him, confused and aroused.

Furious, Neri attacks Daniel, drags him out of the room, and throws him onto the landing. Carax’s novel slips from Daniel’s hands; Neri hurls it back at him and threatens him never to come near Clara again. When Daniel refuses to cooperate, Neri beats him, steals his keys from his pocket, and slams the door, leaving Daniel injured in the dark.

Outside in the storm, Daniel runs into the beggar he had recently refused to help. The beggar shelters Daniel under the arches, offers harsh wine to warm him and disinfect the cut, and introduces himself as Fermín Romero de Torres, an eccentric, talkative man who claims a past in espionage. Daniel listens until the rain eases, then leaves.

Daniel looks up at the dark windows of the Barcelós’ apartment and resolves never to see Clara again, feeling an uneasy peace despite shame and jealousy. Still, Daniel remembers he has one obligation left before returning home: protecting Carax’s book from the burner.

Daniel goes to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books on Calle Arco del Teatro and knocks until the keeper, Isaac, opens. Daniel explains someone wants to burn the book and asks to hide it there; Isaac lets Daniel in, locks the entrance with an elaborate mechanism, and leads him inside. Noting Daniel’s condition, Isaac insists on warming him and tending his wounds, and he hints that, if Daniel behaves, Isaac might share what he knows about Julián Carax.