Catherine clutched her wet hands. Her knuckles turned white as her fingers curled inward. Her hands trembled. Unable to maintain her grip, she dropped her hands and pushed herself up from the backrest.

A momentary dizziness made her pause, but she soon lowered her feet to the floor and sat upright. Catherine raised her head.

She looked at David, still kneeling at her feet. The image of Saul in a similar posture, lowering himself to beg for forgiveness, flashed in her mind. Catherine’s eyes narrowed.

Her gaze, which had been fixed on David who was staring at her uncertainly, slowly shifted. She turned to Samuel, who had been standing silently all this time, and opened her mouth.

“What on earth…”

Her voice sounded brittle at the edges, like something breaking. She was genuinely exhausted.

David. Unlike usual, her call didn’t project firmly, but the silence in the room made it relatively clear. David looked up at Catherine’s call.

Samuel. At this second call, his gaze shifted. The eyes of the two men Catherine had addressed briefly met before moving apart.

Catherine bit her lip. She simply couldn’t understand the situation. Her thoughts were tangled, making it difficult to sort out what had happened. Even her memories were unclear. Her last clear memory was hearing about a letter from the temple and coming to Saul’s office.

It was a letter that had arrived after the unprecedented event of someone being revived after their breath had completely stopped. Uncertain whether its contents could be freely disclosed, she had deliberately walked to the master’s office where others couldn’t enter casually. 

Additionally, letters from the temple to the family were important to preserve even for private matters, and she needed to reference previous correspondence when sending a reply.

But from that point on, her memory was unclear… Catherine unconsciously frowned. Her head ached terribly. She seemed to recall talking with David… or did she? Perhaps it was just her imagination. Then, what about Saul?

Catherine blinked vacantly as she turned her gaze toward the window where the light was slanting. Not a drop of rain was visible. The dry wind violently twisted the branches outside, drawing distorted circles that dizzily shook her field of vision. Ah, this must be the illusion. Trying to shake off the white flash that clouded her vision, Catherine rubbed her eyes.

“Samuel, you speak first…”

Her voice cracked again. Catherine closed her mouth briefly, cleared her throat softly, and asked again.

“Why are you here?”

Fortunately, this time her voice came out normally. Catherine stared at Samuel, whose expression was unreadable as he kept his mouth shut. Samuel was Saul’s personal physician, employed by the family.

Though he had Saul’s trust, entering the master’s office without permission from the acting representative during the master’s absence was no small offense.

Perhaps at another time, Catherine would have considered the fact that he had been by Saul’s side for many years and enjoyed his trust. However, she had found Samuel’s recent behavior highly suspicious.

She had felt this way since possibly seeing him near the chapel. Her suspicions had solidified since the moment they discussed the glass vial.

“Catherine, he…”

And the one who had fueled these suspicions was none other than David.

“David, close your mouth. Your turn comes next.”

Catherine cut him off sharply. At her cold response, David couldn’t continue and fell silent. Though he appeared flustered, Catherine didn’t look back as she sat with her back partially turned to him.

In truth, she had no energy to spare for David’s reactions. Catherine pressed her throbbing temples once more and exhaled deeply. Catherine, Cathy… She felt dizzy, hearing someone constantly whispering her name in her ear.

“Come on, speak up already.”

Catherine dropped her hand after roughly pushing back her disheveled hair and urged him again. At this, Samuel, who had been silently staring at the floor where shadows intertwined, suddenly raised his downcast gaze. His hazelnut eyes now appeared pitch black.

“Since it has come to this, I must tell you.”

At his unexpected words, Catherine slightly narrowed her eyes. Samuel. However, only after David’s solemn voice followed in a reproachful tone did Catherine realize that Samuel’s words were directed at David, and she tilted her head. Something about the atmosphere was changing. Samuel’s gaze, which had been directed at David behind Catherine, fell on Catherine.

“Lady Cavendish, allow me to introduce myself properly.”

David seemed to sense something from Samuel’s manner as he addressed Catherine with an unfamiliar title rather than “my lady.” Behind Catherine, there was a sense that David was moving to stop Samuel. However, he couldn’t even rise to his feet.

“I am a humble servant of God and the twelfth candle hidden under His hand…”

Before he could stand, a solemn confession fell from Samuel’s lips.

“I am Samuel the Prophet.”

The room fell silent once more…

The sound behind Catherine, who sat with her back straight, stopped. David had frozen in the position of trying to stand up and was staring at Samuel. It seemed David was equally unaware of Samuel’s true identity, as he too appeared shocked by the revelation.

“A prophet…?”

David’s muttered voice suddenly brushed Catherine’s ear. His tone suggested he might know something, or was trying to recall something long forgotten. However, since he didn’t seem to have any clear knowledge, Catherine didn’t turn around. Instead, with the same cold expression, she watched as Samuel bowed respectfully. Then she suddenly spoke.

“You’re insane.”

Catherine declared. She spoke again.

“Completely out of your mind.”

It was more a blatant accusation than an assessment. Her tone was sharper than ever before. Yet no words fit the current situation better than that brief statement that he was insane. Catherine stared at Samuel, unable to hide her contempt. With her characteristically cool gaze, she condemned his foolishness in seeking a greater sin to cover a smaller one.

Yet Samuel remained composed despite Catherine’s condemnation. He appeared to have anticipated such a response. From another perspective, he seemed to acknowledge that Catherine’s reaction was entirely appropriate. Unlike Catherine’s assessment that he was insane, Samuel’s demeanor was quite rational.

Perhaps this was to be expected. Samuel’s claim was not only far-fetched, but the weight of responsibility it carried was considerable. Impersonating a priest when one was not was a serious crime.

The temple severely punished even those who merely led others to mistakenly believe they were priests. Samuel had gone so far as to declare himself a priest outright. And not just any priest, but a high-ranking one. Had a temple official been present, Samuel might have faced summary judgment without even going to trial.

“Don’t you know that impersonating a priest is a serious crime?”

Catherine couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh of disbelief. She had never thought him so foolish, and couldn’t understand how Saul had kept such a person close for so long. Though in truth, there were few things about Saul that she fully understood. Catherine exhaled deeply.

Although Catherine didn’t believe in God… she wasn’t completely ignorant about religion. This was due to the influence of a foolish man who had left Catherine’s side long ago.

As an executioner, he was one of those who worked closest to death. Moreover, he made his living by ending the lives of others. Because of this, he was devout before God. Young Catherine had grown up watching him pray to alleviate his sins.

Although the man was ignorant and rarely taught Catherine anything specifically, there were things one naturally learned by spending time together. Occasionally, the man would sit young Catherine on his knee and tell her various stories.

“Decades ago, a sick man was healed completely after receiving help from a passing priest. He had been severely injured in a war long ago and could no longer use his legs, but when the priest prayed devoutly, his stiffened legs began to move. Overjoyed, he jumped up on the spot and ran through the entire street…”

Most of the stories the man told were like this. Looking back, the reason he told such stories to young Catherine was probably because he didn’t know any fairy tales or stories that children her age might enjoy… The reason he told these stories was because among the stories he knew and could tell, the most moderate and hopeful were those about religion and divine miracles.

Under this influence, Catherine used to pray devoutly while the foolish man was still alive, hoping that the two of them could live happily together for a long time. Catherine shook her head. That was already a story from long ago.

But because of that old story, Catherine knew how absurd Samuel’s claims were. Catherine continued.

“The twelfth candle? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”