【Saul】

The prayer recitation stopped.

Through the heavy rain pattering on the umbrella, a dull thud rose—a sound that should never have been heard. Some of the soil that had been dug up and overturned shook as it fell, mixing with the dirt Catherine had thrown. The coffin was… moving.

“Get the coffin out! Get it out!”

Catherine heard someone shouting among those staring blankly at the scene. Or rather, she thought she heard it. Only when cold raindrops soaked her face through her veil did she realize she was the one who had cried out.

“Catherine!”

Urgent hands grabbed her as she stepped toward the grave.

“Bring the coffin back up!”

The cemetery instantly became chaotic. The young men who had lowered the coffin rushed forward, while belated screams and murmurs spread noisily through the crowd.

“Oh, Lord,” the priest whispered, his voice faintly audible through the rain.

Catherine could hardly believe what was happening. Saul… his name circled in her mouth. Throughout the entire process of the coffin being raised from the ground, Catherine watched without blinking once. The dull sound of something hitting from inside continued persistently.

Despite the commotion, the coffin was quickly brought back to the surface. The moment it was set down on the muddy ground, strong hands restrained Catherine as she tried to approach. 

“Lady Cavendish, please calm yourself.”

Only after hearing that gentle voice from above did Catherine dazedly turn to realize it was David holding her back.

“Please calm down.”

David said again. Catherine stared at him with a rigid expression. She noticed raindrops falling from his wet hair, just as when they’d first met. The droplets rolled down his white forehead and straight nose. Catherine drew a deep breath.

When their eyes met, Catherine could see her own reflection in those blue irises—her pale, drained face. The sound of her heavy breathing resonated throughout her body. The rain brushed her ears, and the mud squelched beneath her feet. She sensed people rushing to open the nailed coffin and heard voices shouting to open it quickly, all mingling in a confusing cacophony.

“Calm yourself, Catherine.”

This time, David’s words came through more clearly. Catherine raised her firmly held hand, only then realizing her entire body was trembling as she saw her fingertips shaking.

“Stand back! We’re opening it!”

At the sound of the coffin being opened, Catherine quickly turned around. David’s gaze followed hers. Through the crowd, they could see the coffin slowly opening. Cough. Through the tumultuous silence, a familiar sound reached her ears.

Catherine instinctively pushed David away and approached the coffin. This time, no one stopped her.

Catherine stepped out from under the umbrella and walked into the rain. Though her body felt weak and she staggered forward, she continued on. Finally, seeing the pale face inside the coffin, gasping for breath and coughing, she collapsed in front of it, heedless of her black skirt becoming soiled with mud.

“…Saul?”

One of the nearby young men helped raise Saul’s body as he continued coughing violently. Catherine quickly approached Saul, who was leaning against the young man and gasping for breath, and grasped his hand. It was cold—still cold and stiff.

But when those cold, rigid fingertips slowly bent to weakly grasp Catherine’s hand in return, she realized that Saul had truly come back to life and murmured, “Oh, Lord.” Catherine pressed her forehead against her hand holding Saul’s. She could feel his body shuddering with coughs through her fingertips.

“…Cath…erine.”

When that dry voice fell upon her head, Catherine looked up. And froze.

“Saul, your…”

…eyes. The words pooled in her mouth, her lips unable to part. Catherine unconsciously reached toward Saul’s eyes but then dropped her hand. Saul’s eyes… were red.

Catherine. At that moment, Saul’s lips moved. Then his body, leaning toward Catherine, collapsed. Catherine didn’t even think to catch him, but then felt his hands suddenly gripping her back, binding her tightly. Startled, she looked up.

A shiver ran through her. Saul’s cold fingertips crawled up and gripped the back of Catherine’s neck. His lukewarm breath moistened her nape before pulling away. Instinctively, Catherine realized Saul was looking at something.

“Da…vid.”

The cold fingertips touching Catherine’s neck as she tried to turn trembled. “So you’ve returned…” Such a whisper seemed to brush her ear. Immediately after, Catherine reflexively embraced Saul’s suddenly limp body. His weakened fingers slipped down Catherine’s back.

Catherine stared blankly at the unconscious Saul, then casually turned to look at David, who would be standing behind her. What she saw startled her unexpectedly. His face, visible through the rain-soaked golden curls, had turned deathly pale.

Looking like he had encountered an unexpected terror…

* * *

The collapsed Saul was immediately moved into the manor.

His bedroom became bustling with activity after a very long time. Catherine, sitting closest to the bed, shifted her blank gaze from Saul.

Her dazed eyes, with her head leaning against the bedpost, turned toward the half-closed door. Outside the bedroom, the three priests who had officiated the funeral, along with Saul’s physician, the butler, and David were conversing. Catherine looked at David’s profile, which had regained some color since earlier, then dropped her gaze back to Saul.

With a sigh-like breath, Catherine took Saul’s thin hand. It was still cold, though she could feel warmth gradually returning. Noticing his palm becoming lukewarm, Catherine turned his hand over.

On his palm, she saw the wound that looked almost gouged out. Because the injury had been quite severe, the wound that hadn’t fully healed by the time Saul had drawn his last breath remained visible.

“…Saul.”

It was definitely Saul. Catherine once again wrapped her hands around his still-cold fingertips. She arranged the black hair scattered across his pale cheeks, then lightly brushed his closed eyes before dropping her hand.

“I certainly confirmed his death. This is a miracle.”

A somewhat elevated voice brushed her ear—the physician’s voice. Catherine nodded unconsciously. She had been present when Saul’s death was pronounced. He had definitely drawn his last breath.

Most people gathered here, including Catherine and the physician, had confirmed his death.

Moreover, after Saul had passed away, his body had been washed and watched over throughout the funeral preparations. It would have been impossible to fake his death to deceive someone. His death had been an undeniable, clear fact.

Yet somehow, Saul was now alive. It was inexplicable except as a miracle. Clearly, no one had anticipated this. Perhaps not even Saul himself and…

“Lady Cavendish.”

Except for David.

Catherine looked up at David’s touch on her shoulder. Meeting his blue eyes fixed on her, Catherine blinked.

Why… She couldn’t forget that terrified expression on David’s face. She couldn’t shake the feeling that he might have known about this. It wasn’t a belief based on clear evidence—rather, it was closer to intuition. But Catherine knew that sometimes such subtle feelings could lead to the right answer.

Saul too… Catherine belatedly wondered if the subject of Saul’s will might have been himself. If so, was the letter David claimed to have received also written by Saul? Her thoughts went no further. Her head throbbed.

“You must be tired. You should return to your room.”

David’s gentle suggestion reached her distantly. Only after a long moment did Catherine realize she was still sitting with her head against the bedpost. She forced her body, which felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton, to straighten up, then shook her head while pushing away David’s hand that was worriedly gripping her shoulder.

“I’ll stay here until Saul wakes up.”

At those words, David silently regarded Catherine for a moment, then quietly nodded and left the bedroom. She heard him speaking to those still engaged in serious conversation outside the door. It didn’t last long.

Soon the voices from outside the bedroom ceased, and she heard footsteps moving away. The sound of brief farewells was audible for a few seconds before fading. Now in Saul’s quiet bedroom, the only sound was a man’s footsteps approaching from behind Catherine.

“I’ll stay with you.”

David brought a chair to sit opposite Catherine, with Saul’s bed between them, and said this. Then he closed his mouth.

With those final words, Saul’s bedroom fell silent again. Just as it had been when it briefly lost its master.