NOVEL WEB Chapter 24: The Best
Wednesday, April 24, 428, 13:00. Cathedral of the War Angel in Trier.
The War Angel's Cathedral was extremely crowded that day with curious passersby and various news outlets.
The cathedral's entrance was guarded by armed soldiers tasked with locating and capturing Michael Burey.
Although the funeral was scheduled to begin at 13:00, people only began entering the cathedral at 13:15 due to the thorough searches for Michael Burey.
Even the nobles' carriages were inspected by the soldiers.
A line formed at the cathedral entrance; each person was carefully inspected. No items were permitted inside as a precaution, except the sacred scriptures of the Church of Light.
As the line advanced, it was Lana's turn to be inspected.
She wore a white shirt, a dark brown blazer, a brown beret, and black shoes.
Behind her stood a blonde man with blue eyes, between 1.85 and 1.95 meters tall, dressed in a black suit with a white shirt.
When Lana's inspection ended, she entered the cathedral. The soldiers then turned to inspect the man.
"Name?" a soldier asked briskly.
The blonde man smiled and answered, "Gregor Alighieri, from the Balanese Journalism System."
The soldier glanced at Lana before looking back at Gregor.
Sensing the soldier's hesitation, Gregor added, "She's my colleague. We work together."
The soldier gave Gregor a final once-over before letting him through.
As Gregor entered the cathedral, his smile faded into a shocked expression; his eyes widened as he covered his mouth to suppress his surprise.
He sat beside Lana on one of the last benches near the entrance.
"I can't believe it worked," he whispered.
Lana calmly answered, taking a Book of Illumination from her pocket and opening it to a random page, "I told you, my disguises are unrecognizable."
Gregor tugged at his blonde hair in amazement. "Where did you get such a good wig?"
Lana chuckled without replying.
"And these blue contact lenses look so real... But I still don't get why I'm wearing heels."
Without looking up from the book, Lana whispered, "Trust me. It's better this way. Michael Burey is a brunette around 1.70 meters tall. Gregor Alighieri is a blonde man at 1.85. They won't suspect you."
"Fair enough, I guess," Gregor replied.
After a delay of almost 30 minutes, Viscount and Viscountess Burey entered the cathedral.
Next to them were Count Erin and his family.
Viscount Burey looked troubled and had dark circles under his eyes.
The Viscountess also looked troubled; her face was wet and red from what appeared to be tears.
Count and Countess Erin had serious, unemotional expressions.
In contrast to the Count, Mallory Erin, the eldest son of the Erins, was trembling; his eyes were wide open as if he had seen a monster. He walked with the support of his sister so he wouldn't fall.
All of them wore black or white clothes, including other nobles who also came to the funeral.
That was one of the many customs surrounding Trier's color traditions. During funerals, it is a sign of respect to wear neutral colors that isn't bound to a family or a political spectrum, usually white, black, and gray.
During the funeral, the only person who wears a color bound by a family, political spectrum, or religious beliefs is the deceased person.
In cases of common funerals, the deceased is buried with clothes that symbolize their faith in a deity or philosophy. In cases of noble funerals, they usually are buried with clothes of their family's colors.
They walked over to the first-row benches and sat there.
As soon as they sat down, the Viscountess Burey broke down crying.
Her voice wasn't particularly loud, but because of the silence that was established in the cathedral, her crying voice echoed all around the cathedral.
As they listened to the Viscountess's cries, Lana turned to see how Gregor was handling the situation.
"Are you alright, Greg?"
Gregor seemed lost in thought and didn't respond.
People slowly rose from their seats to pay their respects to the family. Noblemen, consuls, merchants, and friends of the family offered condolences.
In Intis, during funerals, it is a tradition to offer condolences to the family of the deceased person before the start of the funeral.
In cases where the press is involved, as a form of respect, the journalists stay in their seats without interacting with the family.
Infiltrating among the people, Gregor walked to the front of the cathedral, trying to peek a glance at Rebecca's body, which was on the altar of the cathedral.
Walking towards the altar, he finally caught a glimpse of Rebecca's body.
Rebecca's body was dressed in a dark green dress, symbolic of the Erin family. The dress had a collar that covered her entire neck; her hair was combed in a way that her left eye was completely covered with hair.
Seeing that, Gregor couldn't help but let out a nasal chuckle, an empty chuckle that mocked himself—for not being able to protect his sister, for not noticing the Psychological Invisibility used by Robert Norarta which led to Rebecca's death, for having to steal his sister's jewelry and run away like a rat, for not being able to even protect his sister's body that would be buried in the clothes of the family that tried to buy her, and especially, for not having the strength to avenge her at that moment.
He left the altar before someone could notice him and sat down next to Lana.
His eyes looked lost in an immeasurable abyss of thoughts.
Lana noticed but chose not to intervene, letting him process his sorrow.
Gregor didn't notice the time passing; for him, it could have passed a second or an hour. When he snapped back to reality, the priest was already in the cathedral starting the funeral rite.
In the calm voice of someone who had experienced this kind of moment many times during his life, the priest began, "Today, we gather together to remember the life of a girl who unfortunately left us too soon and took with her a part of us..."
"This moment is one of the hardest moments we have to experience in our lives, an ultimate test of our faith in the Light...
"But I can guarantee, right now, she is by our Lord's side, counting happily the things she experienced in life, and by the Lord's side, she will become part of the light that illuminates the world and gives us hope, the light that purges evil and rewards the good..."
The priest stopped for a second as he turned to the altar; he knelt by the coffin's side as he continued.
"Your life will never be forgotten. You brought joy to the lives of everyone who had the pleasure to meet you. By their words, you will always be remembered as the best daughter a mother could ask for, the greatest pride a father can have, a dear friend, the best fiancée a man could have, a kind person, a talented artist. Rebecca Erin Burey, your life will never be forgotten."
Gregor tried to hold back his tears during the whole speech, but as the priest said the last part, he could not help but fall into tears.
He cried uncontrollably without making a sound.
In his mind, he completed the priest's words: The best older sister...
Lana kept listening to the priest, allowing Gregor to finally release the feelings he had been holding in during this time.
The priest kept talking, but Gregor didn't listen to a single word and kept crying in silence.