Instead of answering, Benjamin moved his feet.
His eyes, not even giving Baron a glance, were heavily downcast.
“Hey! Wait. Can’t you hear me?”
Lambert firmly grasped Baron’s shoulder as he raised his voice.
“Be quiet. This is a place to commemorate Diana.”
“I get it, so let go. I’ll shut up as you say.”
As soon as Lambert released his shoulder, Baron followed Benjamin. Lambert watched them and sighed.
How could those two not change for over 10 years?
It was ironic that they belonged to the same knightly order despite disliking each other so much.
‘But are those two trying to go to Yerena’s funeral?’
Of course, Lambert also wanted to visit that funeral, but today was the day to honor Diana.
He couldn’t ignore Diana to check on Yerena.
Moreover, he strongly felt that Yerena might be alive, as Benjamin had claimed.
Lambert had also overheard that Benjamin had extracted confessions from the knights of the McCloy Duchy.
If it was Duncan pulling some scheme to hold a fake funeral, there was no need to go there.
But…
‘…Later. If there’s time, it might not be bad to drop by very briefly.’
A strange light gleamed in Lambert’s eyes as he stared at where Benjamin and Baron had disappeared.
It was a vitality that had never appeared when thinking about Diana.
***
On the altar of Tachis Cathedral, a coffin was placed.
A few familiar people walked up to the altar and placed white chrysanthemums on the coffin.
The memorial procession ended quickly. It was because only a few people visited the funeral.
I watched from the darkest corner of Tachis Cathedral.
Duncan recommended not coming to the cathedral, but I still wanted to see my funeral, even if just for a moment.
I couldn’t see inside the coffin, but it was clear that ‘fake Yerena’s corpse’ was in there.
As I looked at the coffin, indescribable emotions swirled. Sadness, awkwardness, strangeness, uneasiness, joy…
I paid my respects to the past me who didn’t die despite going through many hardships.
And I offered condolences to the fake Yerena who was buried today.
Lastly, I held expectations for my future self.
From today, Yerena who was disregarded as a C-grade guide truly died.
Now I will live as the master of ‘Jinjijo Transportation’, without being oppressed by anyone.
As I thought that far, my eyes stung for no reason, and I took a deep breath.
Among the mourners I observed, the three men who tormented me the most were not seen.
‘Of course. Today is Diana’s memorial day, so they wouldn’t attend.’
And since the three core members of the Allen Knightly Order didn’t come, other knights didn’t attend either.
I thought it made sense. I barely had any acquaintance with other knights.
Baron played a big part in this…
“I can’t be guided by a shabby guide who guides other espers too.”
Saying that, Baron prevented me from dealing with other espers except for the two men stronger than him.
If someone heard that, they might think I worked in a red-light district, not a center.
Anyway, Marquis Eleanor’s residence where the memorial service was being held was completely opposite to Tachis Cathedral, so the chance of meeting the three men here was close to zero.
Of course, I didn’t plan to stay here long since most of the people attending my funeral were center employees.
It was the moment when the priest with a long stole was reciting the eulogy.
A sharp voice cut through the quiet cathedral.
“Oh, oh! My child!”
“My daughter! How could you die so unfairly!”
A middle-aged man and woman who shouted rushed into the cathedral and ran up to the coffin.
‘Who dares to make my fake funeral so noisy.’
I frowned as I examined them.
The clothes they wore were close to rags, and most of their hair was tangled, unclear when it was last groomed.
Moreover, a terrible stench lingered where they passed.
At that moment, I suddenly recalled the words Baron always used to describe me.
“Like a beggar.”
Weren’t they the very embodiment of those words?
They, in their terrible state, sat in front of my coffin and wailed as if the world had ended.
“The center eventually killed my precious daughter…! How sorrowful!”
“To think the center devoured our daughter… Who could understand our feelings, trusting the center and entrusting our daughter to them!”
They seemed to be raising their voices pretending to be sad…
It was ironic that they didn’t shed a single tear despite making such a fuss.
Judging by their words like ‘my daughter’, ‘our daughter’, ‘my child’, they were clearly Yerena’s biological parents.
I didn’t know if they were dead or alive, but to barge into Yerena’s funeral like this.
I felt they didn’t come here for no reason, just to mourn Yerena.
If their daughter was truly precious to them, shouldn’t they have come to the center to check on their daughter before Yerena died?
They never once visited the center since I became Yerena. As if they had completely forgotten.
And soon after, their true intentions naturally flowed out.
“The center that drove our daughter to her death… pay us compensation…!”
Ugh. It’s about money again.
So they were trying to extort money from the center using Yerena’s death as an excuse.
I quietly clicked my tongue and left the cathedral building.
Thanks to Yerena’s parents causing a commotion, I was able to leave without anyone’s attention. This was helpful in that regard.
It was the moment I was walking towards the back door of the cathedral to return to the log cabin. Someone’s hand firmly grabbed my shoulder.
“…!”
Startled by the sudden contact, my body stiffened.
W-who is it?
C-could it be the three ruffians?!
As I felt as if all the blood in my body was drying up, a sudden chill came over me, making my whole body tremble.
Before I could turn around, someone’s voice reached me first.
“Did you end up coming after all?”
As soon as I heard that considerate voice, my tension eased.
My body, which had stiffened for a moment, relaxed, and I let out a long sigh of relief.
When I finally turned around, I saw a welcome face.
“Mr. Duncan, you scared me! I thought you weren’t coming today.”
Duncan, who hadn’t been visible in the cathedral, was the one who had grabbed me.
He was wearing a black uniform befitting someone attending a funeral, and he looked impeccable in it.
It seems the saying “the face completes the fashion” isn’t for nothing.
He looked good not only in light-colored clothes but also in dark ones.
His golden hair, slightly curled at the ends, was neatly swept back.
As a result, his exposed round forehead looked truly beautiful.
As I gazed at Duncan’s shiny forehead, I noticed a small scar that didn’t match its beauty.
I became curious about how that discordant scar came to be.
Just as I was thinking, ‘Is it a scar from when he was young?’, I heard Duncan’s reply.
“I was here early, but I just didn’t enter the cathedral. You could say I was patrolling the area.”
I lowered my gaze from his forehead.
“Why? Were you afraid uninvited guests might come?”
After saying that, I looked around.
This cathedral was already located in a corner of the capital.
Moreover, since Duncan and I were at the back of the cathedral, there wasn’t even an animal in sight, let alone people.
It was impressive that Duncan had managed to find me.
He followed my gaze around the area, and then finally answered.
“Yes. Since Guide Yerena has come all the way here, if the three gentlemen under probation also come…”
“Oh, come on. Those people are far away from here. They absolutely won’t come. They’re not thoughtful enough to attend the funeral of someone they disliked.”
“But you never know. They took your death quite sensitively.”
“What????? Sensitively, not normally? Are my ears working correctly?”
“They are normal.”
The idea that they took my death sensitively was unbelievable.
It would be more credible if you told me Rosie was saddened by my death.
“But today is… Lady Diana’s death anniversary. Mr. Duncan, who recently came to the capital, might not know, but Lady Diana was the spiritual pillar for those three men. There’s no noble who doesn’t know that fact.”
“I know that too.”
“If you know, then this will be quicker. When there’s a memorial service for someone they cared about, there’s no way they’d come to my funeral, someone they disliked.”
“But you never know with people. Their spiritual pillar might have changed.”
“To whom?”
Duncan tightly sealed his lips and stared intently at me.
As if I were the answer to my own question.
- lurelia
Known for turning pages faster than I move in real life.