The Funeral
The Funeral
I did not know sending off a single deceased person would take such a long time.
Eommoni's funeral was conducted over fourteen days.
During the first week, the main tasks were caring for eommoni's body and setting up the funeral hall.
Once the first week passed, nobles from other regions began to gather.
In particular, the very first to arrive was Margrave Leonius. It was said that despite having his own duties, he had ridden without resting for even a single moment from the instant the carrier pigeon arrived.
With the exception of nobles who could not make it in time for the funeral due to distance, all the nobles gathered, and at last, the funeral began.
The funeral bell tolled.
The low resonance of the heavy iron travelled along the stone floors and corridors of the imperial palace, seeping numbingly into the depths of my chest.
The funeral hall was not glamorous, but it was decorated with things symbolizing the imperial family.
Several large candlesticks bristling with layers of candles stood tall, and the exceptionally long candles set at the four corners of the coffin flickered uneasily.
Smoke from incense coming from somewhere hidden filled the floor. A heavy, acrid smell of wood. It was a fragrance that left a slightly sticky, thick sweetness lingering at the very end.
Knights guarding the candlelight and the coffin. Eommoni's coffin, placed between them, was closed over the lower half of her body, but open over her upper body.
The closed section of the coffin was draped with a large flag depicting ivy vines and ivy flowers, eommoni's symbol.
And upon it rested the empress crown eommoni had worn on official occasions, placed on a purple velvet cushion.
Then, the cardinal who was said to have come directly from the Holy Capital stepped forward and opened his mouth.
"O Phanes-isiyeo, merciful God of Light. We earnestly beseech You to release the soul of Your handmaid, Semele, from all shackles of sin, -hasoseo. Though in her earthly life she strived to serve You while bearing the majesty of the Empire, if she has committed any faults as a mortal, please wash them clean with Your infinite mercy, -hasoseo."
That prayer wrapped around the inside of the chapel, quiet yet solemn.
"On the day of judgment, let her shed the chains of death and enjoy the glory of resurrection alongside the saints, casting an eternal light upon her, -hasoseo."
When that prayer ended, the Minister of the Imperial Household spoke.
"We shall now commence the condolence ceremony for Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager."
Inside the chapel became quiet.
After a brief pause, the Minister of the Imperial Household declared in a low, distinct voice.
"His Imperial Majesty Emperor Julian August von Aurelian und Rotaria is entering."
He called my name.
I walk along the deep burgundy carpet laid out in a straight line beyond the open doors of the chapel all the way to eommoni's coffin.
Every time I stepped on the carpet, a dry rustling sensation rose up through the soles of my feet.
I pass by various nobles.
Faces manufacturing grief, faces calculating sorrow. Everyone I brushed past wore their own respective masks.
One step, then another step.
Leaving them all behind, I slowly walked up to the front of the coffin.
To call it a thought, it had no shape; to call it an emotion, it had no name. All of it simply pierced through my chest.
I did not hold back my sorrow. I decided to show everything.
Leaving a single streak of tear flowing down my cheek, I finished my moment of silent tribute, and a maid carrying a silver tray walked over to my side.
Her eyes, faintly visible through her black veil, were swollen red. She was a familiar maid. I remembered her as the maid who had stayed by eommoni's side the longest.
I picked up the single lily resting on the silver tray brought by the maid.
Though we had been together for ten years, I probably was not a very good son. After all, I had filled most of that time with nothing but acting.
Even so, there were memories.
Even now, there was a warmth deep inside my chest.
There was the warmth of someone who smiled whenever she saw me, who hugged me, and who whispered that she loved me.
Together with all those memories, I placed the flower upon the coffin.
Regret was already too late.
Yet, even so.
I must keep walking forward along this path.
Shouldering what I have lost, even if a day comes when I collapse and can no longer stand.
Even if I must take on the unsightly, ridiculous appearance of a clown.
After offering one final brief silent prayer, I turned around.
The nobles visible to my eyes. Bearing all of their gazes upon myself, I moved my steps toward my seat.
As I sat in the chair positioned lower than the dais where the coffin lay, the Minister of the Imperial Household opened his mouth.
"His Excellency the Lord Protector, Maximilian von Wallenstein."
The Lord Protector walked the exact path I had taken, offered a silent prayer, and presented a flower just as I had. Every single one of his actions grated on my nerves.
It was a miracle that I suppressed those emotions so as not to show them.
After the Lord Protector finished his condolences, the paying of respects proceeded in order.
If there was something unusual...
"Margrave of the East, Count Leonius von Chrysoricos. He shall pay condolences as delegated by Grand Duke Hannibal von Varkianos of the Southern Sea."
It was that Margrave Leonius had come to pay respects on behalf of Grand Duke of the Southern Sea, who could not attend due to the distance.
Though no one foolishly made a sound in the solemn funeral hall, there was no one who did not know what it signified for Margrave Leonius to offer condolences on behalf of Grand Duke of the Southern Sea as well.
And if there was yet another thing, it was Narea.
Though Narea covered her face with a veil and stifled her sound as much as possible, small whimpering sobs were leaking out.
When Narea placed her flower upon the coffin, her uncontrollable wailing even spilled out.
As if the pristine composure she maintained during court etiquette lessons had been a lie, she could not hold back her emotions despite knowing it was against etiquette.
At first she had been awkward because of me, but at some point she started calling her Taehu-mama and followed eommoni well. She might have been more like eommoni's child than I was.
In fact, after I began taking lessons, Narea had spent more tea times with eommoni than I had.
Therefore, those tears came to me as something special.
In this imperial palace, you alone mourn and weep for her without a single political calculation.
"I offer my deepest condolences to Your Majesty."
Gate Grand Duke Dietrich bowed his head briefly to me in greeting. I nodded slightly as if I did not even have the strength to properly receive it, and afterward, the Gate Grand Duke's family members also offered brief words of condolence to me one by one.
"I... I pray for the... Empress Dowager-pyeha's... eternal..., eternal rest......"
Hiccuping, unable to stop her tears, Narea nevertheless said what she had to say.
I wanted to say even a word of thanks, but with the gazes of the nobles before me, the current me could not utter such words, so I merely nodded my head just as I had done for the others.
How much time had passed?
The nobles each expressed their condolences and offered words of sympathy to me.
The funeral, which had begun around sunrise, came to an end past noon as the sun began to sink.
However, this was not the end.
"His Imperial Majesty Emperor Julian August von Aurelian und Rotaria is departing."
Hearing those words, I stood up and walked back along the path I had come.
Just like that, I walked out of the chapel and made my way toward the imperial palace. For the next few hours, or even until tomorrow, there was nothing left for me to do.
Now that all the nobles' condolences were complete, the funeral hall would be tidied up to a degree, and the chapel would be opened to general citizens so they too could pay their respects.
Clang... A heavy yet chilling bell toll echoed long.
Once the general condolences began, that funeral bell would toll once every minute, as many times as eommoni's age.
As I absentmindedly moved my steps, other nobles came into view.
Nobles of the Lord Protector's faction entered the annexes. Some nobles headed toward the carriages to return home.
Even amid this, the Gate Grand Duke and the Eastern Margrave, who surely could not leave their territories vacant for long, nevertheless did not return and entered their respective annexes prepared in the imperial palace.
As I too was heading toward my quarters, I suddenly caught sight of the scenery outside the window.
Even though it had not been long since the funeral bell announcing the public opening had tolled, people were already gathered.
Countless. There were truly countless people.
So much so that the ground could not be seen, a wave of people stretched from the front of the chapel to the very end of the street.
They joined in paying respects with their own individual expressions.
Some out of mere duty, some while venting annoyance, some while letting out sighs, and some while weeping.
I suddenly stopped in my tracks and looked at them.
"They are......"
Without realizing it, words spilled from my mouth.
"......Why are they... crying?"
It was not that I was seeking an answer from anyone in particular. It was simply a question that had slipped out of me unknowingly.
To them, eommoni could not have been a particularly special existence. Eommoni had never done anything directly for the common people, nor would the common people have had any reason to feel special emotions toward eommoni.
Yet, there were those who were weeping mournfully.
I was immensely curious about that.
"......Is it not because Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager has passed away?"
Just then, a voice resounded.
Looking toward the source of the voice, Andrew was standing there.
The knights guarding me moved their bodies to step between Andrew and me.
"......Eommoni has passed away, but what does that have to do with them?"
Realizing my response was a sign of permission, the knights flinched slightly before stepping aside from blocking Andrew.
"She simply existed as Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager. That alone was enough."
Andrew knelt before me and spoke those words.
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means no reason is necessary, Your Majesty. Simply because Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Dowager was there as the Empress Dowager, the people gained peace of mind. Now that such an Empress Dowager has vanished, from their perspective, it is the same as having lost a mother."
"Lost a mother......"
I looked down at the people once more. More and more people were beginning to gather. It made me wonder if every single citizen of the Imperial Capital had assembled.
"......Is that so. Were they, too, just like me?"
I closed my eyes and stood in that spot for a long while.
The sun set, and rose again.
Even after that, around the time the sun had traveled for a long while and began to set once more.
Only then did the general public's condolences come to an end.
The funeral hall was cleared away far more than when I had first arrived. Neither the flowers that had been placed on the coffin nor the flowers brought by the citizens remained.
The number of nobles had also diminished significantly compared to during the main ceremony. High-ranking nobles like the Lord Protector, the Eastern Margrave, and the Gate Grand Duke remained, but their families and retainers were nowhere to be seen.
Now, only the act of moving this coffin to enshrine it in the Imperial Mausoleum remained.
As before, the cardinal stepped forward and recited a prayer.
"May God guide you to peaceful rest. When you reach the beyond, may those who departed before you welcome you and lead you along the path of eternal light. May heavenly song embrace your steps, and may you enjoy eternal rest, we pray."
When the pallbearers who had been standing by in front of the coffin lifted it, the firmly closed doors of the chapel swung open.
The conveyance of the casket began.
I absentmindedly follow behind the slowly moving coffin.
It was not very far to the Imperial Mausoleum.
Facing the evening wind carrying the chill of spring, slowly, slowly, the coffin moved forward.
Before long, we arrived at the Imperial Mausoleum, and the mausoleum's doors opened.
The cardinal stepped inside first.
In the mausoleum, a place to set eommoni's coffin had already been prepared.
The cardinal slowly raised the incense burner.
White smoke from the incense spread over the coffin.
The cardinal took a handful of dirt in his hand and sprinkled it over the coffin.
"Earth to earth. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust."
With every phrase he spoke, he sprinkled dirt.
"By that grand power by which Phanes subjects all things to Himself, He shall transform our humble bodies to become like His glorious body."
Immediately after, everyone present, including the cardinal, bowed their heads. I bowed my head following them. A brief silence where not even the sound of breathing could be heard.
Once that brief silence ended, the cardinal produced holy water and sprinkled it over the coffin.
Before long, the pallbearers lifted the coffin once more and enshrined it inside the sarcophagus.
"May God grant eternal rest unto this soul."
When the cardinal's final prayer ended, everyone looked at me.
The end. The final words of this funeral.
Everyone was waiting for the Emperor's words.
With heavy steps, I walked up to the front of the sarcophagus.
I place my hand on the sarcophagus.
The chillingly cold sarcophagus seemed to say 'this is as far as it goes' to me.
I thought I had shed them all, but the tears wouldn't stop.
There was so much I wanted to put into words. But none of it could turn into words, only flowing away.
Yet, just one thing.
Just one thing, the words I had held in my heart all this time.
"......Thank you, for everything until now."
Ten years' worth of gratitude.
With that as the last, the sarcophagus was closed.
Closing the doors of the mausoleum.
The long, long funeral that had continued for two weeks...
...finally came to an end.