Chapter 86: Receiving the Crown Prince’s Remains

The royal family stood lined up under the covered entrance of the palace. The honor guard and soldiers stood in formation on both sides of the main path leading to the palace entrance, exposed to the rain. Behind them were the knights and the families of the deceased. Naturally, only nobles were allowed here; commoners were not permitted inside the palace grounds.

They stood completely still despite being soaked by the rain. A presence could be felt approaching from afar — something massive wrapped in negative emotions. It was surely the collective aura emanating from the crown prince’s corpse, the bodies of the soldiers who died with him, and the knights who had carried them back. Perhaps the souls of the dead were traveling along with them.

As this mass drew closer, the air around the palace seemed to grow heavier. If rain could have a color, it would be black or a deep shade of gray. The expression "the sky is weeping" fit perfectly. Some of the people waiting began to feel ill and quietly slipped out of formation, retreating to the back.

A shadow emerged from the misty rain. All sound seemed to vanish as it advanced in solemn silence. At the front rode a knight in full plate armor on horseback. If that were a Dullahan, it would be terrifying, I thought with a somewhat disrespectful notion. The dread radiating from the leading knight sent a chill down my spine.

Behind the knight came a magnificent jet-black carriage, followed by a line of simple covered wagons stretching endlessly back through the palace gates. The crown prince’s body was likely in the first carriage, with Stevie’s brothers in the ones behind it.

The mounted knight in plate armor came to a stop in front of the palace’s main stairs. In perfect unison, the entire procession halted. The knight dismounted, climbed the stairs, and approached the king standing at the center. He removed his helmet, dropped to one knee, and placed the sword he carried at his waist on the ground beside him. Beneath the helmet was an aged face with wrinkles, framed by a mix of silver and white hair and a beard — the very image of a man who had endured many hardships.

It was the first time I had seen the king. So this man is my father? The thought made me instinctively use Appraisal.

『Philip Marie — King of the Marie Kingdom, 51 years old』

That was all that appeared. I wasn’t sure whether the information was being hidden or if this was his true status. What impressed me was that he had fathered me when he was 41. In this world, the average lifespan was probably around fifty, so a forty-year-old would already be considered quite elderly or close to it. Yet somehow he had still managed to produce a child. There are no ED drugs in this world, but perhaps there’s some kind of magic for treating erectile dysfunction?

I recalled an old story from a senior at my previous job. A man in his late sixties had said that when Viagra first came out from Pfizer, he thought it was a miracle drug. He had tried maca and all kinds of tonics with no success, but one single Viagra pill worked wonders. His wife and he had already "graduated" from that part of their relationship, so he took it to be with someone else — and it worked spectacularly. Back when Viagra first launched, getting a prescription was really difficult, he had said. I wondered if that senior was still going strong. As for me, I’m doing fine in another world without any medication.

My emotions right now were strangely cold. It felt like I was watching everything from a detached, bird’s-eye view. Standing at the edge of the royal family’s line, I occasionally felt the cold rain hitting me.

The king spoke words of appreciation and condolence to the knight. When I appraised him:

『Bernard Shaw — Knight Commander, 39 years old. Swordsmanship 7, Combat 5, Archery 3, Spear 2...』

He was the Knight Commander. He looked much younger than I had expected. The commander offered the sword he had placed beside him to the king. The king accepted it and handed it to a nearby attendant. The rain grew heavier, now falling on us as well, but no one said a word. Everyone simply watched in silence.

The attendant handed the king a short sword. The king drew it from its sheath and passed it to the Knight Commander. The commander bowed his head, accepted the blade, then opened the front of his plate armor and drove the sword into his own chest.

"Guh!"

A small groan escaped the Knight Commander.

I was shocked. I couldn’t make a sound; my body froze in place. My eyes were glued to the Knight Commander. He slowly pitched forward and collapsed right in front of the king. The king, the attendants, the royal family, and the other attendees showed no sign of surprise — they had clearly known this was going to happen. No one rushed forward. The commander twitched once, then went still. Blood began to spread out from beneath his body.

Everyone silently watched the Knight Commander die.

My mind raced with questions. Why did the Knight Commander commit suicide in front of the king? Was it because he had fulfilled his duty by delivering the crown prince’s body? Was he taking responsibility as the commander of the knights for allowing the prince to die? Was this the final closing act of the incident surrounding the crown prince’s death?

Rain fell on the commander’s body and flowed onto the ground, mixing with and carrying away the spreading blood.

After confirming the commander’s death, the king raised his hand. Everyone participating in the ceremony bowed their heads. I followed suit. When the person next to me raised their head, I did the same. Several knights, presumably members of the order, emerged from the side and began to remove the commander’s body. They brought a board-like stretcher, placed the body on it, and carried it away. The spilled blood was wiped up and washed away with water. Thanks to the rain, the bloodstains had already faded considerably.

Once the king entered the palace, the coffin containing the crown prince’s body was carried into the inner palace. The coffins of the soldiers who had died alongside him were also unloaded from the wagons and lined up in the square in front of the palace. The crown prince’s coffin was taken inside, but the soldiers’ coffins remained out in the pouring rain.

The king and queen, along with the princes and princesses, gathered around the crown prince’s coffin. Someone must have cast a refrigeration spell on it — the coffin felt ice-cold even from a distance. The lid was removed, and starting with the king, each person looked upon the crown prince’s face and offered flowers. I followed the line and was allowed to view the body as well, placing my own flower with the others.

The crown prince had a face that looked like a younger version of the king. There were no visible wounds; his face was clean and beautiful. I had heard he was attacked by a magical beast — had it not left any marks on his face? Or was there someone capable of healing such injuries? A person who appeared to be a church priest continued chanting scriptures.

With that, the ceremony concluded. Today’s event was simply the reception of the crown prince’s and the soldiers’ remains. The actual funeral would be held the day after tomorrow.

I moved to a spot with a view of the square and looked at the rows of coffins. The people standing around them were probably the bereaved families. I searched for Stevie, thinking she must be among them, but most people were looking down, making it impossible to tell.

I hope no one gets sick in this rain, I thought.