Chapter 89: The Funeral

"What a pointless waste of time. If His Highness the Crown Prince were here, he would have put a stop to it with a single word. Lord Robin, never mind them. Let’s go in from here."

He invited me along, cut through the line of people, and strode confidently down the area without a carpet. As the Prime Minister advanced, the crowd parted like the Red Sea in the Ten Commandments, opening a path before him.

The Prime Minister turned back to me.

"Lord Robin, do you have any thoughts about your future? I hear you’ve been working in the Knight Order’s Accounting Bureau recently?"

He suddenly asked.

"I would be satisfied with a modest government post where I can earn enough salary to support my wife and children. I don’t have any outstanding talents, so I think receiving compensation appropriate to my abilities is enough. I’ve only just started working in the Accounting Bureau, so I’m not sure how useful I’ve been yet."

The Prime Minister looked surprised at my answer.

"My word! Lord Robin, you have quite a low opinion of yourself. How old are you? Ten? For a ten-year-old to have such a mature, level-headed way of thinking... This confirms the rumors I’ve been hearing. You are a prince with a claim to the throne, yet you intend to live your life as a mere official? Haha."

I wasn’t sure how he interpreted my reply, but I had meant to speak honestly. In isekai novels and even real Earth history, there are countless stories of royal succession turning into bloody sibling rivalries. I have zero desire to experience anything like that. However, it seemed the Prime Minister didn’t take my answer as my true feelings.

"I’ve been hearing various rumors about you, Lord Robin, and they’ve been quite entertaining. Please continue to provide me with good stories. I’m looking forward to it."

He said this with a smile.

Following behind the Prime Minister, my mother, Cass, and our attendants proceeded. When I glanced sideways at the arguing group, they were pointing at us and saying something. Didn’t they learn in etiquette class that it’s rude to point at people? Or maybe in this world, pointing isn’t considered impolite. Even so, it didn’t feel very pleasant.

Thanks to the Prime Minister, we entered the cathedral smoothly. Seats were assigned, so once we were inside there was no issue. The only problem was that walking where there was no path drew even more attention. Actually, I heard a mountain of "Who is that?" whispers. Well, that’s something I’m used to hearing when I go outside, so it didn’t bother me too much. But hearing things like "Who is Lord Robby?" or "That ○○ person?" still stung a little.

In response to those voices, Mother said,

"Robby, you don’t have to pay attention to people like that! You’re Robby, and that’s all that matters!"

Hearing her say that made it clear she accepted the situation, which felt like salt being rubbed into the wound... When I naturally lowered my head, Mother added,

"Walk with your chest out. There’s nothing for you to be ashamed of."

Having her say that on purpose made it even harder...

Even if we stayed in the room, there would probably be more of that consoling (which felt like salt in the wound), so I decided to head to my seat quickly. Mother said, "You could take your time..." but those with seats at the very back should just go ahead and sit down.

When I reached my seat, it was spectacularly at the very edge. This must be a clear sign of the expectations placed on the 11th Prince: "We have no expectations for you!"

The Pope and King’s seats were probably the luxurious ones at the front. No one was sitting there yet, but they stood out as far more ornate than the others.

I thought the waiting time would be boring, but carefully observing the inside of the cathedral was actually very interesting. The patterns in the stained glass probably depicted religious acts, and it was fascinating to see how similar they were across worlds.

Mother was dozing off in the seat next to me. Maybe she was used to these kinds of events and found them uninteresting, or perhaps she was simply bored.

"Pretty early, huh," said a man with sharp eyes as he walked past. His attendant was explaining who I was.

"That’s the 11th Prince’s..."

I didn’t want to hear the rest of the conversation, so I tuned it out. Everyone says the same thing anyway. After that, princes and princesses continued to arrive one after another, but none of them knew my face, and their reactions were all the same. I really am not well-known, I thought to myself. Not just among the royals— even the ministers were giving me "Who is this?" looks.

This continued endlessly until the seats were filled. Finally, the King appeared and took his seat. The Pope emerged from the back and declared the ceremony open from the platform. After that, it was the same kind of ceremony you’d find in any world. To me, it was rather dull, but I managed to stay awake until the end. As expected, some royals were dozing off. Mother barely managed to keep her posture straight. Being able to sleep while sitting perfectly upright—is that an occupational hazard? I had a colleague back in my old world who could sleep with his eyes open during sales meetings. I never thought I’d see that skill in this world too.

Despite it being a funeral, there was no audible sobbing from anyone (though there might have been people crying where I couldn’t hear). To me, the whole thing felt surprisingly simple and extremely ceremonial.

It reminded me of my old company. When a regular colleague died, their family and even coworkers and bosses cried. But at the company president’s funeral, not a single person shed a tear. It was probably the same here. The families of those who committed junshi must be drowning in tears right now.

"If only His Highness the Crown Prince hadn’t died, my son... my husband... my father... wouldn’t have had to die."