A week later, a funeral was held in a city several kilometers away from the Royal Capital, in the city of Nepae, southeast from Trerinin. The city of Nepae was spacious, composed of mostly farmland and green pastures. Of course, there were houses here and there, and the population was surprisingly decent, despite it having a rural look.
Royalty across the kingdom, even some across the continent of Stritant, attending the funeral. For once, although it might've been hard to do, nobody adorned themselves in jewelry, or tried to make them self seem bigger. The standard was all black clothing.
Oscar stood quietly.
There were 42 deaths that occurred in that incident.
The Iron Vanguard, luckily, was subdued, and is currently being tried for their crimes. Treason, murder, destruction of property, etc.
The Captain, was still at large.
Oscar thought about this.
As a slave, he had met death time and time again. He had become accustomed to it. To him, death was the lucky part for most. The fresh drinking water, in the oasis.
For someone who's life has been relatively good… what is death? Is it still the bridge at the end? The goal?
I wonder what you guys are thinking right now.
Oscar stared at their caskets, being lowered into the ground.
Kai, you always wanted a life of luxury, right? Now you can get that, now you can rest.
So can you, Leah. You've been fighting for a while, haven't you?
General Yesynore… you deserve it the most, out of all of us.
Oscar thought all these things, trying to rationalize. Yes, they deserved to die, that was the fairness of the world taking place. It was the beautiful death and nothing less that they deserved to receive. As the funeral went on, people went up to talk about material things, useless relationships.
Oscar realized that despite not adorned in jewelry, you could pick royalty out from the way they acted.
It's… really despicable. How can these guys be like that?
I have to look at the bright side. The sun's out. Summer is in full effect, I've always been a fan of the scorching heat. Water feels several times more relaxing during this season.
The brightness of the sun makes everything look better, too.
It isn't such a bad day, after all.
"Oscar, is that you?"
Oscar, after hours of wait, finally heard a familiar voice. He turned his head, to see the beautiful Alize von Meino, also dressed in the customary black. She nodded her head, with a slight smile. But beyond that smile, there was a lot of sorrow. No matter how hard she tried to cover it up, Oscar could see through it.
"It's good to see you," Oscar said, handing her a smile.
"How are you holding up?" she asked.
Holding up?
I'm perfectly fine.
"I'm doing well. I heard about your father. I'm sorry."
"… It's fine. He was well on his way, anyway. I just wish he could've had a more peaceful way to go out."
"It is quite unfortunate. All we can do is look forward, and stay strong."
Yes, strong enough to take vengeance. His primary thought.
"You aren't strong at all, are you, Oscar?" Alize asked.
"Huh?"
Her arm wrapped around Oscar's shoulder. They stared at the caskets, as hunks of dirt were shoveled and tossed over them, securing them into the ground. They watched the people chat, the people yell, they watched people eat. It all seemed so absurd, to the both of them. With Alize's body touching his, he almost felt what she was seeing, saw things from her perspective. Strange enough, it seemed to align with his.
This is all, stupid.
It's stupid.
They thought.
For the first time, Oscar cried. He was not as strong as he thought he was.