According to the tenets of the Holy Spirit faith, devout believers whose lives come to an end will “be blessed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and return to the embrace of the Holy Spirit.”

Therefore, the funeral style for believers does not advocate “excessive sadness.”

The main theme promoted is “remembrance” and “fondness.”

If one is not a relative or close friend of the deceased, yet still goes to a funeral and cries excessively, they might instead be met with cold stares.

—What’s wrong? Are you insincere in your faith, believing the Kingdom of Heaven doesn't exist, or are you implying the deceased is unworthy of reaching the Kingdom of Heaven?

Of course, appearing too happy is also unacceptable.

After all, the reasons for human joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are largely similar, and the doctrines of the Holy Spirit faith do not prohibit relatives and friends from hitting people at funerals.

Thus, when Wayne and Inessa first returned to the restaurant and then arrived at the Cathedral, the overall atmosphere was quiet and solemn.

Most of the monks wore black robes and remained silent, while the guards stationed in the Cathedral even wore full armor with a classical feel, somewhat reminiscent of “dreaming back to the Middle Ages.”

People who knew each other would not spend time greeting and conversing as they did during regular worship services.

Each maintained a “lost” or “somber” demeanor, at most exchanging glances and nodding, keeping even necessary conversations consciously brief.

According to America's customs, relatives and friends attending a funeral usually need to be “invited,” and generally, no food or lodging is provided, at most some simple food is arranged.

However, at the level of a Bishop, there is no need for specific invitations; it's a situation where “everyone in the city knows when the funeral will be held, and if you don't come, there will be plenty of others who do.”

At this moment, the area near the Cathedral was packed with believers who had come spontaneously.

However, ordinary believers from the various small parishes in Virginia would consciously “observe the ceremony” only outside the Cathedral, participating in the collective remembrance of the Bishop, and would not enter the Cathedral itself.

Theoretically, the Cathedral would, as it does during regular worship, equally welcome every believer who comes to participate in the farewell ceremony.

But the Cathedral has a limited capacity, and while believers are equal before the Holy Spirit, it does not mean that believers are “equal in status” among themselves.

Thus, over time, many conventions silently emerged. If an ordinary believer felt they should enter, for example, having received the Bishop's admonition and guidance, and their life was thereby redeemed, then in fact, before all the seats were taken, no one would stop them; it might even be considered impolite not to enter.

This aspect was entirely self-regulated, but if there wasn't a sufficient reason and “story,” ordinary believers generally wouldn't make a fool of themselves by trying to snatch seats from wealthy individuals or celebrities at such a time—rashly intruding into certain circles might seem fine at the moment, but often required a price to be paid later.

It's like if Cinderella hadn't had magical help, after attending the prince's ball, it might not have been the royal family who held her accountable, but her stepmother and sisters.

Wayne, on the other hand, belonged to the “it would be impolite not to come” type. He had previously received a special permit from Bishop Corleone, and had been to the Cathedral so many times that he was familiar with many of the monks there.

If he didn't show up today, and someone brought it up, his and the Detective Agency's reputation would likely take a significant hit.

Having attended so many balls, Wayne was now completely confident in the ability of high society individuals to spread rumors.

Considering the relationship between the Detective Agency and the local intelligence organization, it was even possible that such a matter might appear in the newspaper one day, and he might then become an “ungrateful Great Detective.”

Walking into the prayer hall under the silent gaze of the guards and monks, nearly half of the seats in the spacious room were already occupied, and those not yet seated were quickly searching for suitable spots.

Wayne chose to be low-key today, so he and Inessa picked a seat in a back corner, sat down obediently, lowered their heads, and waited for the farewell ceremony to begin.

...

At this moment, in the front row seats belonging to the church's pastors in the prayer hall,

One pastor was lightly patted on the arm by another. The former quickly understood, then silently stood up and followed the latter out of a front door of the hall, through a corridor, and into an currently unoccupied room next to a side hall.

“Have those people we sent out finally reported back?”

“They were all captured by that Detective Agency and are now at the Police Station.”

“Police Station?” The former frowned slightly, then relaxed. “That Wayne at least knows his limits; he didn't let things get out of hand. Just arrange for someone to pick them up.”

“Quite the opposite.” The latter shook his head. “He set a trap. Our people are now being accused by several Plantation overseers of being ‘Underground Railroad’ slave smugglers. There are even two slaves and ‘tickets’ as evidence. No Southerner would tolerate such a thing. He's probably waiting for us to pick them up, planning to expose and implicate all of us.”

“Plantation overseers? Find a way to make them shut up. No accuser, no case. This small trouble can't hurt anyone.”

The latter's response was flat: “Those are people from the Beaton Family.”

“The Beaton Family?! They've sided with them too?”

“It's not clear yet. Those overseers are reportedly ordinary people and might also have been used by that Wayne. But regardless of whether the Beaton Family is involved, Victor, who is in their family, is an Extraordinary Person in the military. Some methods probably cannot be directly used on their people.”

...

Silence fell upon the room for a moment. The ‘Underground Railroad’ assisting runaway slaves happened frequently in the South, and many Plantation owners who had suffered losses would grit their teeth just at the mention of the name.

Yet, the ‘Underground Railroad’ was a loose, unorganized group. Its members were all self-motivated and participated voluntarily; some even offered unpaid assistance. Over the years, people of all statuses and classes, from ladies and young women to Scholars and laborers, were involved.

Because it was almost impossible to disprove, once suspected of being a member of the ‘Underground Railroad,’ the suspicion was often very difficult to clear. Slave owners would rather exclude all suspected individuals than let any one of them go.

The Beaton Family still held some prestige in political circles. Their voices could often quickly spread throughout Richmond's high society—if their subordinates were accused of being ‘Underground Railroad’ members, how would those who tried to rescue them be viewed?

After a short while, the former let out a “Hmph”:

“Many people had the support of Corleone… that person before, but few could rise to prominence. Now even Tom Hagen has wisely left Virginia, yet that Wayne still dares to remain in Richmond. His actions are indeed cunning and malicious enough.”

“What do we do now? Given the relationship between the Beaton Family and the City Hall, they've probably already received the news. With the Walter incident from back then, they might not do us this favor. They might even seize the opportunity to stir up trouble.”

“Don't pick them up for now. Find an opportunity to confirm the specific situation, at least wait until after the election ceremony. Heh heh, trying to make us publicly hostile through such a method, he doesn't even consider who the true Southerners are.”