New Gods of North America.

Chapter 573 Suspicion
According to the definition of the Holy Spirit faith, devout believers who reach the end of their lives will "be blessed to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and return to the embrace of the Holy Spirit."

Therefore, the funeral style of believers does not advocate "excessive sadness".

The main theme being promoted is "remembrance" and "longing".

If someone is not a relative or friend of the deceased, but instead goes to their funeral and cries loudly, they might actually be met with cold indifference.
—What? Are you not a devout believer, think that heaven doesn't exist, or are you implying that the deceased were not qualified to reach heaven?

Of course, appearing too happy is also not good.

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.

Therefore, when Wayne and Inessa returned to the restaurant first and then arrived at the cathedral, the atmosphere was generally quiet and solemn.
The monks were mostly dressed in black robes and remained silent, while the guards on duty in the cathedral even wore full-body armor that looked somewhat classical, giving it a "dream of the Middle Ages" feel.

People who know each other well won't spend time greeting and exchanging pleasantries like they would during regular worship services.

They all maintained a seemingly "disappointed" or "dejected" demeanor, at most exchanging glances and nodding to each other, and even necessary conversations were kept brief.

According to American custom, friends and family members attending someone else's funeral are usually "invited," but meals and lodging are generally not provided; at most, some simple food will be arranged.

At the bishop level, there's no need for a specific invitation; it's a case of "everyone in the city knows when the funeral will be held, and if you don't come, plenty of others will."

The area around the cathedral was now packed with believers who had spontaneously gathered there.

However, ordinary believers from various parishes in Virginia would consciously only "observe" from outside the cathedral and participate in the joint remembrance of the bishop, without entering the cathedral.

In theory, the cathedral would treat every believer attending the farewell ceremony as equally, just as it would during a regular worship service.

However, the number of people that a cathedral can accommodate is limited, and the fact that believers are equal before the Holy Spirit does not mean that believers are "equal in status" among themselves.

Over time, many customs quietly emerged. If an ordinary believer felt they should go in—for example, if they had received admonitions and guidance from a bishop and their lives had been saved as a result—then no one would stop them until the room was full. In fact, it was considered inappropriate not to go in.
This depends entirely on self-discipline, but without sufficient reasons and "stories," ordinary believers would not bother to go in and compete with the wealthy or celebrities for seats at such times—rashly entering certain circles may be fine at the time, but often comes at a price later.

Just like Cinderella, if she hadn't had the help of magic, after attending the prince's ball, the ones who would hold her accountable might not be the royal family, but her stepmother and sisters.

Wayne, on the other hand, was the type who "wouldn't feel right if he didn't come." Having previously received a special permit from Bishop Corleone and having visited the cathedral so many times, he had become quite familiar with many of the monks there.
If he doesn't show up today, and someone starts talking about it, his and the detective agency's reputation assessment will be significantly lowered.

Having attended so many balls, Wayne had complete confidence in the ability of high society members to spread gossip.
Considering the relationship between the detective agency and the local intelligence organization, this kind of thing might end up in the newspapers one day, and he might become the "ungrateful detective".

They entered the prayer hall under the silent watchful eyes of the guards and monks. The spacious hall was already nearly half full, with those still seated quickly searching for suitable spots.

Wayne chose to keep a low profile today, so he and Inessa picked a corner seat in the back row, sat down obediently with their heads down, and waited for the farewell ceremony to begin. ...

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

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

"Have those people we sent out finally returned with news?"

"They've all been caught by that detective agency and are now in the police station."

"The police station?" The former frowned slightly, then relaxed. "That Wayne at least knows his limits and didn't make things get out of control. Just send someone to bring them out."

"Quite the opposite," the latter shook his head. "He's set a trap. Our men are now being accused by overseers on several plantations of being slave thieves for the Underground Railroad, with even two slaves and 'tickets' as evidence. No Southerner would tolerate this. He's probably just waiting for us to come and claim our men, planning to find us all and implicate us."

"The plantation overseers? Find a way to shut them up. No accuser, no case; this little trouble won't hurt anyone."

The latter responded without any inflection, "Those are members of the Beaton family."

"The Beaton family?! They've sided with them too?"

"It's still unclear. Those overseers are said to be ordinary people, and they may have been manipulated by Wayne. But regardless of whether the Beaton family was involved, Vidocq from his family is a military extraordinary being, and some methods probably cannot be used directly on their people."

"..."

A silence fell over the room. The Underground Railroad's assistance to escaped slaves was a common occurrence in the South, and many plantation owners who had suffered losses would grit their teeth at the mere mention of its name.
Unfortunately, the "Underground Railway" was a loosely organized group with members who were misled and joined spontaneously. Some members were even willing to provide free funding for it. Over the years, it included people of all kinds of status and class, from ladies and young women to scholars and laborers.

Because it was almost impossible to disprove, once someone was suspected of being a member of the Underground Railroad, it was often very difficult to clear their name. Slave owners would rather exclude all suspects than let any one of them go free.
The Beaton family still has some prestige in the political world, and their voices can often quickly spread throughout Richmond's high society—if their subordinates are accused of being members of the "Underground Railroad," how will those who try to rescue them be viewed?

After a short while, the former finally let out a soft "heh":
"There were quite a few people who had received support from Cole before, but not many of them were able to rise to prominence. Now even Tom Hagen has wisely left Virginia, while Wayne still dares to stay in Richmond. He is indeed cunning and vicious 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 what happened with Walter back then, they're unlikely to do us this favor. They might even take this opportunity to cause trouble."

"Don't go to pick them up yet. Find an opportunity to confirm the specific situation. At least wait until after the election ceremony. Haha, he wants to make us publicly hostile through this method. Doesn't he even consider who the real Southerners are?"

(End of this chapter)