Lana finally finished revising her papers after almost half an hour.
She turned to Michael, who was still sitting on the bed. "When I was walking earlier today, I heard some ladies gossiping in a shop. They were talking about what happened at the Bureys' today..." Lana paused, searching for a way to soften the news. "Looks like Rebecca's funeral is going to happen tomorrow."
"Already? Rebecca's body was found less than 10 hours ago, and they're already planning her funeral. That barely gives time for an autopsy."
Lana looked puzzled, as if Michael was speaking a whole different language. "What is an autopsy?"
This world doesn't have autopsies yet? Isn't this supposed to be around the Industrial Revolution? I thought medicine would be more advanced, especially with Beyonder abilities...
Michael thought as he shook his head.
"Nothing. I was just talking nonsense."
"But still, even though Becca is the daughter of a viscount, her death was too sudden. There's no way they could arrange her funeral for tomorrow."
Lana narrowed her eyes in confusion. "Aren't the Erins helping them with that, since she was going to marry into their family?"
Michael clenched his fists, struggling to keep from punching the wall. "She wouldn't marry Mallory..."
"That's not what's being said around the city. Gossip says that Mallory Erin and Rebecca were madly in love and were excited about their marriage, but you manipulated her to make her feel guilty for loving him, and that's why she did what she did."
At that point, Michael's blood was boiling in rage as his mind depicted different ways to get his revenge.
"So now, not only did I kill my sister, but she was also in love with that rat..."
"People on the street are starting to call you 'Michael the Ungrateful.' They're saying someone who did what you did isn't worthy of a noble name."
"Michael the Ungrateful... I can't say I like the name, but I'll take it. It's better than using the name of that greedy family..."
Lana was dying of curiosity to know the details surrounding the events that happened at the Burey family's, but as a journalist, she knew that she should be respectful and not be indelicate at this kind of moment.
"Since Rebecca's death is the talk of the city, the press will definitely be at the funeral. As a journalist from Balam, I can also be there..." Lana hesitated, then locked eyes with Michael. "Do you want to come with me?"
"I wish I could, but if I go with you, it won't take long before I'm recognized and caught."
Lana smiled as she stood and opened the closet door.
"Don't let that be a problem, my dear ally."
Inside the closet were various types of clothes, mostly feminine, but also some masculines items, such as coats and pants that clearly were too big for her size.
Michael felt a mix of confusion and amazement at the sight.
"Why do you have men's clothes?"
Lana rolled her eyes as she began to throw pieces of clothing at him.
"You never know what might happen. It's better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them."
"That doesn't make any sense, you know..."
"Do you want logic, or do you want my help?"
Michael raised his hands in surrender. "Fair enough. I'm sorry."
"But how are men's clothes going to help?"
Lana chuckled as she sat back on the chair, "Choose what you want to wear and I'll work my magic tomorrow."
Michael considered asking questions but chose to not do it. Instead, he began to look at the clothes Lana threw at him.
....
Wednesday, April 24, 428, 9:00 A.M.
Michael woke early with a searing pain in his back from sleeping in the chair. Even though Lana had offered to let him sleep beside her, he refused, not wanting to take advantage of her kindness.
Becca's funeral is at 13:00 I still can't believe this is happening. I wish I could wake up and find it's all a nightmare...
Even though his moves were silent and his breath could barely be heard, his efforts were useless since Lana woke up by herself at the same time.
Yawning, she stretched her arms. "Good morning, Greg..." Her voice was groggy, still heavy with sleep.
"Good morning, Lana," Michael replied.
They sat in silence for some time without doing anything, but different from the previous day, their silence wasn't awkward anymore.
Lana eventually got up and entered the bathroom, grabbing her toothbrush. After finishing, she gestured for Michael to enter.
"I need to change. Don't you dare peek."
Michael chuckled as he stepped inside. "Don't worry. I'm not a pervert."
He closed the door as he waited for her to tell him to leave.
There weren't many things to do there, so he just sat on the toilet and waited.
After what felt like an eternity for Michael, Lana finally said he could leave.
After that, Lana got breakfast for them from the hotel's diner.
They ate in silence while Michael admired the view through the window.
It was a sunny day, perfect for outdoor activities; the sky was as blue as the ocean, with only a few scattered clouds.
Michael internally mocked himself because of the irony of the day.
Such a beautiful day... Becca would have loved to paint in the attic today; the light of the sun would light up the whole attic...
Is this some cruel joke by a deity?
No, I'm not that special...
I'm not important enough for a deity to waste their time using me as some kind of jester...
The world doesn't care about me; I'm just another human; my feelings and desires won't change the world or the weather...
I might be a transmigrator, but for the world, I'm nothing more than just another human. Everyone suffered, had difficult days, happy days, embarrassing days, and they just lived with it because the world wouldn't stop because they wanted it to, and this also applies to me...
For some time, I thought that by being a transmigrator, I would have an easy life, but I seemed to have forgotten the nature of this world...
If I want to survive in this world, the only choice I have is to keep advancing into the Sequences...
Lost in thought, Michael was pulled back to reality when Lana dropped clothes in his lap.
"Go change. If we don't want you recognized at the funeral, you'll need to look completely different."