Napoleon II and Elisabeth paused just inside the entrance.
The escort stopped with them. Guards stayed back far enough to avoid offending the clergy, but close enough to close the distance in seconds if anyone moved wrong. The officers by the doors held their posture hard, eyes scanning the crowd like they were at a review.
The nave was filled.
Not with the public. With the Empire.
Senior clergy occupied the front blocks near the altar, bishops in formal robes, priests with faces tightened into calm masks. Behind them sat the marshals and generals, men who wore their medals without looking at them, eyes trained forward like they were waiting for an order. Ministers and high-ranking civil officials filled another section, seated by rank and office. Foreign diplomats sat grouped by nation, each envoy placed where their presence would be seen but their whispers could not carry.
