The following days Neo stayed in bed, feverish, weak and delirious. Hippolyte brought him wine to help him sleep.
But the wine did not help to forget, so Neo asked for more.
And Hippolyte provided. Eagerly. Hours before his death Neo had a moment of clarity and when Hippolyte came to see how he was Neo grabbed him.
"Who told you to poison me? Or was it your idea , for Josy?" "No, you couldn't be more wrong." "Who was it then? General Leclerq?" "No." "Tell me...I need to know" "It was Liberty. She married with Bernadotte to build a new empire and they wanted you out of the way." "Aaah, the empire. The army, who will lead them now...", and Neo drew his last breath.
The marshals were informed that Neo had died. Eight of them gathered around his body to pay their last respects. It would be up to them to arrange the funeral.
Hippolyte on the other hand, decided to play it safe. He grabbed a soldier's uniform somewhere and a horse, and got the hell out of Babylon.
There were three funeral processions: one for the soldiers and the camp followers: wives, children, and other relatives of soldiers; cooks, washerwomen, seamstresses, and nurses to keep the soldiers fed, clothed, and healthy; sutlers who followed the army to sell goods like food, liquor, and other supplies to soldiers for a profit; and nurses and sometimes physicians who helped care for the sick and wounded, providing a crucial service that was often lacking within the army itself.
The second procession was for the admirals. They were close to him and had risked their lives for him. He was one of the brothers in arms. And he was their lighting example. Traum and MacDonald were missing.
And the final procession was to bring the body and the golden coffin to the temple where it would be lying until it was decided where Neo would be buried.