My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 129
It wasn’t clear whether it was due to her conscious awareness, but it didn’t matter if it wasn’t. What mattered was the truth that she became tense around those kinds of men. It was easy to mistake that tension for excitement or anticipation.
Although his age had prevented him from enrolling in the academy, leaving him with very little time to spend with her, there was a certain advantage that could offset this disadvantage. However, being too direct could provoke negative reactions, so he decided to back off at this point.
He intended to subtly and consistently impress upon her that he was an experienced older man, with patience.
“There is the summary and the original. Which one would you like?”
“Both.”
Regina answered without hesitation. The act of summarizing always involved the person’s subjective interpretation, so she couldn’t just pass over it without checking the original.
“I anticipated that, so I’ve prepared both for you.”
Lennon snapped his velvet-gloved fingers, and with a sharp sound, the door opened and a two-tier trolley was wheeled in. But what it carried wasn’t food. The top tier held a relatively thin stack of documents, while the bottom was packed tightly with paper bundles.
“The top tier is the summary, and the bottom contains the original documents.”
She paused for a moment, then asked,
“Do you want me to… take this trolley back to the dorm?”
“Of course not.”
Regina, relieved by the sharp denial, was about to sigh in relief when he smiled and added,
“My subordinates will bring it for you.”
* * *
What is life, really?
Regina, staring blankly at the mountain of documents filling one side of the dormitory and pondered. When she was the Empress, there was always much to do, but she accepted it. After all, power always comes with responsibility.
‘But in this life, I’m nothing but a penniless stray dog. Why do I have to work?’
If great power comes with great responsibility, then small power—or no power at all—should come with irresponsibility. Something about this felt wrong.
‘Instead of complaining, I should just get this over with.’
She sighed deeply, collected herself, and began reading the documents. She had asked for materials related to the demon world, and it seemed that everything even remotely connected to it had been included. No matter how much she read, the pile never seemed to end.
Testimonies from hunters about a large black beast that disappeared in a puff of smoke with no trace left behind, reports from mercenaries about a new black monster species never seen before, complaints from villagers about a mysterious black flower they brought home and grew, only for it to vanish without a trace one day…
While reading, Regina spread a map next to her and checked the locations where suspected monsters or demons had been sighted. As she read late into the night, something started to feel off.
Suddenly getting up from her seat, she grabbed a quill and began marking the locations on the map one by one.
Scattered dots with no apparent connection. But when she drew lines between them, they seemed to form an incomplete shape.
“An inverted pentagram.”
It was a five-pointed star with the top and bottom reversed, contained within a circle. And at the center of the inverted pentagram was the Empire. It looked as though the Empire itself was being offered as a sacrifice inside a massive magical circle.
It felt too suspicious to be a mere coincidence. She decided she needed to inform someone about this.
The first person that came to mind was the Crown Prince. He summoned her every weekend, so there was no need to make extra effort to meet him. Besides, he was the most powerful person she knew.
However, just thinking about the barrage of questions he would throw at her gave her a headache.
How did a commoner like her manage to find the underworld’s information guild? Where did she get the large commission fee? Why did the guild master not accept payment? The questions would be endless.
The Crown Prince had been somewhat suspicious of her ever since the time she left the underworld banquet with Lennon. He had pressed her about whether she knew anyone there, who the man was who had taken her out, and what they had done together. Deep down, he seemed to suspect she was connected to the underworld.
Of course, she wasn’t being completely honest. But it wasn’t like she could confess, ‘I rushed off to bed with my lover from my past life to stop the spread of the demon poison.’ She still had her dignity…
If she handed these documents over to the Crown Prince, he’d probably bombard her with questions about her connection to the underworld. Regina wasn’t eager to deal with that.
‘Forget the Crown Prince.’
That left only one option.
‘This one is just as troublesome as the Crown Prince, if not more…’
But if she avoided him, it would be fine, right?
Late at night, Regina covered her face with a mask and, as quietly as possible, wheeled the trolley out of the dormitory. Once she actually started, doubts began to creep in, but there were no better alternatives.
Power, connections, money. She had none of those. The only thing she could rely on was her own sturdy body. Fortunately, as a Swordmaster, she was confident in her physical strength.
‘I’ll just take the trolley and go to the church.’
Her plan was simple. She would leave the documents and the map marked with the inverted pentagram at the church in the dead of night, then disappear. In the morning, when the priest discovered the trolley, they would likely wonder, ‘What is this?’ and then notice the significance of the inverted pentagram on the map.
She hoped it would be helpful, leaving the information about the demon world in a letter to be found.
Not wanting it to be ignored, she had thoughtfully placed an explanatory note on top. It was a bit lengthy for an anonymous letter, but… the more she dumped onto them, the more trustworthy the information would seem, right?
Throughout the journey, a feeling of doubt plagued her thoughts, wondering why she was doing this at a time when everyone else was asleep, but she didn’t give up. She pushed the trolley and eventually arrived at the church. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far from the academy.
Taking a deep breath, Regina gazed at the building that exuded grandeur even in the darkness.
Usually, it was best to be in the imperial capital, and the church was no exception. The church in Ultima, the capital, was the most magnificent of them all.
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