My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 130

‘If we’re being specific, it’s not in Ultima’s imperial capital.’

While it technically belonged to the region of Ultima, this place wasn’t directly under the Emperor’s rule. It was the Papal Territory, governed by the Pope.

Commonly known as the Sanctuary. Though surrounded by the Imperial Capital, the Empire’s laws didn’t apply here; only the rules of the church were followed in this sacred land.

From the Imperial family’s perspective, the existence of a jurisdiction beyond the Emperor’s reach within the heart of the Empire was an obvious thorn in their side. Even so, no Emperor had ever been able to annex the Sanctuary into the Empire’s direct control.

Could there be a better example of the complicated relationship between the Empire and the church?

For this reason, Yekarna always felt uneasy stepping into the Sanctuary.

‘I don’t harbor as much animosity as I used to, but… it’s still not pleasant.’

Once formed, biases weren’t easily changed.

After quietly placing the trolley at a distance from the main gate, Regina began walking back to the academy, but she suddenly felt uneasy.

Couldn’t someone just take it while she wasn’t looking? Should she hide nearby and wait until someone from the church comes out?

Conflicted, she stopped walking and turned back toward the church.

‘I’ll just leave it inside the church.’

That way, she wouldn’t have to worry about someone else taking the information.

She activated the mana within her body, sharpening her senses to detect 5 movements.

‘One at the main gate. Four near the building entrance.’

The distance from the main gate to the entrance of the building was quite far. If she handled it quietly, she didn’t think they would notice.

With her plan in place, she silently climbed over the wall and approached the first guard, knocking him out. She caught him as he fell, gently placing him on the ground without making a sound, then moved to her next target.

With a tired yawn, the second guard spoke.

“Hey, got anything to wake me up? I’m so sleepy… Ugh!”

Regina clamped her palm over the man’s mouth and struck him on the back of the neck. He let out a muffled groan and collapsed, helplessly tumbling to the ground.

To avoid alerting anyone near the building entrance, she held his body and lowered him slowly to the ground. Then, she checked the main gate to see if she could open it. It was locked, requiring a key to open.

Determined to make the most of the situation, she searched the bodies of the two unconscious guards. She found a key on one of them. Inserting it into the keyhole, she turned it, and the lock clicked open with a surprisingly loud noise. It felt like the sound echoed too clearly in the quiet night, though she hoped the guards near the entrance wouldn’t hear it.

“What was that noise just now?”

It seemed they had heard it.

‘This is bad.’

She immediately swung the main gate open. Since she’d already been discovered, there was no point in trying to be cautious now.

‘Might as well rush in and get the trolley inside.’

With her mask on, a brief encounter wasn’t likely to reveal her identity. Regina seized the trolley and charged forward.

After placing the trolley exactly inside the main gate as planned, Regina drew her sword and calmly made her way toward the academy, her back to the knights rushing toward her.

Honestly, she didn’t feel she could get captured. Now that she had a body capable of freely executing both mana and the skills in her mind, there was no one who could physically force her into submission.

Not even the elite knights of the church would be an exception. Even if the papal knights came after her in full force, she was confident she could escape without issue…

‘Huh?’

Regina, leisurely running through the night streets, suddenly froze. She had been moving away from the church toward the academy. But somehow, when she came to her senses, she found herself inside the church.

There was no mistaking it—she had visited this place many times in her past life. This was the inner sanctum of the church.

How did this happen?

Confused, she tried to leave the church, but the more she attempted to do so, the deeper she seemed to move, toward the very heart of the church. It was as though something were pulling her in.

Realizing that her sense of direction was completely gone, she became overwhelmed with panic.

Had she fallen victim to some sort of magic?

Should she head in the opposite direction of what she felt?

As she contemplated her next move, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps following her.

“This way! Capture the intruder!”

It was the church knights. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she was caught. As her panic rose, she searched for a place to hide.

Just then, she heard a door open behind her, and a strong arm wrapped around her waist. Before she knew it, she was being dragged into an unknown space.

The door closed silently behind her, severing her connection to the outside world.

The room was dark, and the body pressed against her back was broad and firm. She could tell from the breath falling onto the top of her head that the person who had pulled her in was a man. A tall one at that.

An instinctive sense of foreboding overtook her, and instead of screaming or resisting, she held her breath and remained still. It wasn’t long before hurried footsteps approached the door.

On the other side of the door, she would soon face the knights who were chasing her.

She was in a position where if they opened the door, she would be immediately discovered. But instead of barging in, the knight on the other side made a soft rustling sound as he lowered down his body and knelt.

“I apologize for disturbing your rest, but an intruder has entered the church. They are somewhere nearby, so please, do not allow anyone to enter, Your Eminence.”

At the mention of ‘Your Eminence,’ Regina tensed, and in that instant, a familiar voice answered.

“Understood.”

“We will capture the intruder as quickly as possible. Please, trust us and remain in a safe place while we handle it.”

Regina felt a sense of unease at the conversation. If an intruder was inside, why wasn’t the knight confirming it with his own eyes? Was it because the voice answering him sounded so calm?