My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 19
Garnet cheerfully responded holding a female doll. Regina felt dizzy hearing the word ‘lover’ from the mouth of a five-year-old girl.
Is this doll play really appropriate for a child?
“Oh, um, how about we just play house instead? Garnet can be the mom, and I’ll be the dad and the kids.”
“No! I want to be Great Empress Yekardi! I want to play the Great Empress with many handsome men!”
“Oh, okay. But it’s Yekarna, not Yekardi.”
“What does it matter? Yekardi or Yekarella.”
Yekarella? Who on earth is that?
Regina tried to maintain her composure, but eventually, she had to yield to Garnet’s firm determination. That’s how the reluctant doll play began.
“Ahem, I am bored today. Which one of you should I play with?”
“Listen, Margrave. Her Majesty is mine. Isn’t that right? You might not know, but the Empress loves me more. Oh dear, the Empress will go out with me, the Chancellor. Oh my, Chancellor. The Emperor should spend a joyful time with me, his favorite concubine.”
“Sister Regina! Why are you so lifeless? Are you reading a book?”
Holding a doll in each hand and reciting the lines Garnet had assigned to her in a monotone voice, Regina stifled a groan. It felt like torture. She had to somehow divert Garnet’s attention elsewhere.
“Garnet. Honestly, this is too unrealistic.”
“Why?”
“First of all, the Margrave should be in the frontier, not the imperial palace.”
“What’s the frontier?”
Was she really going to have to explain this?
Regina chose her words carefully to simplify the explanation.
“Um… what if the neighboring country suddenly decides to invade us? So, the Emperor sends a trustworthy subordinate, who is good at fighting, to the frontier near the neighboring country and says, ‘You live there and protect our country. In return, you can rule that place.’ That area is the frontier, and the Emperor’s subordinate who rules it is the Margrave. Therefore, unless it’s an exceptional situation, the Margrave should not leave the frontier.”
Skyler naturally came to mind. In reality, he was the commander governing the most dangerous northern border region, one of the prince electors specified in the chrysobull. With the critical duty of defending the forefront, he was not in the imperial capital. He barely showed his face.
Yekarna got involved with him during an inspection of the frontier.
“And even if you’re the Empress, you can’t treat these people carelessly.”
“Why? The Empress is the highest, right?”
“Well, yes but not necessarily. For one, the Grand Duke’s house, Eldenberg and the Margrave’s family, Linzmeyer hold the title of prince electors…”
“Prince electors? What’s that?”
Garnet looked at Regina intently, holding the Yekarna doll. Before Garnet could change her mind and ask to finish the dreadful doll play, Regina quickly explained.
“The prince electors is a noble with the authority to elect the Emperor of the empire. There are seven of them, consisting of three ecclesiastical princes and four secular princes. Ecclesiastical princes are high-ranking clergy of bishop-level or higher and at the same time also govern lands as lords. While secular princes are the nobles we commonly know. To become the emperor, one needs the support of a majority of these seven prince-elects.”
Yekarna too ascended the throne following this process.
The vote was a close 4 against 3. With the support of four prince-electors and opposition from three, Yekarna barely secured the throne.
One vote of support came from Margrave Linzmeyer. At that time, before Skyler inherited his title, Yekarna was indebted to his father, the previous Margrave Linzmeyer. Yekarna met Skyler after she became the Empress, after he had become a prince-elect.
Another vote of support came from Duke Eldenberg. In other words, Friedrich’s family. By that time, the relationship between Yekarna and Friedrich was a well-established fact, so for Duke Eldenberg, there was no other option. He had no choice but to hope that the libertine princess who had forcefully taken his son would become Empress.
Ironically, if not for Yekarna catching him and making him a Prince Consort, Friedrich might have entered the priesthood, possibly becoming a high-ranking clergyman or even a prince-elector.
Even if he had renounced his religious duties, he would have inherited the title ‘Duke Edenberg’, a position listed among the prince-elects in the Chrysobull, guaranteeing him a smooth path to becoming at least a prince-elector.
However, Yekarna’s intrusion cast a shadow over his once-promising life.
‘If I were Friedrich, I’d want to kill me too.’
Regina shivered as she reminded herself of her past deeds.
Friedrich’s reincarnation must have been a man of integrity. Although he seemed to have recognized her identity, he did not immediately seek revenge upon meeting her.
Of course, one can ever be sure of what might have happened if she had been taken away as she was tied up on the horse. But perhaps, given his pure soul who almost became a priest, he wouldn’t have harmed her physically but might have kept her only as a slave?
‘In any case, best to avoid him.’
Regina resolved never to become entangled with Friedrich’s reincarnation again. Her sins from the past life felt too heavy to bear.
“So, until one becomes the emperor, they need to stay in the good graces of those people. Then once they are emperor, there’s no need to worry, right?”
Garnet blinked and asked.
“Not quite. If you make enemies out of the prince-electors, problems come. Say I’m the emperor and want to pass the throne to my child. If I’m not on good terms with the prince-electors, they might oppose my child becoming the emperor.”
While there were more complexities to the situation, Regina simplified it to match the child’s understanding.
“Hmm, I see. But the other five aren’t prince-electors, so it’s okay to treat them however, right?”
“Again, it’s not that simple… What are you guys doing?”
While pondering how to explain these intricate relationships, Regina noticed the innkeeper couple leaning in, eavesdropping on the conversation.
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