My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 4

Regina found herself appreciating her seemingly unambitious parents; siblings who, despite being somewhat lacking, she couldn’t help but like; and the peacefully mundane village. With that, she decided to be a proud daughter, bringing small joys. She would try to achieve success and live a prosperous life in her home.

After finishing work at the store and having a late dinner, Regina spoke to her family as usual.

“I’m planning to take the entrance exam for the Imperial Academy.”

“The Imperial Academy? Not even the Royal Academy, but the Imperial Academy exam?”

Regina raised her eyebrows at her mother, Melissa’s reaction.

The Royal Academy? She hadn’t even considered it. Regardless, since she would be paying the tuition, why bother with such a mediocre academy in a small country?

She didn’t have grand aspirations, but graduating from the Imperial Academy would earn her decent treatment as a skilled individual.

‘The top tier will stand out, so roughly being in the top tier should be enough.’

Regina nodded to herself, convinced. However, her family looked at her with bewildered faces.

The Imperial Academy was no small matter. It was the continent’s most prestigious school, aimed at by the brightest from all over the continent.

Studying and preparing for over ten years were standard, and still, most faced the bitter taste of failure. Yet Regina casually mentioned it as if she was going to the neighbor’s house….

“Hey, don’t you think the Imperial Academy is a bit, um, too much? Of course, it would be great if you pass, but there are issues like commuting. Even though the Empire is relatively close to our country, you can’t commute from home, right?”

“You don’t need to worry about that. The academy provides dormitories for all students, and I can repay the dormitory and tuition fees after graduation.”

The philosophy of the Founding Emperor was that talent should not be deprived of education because of financial constraints. This tradition persisted during Yekarna’s reign.

While Regina had yet confirmed if it still holds true, it’s unlikely that any significant descendants would oppose the will of the ‘Founding’

‘Even I, who had the title of Great Empress, refrained from meddling in matters related to the Founding in my lifetime. After my death, those who haven’t received any notable titles, wouldn’t dare to touch things without knowing their place.’

Regina lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea. Her seemingly ordinary gesture was unbelievably elegant, leaving her family breathless.

The couple exchanged glances, silently questioning each other about whom she resembled.

There was something mysterious about Regina. She went beyond being a dutiful daughter who helped her parents. She occasionally emitted an atmosphere they couldn’t grasp. At such times, it was honestly difficult to interact with her, who was their own child.

This was not the case with the other children who came from their own flesh and blood, Regina was uniquely different.

“I don’t mind if you want to take the Imperial Academy exam, but I’m worried about the journey. If I go with you, the store will have to close for a while, or run it alone….”

“Closing the store will make it difficult to make ends meet, and it will be challenging for Mom to run the store alone. I’ll take care of everything.”

Regina calmly informed her worried father, Henry. The family was naturally taken aback.

“How can I let you go alone in this harsh world?”

“Dad’s right. I’m against it too.”

“I’m an adult now. I can take care of myself. You know I’ve been practicing swordsmanship every day.”

“Well, even so, you haven’t learned proper swordsmanship from anyone.”

“When did I ever joke about that?”

Regina asked, raising her eyebrow.

The couple fell silent, as it was indeed true.

Surprisingly, if Regina said she could do it, she could. Even if they didn’t know how or when she had learned, if she said she could, then she could. As Regina claimed she could protect herself, then she probably could. Even though they don’t know how it was possible.

However, the idea of their still-young daughter going alone was difficult for her parents to accept. After much deliberation, Henry came up with a solution.

“Do you know Mister Walter? A regular customer, a former mercenary. If you can prove yourself against him, I’ll allow you to go alone. What do you say?”

“Mister Walter? Well… I’ll allow it too.”

Melissa hesitated but eventually agreed.

Walter, a retired mercenary, was a bulky man covered in muscles. Regina’s slender arms might not be a match for him. One swing of his sword and Regina will fall.

Feeling like they set an impossible condition, the couple cautiously looked at their daughter for her reaction. However, Regina responded casually.

“Alright then.”

Her quick acceptance left her parents with an ominous premonition. Unfortunately, that premonition soon turned into reality.

“Does that mean I can take the test alone now?”

Regina asked, twirling her wooden sword.

As Walter, the retired mercenary, lay sprawled and completely unconscious in front of the tavern, both Regina’s family and onlookers were dumbfounded.

Is this reality?

How does she make that big guy fly away and crash into the ground?

Some even pinched themselves, unable to believe what they were seeing.

When the wooden sword collided, everyone thought Regina would be pushed back. Some quickly protected their heads, thinking the missed sword might fly towards them.

But to everyone’s surprise, it was the former mercenary, Walter, who rose into the air.

Despite seeing it with their own eyes, no one could comprehend the situation. Regina, the party involved, seemed unfazed.

After all, the former conqueror Empress cannot defeat just one mercenary? It was almost insulting to call her a warmonger if she couldn’t beat someone who wasn’t even in active service and already retired.

Regina, done playing with her sword, walked towards her family.

“This should be enough to pass, right?”

“Huh? Uh.”

Henry nodded in astonishment, and just as Melissa was about to say something, her words were silenced by a gentle touch of Regina’s index finger on her lips.