My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 5
“To speak in one way but mean the other, is not charming, Mother.”
It wasn’t a scolding, just a calm tone. Yet, there was an undeniable authority that overwhelmed Melissa completely.
After lightly tapping the shoulders of her younger siblings, who had been absent-minded since earlier, Regina gracefully left the place. The family, who followed her back home in a daze, was shocked to find Regina packing her belongings.
“Are you leaving already?”
“It’s getting dark today, so I’ll sleep and leave in the morning.”
“So suddenly?”
“I’ve prepared in advance. I smoked meat and fish for food, dried fruits and made nuts, and gathered items that seem necessary for camping. Oh, I’ll borrow the dagger and bow at home.”
“What about money? Do you have travel expenses?”
“I’ve saved up some allowance. If I spend it wisely, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
The couple felt bewildered by the responses flowing like water. It dawned on them that Regina had set her mind on taking the entrance exam for the Imperial Academy long before, rather than an impulsive decision. Making preserved food or saving money wouldn’t be enough overnight.
The couple realized that they couldn’t stop their daughter. All they could do was support her as much as possible to ensure she could go and return safely. Melissa raised the white flag with a resigned face.
“If you happen to run out of money, let us know. You might need more than you think.”
Regina shook her head, aware of the tight financial situation at home. If things didn’t work out, she would figure it out on her journey.
“You know. I’ll…”
“Sure. You’re the kind of child who would survive and come back alive even if dropped in the middle of the desert.”
With a bitter smile, Henry muttered the words he always said.
She felt sorry for the couple who had been full of concern until the moment they sent her off. Despite that, Regina’s mood on her journey was more peaceful than ever.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve traveled.”
Since her reincarnation, Regina had never left the village. Until last year, she wasn’t an adult, so she couldn’t freely go around alone, and she couldn’t keep the tavern closed for a long time. The circumstances weren’t favorable enough to give up livelihood for a family trip.
“Probably around 20 years.”
No, excluding the conquest war, it was even longer.
“I’m planning to go on a trip. Will you come with me? Oh, it might not suit the refined taste of our noble Grand Duke.”
“That’s not a trip, Your Majesty. Trips should be enjoyable and memorable… “
“That’s exactly why it’s a trip, Grand Duke. This is enjoyable for me. How many memorable moments are as special as winning a war and making the enemy kneel?”
Suddenly, the conversation she had in her past life came to mind. That gaze, which seemed to be looking at a barbarian so ruthless and pitiful beyond words.
Prince Consort, Grand Duke Eidenberg.
Yekarna’s first spouse. An incredibly noble man. That’s why she wanted to defile him.
‘Well, it’s all in the past.’
Was there any meaning in harboring old emotions in a reborn life?
Even if she occasionally wondered how he would have looked at the deceased Yekarna, that, too, was just lingering attachment. The sins she committed were so great and varied that even if she held a congratulatory reception, it would have been more than enough.
Remembering the wrongs she had committed to him, Regina rubbed the back of her neck with the palm of her hand. Yekarna was immature, arrogant, and foolish…
‘Now, there’s no point in reflecting on it, it won’t change anything.’
Regina consciously shifted her thinking. There was nothing as irrational as wasting time clinging to something already decided and unchangeable.
“I need to spend at least a week holed up in the library. Let’s go without fooling around.”
Although she spoke confidently at home, the knowledge Regina possessed was from the time of Yekarna. So, it was roughly 200 years old.
What initially bewildered Regina in her reincarnated life was the language.
It wasn’t to the point that she couldn’t understand it, but there were slight differences in pronunciation compared to the time she lived as Yekarna. In addition, there were unfamiliar words, and even the orthography had changed.
She felt the weight of the 200 years since then. If she were born again about a thousand years later, she might have had to learn the language from scratch, possibly unable to communicate at all.
The same would apply to other fields.
To pass the academy entrance exam, she needed to acquire new knowledge. Fortunately, imperial law stipulated that at least one library was built to be accessible to everyone in each province.
So, with effort, Regina could overcome the gap of 200 years. For reference, Yekarna was the one who proposed and passed that bill.
What was it they said? ‘A noble accomplishment for opening knowledge that has been the sole privilege of nobles to commoners’? ‘The first Empress to take an interest in the education of the people’? Historians seemed to make such irritating claims, but the reality was different.
“Mary seems to really love books.”
“That’s right, Your Majesty. I love books so much. That’s why, if I were to be born again, I’d want to be a noble. Commoners wouldn’t even be able to touch a book.”
“As I am not God, I cannot grant you nobility in your next life, but I think I can solve that issue for you.”
“Oh? How so?”
“I will create a library accessible to everyone, regardless of status, in every province of the Empire. For your next life.”
Yekarna’s fourth spouse, Mary Batusha.
She was commonly referred to in society as the Second Concubine for convenience. But in reality she was called Concubine Batusha by her last name.
She smiled so beautifully at the promise of establishing a library.
“Your Majesty, I hate you with all my heart!”
Of course, even Mary Batusha, who once spoke those words, later cried out to Yekarna with a tearful face.