My Past Life is Riddled With Many Sins - Chapter 53
‘Really, there’s no way he’d genuinely want to date me.’
According to Fathom, Prince Iskanda was targeting her for revenge. His public confession was meant to torment her by setting her up to be harassed by groups like the Fan Brigade.
‘But why then does he flirt so charmingly when we’re alone?’
Is it just a trivial amusement for him? To enjoy seeing her unsettled?
Regina couldn’t fathom Prince Iskanda’s true intentions at all.
* * *
Darien watched her retreating figure intently. He had seen her so often in their previous lives that he should have been indifferent, but her departure always irked him.
“You tried to flirt and got beautifully rejected. Does that reduce one competitor for me?”
The voice from above made Darien look up just as the figure jumped elegantly from the tree and landed smoothly on the ground, though Darien was far from impressed.
“Sneaking around like a rat.”
“And you, prince of a fallen nation, clung to her like a loyal dog meeting its master.”
Bliss taunted him. Darien corrected him calmly.
“It would be ‘wife’, not master, Margrave.”
In their past life, he had been a concubine, and the man before him was merely a lover. Thus, he could refer to her as his wife, but the man before him could not.
“Well, share nicely with the other spouses and maybe you’ll get an arm as your share. Call that your ‘wife’ if you will. I’m more interested in the present than stale past lives.”
Bliss’s sharp retort furrowed Darien’s brows. Of all the six tied together, making them seven, Skyler, Bliss’s previous life, was the one he found the least agreeable.
“The Empress took such a worthless whelp as a concubine? Why?”
Those were the words, Skyler who appeared, fluttering his cloak and dressed in ceremonial robe squinted and said.
Darien had felt small and diminished the first time he encountered the lavish appearance of the imperial nobility.
It was inevitable.
Despite his status as a prince, the Empire was far ahead in both material and cultural wealth compared to his own nation. It was such that even royal families of other countries lived lives inferior to that of Imperial nobility.
For this reason, Darien never felt like he had triumphed over this man even once in their past life.
Although he was a prince, he was of a fallen nation and Skyler Linzmeyer, a noble of the Empire with the status of a prince elector.
Despite being a concubine, he was not particularly favored compared to other concubines, while Skyler had been a constant presence beside the Empress for a long time even as her lover.
When they first saw each other at last year’s entrance ceremony, they pretended not to recognize each other, as if by agreement. Although they recognized each other instantly, they chose to ignore it as a piece of bad luck and moved on.
Thus, this was the first time they had spoken since their reincarnation.
“So, Grand Duke Eldenberg has transferred in, and you, being the Dean, couldn’t stop that?”
“What could I do that even the Emperor couldn’t stop?”
Darien’s eyebrows raised at Bliss’s retort. There was only one person whose actions even the Emperor couldn’t prevent. It seemed that Friedrich Eldenberg in this life also had a significant backing.
“Is that so?”
“Darien, perhaps you should consider leaving the academy now that you’ve been rejected by Miss Heather. You’re out of the race anyway.”
“I’ll pass. Perhaps you, Dean, should consider quitting a job that doesn’t suit you and leave the academy?”
“Stubbornly doing things we dislike is a virtue of adulthood.”
“And studying is the virtue of a student.”
Despite their sociable demeanor, their eyes were sharp.
Darien, as a wizard, and Bliss, as a swordsman, were internally calculating how they could possibly kill each other if it came to that.
They didn’t plan to fight each other, but it was instinct. Not considering ways to snap an opponent’s neck when facing an enemy would be neglect of duty.
Their interactions were being monitored from afar by a crystal ball.
A man in a mask tutted as he watched the live feed being transmitted.
“The Grand Duke will be dumbfounded when the lover and concubine keep at this.”
After all, there is an official consort.
In his previous life as Lennon Kysis, he always maintained proper respect for the Grand Duke, though the Grand Duke never particularly appreciated it, often finding it insufferable. It’s a pity, really, considering it’s all in the past now.
Whether in the past or now, he has always been quite moderate, favoring a cooperative and symbiotic approach where possible.
It’s not that he is a great saint that wanted to embrace everyone. Deep down, he wishes to eliminate all and monopolize Regina, who used to be known as Yekarna.
But it’s realistically nearly impossible, as a civilized person, he should know how to bear with dissatisfaction and make compromises.
“The problem is that everyone lacks patience.”
Without a mediator, this could devolve into a kingdom of beasts.
“It would be delightful if they would destroy each other.”
A Magic Tower Master and a swordsman—an excellent combination for a showdown. One dies, the other survives but is critically wounded. It would be perfect if the survivor would also deal with the Grand Duke.
A smile crept across his face, hidden behind a mask.
“Perhaps a little fanning of the flames?”
Such a stance would surely discredit his claims of being a moderate.
* * *
Lacking a literary ability, Yekarna loathed writing letters.
The task usually fell to a scribe, but on those rare occasions she had to pen them herself, she would clutch his head in frustration. She had hoped that being reborn would grant her fluency in writing, but Regina turned out to be just the same.
After spending much time, Regina finally managed to finish a letter and headed downtown. Unlike weekdays when she needed to submit a request and obtain permission, the weekend allowed her the freedom to go out.
“She’ll probably worry, though.”
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