Ch.80The Secret Tale of Reincarnation (1)

“Rian, I have a favor to ask.”

“I’ll do anything for you.”

“Then could you make me a cloud? Just big enough to hold in my arms… like a baby-sized lump.”

“You mean the size of Eshtiel?”

“Tiel isn’t a baby though…”

“That can’t be…”

Rahilt inhaled as if genuinely shocked. I’d always known that Rahilt had a doting nature that often clouded his judgment. It made me quite curious about how he would behave if he ever had children of his own.

Of course, I would be the one giving birth. If I failed, I’d have no choice but to beg my mother to regress.

If that’s impossible, well, I’d have no choice but to burn the world down. I’d likely end up hating the world like a victim thoroughly soaked in Rastali’s contamination.

“Just make it this big, just this big.”

“Hmm, I understand.”

I explained to Rahilt by drawing in the air with my hands. Rahilt tilted his head as if still unable to accept that Eshtiel wasn’t a baby. Regardless, he made it exactly the size I wanted.

“Is this sufficient?”

“Yes. But will this disappear if it gets too far away from you?”

“It would if it goes beyond the horizon.”

“Ah, thanks for the extreme example.”

In the end, it meant the cloud would maintain its form unless Rahilt wished for it to disappear.

“Let’s go find Lady Narin and the Second Prince again.”

“It seems you wish to have a private conversation with the Lady.”

“How did you know?”

“Serin always excludes me when she’s with the Lady.”

“Huh?”

Rahilt’s observation was remarkably sharp.

Lady Narin and I were both reincarnators who shared each other’s circumstances. Therefore, to form a bond, we needed to separate Rahilt, who knew nothing.

Even if he felt bad about it, it was something he should reasonably understand. Rahilt didn’t show any sign of displeasure. Perhaps he truly didn’t mind at all.

Either way, my guilt only increased.

“I-I’m sorry… Rian.”

“Why are you apologizing? No one in this world has the right to intrude on Serin’s private conversations.”

“No, I mean… please just accept my apology, Rian…!”

“Hmm.”

Faced with my firm response, now it was Rahilt who expressed discomfort. However, given Rahilt’s nature, he wouldn’t simply accept an unclear apology.

“I seem to have said something that could be misinterpreted…”

“It’s not that. I really do keep many secrets from you…”

“Everyone has their own secrets. For example, like how I concealed the secret of being the deposed emperor’s child.”

“Ugh…”

Rahilt remained an enigmatic person with puzzling intentions.

Most of the time, his thoughts were as transparent as an aquarium’s glass wall. A few words from the side would easily sway him as intended. But occasionally, he could be stubbornly unyielding to the point of defying logic.

Yet even this contradiction was charming. It seemed he would never compromise his pure sense of justice.

In the end, I couldn’t break his stubbornness.

“Alright… I won’t force you anymore. But know that I’m still apologizing in my heart.”

“I’d like to stop you, but I’m at a loss for how.”

“Right? My thoughts are entirely my own after all.”

“Sigh… Then may I ask what you intend to use that cloud for?”

Rahilt pointed to the small dark cloud that was just the right size to be held in one’s arms. A fluffy, soft dark cloud with an addictive tactile quality…

“Oh, this?”

Suddenly, a mischievous answer came to mind. Perhaps it showed on my face, as Rahilt already seemed resigned to not getting a proper answer.

“I’ll tell you if you accept my apology.”

“That’s troublesome. I could just take it back, though.”

“Would you take it back?”

“Well…”

Huh.

This was different from usual.

He wasn’t smiling and denying it… a question mark?

As I anxiously watched him…

“Haha…”

Rahilt suddenly chuckled. Only then did I realize I’d been tricked by Rahilt.

“I wouldn’t take it back. As I said, I’m on your side, Serin.”

“Hmph… Is it okay for allies to tease each other with lies?”

“I’ll refrain from doing so in the future.”

Somehow Rahilt had become quite slick. Perhaps he’d developed this unexpected side while meeting various people as a professor at the Academy.

Though I’d teased him countless times, I’d rarely been teased in return, which made him seem quite annoying. At this rate, he might even win our verbal sparring matches soon.

“Hmph, fine. Let’s just go find your friend the Second Prince.”

“I shall obey.”

“Ugh…”

Even Rahilt’s gesture of accepting with a servant’s courtesy had a subtle playfulness to it. And so, for the first time, I felt defeated by Rahilt and kept my mouth tightly shut.

It was afternoon, with the sun gradually setting.

There was still some time left before twilight arrived.

‘I must win at night.’

Especially after marriage.

…… Embarrassingly, I often remembered those days when I used to dream such things.

◇

“Ah, found her. Lady Narin!”

“Oh?”

Fortunately, the duo from Carnar Kingdom was quickly found. They hadn’t moved far, having stayed in a small area for a long time.

Lady Narin stood up, her pupils shaking with surprise.

“Serin…? What is that…?”

“Y-you’re crazy…”

Lady Narin and the Second Prince stepped back in perfect unison, as if sharing the same mind. Apparently, Rahilt’s dark cloud had left some kind of psychological trauma.

Yet heartlessly, I held the dark cloud preciously. I firmly believed that without it, the conversation wouldn’t progress.

“… I apologize. To both of you.”

Ironically, the one apologizing was Rahilt himself, the provider of the trauma.

“Ugh, Rian… because of me…”

Regardless of the reason, if I had given up the cloud, the situation would have ended. Logically, I should be the one apologizing, yet somehow the innocent Rahilt was bowing his head.

“Lady Narin, Second Prince. Please calm down. This is actually quite safe. The texture is really nice too. Cool and fluffy, soft and squishy… almost comparable to Tiel’s cheeks?”

“Oh, comparing it to the cutie makes it seem a bit better.”

“Honestly…”

The Second Prince was the first to open his heart. Lady Narin gave him a reproachful look and narrowed her eyes at me.

Naturally, I had no face to look at her, so I turned my gaze sideways. Rahilt’s profile was beautiful as always.

“Ahaha… Lady Narin. I have something I’d like to discuss with you alone.”

“Hmm, does it have something to do with that cloud?”

“Maybe…?”

“I see… alright then.”

Though Lady Narin showed reluctance, she still took a step toward me. Seizing the opportunity, I grabbed her wrist and headed straight for a secluded place.

“Rian! Please stay and play with the Second Prince for a while!”

“Yes, I’ll wait.”

“W-wait…! Let me touch those cheeks… I mean, that dark cloud just once…!!!”

“It would be harassment if the Second Prince touched it!”

“W-what…!?”

Ignoring the Second Prince who was sweating at the mention of the words “harassment” and himself together…

We climbed to the top of the clock tower, where the entire Academy landscape was visible at a glance.

◇

“Serin, I think it’s about time… you told me what this is about?”

“Ah, was I too sudden?”

“A bit.”

Lady Narin gently scolded me.

Indeed, when an older person reprimands you so softly, it doesn’t inspire any rebellion.

Perhaps it’s because she’s been raising the Second Prince since he was a snot-nosed kid. Lady Narin seems more like a mother than an older sister. There’s a warmth around her that makes you feel she might even offer her lap as a pillow if you pushed a little.

“You know, Lady Narin.”

“Yes, Serin.”

“Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

Interested in the elements of the situation, Lady Narin’s attention turned to me.

I lowered my voice and spoke almost in a whisper.

“About the principle behind our reincarnation… what happened to the original owners of these bodies. Things like that.”

“Of course I’ve been curious all along… but isn’t it usually the case that people who die unfairly get reincarnated by the gods? That’s the standard trope, right?”

“That’s how possession-reincarnation novels usually go. Like how I got hit by a reincarnation truck right after getting accepted to university.”

“… Like how I received a terminal diagnosis right after passing the bar exam.”

“Your story is truly pitiful, Lady Narin.”

“We’re in the same boat, aren’t we?”

After reconfirming our shared pain, we changed the subject.

“Anyway… that’s just speculation, nobody knows the truth, right?”

“Right. There’s no way for us to know… and in many cases, they don’t even explain the reason until the very end.”

“It doesn’t affect anything, but it does feel unsettling.”

“I agree. So… are you saying you have a way to find out?”

“Maybe, just maybe. First, let me ask you this. How much do you know about this kind of thing?”

“Hmm…”

Lady Narin placed her hand under her chin and gazed at the sky. She was probably recalling her memories.

Being as intelligent as she was, the answer came quickly.

“I told you that the identity of my status window was the soul of a baby divine beast that had died, right?”

“Yes. You explained it roughly after everything was settled.”

“Yes, when I sent away my status window while destroying the supercell, the divine beast’s soul disappeared with it.”

“That’s right.”

“At that time, I had a brief opportunity to access the divine beast’s memories.”

“This is the first I’m hearing of this.”

“Just to be clear, I didn’t deliberately hide it.”

“Does it matter?”

When I shrugged my shoulders, Lady Narin chuckled and continued.

“The divine beast already knew I was a reincarnator. That’s why it had been assisting me in the form of a status window, which was most familiar to me. That alone was suspicious, but when it said goodbye for the last time… it spoke as if it knew the original history.”

“By original history… you mean where the female lead and the baby divine beast are alive, and they save the kingdom according to the original work?”

“It’s just an assumption. It thanked me for bearing the burden of ‘our’ fate, not its own fate. I inferred that ‘our’ referred to both the female lead and the divine beast.”

“I see…”

“What about you? Do you know something else?”

“Yes. My mother-in-law also left some strange words. No, her actions were blatantly suspicious from the start.”

“…… Huh?”

Lady Narin looked at me as if I were mentally ill.

Well, how rude.

It’s the absolute truth.

“Serin…”

“Ah, I know what you want to say…”

“No, Serin…”

“… Alright.”

I closed my mouth obediently because Lady Narin cut me off so firmly.

This time, although rebellion was boiling inside me, I decided to listen to what she had to say.

After moving her lips hesitantly, she finally spoke with difficulty.

“It’s awkward to bring this up, but…”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t hide my astonishment at the outrageous words that flowed from Lady Narin’s mouth next.

“No matter what… as a Korean, I don’t think it’s right to mock Rahilt’s mother, who met such a tragic end, by calling her strange or suspicious…”

“… Y-yes…?”

“Of course, you might have forgotten your past life identity. But I still strongly identify as a Korean and as a daughter from a family that performs ancestral rites.”

“No, that’s.”

I’m the same way…

I couldn’t complete my sentence. My mind was in a daze.

“So if you love Rahilt… I think it would be better to refrain from making jokes about his parents. Of course, I can’t force you since our cultures might be different…”

…

……

I couldn’t say anything as I watched the sky turn yellow. It wasn’t because of the sunset, but because the world seemed to be turning a yellow color that shouldn’t be yellow.

After maintaining my identity as a Confucian girl for 20 years since reincarnation.

I was misunderstood as a ridiculous parent-mocker by someone from the same righteous people.