It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 3
The Count Solen’s household where I was born and raised had its own share of tradition and prestige. But one day, without any warning, it fell into ruin.
Or perhaps, the rest of my family might have known something. They probably didn’t feel the need to tell the youngest daughter, sensitive as I was at that age, about the family’s impending downfall.
‘Run as far as you can, my dear. No matter where you are on this continent, I’ll come find you…!’
‘No, I want to go with you! Father! Father…!’
It was the middle of the night.
Half-asleep, I was loaded onto an unmarked carriage and sent away from the castle, leaving behind the desperate cries of my father. When I pulled back the curtain to look back at the count’s estate, everything I had loved was blazing into ashes.
On that day, I remembered my past life.
Yet, there was nothing to long for in the life of a woman who had died alone with no one to reach out to, even in a world of dazzling civilization.
In this life, at least, I’d been loved and protected by my family more than I could ever ask.
Still, there was one benefit to recovering my past memories.
It was the realization that I had reincarnated into the 19+ reverse-harem novel, ‘A Night of Entwined Serpents.’
In a panicked flight, I left the Lubarque Empire, using the jewelry I’d managed to snatch, and found refuge in a foreign monastery.
It would have been ideal to regain these memories back when my family was still thriving, but at least it wasn’t too late.
Otherwise, my life would have been every bit as miserable as described in the latter chapters of ‘A Night of Entwined Serpents.’
‘Oh my, isn’t that woman the Crown Prince’s mistress?’
‘Who knows if we can even call her a mistress. She’s treated a little more like a slave to warm the bed.’
‘Indeed. I wonder why His Highness brought her out at all.’
And then, in the next moment, I—the insignificant character of Serenia Solen—was to throw myself off the terrace and end my life, taking advantage of a momentary lapse in the Crown Prince’s attention.
I couldn’t be sure exactly when I would meet the Crown Prince.
Still, if I could just escape the Empire, my chances of encountering him would be drastically reduced. That choice was my best option.
Fortunately, monastery life, which I had expected to be grueling, turned out to be bearable.
Had I only the memories of my life as the count’s youngest daughter, it might have been unbearable, but the recollections of my previous life as an ordinary girl accustomed to hardships allowed me to endure it all.
The exhaustion only piled up due to early morning routines, meager meals, countless chores. My skin grew rough from the harsh cold.
My appearance quickly deteriorated, to the point that no one would ever think I’d once been a noblewoman raised with care.
But did that make me sad?
No, if anything, I welcomed it.
If I ever did face the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t even glance at me.
And so, a year passed. With the emergence of the sacred stigmata, I was selected as a healing priest, and life smoothed out a bit.
It couldn’t compare to the carefree days of leisure I once knew, but I was freed from the menial tasks and granted a warmer room in the main building.
Once I grew accustomed to using divine power, I even earned a small stipend.
I saved that money and sent it to the information guild my father had mentioned right before we parted, as a way to keep in touch.
I wasn’t certain my family was still alive, but sending letters and money every few months offered some comfort.
‘You’ll all be safe.’
If I could endure this, perhaps a day would come when I’d be safe, too, and by some stroke of luck, we might be reunited.
Yes.
I held onto that hope.
Until the day Lionel Luanax, who had conquered the nearby territory, stormed into the monastery and demanded a healing priest.
“Lady Vivian, how are you feeling?”
“Mmm, I feel a bit better now. Thank you, Sasha.”
The woman with dark blue hair, who called me by the alias I’d used since entering the monastery, was none other than Vivian Luanax, the female protagonist of ‘A Night of Entwined Serpents’ and Lionel’s half-sister.
