About ten days after I was born, I was held by the wet nurse and taken to a magnificent room.
There, I saw my father and an unfamiliar young man.
“Da! (You!)”
The man, who appeared to be in his thirties, was wearing the priest’s attire of the One God’s church. Although the design was the same, the quality of the fabric was much worse compared to the memories of my past life.
“Your Grace, Archbishop, I beg your pardon.”
“Yes.”
Despite wearing the poor-quality priest’s attire, the man still seemed to exude the aura of an Archbishop. That was the first thing that surprised me.
The Archbishop smiled and approached me as I was laid down on the bed by the wet nurse.
“Da! (Go away!)”
I felt terrified and nearly burst into tears, but I refused to cry. Even if I did cry, no one would care. After all, they would think it was natural for a baby to cry. Moreover, I didn’t want to show weakness by crying in front of the Archbishop, who wore the priest’s attire of the One God.
“…Unlike your siblings, you have red hair and red eyes.”
“Yes, it’s a beautiful color, isn’t it?”
“…I suppose… no.”
The Archbishop spoke in a way that seemed to have some hidden meaning.
“Bugee! (Go away!)”
Despite my attempts to intimidate him, the Archbishop was unfazed.
Then, the Archbishop did something to my forehead, splashing water on it. It was a baptism, I believe. I remember hearing that I had undergone one in my past life as well.
By the way, baptism has no effect or meaning.
God exists, but God does not intervene in the mortal world.
After the meaningless ceremony ended, the Archbishop whispered in my ear as if it were a curse:
“What an ominous color… You will never be happy.”
“Da! Daaa! (Die! Poop yourself!)”
The Archbishop turned to my father and smiled.
“This girl’s name is Luria. May she receive God’s blessings.”
If it follows the same custom as my past life, parents usually submit a few name candidates to the church, and the clergy choose from them. Luria sounds similar to my past life’s name, Luria .
“Thank you. May God’s blessings be upon you.”
My father thanked the Archbishop. It seemed that the Archbishop had come to baptize me and give me my name.
Still, Luria and Luria—though they sound similar, I wondered if it was just a coincidence. Then the Archbishop said something unexpected:
“Your Highness, may I entrust Lady Luria to our church?”
“Fugya?”
“What are you saying all of a sudden?”
The Archbishop made a shocking proposal. My father was surprised. I was surprised too.
“A girl born into the royal family with red hair and red eyes. She is the same as the wicked disaster-witch, Luria , who nearly destroyed the kingdom and the human race. It’s ominous.”
The Archbishop said this with a smile.
A disaster-witch? What does he mean by almost destroying the kingdom and humanity? I wondered, and at the same time, I realized that the Archbishop had chosen a name similar to my past life’s, and it wasn’t a coincidence.
“Lady Luria should be entrusted to the One God’s church, where she can pray to God. That way, the disaster will be averted.”
His tone made it sound as though a disaster would happen if things stayed as they were.
“Fugyaa! (No, no, no!)”
I absolutely refused. I didn’t want to go anywhere near the One God’s church.
And if I were entrusted to them, I’d surely be mistreated.
They had wicked, twisted personalities. At least, they were like that in my past life. I was certain it would be the same in this life.
“Moreover, the One God’s church dislikes nature, that is, the spirits.
They hate the fluffy creatures that are easy to gather spirits from.
If I’m handed over to the One God’s church, I won’t be able to live with goats.”
“Fugya! (I want to live in the countryside! With goats!)”
I desperately argued.
However, my father might easily hand me over to the church.
After all, my father has the same hair and eye color as the people of the royal family from my past life.
“I refuse.”
“Fugya? (Father?)”
But my father, glaring coldly at the Archbishop, said it clearly.
I was so surprised that I couldn’t speak.
“This child is my precious, beloved child with Amalia.”
“…If there is an ominous child in your family, it could negatively affect the marriages and futures of your older siblings, Lord Gilberto and Lady Lydia, you know?”
“Anyone who is caught up in such superstitions is not fit to be Gilberto’s wife, or Lydia’s husband.”
I had never seen my father with such a scary expression before.
Now, I understood just how gentle his gaze toward me always was.
“…I understand. I have given you my advice.”
“Ah, I appreciate your consideration, Your Grace.”
Despite the words, my father seemed utterly ungrateful.
200 years ago, the Kingdom of Olivinis was struck by a great disaster.
Plagues, earthquakes, eruptions, tsunamis, droughts, and locust plagues.
A third of the population and a fifth of the nobles died, and the members of the Holy Royal Family of Olivinis were executed in a coup.
The coup against the Holy Royal Family was led by the Farnese family.
The Farnese family was a local noble house related to the Holy Royal Family through the collateral line.
The Farnese dynasty still continues to this day, 200 years later.
The current King, the head of the Farnese family, is Luria’s grandfather and Graf’s father.
By the way, the first king of the Farnese dynasty was a cousin of Luria .
That first Farnese king succeeded in removing the One God’s church from being the state religion.
It was believed that the violent actions of the One God’s church, in league with the Holy Royal Family, had angered the spirits.
However, they then tried to make the faith illegal, but they were unable to.
Fear of the spirits had spread among the common people and nobles, and the One God’s church’s doctrine that “spirits should be placed under human control in the name of God” had gained a certain following.
The One God’s church, which was not crushed, increased its followers over the next 200 years, gaining power and infiltrating politics.
