After the archbishop left, I was carried to my room by my nanny.
As I was being carried, I thought about many things.
The archbishop annoyed me, but I learned a lot.
The Church of the One True God is still active. I need to be cautious.
It seems my previous life was known as the โCalamity Witch.โ
I should make sure no one finds out Iโm the reincarnation of Luria.
Also, it seems I have an older brother and sister. Iโd like to meet them.
Father was addressed as โYour Highness.โ That means heโs royalty.
Judging by their hair and eye color, the royal family still continues.
However, despite that, our clothes arenโt particularly fine, and the furnishings are lacking.
It seems Father leads a modest life for a member of the royal family.
โHumph~โ
โMiss Luria, youโre making such a serious face. Letโs change your diaper now.โ
โHum~โ
Since I had just soiled myself, I was grateful she was changing my diaper.
โYou really donโt cry much, Miss.โ
Humans cry when they encounter situations they canโt put into words.
Pain, suffering, sadness, joyโwhen emotions exceed oneโs ability to express them, tears come out.
Thatโs what I think, though Iโm not certain.
In my case, because I have memories of a previous life, even if I canโt speak, I can put things into words in my mind. Thatโs probably why I donโt cry.
Thinking that, I couldnโt articulate it, so I said,
โUngah,โ
as a way of thanking my nanny for changing my diaper.
When I glanced to the side, I saw a puppy staring at me worriedly through the gaps in the cribโs railing.
โKyah kyah!โ
โโฆโ
The puppy wagged its tail silently.
It must be wary of barking, knowing it would be taken to another room by the nanny if it made noise.
After the diaper change and some time had passed, Father, who had escorted the archbishop out of the mansion, came in.
The puppy quickly hid under the crib.
If Father found it, the puppy would definitely be taken to another room.
โOh, Luria is always adorableโฆ no, she keeps getting more adorable!โ
โDah (Sorry).โ
I apologized to Father in my heart.
Father indeed had the same hair and eye color as those royals who bullied me.
Thatโs why I had always been on guard and even growled at him.
โDah~โ
But he had protected me from the archbishop and the Church of the One True God.
Maybe I could trust him.
When I looked at Father again with that thought, he suddenly seemed like a very good-looking man.
โWhatโs wrong, Luria? Youโre quieter than usual.โ
โShe must be tired from meeting so many strangers at the naming ceremony.โ
โI seeโฆ Luria, there might be people who say unpleasant things to you, but I will protect you.โ
Being held in Fatherโs large arms made me feel safe.
I had tried not to think about it, but my kind father from my past life was also royalty.
That means he had the same hair and eye color as Father.
Silver-haired, blue-eyed people can be good or bad.
It was such an obvious truth, yet I hadnโt wanted to think about it.
Even though Iโd been bullied by silver-haired, blue-eyed people for ten years, I hadnโt been fair.
โDah (Thank you, Father).โ
โYouโre so cute!โ
โUngah (Sorry, and thank you).โ
Surrounded by Fatherโs scent, different from Motherโs, my heart felt at ease.
As I was gently rocked in his arms, I fell asleep in peace.
โโโโ
While holding the sleeping Luria, her father, Graf, spoke to the butler.
โBring Amalia here.โ
โUnderstood.โ
After a short while, Luriaโs mother, Amalia, arrived.
Amalia immediately peeked under the crib.
โLeonard, come here.โ
โโฆโฆโ
โLeonard?โ
โThatโs the puppyโs name.โ
The puppy, wary of being taken to another room if caught by Amalia, didnโt respond to her call.
โMore importantly, the childโs name has been decided as Luria.โ
Amalia stopped peering under the crib and gently stroked Luriaโs cheek.
Then, she looked at Graf.
โDid something happen? You look upset.โ
Amalia said this as she softly caressed Grafโs cheek.
โThe archbishop called Luria ominous,โ Graf said.
โโฆOh my. The โCalamity Witch Luria ?โ
โThatโs right. He said a red-haired, red-eyed girl born into the royal family is an ill omen and must be entrusted to the Church.โ
โUnbelievable. You, of courseโโ
โNaturally, I refused. Those people canโt be trusted.โ
Amalia gently stroked the sleeping Luria, nestled in Grafโs arms.
โLuria is so adorable.โ
The story of the โCalamity Witch Luisaโ is widely known among the people.
However, the widely known version is not accurate.
Before the Sacred Royal Family was overthrown, the Church of the One True God conspired with them to spread a false narrative.
The fabricated story goes like this:
Luisa was an evil being from birth, and the Church had been containing her.
However, as she grew and her power increased, she ran out of control.
The Church sacrificed its headquarters, the pope, and high-ranking clergy to finally defeat the Calamity Witch Luisa.
But even in death, Luria s curse grew stronger, bringing great disaster upon the kingdom.
โOnly fools would believe a story that conveniently serves both the Church of the One True God and the Sacred Royal Family.โ
โExactly. I think the Church of the One True God committed atrocities against the spirits, incurring the wrath of both God and the spirits.โ
What Amalia said is the true history of this country.
However, a strong factionโcentered around the Church of the One True Godโstill pushes to revise that history.
Revisionists argue that โthe official history is too convenient for the current royal family, the Farnese family.โ
They claim the Farnese family fabricated these events to justify their coup against the Sacred Royal Family
and to weaken the Church of the One True God, which opposed them, by inventing false atrocities.
โIf one reads historical records carefully, the truth becomes clearโฆ Such ignorance.โ
Documents written by those with no vested interest in the Farnese family, the Sacred Royal Family, or the Church.
Diaries of palace or provincial nobles written long before the coup.
Reading such sources reveals how the Sacred Royal Family and the Church of the One True God attempted to commit atrocities against the spirits.
โThe common people havenโt received any education in history, so itโs not surprising.โ
โEven among the educated nobility, there are those who believe the lies. Itโs lamentable.โ
After letting out a deep sigh, Graf lowered his voice and spoke to Amalia.
โโฆThe Church may try something against Luria.โ
โWhat do you mean by โsomethingโ? Kidnapping her?โ
โNo, even they wouldnโt go that far against royalty. But they might spread rumors.โ
If it were only rumors, it would be manageable.
However, thereโs a high likelihood of them applying political pressure.
โAmalia, we must be even more cautious in our words and actions in social circles.โ
โI understand. Itโs for Luriaโs sake.โ
โWe must also make sure Gilberto and Lydia understand.โ
Gilberto is Luriaโs older brother, and Lydia is her older sister.
โYes, both of them are reliable, butโฆ theyโre still children.โ
โIโll also remind the servants to be cautious.โ
โThatโs my job as the lady of the house.โ
โButโฆ youโre not fully recovered yet, are you?โ
โIโm completely fine now.โ
โEven soโฆ take care of yourself. Donโt overdo it.โ
As they talked, the parents discussed what measures they needed to take to protect Luria from the Church of the One True God.