After the maid helped me take a bath, I ate a lot of snacks.
โโฆToday, Iโm going to see Father.โ
Feeling full made me sleepy, but I held it in. I climbed onto Daruโs back, bringing Carro and Koruko along, and we headed to Fatherโs room.
โFather!โ
โWhat is it, my cute Luria?โ
โI want to study.โ
โYouโve already been studying reading, writing, and math, havenโt you?โ
I had started studying reading, writing, and arithmetic at three years old, and I was still continuing it. I could now read picture books quite well and do two-digit multiplication and division.
โI want to keep studying reading, writing, and arithmetic, but I also want to study history.โ
โโฆHistory?โ
Father hesitated for a moment. Then he stared directly at me.
โFather?โ
โNo, nothingโฆ History, you say?โ
โYes, history.โ
โWhy do you want to study history? Do you want to know about the heroes from the past?โ
โHmm, not really. Iโm more interested in the relationship between the church and the royal family.โ
โโฆโฆโฆโฆ!โ
Fatherโs eyes widened.
โWhat is it, Father?โ
โNo, itโs justโฆ Why do you want to know about the relationship between the church and the royal family? Why do you want to study history to learn about that?โ
โHmmโฆโ
I thought for a moment, trying to organize my thoughts. I didnโt feel the need to hide what I was thinking from Father. Of course, I couldnโt just say, โIโm a reincarnated person,โ though.
โIf the church is strong, bad things might happen.โ
โYeah, thatโs true.โ
โAnd you canโt understand the relationship between the church and the royal family without knowing history, donโt you think?โ
โWell, yes, thatโs certainly true.โ
โThatโs why I want to know. I asked the maid, but she said she didnโt know.โ
Father stared at me intently.
โAlright, Iโll teach you after dinner.โ
โEh? Father will?โ
โYes. Is that okay?โ
โItโs not that I mind, butโฆ arenโt you busy?โ
โItโs fine.โ
โOkay then! Thanks, Father!โ
I wasnโt sure why Father himself was going to teach me, but I was happy that he would.
After dinner that evening, Father came to my room with the butler.
Even though it was my room, it was actually a study room next to the room with my bed.
The butler who came with Father had brought a cart full of books. He placed the books on my desk.
โThank you, this really helps.โ
โThank you!โ
Since Father thanked him, I also said thank you. He had carried the heavy books for me, so it was only right to thank him. When I bowed my head, Daru and Carro also gave a little bow. On the other hand, Koruko was sitting on the desk with his eyes closedโmaybe he was tired.
โItโs nothing,โ the butler said, bowing deeply before leaving.
โThank you too, Father.โ
โItโs nothing. Itโs because itโs my cute Luriaโs request.โ
โBut I didnโt expect you to teach me, Father.โ
Father was always so busy.
โWell, itโs going to be a very political discussion.โ
โHmm?โ
โAlso, itโs something that involves you too.โ
โMe tooโฆโ
I didnโt understand what Father meant when he said it involved me.
โYou mustnโt tell anyone lightly about what Iโm about to say, okay? Can you promise that?โ
โI promise!โ
โGood girl.โ
Father smiled and patted my head before sitting down. My room had a nice desk and chairs that adults could sit on, and there was a chair that was just right for me.
โNow, where should I startโฆ Luria, come sit here.โ
โOkay.โ
Instead of sitting in the chair, I climbed onto Fatherโs lap.
โHere.โ
Koruko jumped onto my lap, so I petted him.
โAlright, letโs start by talking about the founding of the Farnese dynasty. That will be the best way to understand the relationship between the church and the royal family.โ
โThanks, Father!โ
โMm, letโs see which one is the best to start with.โ
After hesitating a bit, Father picked a book and opened it.
โWow~โ
There were a lot of small letters written on the pages. Daru sat on the floor, Carro climbed onto the desk, and Koruko stared at the book from my lap. They looked almost like they were reading it.
โThis is a difficult book, so Iโll explain it to you since you canโt read it yet.โ
โPlease!โ โWoof!โ โKyuu kyuuโ โHere.โ
Father told me about the great disaster that occurred two hundred years ago, where many people died. Despite this, the Holy Royal Family not only failed to act but also tried to squeeze more labor and wealth from the people.
Father seemed to have the history mostly in his head, as he didnโt need to look at the book much to explain it. He probably kept it open just to make sure he wouldnโt mix up dates or events.
โThe people who died because of the Holy Royal Familyโs bad governance were even more than those who died in the disaster.โ
โโฆThatโs awful.โ
โYeah, it was really bad.โ
I listened while glancing at the book Father had opened. He seemed to think I couldnโt read difficult books, but I could. I found a word in the book that caught my eye.
โSeijo?โ
โHmm? Oh, you read that? Good job.โ
โI can read it! Whatโs โseijoโ?โ
โThe Holy Royal Family occasionally had daughters who were loved by spirits.โ
โWow.โ
It seemed that the royal family was called the โHoly Royal Familyโ because they sometimes had daughters born as โsaintsโ blessed by spirits.
โBut does this โseijoโ do something bad?โ
โWow, you can read such a difficult book! Youโre amazing, Luria.โ
โHehe.โ
Father praised me and patted my head with his big hand, which made me feel embarrassed.
โThe last saint in the Holy Royal Family mentioned in this book, however, is said to be a fake.โ
โA fake?โ
โYes. After the day of divine retribution when the church was destroyed, she stopped performing miracles, and during the great disaster, she couldnโt do anything.โ
It seemed that this โsaintโ was the same princess who had bullied me.
โIn the end, she was stoned to deathโฆ But I wonโt go into detail.โ
Stoning was a very cruel punishment where stones were thrown at a person until they slowly died. Father probably didnโt want to tell me about such a brutal punishment, considering I was only five years old.
However, I knew about cruel punishments, as I had learned about them in my previous life.
Of course, it wasnโt taught out of kindness.
It was taught to scare me, to make me afraid, and to torment me with detailed descriptions of the brutal punishment. After seeing me tremble with fear, the person laughed and threatened that they could give me that punishment anytime.
That night, I was so scared that I clung to the goat and fell asleep with Loa petting me.
โMm.โ
I tightly hugged Fatherโs arm. Koruko seemed to sense something and softly chirped, pressing his body against me.
โAre you sleepy, Luria?โ
โNo, Iโm fine. Iโm not sleepy.โ
I wasnโt scared anymore. Perhaps it was because Father was holding me, and Koruko was close to me, with Daru and Carro watching over me.
โI want to hear more!โ
โAlright, if you get sleepy, just let me know.โ
Father patted my head before continuing with his explanation.