Ch (1) Memories of my previous life

1. Memories of my previous life

Lucinda Lancaster was sitting in a luxurious dining room eating breakfast. She silently munched on a loaf of bread, savoring the soft, fluffy texture in her delicate mouth. Next, she took a spoonful of the well-seasoned soup and sipped it down. At the same table, her parents, both dressed in their finest clothes since morning, elegantly enjoyed their breakfast. The smell of smoked bacon filled up the room.　

At first glance, it was the picturesque scene of a noble family enjoying breakfast together. However, only a blind person would not be able to see beyond this façade.

Today was Lucinda’s tenth birthday. Her parents knew it, but they didn’t offer a single word of congratulations. There was no response even when Lucinda greeted them in the morning.

‘I guess I’m not welcome here……. But I should be grateful that they took me in from the orphanage.’

Originally, Lucinda was an orphan.

A few weeks ago, a man who claimed to be an envoy of the Earl of Lancaster came and took her in as their adopted daughter.

It was a rare stroke of luck to be adopted by a noble family from an orphanage. There was no need to go hungry, no need to shiver in the chilly night breeze, no need to suffer through sleepless nights. Every day she would be served delicious meals and sleep in a warm, soft bed. That was more than enough for her.

‘But still, it would be nice to be able to have a bit of family-like conversation……’

Even though they were fake, they were her parents now. The fact that they hadn’t wished her a happy birthday might just be because they accidentally forgot the date or had missed the right moment to do so.

Lucinda was a little bit excited, and she tried to talk to them.

“That……it’s actually my birthday today,” she said timidly.

As soon as she said this, the soft clinking sounds of cutlery on plates stopped, and her parents looked at Lucinda with blank expressions on their faces.

“What is it? Are you trying to force me to buy you a present?,” the Countess asked in a cold voice.

“No, that’s not what I meant……”

The Count raised his eyebrows in displeasure. Lucinda wasn’t expecting this sort of reaction.

“Lucinda, we had no choice but to take you in. Don’t expect us to do anything family-like.”

The moment she heard the Count’s ruthless words, Lucinda felt like she was struck by a devastating bolt of lightning. The shock was too great, and her body slumped down to the side.

“──rumi, I had no choice but to give birth to you, so don’t expect us to do anything parent-like,” she heard a woman’s voice say while her consciousness was fading.

Somehow, the woman’s voice was somewhat familiar.

◇◇◇

When Lucinda woke up, she found herself on the bed in her bedroom.

Apparently, after she had fainted and collapsed, they had carried her here and laid her down.

However, while Lucinda was fading in and out of consciousness, she remembered hearing the voices of the couple saying, “I don’t like it, is she trying to attract attention by collapsing?,” and, “I don’t want her to actually become sick.”

Clearly, it must have been one of the servants who had actually carried her.

But she didn’t care about that now.

While Lucinda was unconscious, she had a dream that was so vivid and felt very real. A dream in which she lived and died as a different person in a different world, not here.

No, it wasn’t a dream. It was something that had really happened.

“Is it a memory of my past life, ……?”

The moment she said it out loud, it felt as though another her had blended into her body, and she remembered everything.

‘In my previous life, I died at that time……’

In my previous life, my name was Sakurai Rumi. My family consisted of four members: my parents, my brother, and myself.

I don’t remember my parents loving me. But my brother, who was ten years older than me, doted on me a lot, and I adored him.

However, one day when I was fifteen years old, I got into a car accident while I was out with my brother. I don’t remember anything after that. Perhaps I lost my life in that accident.

“…… Could this be the rumored reincarnation into another world?”

When I looked out the window, I saw a gardener collecting fallen leaves by creating a small breeze with wind magic.

“Yes, unlike in my previous life, magic actually exists in this world.”

“Come to think of it, I always wanted to be a magician when I grew up.”

Remembering my dream from my previous life, I giggled.

Ever since I was a little girl, I had loved fairy tales and fantasy novels. Then, when I entered high school, I got really into video games, especially royal RPGs and open world games.

“I was really into (Dragon Fantasy) and (The Legend of Zelda). Ah, now that I remember them, I really want to play games. There are no games in this world, though.”

I was hit by a wave of nostalgia and disappointment, but then I suddenly realized–

“I could become a magician in this world! If I worked really hard, I could actually become a real magician, right?!”

That’s right. This was the world of swords and magic.

In fact, if Lucinda remembered correctly, an official profession called “magician” existed in this world.

“If I were to become a magician, I could leave this house and travel around the world, just like in an RPG…”

Lucinda was fortunate enough to be taken in by the Count’s family from the orphanage, but it was clear that she was not welcome here.

‘Besides, earlier I thought that it would be enough if I didn’t have to worry about food and shelter. But now that I’ve been reincarnated and given the chance to live a second life…’

‘I don’t just want to live to survive, I want to live however I please! I want to live my life the way I want to live it, even if it’s just for the sake of my previous life.’

“Alright, I’ll do my best to become a magician!”

Lucinda forgot all about the unpleasant incident at breakfast and was excited about her new goal.

TL:Nozomi

Edit:Ali