Chapter 1

As cherry blossoms danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

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In the world, reincarnation into another world is popular.

I, for one, like it too.

And now, the main topic begins. To be honest, I was reborn in a form I didn't wish for. Not from overwork, an accident, or protecting someone... but rather, a death that was clearly due to my own neglect. Thinking about those left behind, I really want to tear my hair out.

So, here it is.

...I was reborn, but what should I do?

When I was crying "o-gya" as a baby, I had my memories.

Beautiful men and women rejoiced at the birth of the baby, and the husband praised and comforted his wife. The wife, though dazed, trembled with joy and shed tears at the birth of her adorable daughter.

Honestly, until this moment, I felt a warm glow in my heart, thinking, "Oh, how wonderful," even though it wasn't my own story. After all, even from a baby's perspective, their joy made me happy too.

The mother leaned in and spoke to me, who was crying "o-gya, o-gya."

"XXXX, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"

I started to think, "Oh," from this moment.

Why can't I understand these people's words? I've been hearing their voices and feeling the atmosphere, but I can't understand what they're saying at all.

My consciousness became clear around this time.

I am, after all, a single thirty-year-old. Born and raised in Japan, I have no acquaintances abroad. If I did, I would have enjoyed life a bit more.

After thinking for a while, sleeping, drinking my mother's milk, and sleeping again, I came to a conclusion a few days later. "Ah, I've been reborn," I realized.

"I" worked incredibly hard. I worked extremely hard.

I think I should have lived a very normal life. I was early to stand and didn't have picky eating habits. My parents and grandparents were delighted by my growth, but the more they rejoiced, the more my anxiety accelerated. I was worried because their words were special. Not Japanese or English, but a strange pronunciation. Father, mother, brother, sister. I could vaguely understand these words, but it was quite difficult to speak them. Since I had been hearing them since birth and my mind was that of an adult, I thought I could understand them to some extent if I studied.

...If it were that easy, I wouldn't be struggling. At thirty, though young by the standards of older people, my mind is somewhat rigid compared to my teenage years. As someone who has only spoken Japanese, learning a new language is a challenge.

My first words, intended to be "Mom," turned out to be my mother's real name. Thinking I would make her happy by mimicking her name, I ended up calling her by her name. It was later revealed that this was the term my father used to call my mother. In my previous life in Japan, my parents called each other "Father" and "Mother," so I was thinking based on that standard, which was regrettable.

Repeating such mistakes, I tried to behave as a child would and enjoy my new life...

Years passed, and when I was fourteen, I was forgotten by my mother.

Oh, this was quite harsh. What was harsh was that everything happened so suddenly, it was laughable. On this day, as a middle-class noble, I returned home from a friend's house. Since I was a noble, we had live-in servants, and as I was greeted by them, I was told this:

"Miss, your uncle and aunt are here today."

"Uncle and aunt? Was there any talk of that?"

"It seems your grandfather came suddenly, and everyone has gathered. They are all here now."

"Then I'll go."

Being a good girl, I washed my hands properly, tidied myself up, and knocked on the door. Honestly, it was a hassle, but to make a good impression for the future, it was necessary.

...All of this was possible because I didn't have to do my own cleaning and laundry. Anyway, I entered the room with a child's smile.

Then my mother looked at me with a puzzled face and asked, "Which young lady is this?" Everyone panicked, and close relatives worried about my mother's condition. But since it didn't improve, my brother, sister, and younger brother hugged me and said:

"What is Mother saying? This child is our sister, Karen."

"Daughter? ...I only have one noble daughter, Gerda."

"Father, Mother has gone mad!"

"Wait, what are you saying, noble?"

It was like a comedy. My mother was taken to the doctor, and I was hugged one after another by my siblings and relatives. They all said, "It's okay," and I, Karen, had never been more grateful for being an adult inside. After all, a normal child would have been traumatized by being forgotten by their mother right in front of them. Only because I was an adult could I think, "It's like a drama." I won't say I wasn't shocked, but it was thanks to the existence of my mother in Japan, even though I don't know where she is.

Furthermore, my life was still changing.

It turns out I wasn't my father's child.

I'll state the conclusion first, but let me explain in order.

My mother lost her memory. I don't know why, but all memories related to me were completely erased, and matters involving me were treated as if they never happened, with only the fact that my siblings existed remaining. The family tried hard to restore my mother's memory, searching for fragments of memories among various mementos. One day, a letter hidden in the back of a closet was discovered by a servant and delivered to my father. The contents were a letter addressed to a man, evidence of my mother's infidelity. My uncle, who was consulted by my father, became enraged. To make matters worse, when my uncle confronted the man, he admitted to a brief affair with my mother. My father also questioned my mother, who vaguely admitted to the infidelity but, due to the loss of memory related to me, could not answer about the child. Given the timing and the fact that I inherited some physical traits from the other party, it was concluded that I was not my father's child.

The chaos continued, and it was time to stop, you damn fool.

This fact was supposed to be resolved between my father and uncle. However, a gossipy servant leaked the information to the family, and my sister rebelled. The atmosphere with my brother and younger brother became awkward, and the family fell into a state of panic. In the end, my father had no choice but to hand me over to the man my mother had an affair with. Even though he had raised me for years, the surrounding circumstances did not allow it. After all, we were nobles, and our family was related to a prestigious family. Both sides of the family were very particular, and at this time, unknown old people were constantly coming and going in our house. My mother still hadn't recovered her memory, and my presence only caused discord. My father was also suffering from the stress.

Thus, the "get rid of the stench" plan was activated. Draw! My misfortune was still to continue...

The man my mother had an affair with was the son of a gardener. Moreover, he already had a wife and children, and even though I was pushed onto him with money, I was clearly an unwanted presence. My biological father was so embarrassed that I was amazed, and his wife and children were furious. At this time, I sighed, thinking that if my mother had had an affair with a noble, there might have been a way out.

"Well, it's fine. Since I've hit rock bottom, all I have to do is rise from here, right?"

...I hope I don't fall so low that I have to sell myself.

Thank you, thirty-year-old me, thank you for your vitality in life. I rented a room from my biological father. It was a shared housing complex, similar to an apartment in Japan, where most of the residents were women.

What I think is good about being born in this country is that, despite being a fantasy world, there is a system in place for women to work independently, and there are many men who respect them.

What I find bad, and this is inevitable, is that the security is worse compared to Japan. How bad it is, you might imagine, if a girl walks alone outside the country, she could be stripped, raped, and sold. Therefore, unless you walk on a very safe path, you can't complain if you are killed. It's a matter of accepting it because you didn't have a bodyguard.

The city is safe, but there are many dangerous people, so it's best to be prepared for self-defense.

At first, I was wondering what to do after being reborn, but once I started living alone, I had no time for that. After all, mental ease comes from financial ease, and as the environment changed, there was no time to do anything else.

It has been almost two years since I started living alone, and at sixteen in the spring, I was holding a pen and pondering, "What should I do?" The place was a classroom, and my friend Ernesta was peering at my hand.

"Karen, what are you worrying about that ruins your cute face?"

"Listen, Ernesta, I can't decide on a job."

"Well, with Karen's grades... you can aim for a good place. If you don't want to be a researcher like me, you can go anywhere you like."

"Thanks for the honest opinion, top of the class."

"No, no, Karen is always in the top hundred. Not bad, not bad."

"Are you being sarcastic, you genius?"

...

Thanks to the good kings we've had for generations, the standard of living and education of the people in this country is pretty high. Schools are open to the general public, and as long as you can pay the tuition, children between the ages of 11 and 16 can attend for 2 to 3 years. Since a good job is expected after graduation, many parents try hard to get their children into school, even if it means making sacrifices.

Ernesta, my friend, is one of them, a person who has been able to attend school thanks to her parents' efforts. She is a cute girl with big, round eyes and chestnut braids. Ernesta... Ernesta sat across from me and began to list job options, ticking them off on her fingers.

"Since Karen has good manners, you could even go to the academy. Even if you can't be a researcher, you could work at the reception desk."

"Hmm... you know, there are a lot of important people there."

The "academy" refers to the magic academy and the knight academy. In this world, where knights and magic exist, mentioning such things is... well, embarrassing for a thirty-year-old.

"Maybe you could catch a rich man and ride in a carriage? With your face, you could do it."

What kind of friend says such things?

But Ernesta isn't saying it sarcastically. She knows my entire background and, knowing it, is indirectly saying, "Show them up."

"Well, if I meet a man worth catching, I'll think about it."

Therefore, my response is like this.

When I started living alone, I immediately enrolled in school. The children of the upper class, who were expelled from their homes