Chapter 1 Isekai Reincarnation, For Real?!
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The Howard Marchioness family – part of the nobility, and one with a long history stretching back to the founding of the Reino Kingdom – possessed status, wealth, and connections enough to make nearly anything possible.
To top it off, my father, the current family head, was a shrewd man. His domain management ran smoothly, and from the household servants to the common folk, the happiness index of our territory was among the highest in the realm.
In such a blessed environment, surrounded by the abundant affection of my family, I grew up healthy and strong.
Looking back, I was a strange child.
The first time I felt something was off was around age two. The house was full of servants – grown adults, all of them – bowing their heads to a two-year-old. That struck me as utterly bizarre.
”Rebecca-sama is the premier young lady of the Howard Marchioness family, one of the most powerful nobles in the Reino Kingdom, with deep ties to the royal family. It’s only natural.”
That was the answer I received when I consulted my wet nurse, Martha.
Not fully satisfied, I asked the same question of my parents. They seized the opportunity to lecture me at length on the privileges and duties of nobility.
From my parents’ words that day, I understood that I was expected to become a fine lady. Bearing, etiquette, education – there was an endless mountain of things to learn.
Everyone around me was an adult, and setting aside the cheat of my status, my specs were naturally rock-bottom.
That moment lit a fire under my competitive nature.
Speaking of strange children – I think my birthday requests were also way out of the ordinary.
On my fifth birthday, I asked for more specialized books since I’d grown tired of everything in the family library. My father arranged for a private tutor.
”My lady, may I have a reward if I manage to get a passing grade in my piano lessons from the instructor? Please allow me to accompany you on your diplomatic duties.”
That was my request at age six.
At seven – I remember this vividly – I negotiated the right to poach one of the four “Shadows” who now serve as my hands and feet. His name was Onyx.
My father laughed at these odd requests that kept coming, and my mother sighed, but neither scolded me.
In any case, as a result of my desires combined with my parents’ tolerance and financial power, I received an education no ordinary child could ever hope for.
If my elder brother – who passed away shortly after birth – had lived, things might have been different…
Thus, I – Rebecca Howard, a young woman with a somewhat unusual way of thinking and an atypical background – am now a blossoming seventeen years old. I’m a student at the Royal Lemres Academy, and since enrollment, I’ve consistently maintained top-tier grades.
When you gather sensitive young people in the enclosed space of an academy, they tend to bestow embarrassingly grandiose nicknames.
My nickname is “Princess of the Moon.”
With my silver hair and amethyst eyes, a composure beyond my years, and – on top of all that – being the fiancée of Reino’s second prince, His Highness Garrett, the moniker apparently stuck. Not that I’d ever use such a cringey title myself, of course.
The Royal Lemres Academy is an institution for the children of noble families who possess magical aptitude. Flanking the academy grounds are the boys’ and girls’ dormitories respectively. Students spend three years there, from ages fifteen to seventeen, learning not just magic but also general education, etiquette, and social skills – with the goal of producing nobles capable of supporting the crown and the kingdom. It’s widely considered Reino’s premier educational institution.
Now, in one of the academy’s girls’ dormitory rooms, with graduation ceremony looming tomorrow, I was battling a relentless headache after receiving a report from one of my Shadows – Amber, who specializes in covert operations.
The “Shadows” are my personal organization, currently comprising four members.
Amber was nurtured from childhood by the man I’d poached at age seven from my father’s intelligence network “The Dark” – Onyx. He was brought up by Onyx’s own hand and is exceptionally talented.
With a slender yet supple build and amber-colored eyes, his agility is truly catlike. He’s got this troublesome – er, adorable – personality where he hates being tied down yet craves being owned.
Perhaps because Amber was an orphan, he’d apparently experienced unpleasant things early in life. Even at the time of our contract, what he demanded was rather unconventional.
”Be my owner. Promise you’ll never abandon me. And I’ll do anything for you.”
So I became his employer and his owner. Yes, Amber is male. So what? Code names are assigned based on eye color – gender has nothing to do with it. Besides, the man is beautiful enough to make women run barefoot in the opposite direction, so I think it suits him rather well.
I was rocked by shock upon hearing the content of Amber’s report.
”So tomorrow is finally the condemnation event – she definitely said that, correct?” I repeated, deliberately voicing the words to drive home what they truly meant.
My hand trembled as I held my teacup, unable to conceal my agitation, and the fragrant liquid rippled within. Immediately, my maid Emma whisked the cup away. Emma is also a member of the Shadows, codename Peridot.
Thank goodness Madam Comins, my etiquette instructor, wasn’t present.
Allowing my agitation to show like this – I still have so much room for improvement.
The people in this room are my trusted subordinates, so I needn’t stand on ceremony, but daily training aids us in critical moments. Complacency is forbidden.
As I rubbed my temples to smooth out the frown forming there, Emma shot me a worried look. Her eyes – a beautiful, clear yellow-green that does credit to her name Peridot – were unsettled.
”How unusual – for you to be this rattled, my lady,” she observed, her tone laced with concern. “I assure you, I didn’t poison today’s tea.”
”…As if I’d be affected by something as mundane as a numbing agent,” I scoffed. “Self-healing magic dispels poison instantly. That’s not it. This is something far more serious – “
”Is that mad Saint candidate’s delusional rambling really that important?” she pressed, still eyeing me warily.
”Important,” I affirmed. “To me, it is.”
I am Rebecca Howard. A young lady of the Howard Marchioness family, with graduation from the Royal Lemres Academy – my place of learning – tomorrow. And as of just now, having regained my past-life memories, I’m no longer seventeen but actually a total of sixty years old: a reincarnated person.
Now that I remember my past life, I can understand why I was such a strange child. Those memories submerged beneath my consciousness – memories of living in Japan – must have influenced me even as a toddler.
I experienced a childhood of “what’s this ‘relaxed education’ nonsense, we had school on Saturdays too, you don’t know what ‘cram education’ means?” I endured the exam wars, survived the employment ice age, and that salaryman spirit seems to have carried over even into my new life.
I was an ordinary person. I had a beloved husband, work was going well. After seeing my only son reach adulthood, we celebrated by taking an overseas trip. My final memory is of getting into an accident there, so it seems I died on the spot. The only thing that worries me is what happened to my husband – my other half – but I have no way of knowing now.
And currently –
I find myself in the continent of Grania – what would be another world from Earth’s perspective – in the great nation of the Reino Kingdom, reincarnated as the eldest daughter of the historic Howard family.
—
Summary:
The protagonist recalls her unusual childhood, marked by her reincarnated memories influencing her behavior from an early age. She reminisces about her privileged upbringing and the extravagant demands she made as a child. Now seventeen and a top student, she receives a shocking report that the “condemnation event” is set to occur tomorrow, causing her to question the true nature of her reality.
—
Trivia:
Rebecca regained her past-life memories at age seventeen, not at birth.
She has silver hair and amethyst eyes.
The Royal Lemres Academy is a three-year institution for noble children with magical aptitude.
The “Shadows” are a personal organization Rebecca established, currently comprising four members.
Amber, one of the Shadows, requested a unique contract to be kept and never abandoned.
Rebecca has experienced prior lifetime memories of living in Japan, with a salaryman’s work ethic.
Notes:
• Howard – Rebecca’s father. Current family head of the Howard Marchioness family. Described as a shrewd man who manages the family domain with competence. Indulgent toward his daughter’s unusual requests. Rebecca’s mother. Supports her daughter while expressing exasperated sighs. Exhibits tolerance and generosity toward her child’s demands.
• Rebecca – The protagonist and first-person narrator. Seventeen-year-old daughter of the Howard Marchioness family, a prestigious noble house with deep ties to the Reino royal family. Silver hair and amethyst eyes. Fiancée to Prince Garrett. A reincarnated individual who recently regained past-life memories of living in Japan as an ordinary woman who died in an accident. Competitive, composed, and unusually mature for her age. Currently a top student at the Royal Lemures Academy.
• Martha – Rebecca’s wet nurse. Provides maternal care and answers the young girl’s questions about her noble status. Speaks with formal servant politeness.
• Onyx – One of Rebecca’s four personal Shadows. Originally poached by Rebecca from her father’s intelligence network “The Dark” at age seven. Founded and trains the Shadow organization.
• Garrett – Reino’s second prince. Rebecca’s fiancé. The second prince of the Kingdom of Rendel and the protagonist’s fiancé. Same age as the protagonist. Has grown increasingly distant as graduation approaches. No longer invites the protagonist to the student council room; Charlotte has taken her place. Has been confirmed to have gifted Charlotte a dress for the graduation party. His indirect dismissal of the protagonist’s involvement with Charlotte suggests he has fully committed to the prince route.
• Amber – One of Rebecca’s four personal Shadows. Specializes in covert operations. Slender with a catlike build and amber-colored eyes. Once an orphan who experienced hardships in childhood. Has a contradictory personality: dislikes being tied down yet craves being owned. Demanded a unique contract—to be kept and never abandoned. Exceptionally beautiful. The protagonist’s shadow—a spy and intelligence handler who is more family than subordinate. Amber-colored eyes and brown hair. Speaks with a casual, teasing familiarity that would be insubordinate from anyone else, but the protagonist indulges it knowingly. Acts as both informant and confidante. Lazy and sharp-tongued on the surface, but her loyalty is absolute. Treats her mistress with an affectionate insolence that masks deep trust.
• Emma – Mentioned as someone the protagonist holds a meeting with after sending Amber off. No dialogue or physical description is provided in this section. One of Rebecca’s four personal Shadows, codename Peridot. Also serves as Rebecca’s personal maid. Has beautiful clear yellow-green eyes matching her codename. Observant and concerned for her mistress’s wellbeing.
• Comins – Rebecca’s etiquette instructor. Referred to as Madam Comins. Not present during the scene.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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