Regina Rena – To the Unforgiven

Chapter 74

You Saw Me

Translated by Wook
Edited by Wook

Rena opened her eyes in the dark.

‘What happened?’

As soon as Rena came to her senses, she traced her memory.

Hiems Gracia. She tried to capture the king. She was then shocked by the unknown and missed the chance.

So? What happened? Did she lose consciousness after that…?

Rena, who remembered the last memory, came to her senses. Then she busily looked around.

‘Am I still trapped?’

The place where Rena was standing was dark and humid as if it was underground. All sides were covered with gloomy plaster walls, and torches of cheap oil were burning, creating thick shadows.

‘This is…’

Rena soon noticed where this was. She had only been there once, but she remembered it clearly.

Because this was the place where she first met Uni.

This was the outskirts of the empire. It was a small town on the western border where the number of people dying of starvation and murder was increasing equally every day, with worse security than the battlefield.

It was a hopeless place. Those who could afford it left immediately, and the administration of the empire had already given up on the place that faced hell.

It was a place where there was no hope. Those who could afford it have left, and the empire’s administration had already given up on this place in the face of hell.

They were abandoned by the world, so they also abandoned the world. Instead, they served what suited them. For example, swords, money, thugs, and the dead.

It was the same the moment Rena met Uni.

Fear-stricken humans held a ceremony in front of the altar to gain the power of the dead. They even prepared food for the hungry dead and their existence with their own blood.

But, sadly, it was not the dead who answered their call.

The one who came to them before the dead was Rena Ruber, who had lost her way and completely alone.

‘It was right after Regina disappeared.’

Rena felt bittersweet and looked into her younger self, who had empty eyes.

In those days, Rena was like a broken clockwork doll.

It was a time when she knew all the secrets of the world, and in return she had no more of her heart left, and decided that she would rather sink to the bottom of the Tomb and die.

It was a very small whim for Rena to come back to earth. A trivial interest, a trivial curiosity.

A girl could be seen through the rift made by blood and altar. It was a child in the exact same situation as her past self.

So Rena came out without even realizing it.

But it was just that.

The air, which she had not drunk after a long time, felt awkward to Rena, and the infinitely weak humans felt unfamiliar to her. Added with the situation where a child was caught by them and waiting for death, everything just felt bizarre.

All of that was confusing, so Rena muttered without knowing what she wanted to do.

“…I saw you in the Tomb.”

“I came to see you, just because I saw you…”

“However. No one came for me.”

Ah. I see.

Rena realized only after saying so. Rena came here because no one came for her.

No one came for me.

She had had someone by her side, but eventually, she was alone.

Even the last existence she believed in betrayed and left like her parents.

So she was drawn to it without realizing it.

She was upset because the girl was in the same situation as her.

Young Rena looked at Uni crying with such thoughts, and grown-up Rena sighed one step behind them.

‘Why do I have to remember this…’

Rena was tongue-tied because of her bad luck caused by Hiems Gracia. She couldn’t believe he made her remember such useless things. What an unpleasant man.

‘Did Hiems Gracia disappear?’

Rena turned away from the scene in front of her and looked for Hiems.

However, the traces of that shrewd person were not easily revealed, and this only made Rena even more upset.

It’s been a while since she was in trouble. Rena realized again in this grim crisis.

It never comes to me. Help and salvation.

Now that my parents have abandoned me, who will find me?

Even God may have turned a blind eye to me.

But it’s okay. It doesn’t matter. This time again, I’ll do it by myself, somehow, on my own.

Rena thought so and took a deep breath. Of all times, what she saw was the most confusing period in her life, so perhaps she was buried in that emotion.

Now she needed to pull herself together.

‘…What?’

She saw something.

A little farther away stood a man who could not have been here.

Rena thought it was impossible. So she rubbed her eyes to erase the illusion, but the man was still there.

His presence was so clear, so Rena mumbled without realizing it.

“Mr. Lynn?”

Then the man looked at her.

“Rena.”

And called her.

He even started running her way.

When Lynn, who suddenly appeared, ran to her, Rena was so surprised that she backed away without realizing it. In fact, she wanted to face him, but she couldn’t dare to.

She was afraid that her outstretched hand would grab the air.

So while she was dazed, Lynn stepped over her dark memory and stretched out his arm.

“Rena!”

Rena held her breath at the vivid cry.

No way. No way.

She needed confirmation. If that hand touched, and the clear touch and warmth were transmitted, she thought she would be certain at that time.

So, as she waited silently for Lynn who was approaching, a soft voice rang in her ear.

— I didn’t think an intruder would appear.

The moment Rena was startled by the sound, before she had any time to react, her feet felt numb.

“Ugh!”

The space crumbled like a broken mirror.

Rena, who was standing still, fell as she was, and Lynn, who was running towards her, lost his balance and moved away again.

“Mr. Lynn!”

Only then did Rena come to her senses and call Lynn. Then Lynn shouted to Rena.

“Wait for me!”

At those words, Rena froze again. But Lynn was completely unaware of that fact, and cried again in the encroaching darkness.

“I’ll pick you up!”

Rena was more confused with the words than the broken space.

What did he mean “Wait, I’ll pick you up”?

What?

She wanted to ask, but she didn’t have time to ask. No, she wouldn’t ask, even if she had enough time. Because she didn’t want an answer.

So while hesitating, Lynn disappeared into the darkness.

And Rena was standing in another space.

Rena’s body fell lightly like a feather at the last minute, overshadowing the frightening fall.

Even so, Rena stumbled unexpectedly and was so surprised. Then she thought, puzzledly.

‘Was that real earlier?’

No, it could be a trick by Hiems Grasha. It could be a trick made by the mean king.

Rena thought as calmly as possible.

There was a possibility that Hiems Gracia might try to trick and manipulate her, and that Lynn might have used his power to come to her.

What was more likely?

‘Hiems doesn’t have much time.’

Having lost his heart, Hiems Gracia was already losing his form. And he used his little energy left to turn the space upside down.

That was proof that Lynn, who appeared in front of Rena, was real.

As her thoughts reached that point, Rena’s heart pounded once more.

‘The real Lynn is here…?’

Rena recalled Lynn’s face earlier in a dazed mood.

She couldn’t believe it. How, why…

Rena suddenly became anxious. The reason is unknown, but something that shouldn’t have happened seemed to have happened.

So Rena, who was lost and dizzy, found a safe answer after pondering.

‘Because we are allies.’

As she thought about it, her heart, which had been fluctuating, gradually subsided.

‘Mr. Lynn is a good person, and I am still useful.’

The reason she added was also plausible, and Rena was barely relieved and nodded her head.

Having reached that conclusion, Rena let out a long breath. Then she declared alone to shake off the remaining misconceptions.

“I have to go out and pay off the debt.”

I caused Mr. Lynn trouble because I couldn’t finish the end properly. So I need to get a hold of myself and overcome the situation. Then I will  make sure to pay off this debt.

Yes, that’s it.

Rena vowed to do so and looked at the situation properly again.

Hiems Gracia seemed to be still around. He seemed to be hiding and watching so that he wouldn’t be caught, and at this rate, it was a problem even if Lynn came back.

‘Is he going to keep chasing and disrupting me?’

It would only be a waste of time.

When Rena doubted Hiems’ real purpose.

Another scene slowly emerged in the gloomy darkness.

Red sky and black land. It was the Tomb. Against the background of the vast Tomb, Rena as a girl stood there, and a man was kneeling in front of her.

‘That’s…’

Rena looked at the man and reflexively narrowed her brow.

It was an impressive man with smooth brown skin. His charcoal-black hair was drooping like a lion’s mane, and his original, provocative red eyes looked up at her politely, making him look gentle.

The fine, light silk clothes he wore were appropriate for the hot and dry desert. Also, the splendid gold ornaments hung over it showed his noble status.

Rena murmured to herself as she saw the noticeable man.

‘The King with Many Hearts.’

The so-called snake king, also known as pervert king.

He was the one who harassed young Rena and robbed her of even a piece of bone.

‘Are you deliberately bringing up these memories?’

Just like when she first met Uni, this was also a special memory and a turning point for Rena.

Hiems Gracia was only picking out such memories. The arrogant king seemed to intend to look directly into and judge Rena Ruber’s unconvincing life.

Rena swallowed her displeasure and looked at the scene in front of her eyes for now.

At that time, Rena was fourteen years old. It was Rena in her most ferocious days, when she was learning to fight from Regina after she knew the snake king was after her.

Little Rena was looking down at the snake king, who knelt before her.

She was just about to rip his heart out. It was a one-sided massacre and abuse that she couldn’t remember how many times it had been.

But that day was different.

“Are you smiling?”

Rena murmured as she looked down at The King with Many Hearts. For some reason, he was smiling softly at Rena.

It was a reaction she had never seen before.

When Rena first attacked, the snake king lost his heart in shock.

On the day he barely revived, he got angry when Rena came back and took his heart, and after that, he got fed up for a while. He resisted, rebelled, and fought tremendously.

Then he tried to appease her because he couldn’t do anything, and begged because it didn’t work. He cried when he prayed to no avail.

It was only recently that he started crying in front of Rena, who came to have his heart ripped out. So she wondered how long he would cry, but today he suddenly smiled.

Seeing this, Rena asked indifferently.

“Is it funny?”

“No. It’s just amazing.”

The snake king answered politely, and Rena asked the reason with her gaze.

The snake king spoke to her in a mournful voice.

“I knew for the first time that a woman could be this strong. How happy it is to be ruled by a great woman.”

What do you mean by a woman? Rena was only 14 years old.

Rena thought it was disgusting, but she watched for now.

In response, the snake king said more earnestly, thinking that Rena was interested.

“You stole my heart dozens of times. That means you’ve returned my heart that much.”

“So what?”

“Is the reason you’re so obsessed with me just because of retaliation?”

He’s crazy.

Rena was speechless, and The King with Many Hearts chatted in front of her.

I admire your strength. I respect your existence. I feel special about my relationship with you. I’m already obsessed with you, and I’ve never had such a strong attraction in my life.

I love you. Please be my bride.

She didn’t know if this was a crazy rant or something he was desperately rolling his head over, but one thing was clear.

All that came out of that mouth was great flattery.

It was the first time for Rena. Someone was actually trying to persuade, to convince, to try to win her favor.

And his servitude gave Rena a new realization.

Until now, Rena thought of him as a strong person. She believed that even though he was weak in body, he was strong in mind because he stood up without being discouraged and faced her again and again.

But when she thought about it again, he wasn’t a strong person at all. He was a weak person. At the same time, he was a cowardly person.

He did not have the confidence to survive on his own, so he tried to win her favor, but when it was useless, he pretended to complain and turned a blind eye to his sins.

He was neither strong nor good.

There was no way he could fight her, so he turned into an obnoxious idiot who endured humiliation.

Disillusioned, Rena didn’t put up with it any longer and slaughtered The King with Many Hearts and robbed him of his heart.

As the snake king scattered like dust, a soft voice came from the air.

— Stop relieving your anger.

It was Regina watching from above.

Rena couldn’t read her expressions or eyes because Regina’s face was not intact, but Rena already knew that Regina was dissatisfied with her actions.

— That disgusting bastard will no longer aim for you. If you go more than this, you will be ruined.

What did she mean by ruined now?

At Regina’s warning, Rena let out a bored sigh.

“I was going to stop.”

Just now, the snake king smiled happily just before he died. She wanted to kill him until all her tantrums were resolved, but seeing his face made her want nothing more to do with him.

But that didn’t mean that the anger that was burning like a ball of fire disappeared. The fire was still roaring and fueling Rena.

So Rena muttered without thinking after a long time.

“I want to go home.”

— Home?

“I need to see my father.”

— And when you meet him?

To Regina’s question, Rena answered as if she was about to do something annoying.

“I will kill him.”