When I Asked My Husband for a Divorce, He Said He’d Be Bringing Home a Young Woman, So I Left - 19
“Sharl~!”
“Aww bubub…”
“Sharl talked~! What a genius, so clever~”
The one narrowing his big eyes and poking my cheeks was my immediate older brother…formerly my nephew.
“Charlotte, come here now.”
The father lifting me up and nuzzling my cheek was formerly my brother. Your beard, your beard is scratchy and hurts!
“Has Sharl woken up~?”
The grandfather who cheerfully entered the room and scooped me up possessively was formerly my father.
Confusing.
Absolutely bewildering.
“Fweee…”
I want to speak but can’t, and my limbs won’t move as I want. My vision isn’t clear either, so I rely on voices, sounds, and smells. The most I can do when frustrated is go “aah aah,” wiggle my limbs, or cry.
“Ah, are you hungry? Or need a diaper change?”
My formerly-father’s higher-pitched soothing voice – I’d never heard him make that tone before.
“Mother~! Sharl seems hungry!”
“My my, shall we nurse then?”
As I cried aah~ aah~, my mother (formerly sister-in-law) took me from formerly-father. Patting my back, she kissed my fussing forehead saying “Wait now~ I’ll feed you soon~”
Though we have wet nurses, unusually for noblewomen, former-sister-in-law insists on raising me herself. Before I could feel embarrassed, her practiced hands changed my diaper. The refreshing relief outweighed any shame.
…So I was reborn as the child in former-sister-in-law’s womb when I died.
Huh…that can happen?
Finding it hard to believe, I thought I might be having a convenient dream after death, but there’s no sign of waking up.
My days alternate between extreme sleepiness, hunger, or a cold bottom, being doted on by former-father, former-brother, former-sister-in-law, former-nephew, and even former-nephews home on long vacations.
Thus I’m forced to accept this as reality, but even so – being reborn as the same “me”? What does that mean?
I’d heard some people remember past lives, but never imagined I’d be one.
“Here you go, Charlotte”
Gulp. Nuzzle nuzzle…
Milk’s delicious…nice smell…so warm…
“My my. Fell asleep while nursing… How precious. Girls are so soft everywhere, completely different from boys… Say, Sharl. Do you…remember?”
Former-sister-in-law’s question reached my half-asleep ears, but my uncooperative body couldn’t fight the drowsiness – I could only manage a slight smile.
“…I see. I asked, but it doesn’t matter.”
Excuse me?
“You’re my Charlotte. My Sharl who received her name from Great-Grandmother and Aunt. Father-in-law and my husband seem done with His Majesty’s whims, you have three brothers who adore you, and most of all – you have me.”
Ah right. Former-sister-in-law married into the family through former-grandmother’s connections, being the youngest daughter of former-grandmother’s house (a marquis family). Her usual gentle demeanor makes it easy to forget, but she’s a formidable power player. That’s way too reliable.
“So live freely as your heart desires, alright?”
Here I suddenly recalled the moment of my birth.
As I was pulled away from that place like being sucked out, Mother was smiling.