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I had been reborn as a newborn baby, wrapped in a blanket and abandoned in an alley.
"Oh my, what beautiful eyes this child has. Who could leave behind such a lovely little one..."
Just as I was standing there, stunned by the situation, I was picked up by the orphanage director. That was at least a relief. If I had been found by some foul-tempered bastard, my new life would have become a headache.
The director who found me was a truly admirable human being. She knew how to love children and was wise besides. She was on a completely different level from the corrupt directors who always ended up in the newspapers.
"From now on, your name will be Jasmine. Come on, say it after me. Jasmine."
"Jasmine."
"That's right! How clever you are."
Thanks to the director's devoted care, I settled into the orphanage well. As the saying goes, if the source is clear, the stream below will be clear too; the children raised under her turned out to be kindhearted.
"Jasmine, come play with me~"
"No! Jasmine is mine!"
"Why is Jasmine yours!?"
There was just one small problem: they were far too lively. Whenever there was a spare moment, the children clung to me. Sometimes they would snatch away the book I was reading; other times they would suddenly plant kisses all over my cheeks. Ugh...
Still, as someone with the mind of an adult, I couldn't tell these innocent children to get lost. I spent my days being swarmed by them in perfect resignation. It was absolutely not because I enjoyed playing with the children. I was only playing with them because I had no choice!
"You see this map here? This is called the Telsis Continent. And down below is the great nation we live in, Leidenschaftlich."
And that was how I learned that this was the world of Violet Evergarden. I had had a feeling it might be.
"Could I meet Violet?"
Violet Evergarden had left a deep impression on me. If possible, I wanted to meet Violet no matter what.
"The era seems about the same..."
The world of Violet Evergarden was roughly around the time of World War I.
Firearms and artillery were the main weapons, but electricity had not yet come into full use.
If electricity had been available, our orphanage wouldn't have been using candles.
"Director. Is there perhaps an Auto Memories Doll called Violet Evergarden?"
Violet Evergarden would later rise to great fame for ghostwriting opera lyrics and writing love letters for the Drossel family.
Even if one had no interest in the postal industry, any adult who knew society would have at least heard the name.
"Violet Evergarden? That's the first I've heard of any Auto Memories Doll by that name."
"Then... has there perhaps been a war?"
"War? What are you talking about, Jasmine! You've been reading strange books again, haven't you! This won't do. Today, you and the director are going to read five picture books!"
"Pardon?"
And so I ended up reading one dull picture book after another, with neither fun nor inspiration to be found.
Late that night, lying in bed, I swallowed my disappointment.
"If there hasn't even been a war, then this is before the original story begins."
*
As time passed, I realized that my body was special.
I could run around with the other children for long stretches without tiring, and I possessed strength far beyond what should have been normal for my age. I also seemed to be developing faster, growing taller and broader in the shoulders than boys two years older than me.
"Is this because of my previous life?"
That was the only explanation I could think of.
One day, when I was ten years old, a noble visited the orphanage. The reason was obvious.
He had come to adopt a child.
Many children had already been adopted, so it seemed it was finally my turn.
"Teacher, I heard the head of House Basileus has come?"
"Yes, whew... I'm nervous. Why would the head of such a great house suddenly come here?"
House Basileus was a family that never appeared in Violet Evergarden.
But from what I had heard, it was an enormous house.
"Our orphanage is run by House Basileus. And... the head's son died."
"What? Why would the son of such a noble family die all of a sudden?"
"They say he was attacked by bandits while on an inspection tour."
"Goodness. So that's why he's come? Because he needs an heir."
"But in our orphanage, is there really a child fit to become the heir of such a great house...?"
The two teachers looked at each other.
"There is." "There is."
Shortly afterward, I was called to the director's office.
There was a man inside. He was Liatris, the head of House Basileus. There was no information about him in the original work. I didn't know his personality, nor what he believed in.
I studied him carefully.
He sat in the seat of honor and looked back at me.
He had purple hair and sharply defined features. An imposing face.
"This child is said to be the most intelligent."
"Y-yes... Jasmine learned to read and speak at a very young age. And she has shown interest in scholarship as well—"
"Enough."
Head Liatris cut off the director's words. The director, who had been enthusiastically praising me, became silent as a stone.
Once again, I could feel his power. With a single word from Head Liatris, not only the director but this orphanage itself could be shut down at once.
"Child. What is your name?"
Head Liatris asked lazily. His blue eyes fixed on me.
I answered calmly.
"I'm Jasmine. What's your name, sir?"
I heard the director draw in a sharp breath. He knew the head's name, of course, but I asked out of politeness.
"How bold. Are you not afraid of me?"
"You won't harm me, will you? Then there is no reason to be afraid."
This world would face a great war in a little over ten years.
I intended to stop that war. To do that, I would need considerable power.
For someone from an orphanage to seize power was nearly impossible. This world still retained its aristocracy, so if I was going to begin at all, I needed to start from a high place.
In that sense, being adopted by Head Liatris was the best possible outcome.
From what I had learned, House Basileus was one of the most prominent great houses in Leidenschaftlich.
If I became the heir to that family, I could gain tremendous power.
"The head came here to look for an heir, not a cute child. I should show him that I'm intelligent and confident."
"Hmm..."
Head Liatris sipped his coffee, his upper lip twitching slightly.
"I'll take this child."
"Understood, sir. Jasmine! Hurry and get ready."
And so I became the heir to a great house.
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