The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

“She’s suffering from nightmares?” Adelaide’s eyes widened when she heard Claire’s report. She was reviewing paperwork when Claire came in and reported on Sable’s condition. 

 

“She’s likely traumatized, Your Grace.” Claire grimaced. “I’ve seen the same symptoms with recruits who’ve been attacked or lost their comrades to beasts.” 

 

Adelaide ran a hand through her hair, something she often did when she was stressed. 

 

“How is she now?” She asked. 

 

“She’s calmed down after I gave her a special brew of herbal tea, and Isaac is with her.” Claire replied. “But…”

 

“What is it?” 

 

“She doesn’t trust us, Your Grace.” Claire sighed. “She won’t say a word about her nightmare no matter how much we tried to ask.” 

 

Adelaide closed her eyes and breathed deeply. After this incident, the few remaining doubts she had about Sable were cleared away. 

 

“Her distrust is understandable considering what she went through. It will probably take some time for her to trust the adults around her. For now, we can only keep an eye on her.” 

 

“Understood, Your Grace.” 

 

~~~

 

Sable was humming softly as she read. After eating a light breakfast in her room, she was back in the library, continuing her research on the region. She was grateful that the Grand Duchess did not invite her to eat breakfast with the mother-daughter duo. Sable was not in the mood to talk anytime soon. 

 

She felt Isaac’s gaze on her back, but she deliberately focused her attention on the book she was reading. 

 

The bestiaries were certainly interesting enough. 

 

While much of the North remained uncharted, a variety of beasts had been discovered. Some were harmless like the deer and the hare that Sable passed by on the way to the castle. Others were much more dangerous. 

 

Of particular note were the draconids. Draconids were large, reptilian creatures that walked on all fours. They could breathe fire and were nocturnal creatures, making them a serious threat to any villages that encountered them. Although they could not fly, draconids had incredible physical abilities and they could cover large distances by leaping. Fortunately, they were solitary creatures so a squad of knights was enough to deal with one. 

 

Another noteworthy beast was the wolves. Unlike draconids, wolves hunted in packs and coordinated their attacks. Using their teamwork, wolves could take down much larger beasts, let alone humans. There were even rare sightings of dire wolves, a much larger and stronger variant of the wolf. Luckily for the residents of the North, wolves avoided human settlements and remained in their territory within the forests. Entering the territory of wolves was akin to gambling with one’s life. 

 

As Sable continued to read the bestiary, she heard footsteps approaching her table. She looked up to see Isadora take a seat across from her. 

 

“Lady Isadora?” 

 

“No need for the formalities. The only people who call me ‘Lady’ are the servants and the knights.” Isadora replied jokingly. 

 

“What brings you here?” Sable brushed it aside. 

 

“Last night, you said you would tutor me.” Isadora smiled at her. “So here I am.” 

 

Sable blinked in surprise. 

 

“So soon?” 

 

“Better now than later.” Isadora shrugged her shoulders. She leaned forward and whispered. “And the sooner I’m done, the sooner I can go train.” 

 

Sable slowly nodded in understanding. 

 

“What are you having trouble with?” 

 

At her words, Isadora placed a book on territory management down in front of her. 

 

“As the future heiress to the dukedom, Mother wishes for me to learn how to manage the territory.” Isadora explained. “Specifically, which policies to enact and how to implement those policies.” 

 

“How much do you know?” 

 

“Enough.” 

 

Sable gave her a skeptical look. 

 

“I’ve barely started.” Isadora grinned sheepishly. 

 

“Let’s start with the basics then.” 

 

~~~

 

The next few days were spent researching and tutoring Isadora in the library. For Sable, their lessons were a welcome distraction. She had been plagued with nightmares since that night, and she was getting less and less sleep. Isaac and Claire were getting more worried about her, but she brushed their concerns away. 

 

Despite her occasional complaints, Isadora proved to be a diligent student. She listened carefully to Sable’s lectures and she would come to her if she had any questions. 

 

Although they did not voice their thoughts, Isadora and Isaac were surprised at Sable’s intelligence. She spoke eloquently about the subjects and her answers to Isadora’s questions were clear and concise. When she wasn’t lecturing, she was reading various books.

 

They would have given it more thought, if not for the fact that Sable seemed ready to collapse at any moment. There were dark circles under her eyes and her skin looked paler than before. . 

 

“Sable.” Isadora called out her name. 

 

“Yes, Lady Isadora?” Sable glanced up from the book she was reading. 

 

Usually, Isadora would insist on dropping the ‘Lady’ from her name, but she was too worried about Sable to correct her. 

 

“Would you like to attend training with me?” Isadora offered, but quickly added. “Not join me per se, but as an observer.” 

 

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m afraid I will have to decline.” Sable shook her head slowly. 

 

“Come on.” Isadora didn’t back down. “There are some things you can’t learn from a book, you know.” 

 

“That’s certainly true.” Sable conceded. At Isadora’s expectant look, she huffed out a breath. 

 

“Only for a few minutes.” She gave up trying to resist and closed the book. 

 

Isadora’s face broke into a relieved grin. 

 

“Wait here.” Isaac said before leaving the library. Not soon after, he returned holding a cloak and handed it to Sable. 

 

Sable thanked him with a nod. Isadora waited until Sable put on the coat before the three of them left the library together and headed to the training grounds outside. 

 

The weather was clear and the sun shone brightly in the sky. Making sure to wrap the cloak tightly around her, Sable took in a deep breath. 

 

The air that entered her lungs was cool and refreshing. After having been cooped up inside for the past few days, she found that being outside was not unpleasant. 

 

Once they arrived at the training grounds, Sable spotted several knights sparring and training with one another. Percival, who was supervising the training, spotted Isadora and called the knights to stand at attention. 

 

“Welcome Lady Isadora, Lady Sable.” Percival saluted them. 

 

“Sable is here as an observer.” Isadora explained. “Shall we get started?” 

 

“Of course, my lady.” Percival bowed. 

 

Isadora and Percival left to grab wooden swords, and Sable and Isaac stood to the side of the training grounds. 

 

While they waited, Sable took the time to observe the knights. Some of them were sparring while others went through practice drills on dummies. 

 

Of course, Sable could not just simply observe. She mentally noted everything she saw. Which knights were right-handed and which were left-handed. Which knights appeared to struggle more than others. 

 

Although Sable knew that she stood no chance if she were to get into a fight with these knights, she knew the value of information. And besides, even if it was useless information, it might come in handy one day. 

 

Without taking her eyes off of the knights, she asked Isaac a question. 

 

“Are you not going to join them, Sir Isaac?” 

 

“I am your escort, my lady.” 

 

Sable made a small noise of acknowledgement. Although he did not say it aloud, Sable discerned the meaning behind his words. He could not leave her side unless he was ordered to. 

 

By this time, Isadora and Percival returned wearing protective equipment and wooden swords. Isadora had her hair tied back into a ponytail, which Sable thought suited her quite well. 

 

Percival first made her run through the practice drills, which were effortlessly done by Isadora. Every now and then, Percival would correct her posture, but she made very few mistakes. 

 

“She’s more studious about her training than she is about her studies.” Sable thought wryly. 

 

After she was done, Percival moved to stand opposite her and held up his wooden sword. 

 

Isadora took up a stance and the two stared at each other, waiting for one of them to move. 

 

It was Isadora who struck first. She lunged forward with a slash, but Percival easily deflected it aside. Using the momentum, Isadora swung around and swung at him again. 

 

Sable noticed that Percival made no move to strike Isadora, rather he maintained his guard. It seemed that the goal here was for Isadora to land a hit on Percival. While her swordplay was impressive, Sable knew that it would be difficult to break through the guard of an experienced knight like Percival. 

 

After a while, Sable could see that while Isadora was running out of breath, she did not show any signs of stopping. All of her attacks were deflected by Percival, but she continued to go on the offensive, trying to poke and prod him for any sign of an opening. 

 

Sable stared at them thoughtfully. She tilted her head to the side and placed her hand on her chin. Slowing her breathing, she focused on the pair. 

 

Time seemed to slow down all around her. Analyzing their slowed movements, Sable narrowed her gaze on Percival. He truly was a formidable opponent for Isadora. Sable could see that the old knight was showing her no openings. 

 

“Where?” 

 

She continued to analyze him until she spotted it. It was extremely subtle, but the moment that their swords collided, Percival shifted his weight to his left leg. 

 

A ghost of a smile crossed Sable’s face. 

 

Time resumed to its normal flow. Sable breathed out slowly, before turning to meet the gaze on her back. Isaac was staring at her suspiciously. 

 

“Is something wrong, Sir Isaac?” Sable feigned ignorance. 

 

“...” 

 

For a very brief moment, Isaac detected a small amount of mana emitting from Sable. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it was there. 

 

Isaac could not hide the suspicion in his eyes, but Sable maintained her silence. The two entered a staring contest, but it was interrupted when they heard a voice call out to them. 

 

“Isaac! Sable!” 

 

They turned at the same time. 

 

Waving at them, was Claire. She lightly jogged over with a curious expression. 

 

“What brings the two of you here?” Claire inquired. 

 

“Lady Isadora invited me to watch her training.” Sable answered. 

 

Claire nodded. She stood next to Sable and watched Isadora and Percival sparring. 

 

“How are you feeling?” Claire gave Sable a worried glance. 

 

“I’m fine.” Came her curt response. 

 

Sensing that Sable had no intention of talking, Claire could only drop the topic. 

 

“Shall we call it, my lady?” Percival called out. At this point, Isadora was too tired to continue. 

 

With a frustrated huff, Isadora lowered her sword. Again, she failed to land any hits on Percival. She heard the knights praise her skills with the sword, but she felt that she was still lacking. 

 

“Do not fault yourself, my lady.” Percival gave her a kind smile. “You are still young, there is plenty of room for growth.” 

 

Isadora wrinkled her nose. She knew that he was right, but it was still frustrating when she could not achieve the results she desired. 

 

“While your moves were certainly impressive, they were still predictable.” Percival pointed out the issues in her swordplay. “You are still young so it can’t be helped, but you cannot always rely on the weight of the sword to carry your strikes.” 

 

Isadora listened intently to his words. 

 

“Shall we continue training or…” Percival’s voice trailed off as he glanced over at Sable. Any other day, Isadora would have resumed training, but she remembered the reason for taking Sable outside. 

 

“I’m afraid we will have to cut it short today.” Isadora smiled apologetically. Percival gave her an understanding nod and left to supervise the other knights. 

 

Isadora walked back to Sable. As she approached, she overheard Claire’s question towards Sable. 

 

“While the two of you are here, would you like to visit the greenhouse?”