The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

The outbreak of beasts and monsters in the North would lead to an unprecedented loss of life. Beasts of all kinds emerged from the forests and attacked any nearby village or settlement. Faced with attacks from multiple directions, the Lione Knights had no choice but to split their forces in order to deal with the horde. 

 

They quickly found out that this was a mistake. 

 

Normally, a few knights could take down several beasts with ease, but the sheer number of the horde had overwhelmed the knights. Not only that, but they also had to defend any survivors that they found, and many knights sacrificed themselves to allow the survivors to escape. 

 

The outbreak only lasted for a few days, but the damage was severe. Several villages were lost and numerous citizens as well as more than half of the Lione Knights were killed. A few northern nobles were also killed in the outbreak. 

 

News of the tragedy circulated throughout the kingdom. Many were shocked. They were unprepared for the significant loss of life in a time of peace. 

 

For Grand Duke Lione, it was a major setback. He not only had to deal with wandering beasts, but he also had to rebuild his forces and the duchy from the ground up. It would take him a few years to train and strengthen his knights back to their former glory. 

 

At first glance, it seemed like a natural disaster. After all, attacks from beasts were not unheard of in the North and many concluded that it was just an unfortunate incident. 

 

However, Sable found it strange that there were no previous incidents of outbreaks. Sable expected to find at least some evidence of an outbreak in the past, but there were no records in the history books. 

 

Another strange thing was that the Grand Duke was caught off guard by the outbreak. It was hard to believe that the Guardian of the North would not notice any strange behavior from the beasts in the region. Doubly so, when the Lione family had lived in the North since the founding of the kingdom. 

 

However, Sable had no concrete evidence to support her suspicions. At best, they would treat it as the imaginative words of a child and ignore her. If there was a previous incident, then maybe her chances would have been better, but there were none. 

 

There was also the time limit to consider. The outbreak of beasts would happen in the Winter, but it was still Midsummer. A preemptive investigation would be ideal, but Sable did not know if it was too early. 

 

Although if her past life was anything to go by, she would rather be too early than too late. 

 

She needed to give them a reason to investigate. Sable crossed her arms and became lost in her thoughts.  

 

Isaac, who was standing at the side, observed her. The child did not say much, but her expressions were surprisingly easy to read. Based on the odd look she gave him earlier, it seemed like she wanted to say something to him, but decided against it. Isaac could not help but be curious about what she wanted to say. 

 

There was something inherently childish about a child acting like an adult, but Isaac did not detect any of that in her actions. Sable acted with certainty and very little hesitation. Why she wanted to read the history books, Isaac didn’t know, but he could only continue to watch over her. 

 

Unaware of what Isaac was thinking about, Sable moved back to bookshelves and started looking at the bestiaries. She needed all the information she could get her hands on. 

 

The books were located higher up on the shelf and she realized that they were out of her reach. As she was figuring what to do, a hand appeared from behind her and grabbed the book she was looking at. Turning around, she saw Isaac holding it out for her. 

 

Sable blinked dumbly. 

 

“...Thank you, Sir Isaac.” She awkwardly thanked him. “Could I trouble you to grab a few more books for me?” 

 

“Which do you need?” 

 

“The bestiaries. Two or three is fine.” Sable sat down at the table and Isaac placed the rest of the books she asked for beside her. 

 

Sable studied up on the behaviors of the beasts in the region. If she wanted to substantiate her claims, then she would need to be thorough, and in order to detect any abnormalities, she needed to familiarize herself with what was normal. She also wasn’t a resident of the North so she knew very little about how to interact with beasts. 

 

For the next few hours, the brief moments of silence in the library were interrupted by the occasional sound of pages being turned. At some point, Isaac joined Sable at the table and was reading a book of his own. 

 

Both of them looked up when they heard the door to the library open. Pierce subtly raised a brow at the pair before clearing his throat. 

 

“Pardon the intrusion, Lady Sable. Her Grace has asked you to join her and Lady Isadora for dinner.” Pierce relayed the message from the Grand Duchess. 

 

Sable made a mental note of her place in the book she was currently reading and shut it. She stood up and lightly stretched her body. 

 

“Please, follow me.” 

 

With Pierce leading the way, it did not take them long to reach the dining hall. 

 

Sable spotted the Grand Duchess near the end of the table with a young girl next to her. The chair at the head of the table was empty, presumably where the Grand Duke sat. 

 

Pierce guided Sable to the seat across the Grand Duchess, while Isaac took up a post behind her. 

 

As the food was being served, Sable peeked at the girl sitting next to the Grand Duchess. She was not more than two years older than Sable, but she was considerably beautiful, and she bore a striking resemblance to Grand Duchess Adelaide. 

 

“I don’t believe the two of you have met yet.” Noticing Sable peeking at her daughter, Adelaide smiled. “This is my daughter, Isadora. Isadora, this is Sable.” 

 

Isadora examined the small girl in front of her. 

 

“The knights were talking about you.” She stated. “Something about a lost child.”

 

“Isadora.” There was a warning tone to Grand Duchess Adelaide’s voice. 

 

“Is that so?” Sable was beyond the point of caring. She wasn’t a stranger to rumors and there were more pressing things to worry about. 

 

Seeing Sable’s lack of a reaction, the mother-daughter pair had odd expressions. Isadora originally wanted to gauge the younger girl, but she didn’t expect Sable to react that way. 

 

“Were you able to find everything okay at the library, Sable?” Grand Duchess Adelaide quickly changed the subject. 

 

“Yes, Sir Isaac helped me out.” Sable responded. 

 

“Really? What books were you reading?” Isadora asked. 

 

“History books and some bestiaries.” 

 

“Why?” 

 

“I like to study.” It wasn’t a lie. 

 

“Maybe you could learn a thing or two from her, Isadora.” Adelaide smirked at her daughter. 

 

Isadora pouted. “I’d much rather swing a sword.” 

 

“But you still need to keep up with your studies.” Adelaide countered. 

 

“Is this how normal families act?” Watching their interaction, the hollow feeling grew inside Sable. She breathed slowly to calm herself down. 

 

“Perhaps Sable can help you?” Adelaide looked at the younger girl for confirmation. 

 

“...Are you sure?” Sable furrowed her brow. “I’m not as intelligent as you think I am.” 

 

“Either way, it would be good for her to have a friend around her age help her study.” 

 

Sable froze. 

 

“...Friend?” 

 

“Is something the matter?” Adelaide gave her a concerned look. 

 

“No, it’s nothing.” Sable dropped her gaze. “If Lady Isadora does not mind, then I will do what I can.” 

 

She ignored the lingering look from Adelaide. 

 

“I guess I don’t have much choice in the matter.” Isadora scrunched her nose. 

 

The rest of the dinner went by uneventfully. Sable mostly listened to their idle conversations, and she would answer the occasional question directed at her. Once she finished her meal, Sable politely excused herself and retreated to the guest bedroom. 

 

~~~

 

Sable’s eyes snapped open. At first glance, the world around her was completely dark, but she soon realized that she was on her back, looking up at the night sky. She attempted to get up but found that she couldn’t move her limbs no matter how much she tried. 

 

When she moved her head to look around, a slight sense of panic filled her being. 

 

She was laying in the snowy clearing. 

 

Except this time, there were no stars in the sky, no glowing blue butterfly, no knights to save her. There were no signs of any life nearby. 

 

Her surroundings were still and she could not hear anything in the deafening silence. 

 

Sable was completely and utterly alone. 

 

“This is a dream. It isn’t real.” She tried to rationalize the situation she was in, but the fear gnawed at her from the inside. Tears streamed down her face. 

 

“Please… Not again…” 

 

She wanted to move, but her body wasn’t listening to her. 

 

“No… I don’t want to be alone…”

 

“Someone… anyone…” 

 

“Don’t leave me… I’m scared…” 

 

“I don’t want to die…” 

 

Sable’s cries rang out in the silence, but there was no answer. Nobody was coming to save her from her nightmare. 

 

The darkness moved all around her, its shadowy tendrils began to drag her in. Her cries became more desperate, but they came out more muffled than before, as if she were somewhere far away. 

 

With her body paralyzed, she helplessly watched as the darkness completely enveloped her. 

 

Everything became black. 

 

~~~ 

 

Sable gasped for air as she struggled to breathe. Sobs wracked her small body, and she was shivering violently. She curled up and hugged her knees to her chest. Although the nightmare was over, the feelings of helplessness and fear remained. 

 

It was still dark out, but Sable was too afraid to go back to sleep. Unable to stand the silence, she began to lightly hum. 

 

The sun was starting to rise by the time that Isaac and a maid found her, but Sable was in a lethargic state. 

 

Isaac sent the maid away to summon Claire. He grabbed a chair and sat down next to her bed. 

 

“If you want to talk, I’ll be right here.” His voice was soft. Isaac was not used to dealing with children, but he had seen people suffer from nightmares. Right now, Sable clearly needed someone to support her. 

 

When she heard his words, Sable stared at Isaac with empty eyes. 

 

“Why do you care?” Her voice came out weak and frail. 

 

“Someone has to.” He replied. 

 

Sable slowly nodded. She didn’t say another word, but she started to softly hum.