The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

A few more days passed when Sable was summoned to the Grand Duke’s study. 

 

Upon arriving, she noticed that along with the Grand Duke and his wife, Percival and another senior knight were staring at a map of the region. 

 

“You requested me, Your Grace?” Sable announced her presence. She slowly approached the table. 

 

“Yes.” Grand Duke Lione looked up. “We’ve managed to track down the route that they were taking, but as of now, the knights have been unable to find any evidence.” 

 

“Are you sure they are planning something?” The senior knight interjected, the question directed at Sable. 

 

She stared back at him in silence. 

 

Grand Duchess Adelaide, who read the mood, spoke up. 

 

“Ah, this is your first time meeting, isn’t it? Sable, this is Reinfred, vice-commander of the Lione Knights.” 

 

The man known as Reinfred had light brown hair and dark green eyes. He was a man at his prime, and although he had a stern expression on his face, Sable felt that the ladies at the Capital would find him quite handsome. His body was well-built, a result of his training and time with the Lione Knights. 

 

She didn’t detect any hostility from him, but the look in his eyes indicated that he didn’t entirely trust her. 

 

“Yes, I am sure.” Sable finally answered his question. 

 

“You’re quite confident.” Reinfred raised a brow. 

 

“If there’s one thing I know about Marquis Marten, he is a man who will scheme behind people’s backs and feign innocence.” She spoke about her father like he was someone unrelated to her. 

 

They could not deny her statement. Marquis Marten was not reputed for being a good man among the nobles in the Capital, but he was still considered to be quite capable. During their investigation in the Capital, the Grand Duke heard from a few nobles who were suspicious of his actions, but without anything to back up their claims, they could not do much. At best, they could question him, but they held little doubt that he would not tell them anything.  

 

Sable glanced at the map. Along with the towns and villages clearly marked, there were other areas that were circled, some crossed out with a line through them. 

 

“A map of the patrols?” 

 

Unaware of her thoughts, Reinfred continued to speak. 

 

“Whatever it is your father’s planning, we’ve yet to find anything.” Reinfred frowned. “Are you sure you didn’t send us on a wild goose chase?”

 

“Reinfred.” Grand Duke Lione gave him a warning look. 

 

“I apologize for my frankness, Your Grace, but if everything she said is true, then she is the daughter of the man who planned an attack on us.” 

 

“She is also the one who alerted us to the assassins in the Capital.” Grand Duke Lione countered. 

 

Reinfred fell silent. 

 

Sable, who was the subject of their conversation, patiently waited until they finished speaking. 

 

“Your Grace, may I inquire about the reason that you requested me for?” 

 

“Ah, I apologize.” Grand Duke Lione cleared his throat. “Before you were taken to the North, did Marquis Marten mention anything about his plans?” 

 

Sable shook her head. 

 

“No. He never told me anything.” 

 

Grand Duke Lione furrowed his brow. He turned to look at the map. 

 

“Percival, what’s the situation in the villages?” 

 

“None of them have reported anything strange happening nor any sign of travelers.” Percival reported. 

 

Sable eyed the map while she listened to them. 

 

“How would I do it?” She thought to herself. 

 

“If I didn’t want any witnesses, I would certainly avoid the villages. Villages are normally tight-knit communities, and they would recognize any strangers immediately. Which means…” 

 

Sable moved her eyes to the area around the villages, where there weren’t any markings. 

 

“Have you checked the forests?” She asked aloud. 

 

The others looked at her. 

 

“Why would we do that?” Reinfred replied, frowning. “Not only would it take a considerable amount of manpower, we wouldn’t even know where to start.” 

 

Sable fell silent, but her gaze never left the map. 

 

“When the outbreak happened, the first to fall were the outer villages. They could send knights out there to help, but then their forces would be stretched too thin. Stationing a knight there would make it easier to warn the rest of the knights but they would still need time to mobilize.” 

 

The more Sable thought about it, the more she could see how someone could manage to pull off such an incident on a large scale. The odds weren’t on her side, but she would find a way to stop them. 

 

“Just how did they get past the beasts, anyway?” 

 

Sable narrowed her eyes. 

 

“...Unless they didn’t.” 

 

“For now, maintain the current patrols.” 

 

“Understood, Your Grace.” Percival saluted. 

 

“If I may, Your Grace?” 

 

“What is it, Sable?” He asked. 

 

“The hunters. I saw some back at the village. Have they seen anything?” She questioned. 

 

The Grand Duke looked towards Percival, but he shook his head. 

 

“As I said before, the villagers have not reported anything.” 

 

“The hunters go out into the woods more often than the knights, do they not?” Sable continued to probe. 

 

“Are you suggesting we use the hunters?” Percival responded. 

 

Sable nodded. 

 

“Inform the hunters, and any villagers, who go out into the forests to keep an eye out. Also, have them report any missing persons or any incidents that have occurred recently.” 

 

When she was met with silence, she finally removed her gaze from the map, only to notice the odd looks that they were giving her. 

 

“...Did I say something wrong?” 

 

“No… it’s nothing.” Grand Duke Lione slowly spoke. “Are you sure that’s how we’ll find them?” 

 

Sable nodded. 

 

“The forests are a perfect place to hide something. If they were planning something, it would most likely be there.” 

 

“Percival, do as she says.” Grand Duke Lione ordered. 

 

“Understood.” 

 

With a salute, Percival left the study. 

 

“Thank you for your help, Sable.” The Grand Duke gave her a grateful nod. 

 

“Of course.” 

 

~~~

 

“Are you sure we can trust her, Your Grace?” 

 

“We’ve been over this, Reinfred.” He responded exasperatedly. 

 

“Did you see the way she looked at the map? She recognized it almost immediately.” 

 

Reinfred had a reputation for being a wary man, and he still harbored suspicions towards Sable. To him, she was the daughter of his enemy. They learned about her disappearance at the Capital, and although they ran a background check on her, they found very little information about her aside from her status as the third daughter of a marquis. 

 

Whether or not it was deliberately hidden by the marquis, her past was a mystery. 

 

“She seems to know exactly what to look for, despite claiming that she doesn’t know anything. Does that not seem suspicious to you?” 

 

“Reinfred, I agree with you that she’s smarter than she appears, but she is still a child. There’s only so much that she’s capable of.” Adelaide sighed. “And we have Isaac watching over her. He’s under strict orders to report anything if she starts acting strange.” 

 

“...Very well, Your Graces.” Going against the husband-wife pair, Reinfred could only back down. 

 

That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t keep an eye on Sable. 

 

~~~ 

 

“Don’t mind Vice Commander Reinfred.” 

 

Isaac suddenly said to her. They were in the library after Sable finished her meeting with the Grand Duke. 

 

Sable looked up from the book she was reading. 

 

“Was he worried about me?” 

 

Isaac was certainly a man of few words, but after spending so much time with him, Sable had started to pick up on his habits. She did not expect much in the beginning as his only task was to watch her, but he was surprisingly considerate. Whenever she wanted to go outside, he would personally grab a coat for her, and he followed through on his offer to help grab the books that she could not reach. 

 

She didn’t pry about his past nor did he pry about hers, but she couldn’t help but be curious. 

 

What Sable didn’t know was that Isaac had asked the Grand Duchess for advice about taking care of her. He was a knight who took his job seriously. 

 

“It’s fine, Sir Isaac. I understand that he was only being careful, and rightfully so. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t trust myself either.” 

 

He frowned at her words. 

 

“Why?” 

 

“Huh?” 

 

“Why wouldn’t you trust yourself?” 

 

“...” 

 

She didn’t know how to respond. 

 

Was it because of her past life? Or was it because she was afraid that she would make another mistake? 

 

Seeing her in a daze, Isaac quietly spoke. 

 

“You are not your father, Sable.” 

 

She flinched. 

 

“No, he’s wrong. He doesn’t know about the things I was willing to do. I’m no better than that man.” 

 

She wanted to refute his words, but the lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. 

 

She didn’t realize how tightly she was gripping the book until Isaac gently pried her hands and placed it onto the table. 

 

“I apologize. It was not my intention to upset you.” He bowed his head. 

 

“No, I…” Sable exhaled. “Do you think they’ll be able to find anything?” 

 

It was a blatant attempt at changing the subject, but thankfully, Isaac did not mind it. 

 

“They will.” He affirmed with a nod. 

 

~~~

 

It wasn’t long before their words came true. 

 

After Sable’s suggestion was relayed to the knights, they acted quickly to inform the villagers. While they faithfully carried out their duties, a few began expressing their doubts after being unable to find anything.

 

Sable, too, started to grow doubts, but those were quickly extinguished when she heard the news. 

 

She was quickly summoned back to the Grand Duke’s study. 

 

The others were gathered around the map of the region, discussing their next move. They seemed to be waiting for her. 

 

Grand Duchess Adelaide, however, was frowning.

 

“Is it really necessary to involve her in this?” 

 

“Your Grace, she is the only one here who is most familiar with her father.” It was Reinfred who responded. 

 

Rather than answer him, she turned to Sable. 

 

“Are you sure about this Sable?” Her concern was evident in her features. 

 

Sable, who was still unused to being treated so kindly, could only push down the strange feelings in her chest. She simply nodded at her question. 

 

Adelaide’s concerned gaze lingered on her, but Sable redirected her attention to the map. 

 

There was a red flag near one of the villages, one that wasn’t there previously. 

 

“A hunter was reported missing this morning after he went out hunting yesterday.” 

 

Percival began his report.