The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

“The hunter is a resident of Snowfall Village. He has a wife and two children, and he’s one of the many hunters of the village. Hunters normally go out in the morning and return by nightfall, but according to his wife, he didn’t return last night and none of the hunters were able to locate him.” 

 

“The villagers believe that he encountered an accident when he was coming back from hunting, as the scent of a carcass can lure beasts, and he was forced to take shelter. The hunters say it isn’t common, but it does happen. As per our orders, they reported the incident to the knights who arrived to patrol the area.” 

 

Percival pointed to the red flag on the map. 

 

“We believe that somewhere around this spot was the area that he was hunting in. It’s a common hunting ground for the hunters at the village as it isn’t located too far into the forest. While there have been a few incidents with beasts in the past, the area is relatively safe. As of now, a squad of three knights remained at the village to help them investigate.” 

 

Percival concluded his report. 

 

Sable frowned. 

 

“He’s probably dead.” She didn’t voice this thought aloud. 

 

As the others were discussing, Sable focused on the map. 

 

The area the missing hunter was in was located northeast from the village. Snowfall Village,  itself, was one of the outer villages. Based on the map, the immediate area around it had been cleared of trees, and a few established roads led to and from the village. 

 

Curiously, the area beyond the flag was unmarked. 

 

She lightly tugged on Isaac’s sleeve. 

 

“Sir Isaac, why is that area unmarked?” She asked in a quiet voice as to not interrupt the others.  

 

“The unexplored region.” Came his reply. 

 

A pensive expression crossed her face, and she closed her eyes. 

 

“How long will it take to get to the village?” Grand Duke Lione questioned.

 

“About an hour on horseback, Your Grace.” Percival replied. 

 

“How long have they been searching?” 

 

“According to the knight who reported back, the hunters and the knights who stayed behind were organizing a search party. If they haven’t found him yet, they should still be searching as we speak.” 

 

Reinfred placed a hand under his chin and looked at the map. 

 

“What concerns me is how close they are to the unexplored region.” 

 

“Hm.” Grand Duke Lione hummed in agreement. “What do you think, Sable?” 

 

He was met with silence. 

 

“Sable?” 

 

Her eyes fluttered open. 

 

“...Without visiting the site myself, I can’t speak for certain.” She replied. 

 

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that.” Adelaide frowned and shook her head. “Forgive me Sable, but you’ve just recovered. If you are suggesting to join the knights in the unexplored region, then it is far too dangerous for you to go.”

 

Sable, expecting her response, tried to reason with her. 

 

“I am aware of the dangers, but even so, it would be better than waiting every few hours for any news of the search.” Adelaide opened her mouth to speak, but Sable continued. “I am not suggesting that I will join the search, but the knights can set up a base camp at the village where I can stay. And Isaac will be there to watch me.”

 

She turned to Isaac for confirmation, and he nodded back. 

 

Adelaide sighed, but she didn’t voice her disapproval. 

 

“What about you, Sebastian?” She turned to her husband. 

 

Grand Duke Lione stared at Sable, who met his gaze unflinchingly. 

 

“While it is dangerous, I do agree with her, Adelaide.” He looked at his wife. “This could just be a simple accident, but we have to rule out the possibility that it isn’t.” 

 

Adelaide pinched the bridge of her nose. 

 

“Fine.” She finally agreed. “Isaac, you are to make sure that she doesn’t leave your sight.” 

 

“Understood, Your Grace.” He saluted. 

 

“Percival, saddle up the horses.” Grand Duke Lione ordered. 

 

Sable looked back to the map. 

 

“For their sake and mine, I hope I’m wrong…”

 

~~~ 

 

Isaac secured his arms around Sable as he urged his horse forward. Excluding himself and Sable, the Grand Duke chose to take along Percival and seven other knights to join the search party. Their plan was to establish a base camp in the village, and the Grand Duke would command the search from there. 

 

Isaac looked down at the little girl he was tasked to keep an eye on. 

 

His first impression of Sable was that she was weak. One look at her, and anyone could tell how small and thin she was. The winter coats appeared large on her, to the point that the sleeves covered her hands. 

 

However, it wasn’t long before Isaac realized that his impression was slightly off. 

 

She was certainly weak, but she had an almost uncanny level of awareness. Several times, Isaac caught her watching the knights with a focused gaze, and it didn’t take her long to figure out that Isaac was assigned to watch her. She seemed to know that they suspected that she was a noble, but she only confirmed it when it was necessary. 

 

Unlike Isadora, she rarely revealed what she truly felt. Isaac would catch glimpses of emotion in her eyes, and there was a moment where he thought he saw her smile, but during his time escorting her, Sable’s face remained expressionless. 

 

For a time, her eyes appeared blank and disconnected from the world. It was only until recently that her eyes regained their light. 

 

Originally, he was only following his orders, but that all changed the day he found her hugging herself on her bed. 

 

He could clearly tell that she experienced a nightmare, but she made no attempt to speak about it. In the following days, the bags under her eyes indicated that her nightmares were recurring, but Sable remained silent. 

 

It was hard to watch someone so frail try to shoulder so much burden.

 

From that day onwards, he carefully kept his eye on her, and he even seeked out the Grand Duchess for advice. Isaac hoped that one day he could be someone she could rely on, or at least lessen the burden she was carrying. 

 

Although, if there was one thing he was curious about, it was the brief moment where he detected mana from her. 

 

There was more to Sable than meets the eye. 

 

...Something that would be made clear once again. 

 

~~~

 

The sun was almost at its apex in the sky by the time they arrived at the village. A few villagers were confused by their presence, they were grateful for the help in locating the missing hunter. 

 

A base camp was quickly set up in the village chief’s house and they were informed that the search party would be checking in soon. It seemed that they hadn’t found the hunter yet. 

 

As they were setting up, Sable took the opportunity to look around the village. Like the previous one, the villagers were going about their day, but Sable could see their concern for their missing hunter. 

 

With news of the Grand Duke’s arrival spreading, some of the villagers had relieved expressions, fully confident that they would find him. There were a few who grew more concerned, but they would not be the ones to ruin the hopeful mood. 

 

Sable sighed deeply. She wished she could be as optimistic as they were. 

 

She stepped back inside the village chief’s house. 

 

“I hope everything is to your liking, Your Grace.” The village chief lowered his head. He was an old man who probably lived most of his life in the village. 

 

“Of course, village chief.” The Grand Duke stopped the chief from lowering his head further. “There’s no need to do so much.”

 

“Nonsense, Your Grace.” The village chief shook his head. “It is an honor that you would personally come to aid us. I apologize for the trouble that young man has caused you.” 

 

“It is my duty to take care of my people.” Grand Duke Lione replied. 

 

The village chief nodded gratefully. 

 

“If there is anything you need, please tell me.” 

 

“The wife of the hunter, could you summon her?” Grand Duke Lione asked. 

 

“Right away.” The village chief turned to his assistant and ordered him to do so. 

 

He quickly returned with the hunter’s wife. 

 

She was a mature woman, whom Sable thought looked quite pretty. Her two children trailed behind her. The oldest of the two was a teenage girl, and the youngest was a small boy, even younger than Sable. 

 

Sable observed her appearance. 

 

The hunter’s wife appeared calm and she greeted the chief and the others with a smile, but the way she was holding her hands together betrayed the concern she felt for her husband. 

 

“Did you call for me, Your Grace?” As expected, she already knew about the Grand Duke’s arrival. 

 

“Please, have a seat.” Grand Duke Lione gestured for her to sit down across from him. “Could you tell us about your husband?” 

 

She furrowed her brows in confusion. 

 

“We would like to hear the details about it ourselves.” He added after seeing her expression. 

 

“Oh, of course.” She slowly breathed out. 

 

“Yesterday afternoon, he told me that he would go out hunting again. He’s usually careful and always returns on time, so I didn’t think much about it.” She paused. “But then he didn’t return. At first, I thought he was running late or he was talking to one of the other hunters, but he still didn’t come back home even when the sun set. I talked to the other villagers, but everyone said they hadn’t seen him.” 

 

“The hunters told me that sometimes accidents happen and he may have had to take shelter, so they tried looking for him, but no one could find him. When the knights arrived this morning, we remembered the order you gave us, so we reported it.” 

 

She looked down at her hands. 

 

“...Your Grace, you will find him, right?” 

 

“Of course.” He responded earnestly. 

 

Only Isaac noticed Sable’s stiff expression. 

 

Before Sable could speak up, she suddenly heard voices outside and footsteps approaching the house. She looked questioningly at Isaac, but he shook his head once to indicate that he didn’t know what was happening. They both turned to the doorway. 

 

Three knights entered and saluted the Grand Duke. 

 

“Your Grace.” 

 

They were the knights from the search party. 

 

Recognizing them, the wife of the hunter stood up with a hopeful expression. 

 

“Did you find him?” 

 

One of the knights shook her head with a frustrated expression. 

 

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We’re still looking.” 

 

“I see…” The woman’s hands were clenched at her sides. With a shaky breath, she reached out to her kids. 

 

“Why can’t you find him?” Her son spoke up suddenly. “Why can’t you find my dad? Aren’t you the Lione Knights?” 

 

None of the knights responded to him. A tense silence filled the room. 

 

“Excuse me.” Sable broke the silence. “Can we look inside your house?” 

 

Finally noticing her, the three knights frowned in confusion. 

 

“Your Grace, who is she?” 

 

“She is someone who can help.” Grand Duke Lione answered. 

 

Sable’s fingers twitched when she heard his response. 

 

“Can we take a look inside your house?” She repeated her question to the woman. 

 

The hunter’s wife, not knowing how to respond, looked at the Grand Duke. He nodded back. 

 

“Oh, um, right this way.” She said, after a moment of hesitation. 

 

The hunter’s wife led them back to her house. Only Sable, Isaac, and the Grand Duke followed. The other knights were told to stay behind and help the search party. 

 

When Sable entered the house, she gave the interior a once-over. Similar to Claire’s house, the home looked small, but comfortable. Sable inwardly felt that it was a nice home to live in. 

 

Shaking her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts, she turned to the hunter’s wife. 

 

“Where is your husband’s room?” 

 

“Over here.” She led them to a pair of two doors. 

 

The door on the left was slightly ajar, and Sable could tell that it was the children’s room, judging from the two separate beds and the toys littered across the floor. 

 

The hunter’s wife opened the door on the right. Inside, there was a large bed, enough for two people to lay in. The room was relatively tidy, a few coats hanging over chairs and some personal belongings on top of drawers. 

 

Sable glanced to the side at the Grand Duke and Isaac. 

 

“It should be fine.” 

 

She took a deep breath and narrowed her focus. 

 

Time seemed to slow down around her.