The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

Grand Duke Lione and Grand Duchess Adelaide shared a look of alarm. Although they couldn’t fully understand the conversation as they couldn’t hear Bel, the mere mention of the Fallen One was enough to draw their attention. 

 

“That’s impossible.” Grand Duke Lione spoke. “The Fallen One was sealed hundreds of years ago. What does she have to do with all of this?” 

 

Auberon simply shook his head. 

 

“She lost the war, but she was never sealed away.” 

 

“Excuse me.” Sable interrupted. “Who is the Fallen One?” 

 

It was a name that she nor Bel had heard before. 

 

“She is the enemy of the Archangel.” Adelaide began. 

 

Hundreds of years ago, before the Teodora Kingdom was created, the continent was embroiled in a holy war between the Archangel and the Fallen One. The Archangel fought to bring order and peace to the continent. On the other side, the Fallen One simply wanted to bring out the dark side of humanity. 

 

Although her motives were simple, the consequences that her actions brought about were no joke. Taking advantage of human greed and corruption, she orchestrated several wars all across the continent. Villages were razed to the ground as countries and kingdoms fought to expand their reign and power. Empires rose and fell just as quickly. 

 

It was a bloodbath. 

 

Forced to take action, the Archangel gathered her forces to fight against the Fallen One. Eventually, after a bitter struggle, they were able to win the war, and the Fallen One disappeared, believed to have been sealed away. 

 

As the years went by, the name of the Fallen One was slowly forgotten. In the Teodora Kingdom, outside of the Church, only the royal family and the major noble families remembered the name, so it was no surprise that Sable had never heard of her. 

 

Since there had been no signs of the Fallen One in recent years, it was an unspoken belief that she was still sealed away. However, Auberon’s words were now shattering that long-held belief. 

 

“If your words are true, Lord Auberon, then wouldn’t the Church have made an announcement?” Adelaide questioned. 

 

“I am afraid that even the Church was caught off-guard.” Auberon shook his head. “A hundred years is a long time to wait for human beings, but for divine beings, it can pass by in the blink of an eye. And for the Fallen One, it is plenty of time to move about in the shadows.” 

 

As everyone fell silent, Auberon glanced at Sable and Bel, quietly observing their reaction. 

 

Both were locked in deep contemplation. It seemed that they were now involved in something much bigger than they had originally thought. 

 

Bel suddenly chuckled to herself. 

 

“How do I kill a divine being?” 

 

Sable blinked dumbly. 

 

“You’re not seriously considering…” Her voice trailed off. 

 

“Oh, but I am, little Sable.” Bel sneered, but after seeing Sable’s expression, she waved her hands in a placating manner. “Don’t worry, I won’t endanger Lady Isadora’s life, her family’s lives nor ours.” 

 

“However, I do need to borrow your body for a moment.” 

 

Sable stared at her for a moment, before she nodded. She carefully passed the Winter’s Tear over to Isadora. 

 

“Could you hold this for a moment?” Sable requested. 

 

Puzzled, Isadora looked at her questioningly, but she gently took the flower from Sable. 

 

Sable smiled at her then turned back to Bel. 

 

This was the first time that Bel had formally requested to use her body. Although they both discussed using this ability in the past, Bel rarely requested to switch with her, not since she forcefully took control back in the forest. 

 

Sable had once asked why Bel didn’t use it more often when they were alone, but Bel only replied disinterestedly. 

 

“I’ll only use it when absolutely necessary.” That was her reply. 

 

Now that she was asking, Sable was more curious than anything. 

 

Bel’s body slowly dissipated, turning into glowing, blue particles of light that drifted towards Sable’s body. Sable felt the strange feeling of being pulled away from her own body. She closed her eyes and willingly allowed herself to get carried away. 

 

When she opened her eyes, Sable was floating slightly off the ground and staring at her own face. It was a surreal experience. 

 

Auberon, who could see their exchange, watched this happen with curiosity. 

 

The first to notice that something was different about Sable was Isadora. Her body stiffened, and she subconsciously shifted away from Sable as she stared at her with a guarded expression. 

 

“Who are you?” 

 

While she still had her eyes closed, Sable breathed in slowly. When she opened her eyes, Isadora and her parents felt a shiver go down their spine. 

 

Sable’s entire demeanor had changed. There was a blank smile pasted onto her face that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her gaze revealed very little emotion, looking over everyone with a cold, calculating manner that resembled a snake waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Unconsciously, she corrected her posture ever so slightly. 

 

This was not the Sable they knew. 

 

Taking advantage of their silence, Sable took the opportunity to introduce herself. 

 

“I greet Grand Duke Lione, Grand Duchess Lione, and Lady Isadora.” She executed a perfect curtsy. “You may call me Bel.” 

 

They didn’t reply, only eyeing her warily. 

 

Bel chuckled inwardly as she found their reactions amusing. 

 

“Perhaps this will help explain things.” Bel held out her hand, and a small, blue butterfly seemingly appeared from nowhere. 

 

“...The guardian angel?” Grand Duchess Adelaide furrowed her brows. 

 

“What did you do to Sable?” Isadora questioned her, a hint of worry flashing across her eyes. 

 

Bel stared at her for a moment with a contemplative gaze. 

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll return her to you shortly.” Bel flashed her emotionless smile. 

 

Turning away from them, she looked at Auberon and immediately activated her ability. 

 

Unlike Sable, who only inherited her memories, Bel had more experience and knew the subtle nuances of using her ability. After all, she had plenty of time to practice. 

 

When she revealed her ability to the Marquis in the previous life, he put her to work immediately. She was dragged along by him to parties and meetings hosted by other nobles. Each time, her task was to find out as much information as she could — especially anything that could be used against the people the Marquis didn’t get along with. 

 

All of her senses were solely focused on Auberon, paying attention to any minute changes in his tone and body language. 

 

She would figure out if Auberon was lying to her or not. 

 

“Now, what role do you play in all of this?” She questioned. 

 

In all of their interactions, not once did Bel trust the dire wolf’s intentions. His convenient timing, his strangely cooperative manner, his willingness to help them, all of it was clouded in a veil of secrecy. 

 

They may both be blessed by the Archangel, but that didn’t mean that Bel liked her comrade-in-arms. 

 

Sensing the underlying hostility, Auberon tilted his head. 

 

“I am a simple messenger.” Lie.

 

Bel’s finger twitched.  

 

“Are you not here to observe us?” 

 

“That is one of my duties.” Truth.

 

“What are your other duties?”

 

“Hm, I wonder. What exactly is it that you want me to say, young lady?” 

 

“He’s deflecting.” Bel carefully noted. 

 

“What are you doing, Bel?” Sable looked at her in alarm. 

 

“Trust me.” Bel glanced at her. 

 

“You have no reason to go this far for us.” Bel redirected her attention back to Auberon. “I find it hard to believe that this is all under the Archangel’s orders for you. At most, she just asked you to observe us, not get involved. Not to the extent of finding the Winter’s Tear.” 

 

Bel’s unblinking gaze never left him as she spoke. 

 

“So.” She spoke her next words slowly. “Is the Archangel losing?” 

 

There was a subtle shift in Auberon’s eyes. Bel, with her ability activated, was particularly sensitive, recoiling from the sudden pressure directed towards her. Her body trembled, and she took a step back subconsciously. 

 

“...You are a dangerous little girl.” Auberon’s voice came out in a low grumble. The friendly look in his eyes faded. 

 

“At first, I thought that Her Holiness had made a mistake when she chose you, but now I understand why.” His eyes narrowed at his newfound prey. “Perhaps it would be better for all of us if I get rid of you right here and now.” 

 

Before Bel could respond, Isadora stepped forward in front of her. 

 

“I won’t let you.” She boldly declared. Grand Duke Lione and Grand Duchess Adelaide were also standing at the ready. 

 

Having regained her composure, Bel spoke up from behind Isadora. 

 

“Relax, Lady Isadora. It is in his best interest to keep me alive.” 

 

Auberon let out a low laugh. 

 

“I am afraid that I have overstayed my welcome.” He stood up and started moving towards the wall behind him. 

 

“Please make good use of that flower, young one.” He nodded his head towards Sable. “I do hope that the next time we speak, it will be on better terms.” 

 

With that, he leapt over the wall and disappeared from view. 

 

When she was sure that he was a good distance away, Bel deactivated her ability and breathed out slowly. However, her worries were far from being relieved. 

 

“If they’re desperate enough to help us, does this mean things are worse than we thought?” Bel placed a hand under her chin. 

 

“...What should we do, Bel?” Sable quietly asked. 

 

With a pensive expression, Bel shook her head. 

 

“The plan hasn’t changed. Focus on saving Mother, and we’ll figure out the rest from there.” 

 

Feeling Isadora’s gaze on her, Bel lifted her head. 

 

“Why would you provoke him like that?” Isadora was angry. 

 

“There’s no need to worry, Lady Isadora.” Bel calmly replied. “I knew what I was doing.”

 

“Did you really?” Isadora challenged. “What if Sable was hurt because of you? What then?” 

 

Bel didn’t respond. From her periphery, she could see Sable furrowing her brow at her. 

 

“She’s still safe and sound, isn’t she?” Bel responded with a blank smile. 

 

Isadora opened her mouth to protest, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by Bel. 

 

“Ah right, it’s about time I return her body.” 

 

“It was a pleasure to finally speak to all of you.” There was no warmth in her words as she spoke her pleasantry. 

 

The others could only nod in acknowledgment. 

 

With a bow, Bel closed her eyes and separated herself from Sable’s body. 

 

When Sable returned to her body, she carefully stretched out her limbs. There was a strange, weightless feeling that came with being a disembodied soul. If Sable wasn’t so focused on the conversation between Auberon and Bel, she would have allowed herself to give in to the feeling. 

 

Almost as if she was fading away. 

 

“Sable?” Isadora carefully called out her name when she saw the unfocused look in the girl’s eyes. 

 

Sable blinked her eyes into clarity. Her features softened, and when she smiled, one could easily discern her emotions unlike Bel. 

 

“You’re back.” Isadora breathed out in relief. 

 

“Mhm.” Sable hummed. 

 

Isadora carefully handed back the Winter’s Tear to her. 

 

“Thank you.” Sable gently held the frozen flower. She turned to the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess. 

 

“Your Graces, I’ll need to borrow an alchemy station.” 

 

Grand Duke Lione and Grand Duchess Adelaide relaxed when they saw that Sable had finally returned to her usual self.