Marquis Marten was a man described by many nobles as ambitious and cunning, someone who always held a dagger behind his back. Despite his untrustworthy nature, many nobles came to him for his ability to gather information about other nobles. It was through this ability that he managed to work his way up the social ladder and married into nobility and became a marquess. After his political marriage with the current Marchioness, he fathered three children with her. Unfortunately, they were all daughters, and due to the declining health of the Marchioness, he was unable to produce a son who would be his heir. 

 

This did not stop the Marquis from marrying off his daughters in order to form connections with other households. He was willing to use anything at his disposal to grow his influence with higher ranking nobles, and Sable was not an exception. 

 

However, the current Sable was only ten-years old, and Marquis Marten could not find anyone who was willing to get engaged to his third daughter. It didn’t help that she was quiet and, unlike her older sisters, she did not inherit his blonde hair, and the other nobles found her average in appearance. Although he did not voice his displeasure, the cold look in his eyes was enough for Sable to figure out what he thought of her. 

 

The same cold look that he was directing at her now. 

 

Sable grit her teeth and bowed to her father. Albeit slightly younger, his appearance mostly remained unchanged from her memories. He had the same cold blue eyes and blonde hair, and he was dressed in the formal attire worn by most noblemen. The way he carried himself with a hint of pride and arrogance was also the same. Many of the other nobles, especially the noblewomen, found his well-groomed appearance attractive. 

 

There was a tense silence in the foyer as the Marquis looked at Sable and her maid with uninterested eyes. He was taking a break from working too long in his office when he unintentionally spotted the pair about to leave the mansion. Sable had always been a disappointment in his eyes and seeing her small appearance ruined his mood. 

 

Sighing, he turned and walked away without a single word of greeting for Sable. Once she heard his footsteps fading away, Sable finally looked up to where the man had been standing. In her past life, she foolishly wished for her father’s love and buried herself in books trying to become useful to him, but now there was only a hollow feeling in her heart. She quietly renewed her resolve to get away from him. 

 

Aly, who witnessed the entire interaction, wanted to comfort the young lady. She attempted to reach out to her, but Sable turned and walked outside. She then paused and called back to Aly. 

 

“Are you coming?” 

 

Aly stood still and looked at her. Her gaze was filled with sadness and Sable felt an uncomfortable feeling growing inside her but she forced it down and looked away. Aly felt that the child in front of her was trying to put up a strong front but didn’t comment on it. A maid like her could not interfere with family matters. 

 

“Apologies, my lady.” 

 

Aly gave her a small smile and walked next to her. She unfolded the parasol and held it above Sable’s head, shading her from the sun. Leaving the residence, they headed towards the market district, where the Midsummer Festival was in full swing. 

 

Along the way, Sable could see other noble children with their servants heading towards the same direction. Some were accompanied by their parents or older siblings. She listened to them chattering excitedly about the festival and quietly glanced at Aly, who was humming a tune to herself. 

 

Sable took a moment to recall the information she read about the Midsummer Festival. 

 

The Midsummer Festival was held every year around this time to officially mark the halfway point of the Summer months. It celebrated the bountiful harvest of crops planted in the Spring and promoted trade throughout the kingdom. Nobles and citizens from each of the territories came to the Capital in order to join the festivities. Traveling merchants, lured by the scent of potential profit, also took part in the festival and one could find many interesting goods and products not sold in the kingdom. There was also an annual competition between the knights of the kingdom to see who would be the strongest.

 

With so much going on, however, Sable’s biggest concern was safety and she knew that she would have a hard time noticing anything strange that would cause Aly’s accident. Although the Capital was relatively safe, she could not afford to let her guard down once they were in the middle of the festival. 

 

“My lady, may I ask you a question?” 

 

Aly looked at her from the side and Sable nodded. 

 

“I was wondering what made you want to come to the festival? I apologize if I sound rude, but I didn’t think you were the type to enjoy these things.” 

 

Sable was tempted to tell her that she was the reason but opted instead to give her a reasonable excuse. 

 

“I needed a change of scenery.” Sable shrugged noncommittally. 

 

Aly pondered for a moment, then nodded with a sympathetic look. She thought the child was unusually mature for her age. Sable didn’t elaborate and maintained the neutral expression on her face. She turned her attention forward. They crossed the bridge between the noble district and the market district, and she could clearly tell the amount of people had increased. 

 

The large crowd caused Sable some discomfort, but she pushed through it and observed the crowd. There were mostly nobles here but she could see a few commoners mixed into the crowd. As Aly was more experienced with festivals than her, Sable allowed her to guide her through the crowd. They approached a stall selling skewers of grilled meat and vegetables. The scent from the stall made Sable’s stomach growl and Aly smiled at her. They had skipped breakfast and Aly figured that the young lady would be hungry. 

 

“How much for two?” Aly asked the vendor. 

 

“Five gold a piece but I’ll give you a discount for the little lady.” The vendor smiled at Sable, but her face remained expressionless. His smile turned slightly awkward and he turned back to Aly. 

 

After confirming the price with the vendor, Aly quickly counted the gold up and handed it to him. She received the two skewers and handed one to Sable. The vendor thanked them for their purchase and they moved out of the way for the other customers. Aly spotted an empty table and they made their way over and sat down. 

 

Sable carefully ate the skewer and made sure that none of it ended up on her cheeks. Her years of etiquette lessons drilled into her the habit of eating neatly. Aly sat adjacent to her and, after making sure Sable was enjoying her meal, she began to eat as well. 

 

As they ate, Sable took a moment to take in her surroundings. She was used to eating alone at the mansion and found that the noise of the crowds around her was not unpleasant compared to the silence of the dining hall. 

 

When they both finished their skewers, Aly stood up to toss away the sticks but paused. Although she could see a few guards patrolling the area, she could not leave her lady unattended. 

 

“Shall we go get something to drink, my lady?” 

 

Thinking of the original reason she came here in the first place, Sable redirected her attention back to Aly. She nodded her head and followed her maid back to the stalls. While Aly was talking to some vendors, Sable silently observed the people around her. 

 

The festival goers were all cheerful and smiling at one another and Sable could not detect anything strange about their behavior. She doubted that whoever, or whatever, caused the incident was present in this area. Nevertheless, she kept her guard up and remained vigilant. 

 

Aly noticed her looking a little tense and thought that the crowd was making her a little uncomfortable. She handed her a cup of water and Sable nodded her thanks and drank it. Wanting to cheer her up, Aly spoke to her. 

 

“My lady, it’s almost time for the parade.” Aly smiled at her, the excitement visible on her face. 

 

“Parade?” Sable suddenly became alert when she heard this. Memories of her past life flashed in her eyes. After she had shown her abilities, Sable was tasked with planning out assassinations and other incidents. She often used large events like this one to mask her plans and avoid getting caught. With so many people gathered in one place, it was easy to hide in the crowd when the chaos started and the guards would have their hands full trying to calm the fearful citizens. Sable hoped that her intuition was wrong, but she could not shake the feeling that something was off. 

 

“Yes, my lady. I heard that Grand Duke Lione and his knights would be attending this year.” 

 

The name of someone she hadn’t expected to see so soon came out of Aly’s mouth. She closed her eyes and the last few moments of her previous life played out in her head. While the man had been the one to deliver her death sentence, she did not hate him nor blame him. No, her thoughts were about something else. 

 

“If the Grand Duke was here, then how did Aly lose her life?”

 

Originally, her plan was to leave before the parade started thus avoiding any incident and preventing Aly’s death, but the presence of the Grand Duke changed things. The feeling that something was off grew stronger. 

 

“The Grand Duke was unable to prevent Aly’s death. Why?” She racked her brain until her eyes snapped open in shock. She didn’t want to believe it, but… if she was right, then Aly was not the only one who would lose her life today. Something happened that took the Grand Duke and his knights by surprise. 

 

Sable didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and her face morphed into a twisted expression. Aly was curiously watching her from the side, wondering what she was thinking about. She flinched when she saw Sable abruptly open her eyes and adopt an expression unbefitting of a child. 

 

“M-My lady?” She stepped back uneasily. Sable glanced at Aly and forced herself to calm down. 

 

“The parade.” She paused. “Where is it taking place?” 

 

“Uh, at the Main Plaza, my lady.” Aly was unsettled at how quickly her demeanor changed and looked at her with slight wariness in her eyes. She had never seen the young lady act like this. “Please, follow me.” 

 

The Main Plaza wasn't very far from where they were and they quickly arrived. A large crowd gathered and Sable and Aly joined them in their waiting. They were able to find a good spot where they had a clear view of the path of the knights. 

 

The parade was the beginning of the  main event of the Midsummer Festival. Knights arrived from all over the kingdom to display their strength and they would compete in the annual competition to see who was the strongest. This year, the Grand Duke would be participating and many were looking forward to his performance. He had remained undefeated and won consecutive victories against the other competitors.

 

Sable was alerted by the arrival of the knights when cheers erupted from the crowd. She leaned to the side to see them approaching on their horses. Leading the procession was the Grand Duke, dressed in his black knight uniform and exuding an overwhelming aura. Behind him, the Lione Knights waved and smiled at the crowd, whose cheers grew deafening. 

 

While everyone’s eyes were directed at the Grand Duke and his knights, Sable refocused her attention elsewhere and started scanning the crowd. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but she knew she was running out of time. 

 

Now was the perfect time for something to happen. Currently, the Lione Knights were the only ones to enter the Plaza and it would be a while before the other knights showed up.  In other words, there was less risk of being caught in an encirclement by the knights.

 

Sable was starting to grow desperate when she spotted them. 

 

At first she saw only one, then she spotted several more cloaked figures blending in among the crowd. They seemingly materialized from nowhere, but as the Grand Duke moved closer to their position, Sable instinctively knew that they were about to make their move. From the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of a cloak between her and Aly. 

 

She was out of time. 

 

The cheers of the crowd were suddenly interrupted when a child’s scream rang out. 

 

“Assassins!”