Chapter Text
Cale Henituse was born as the eldest half of a pair of twins. The daughter of Count Deruth and Countess Jour was born special and that was because she was a Reincarnator. Not that the girl herself told anyone about it. (Her mother knew but it would be years after her death when Cale would find out.)
While her brother Cain grew into a sociable, active kid with an aversion to studying and a mouth full of rude words,
(“I just think it is better to be honest. Lying is too troublesome.” said Cain one evening while munching on cookies.
His sister threw him a look full of disgust. “Did we really grow up together, you and I?” Their parents laughed.),
Cale grew into a quite bookworm
(It was very interesting to try and find similarities between this new world and her old one. Although, there were parts of her memories from the last month of her life missing.
Probably not important.)
whose only form of exercise came either from playing with her brother
(“I AM SLEEPING!” “AND I WANT TO PLAY BEFORE THE SUN GOES DOWN!”)
or from the walks her personal servant Ron Molan took her to
(“Why… am I going through this… Cain is the one who wants to learn… to fight.” complained Cale, mostly to herself partially to the world. She had spent at least two hours running away from Ron’s knives.
“Your brother is learning swordsmanship. This is simple exercise so you can remain healthy. As per the Countess’ orders.” answered Ron the vicious old man.
“Does mom know that the “simple exercise” is in fact you teaching me your assassin ways?” it was a comment made without much thought. She had been calling Ron an assassin since she was old enough to read a book with one in it. Cale explained it to him when he asked her once about it. He walked very quietly, was very skilled with knives and he was very vicious despite how nice he may act. She didn’t notice the fond smile the old man gave her.
‘What a smart little kitten Mistress I have.’, though Ron to himself, ‘How old should she be when I tell her I am actually an assassin? Twelve would be ideal. It is after all a good age to start learning how to use a knife.’
“By the way, young mistress, I didn’t know you knew how to create traps while being hunted. I guess this is another reason to keep to this type of exercise for you since it is also a mental puzzle.”
Cale’s noise of despair made Ron smile.).
And they lived all together happily until tragedy hit the Henituse Household when she was 10. The Countess went mad. She killed her son and then herself.
(“Did you notice anything off about her?” asked Beacrox the night before the funeral.
Ron, who had come to his son’s room at the servants courters from the young mistress room, was holding his knife on one hand. “She was a little weird after her visit at Harris village but I assumed she was just tired from the travel.”
A hum was the only answer he got. To the untrained eye Beacrox looked solemn. To his father he looked frustrated.
“What is it?”
“How did they enter the attic? It was locked. The only key for up there was in the kitchens. I saw it that morning in its place and I didn’t leave the room until the shouting started. The Countess didn’t come to the kitchens and no servant approached the key cupboard that day after me. Even if the Countess had the skill to go passed me unnoticed, I would have seen her. So either she was able to become invisible or she changed size along with having the necessary sneaking skills. Probably to the same size as the twins so she could still reach it. And yet, no magic devices were found. It couldn’t have been Master Cain since that boy’s steps were as silent as horse’s. How do you explain that?”
Ron didn’t have an answer.)
Cale was full of grief but she remained strong with the thought she would go through this with her father. She was strong enough to comfort him. She was strong enough to help deal with the nobles, some of them sincere most of them not, who came to the funeral. She was strong enough to ignore how he avoided her. She was strong enough to take on her father’s paperwork for two weeks until he was ready to retake his duties
(Doing a suspiciously good job with it. It seemed to confirm the rumor of how the young mistress held herself back in her studies so she could stay in the same classes with her brother.
“Had it not been for how soon it is, I would suggest to the Count he send her to the Academy early.”, whispered one vassal of the Henituse County to the other.)
Deruth returned to his duties as a Count at the beginning of the third week after the deaths but he couldn’t return to his duties as a father. Whenever he saw his little girl he could only see what didn’t exist anymore instead of what was still there. Desperate the man sent his daughter to live in the old Thames Estate thinking that some distance and time would make things easier. Would make looking at her easier.
(The night Father informed her of the news Ron asked if she was well.
“Father is a selfish coward.” she responded angry and bitter.
Just because she was mentally older than a ten year old didn’t mean she wasn’t a ten year old.)
And what was supposed to be temporary became permanent.