I suspected something like that... And after Clare told me, I understood why I saw this child as an adult. More like an adult trapped in a child's body...
I know this definitely isn't the case in the original, although the plot ends when Demon Lord Rae ultimately decides not to kill Clare, and she and another Rae rescue Clare from the system, and they live happily ever after... for the time being...
I don't even want to know what poor Clare must feel, having lost all the people she loved...
Even after hearing her story, I wanted to cry because of the terrible events she'd experienced, but I held back my tears to appear strong in her eyes.
I don't know when, but in the week I've known her, I began to see her as the little sister I never had. I've seen her always try so hard, until she collapses from exhaustion, and now I at least understand the reasons for her interest. It's all for the future and the people who will surround her...
This isn't the mindset of a child, but of a strong adult woman who will do anything for her family, which, apparently, is where I've been...
And as her adopted sister, I must support her and help her in any way I can. Although I'm a little sad that I can't see all the people I've become friends with, I think if I tell them everything, they'll understand why...
And if I ever meet Chris and she wants to beat me, I won't resist, because I deserve it...
Putting all thoughts aside, I continued to follow the carriage, keeping my distance so as not to be noticed—and I don't mean by François, but by whoever was following them.
They were most likely assassins, at least fifty of them, which is a lot, and the knights accompanying the carriage wouldn't be able to resist them.
I don't remember how Clare's mother died, but most likely it was assassins...
They pursued the carriage for another couple of hours before they took action.
Several assassins jumped out onto the road, swinging their swords, immediately killing the first row of guards. The rest tried to attack them, but were killed by other assassins who appeared next to the carriage.
Realizing it was time for me to act, I ran up to the assassin who was trying to open the carriage, but he couldn't, as my katana severed his head, surprising the other assassins, who weren't expecting me.
Without giving them much time to think, I moved on to the next assassin, who tried to block my blow, but he wasn't expecting it. My katana would break his sword, slashing across his chest, causing him to fall, screaming in pain.
The sound of his screams got to me, so I simply stabbed him through the head, killing him instantly.
"Who are you?" one of the assassins, most likely the lead one, asked me.
I simply smiled wryly.
"Your death," I said.
He simply laughed.
"Ahahahaha... Girl, are you serious? So what if you killed two, but there are too many of us here. You can't win, better give up, and maybe we can have a wonderful time together..." he said, looking at me with a lustful gaze.
I didn't answer him, simply rushing at the next assassin, who didn't have time to dodge, causing me to cut him in two.
"Damn, it's even a shame to kill such a beauty! In any case... Kill her!" the leader said.
All the assassins rushed at me, weapons drawn. I simply grinned and began dodging daggers and swords, simultaneously defending myself from arrows.
Each time I dodged, I killed one assassin at a time, until only the leader and several others remained alive, which I quickly dispatched.
The leader, realizing I'd single-handedly slaughtered all his men, turned pale and began backing away, until he tripped and fell to the ground.
"M-monster," he said in fear. I didn't answer, but simply walked slowly toward him. He tried to crawl away, but couldn't, and in one motion I plunged my sword into his chest, plunging it into his heart, which came out through his back.
Having finished killing the last of the assassins, I looked at the battlefield, strewn with the bodies of the murderers and their entrails, and almost felt sick. After all, human entrails aren't pleasant to look at...
I saw the knights nursing their wounds, while Melia and Dole François emerged from the carriage and looked at me in surprise.
"Miyabi? What? How? You..." Melia asked in shock, while Dole simply stared at me.
"I suspected something was wrong when you were invited so suddenly. And as you can see, it was all a ploy to get rid of you," I said, pointing to the corpses of the murderers.
Clare's mother was still in shock when Dole finally spoke.
"What about Clare?" he asked.
"She's safe," I replied. And it really was like that, when your stalker is the demon lord Rae Taylor herself, who, even though she wants to kill Clare, will still protect her.
"I see," he replied, lost in thought.
"I suggest we go back. After all, it's a certain girl's birthday today," I said, smiling.
And after these words, Melia finally began to comprehend what was happening.
I saw her tears stream down her face as she realized she might never see Clare again, and that hurt her the most.
Dole began to console her, and I, in turn, stepped aside so as not to disturb them.
After a while, I heard footsteps behind me, and before I could turn around, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist.
"Thank you," Melia said. I simply smiled and placed my arms around hers.
"You're welcome. And Melia, someone wants to apologize to you," I told the woman.
"Silly... I should be the one apologizing..." the woman said sadly.
"When we get back, you can talk about everything," I said.
She simply nodded, and within a few hours, we returned to the estate, where Clare was waiting. Upon seeing her mother, she immediately rushed to her, tears in her eyes. "Clare, this is inappropriate…" she wanted to say something, but stopped when she saw her daughter's tears.
She simply accepted her hug and began stroking her head.
I just watched with a smile!
In the end, we celebrated her birthday, and I gave her a custom-made katana made from rare materials.
Late that evening, I was sitting on the roof, as usual, gazing at the beautiful moon, remembering Kriss…
Sigh…
"Miyabi?" I heard a voice behind me, and I didn't even need to turn around, as I knew who it would be.
"Clare, children your age should be in bed by now," I said, not taking my eyes off the moon.
"You know I'm not a child!" she objected.
"But you have a child's body," I said as she sat down next to me. "Thank you... If it weren't for you, I would have relived Mom's death... Even with memories from another timeline, I couldn't convince Mom to stay home and ended up yelling at her again..." Clare said with a sigh.
"But you were able to make up..."
"Thanks to you! If you hadn't shown up, Mom would already be dead!" Clare interrupted me.
"I understand..." I replied, smiling slightly.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clare shivering slightly from the cold, trying not to show it.
I took off my coat and threw it over Clare, which surprised her, but she didn't refuse. Although my coat was too big for her, she was wrapped in it.
For the next thirty minutes, we just sat in silence and looked at the moon, until I felt Clare lean against me and heard her even breathing.
Picking her up, I slowly approached the window so as not to disturb Clare's sleep. I quickly carried her into the room, covering her with a blanket.
Leaving the room, I quietly closed the door and headed to my own, where I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes to get some rest...