Former Assassin - Arc 1 Early Life - Chapter 1
…I failed to assassinate the crown prince.
True to his words, the knight protected the crown prince’s life at the cost of his own.
I remembered that moment vividly—
—Yet, I failed to grasp the current situation.
“Good morning, my little Serena~ You look so cute today~”
A black-haired woman with eyes of the same color.
She was cradling me.
Huh? How…?
As I wondered why I was being picked up, I realized that my outstretched hand was smaller than I remembered. I couldn’t move freely, either.
What the hell happened?
I have no clue at all.
“Serena sure is energetic!”
The woman spoke before kissing my cheek.
Honestly? I prefer it if she doesn’t.
I didn’t like being touched too much.
“Uwa, uwaaAAAaa—…”
…And yet, all that came out of my mouth was gibberish.
Seriously, what is happening? Can someone please explain to me?
—Aren’t I dead? So why am I alive?
“Oh my, Serena! What’s the matter?”
Also, why did she keep saying ‘Serena’ this and ‘Serena’ that?
I’m not Serena.
In fact, I had no name. The man who hired me called me by number.
“—You’re a tool, and a tool doesn’t need a name.”
Such were his words.
“I see. This is your first time seeing a mirror, right, Serena? You must be surprised!”
Huh?
Only then did I realize that I was staring at a mirror this whole time.
Reflected in the mirror was a baby with similar black hair and black eyes.
‘I’ wasn’t reflected in the mirror.
I had a bad premonition. Still in disbelief, I waved my hand; the baby in the mirror did the same.
“…”
Next, I tried pinching my cheek—and you guessed it, the baby in the mirror also pinched her cheek.
It hurts.
In the mirror, the reflection of a woman holding a baby could be seen.
I could tell that they were mother and daughter due to their resemblance.
As for me, I—I should’ve died…
But for some reason, I felt sure that I wasn’t an apparition.
After thinking for some time, it dawned on me—
“※■〇×◇？※■〇×◇！※■〇×◇！？※■〇×◇
“What’s wrong, Serena!? Calm down, I’m here…—”
—I wasn’t crying, by the way.
I was just screaming in confusion.
As far as I knew, this was the first time in my entire life that I’d been so emotionally disturbed.
Perhaps, it was indeed the first time—
—because I died once and was reborn.
I knew the concept of reincarnation. I couldn’t believe I actually experienced it.