4 – 4. A Face to Hide

Emerging from the Duke’s study, the two wore expressions at odds with one another.

Isaac sported a faint smile, while Rianna’s face was set, hard as stone.

Isaac noticed it, but didn’t bother to acknowledge it.

‘It’s a relief the conversation went smoothly.’

The exchange with Arundel had gone off without a hitch.

He’d also secured funding and supplies to leave right away, tomorrow.

The amount, especially, was considerable—a sort of hush money to prevent the messy details of the divorce from spilling to the outside world.

‘A little giddy, I must admit.’

It wasn’t a terrified flight as it had been in his past life, but a confident advance, and it made Isaac’s heart flutter.

‘It said he liked people who are bold, even if they’re rude. It really was true.’

Especially when confronting Arundel Helmont, reading his autobiography-cum-will from his past life proved immensely helpful.

He was a man of few words, so trusting that autobiography at face value had worked out splendidly.

‘Divorce is the best.’

A miracle where one becomes two.

A symbol of freedom.

And even a generous divorce settlement to boot.

Someone once said it, didn’t they?

That you realize the value of something after you lose it.

Now, married and finally grasping the preciousness of his bachelor days…

Isaac had prepared for yet another regression.

A regression back to bachelorhood, that is.

“Isaac.”

Rianna’s voice halted Isaac, who was already hurrying down the stairs, eager to leave first thing tomorrow.

“Hm?”

“Do you even understand what it means to go to the front lines of Malidian? It’s the front lines.”

“I know. I understand that what we thought was a simple monster nest turned out to be a huge cluster.”

Monster nests are places where monsters gather, but a hazard is different.

Larger than a den, these are called “huge clusters” if they have a leader with intelligence directing the nest.

“It’s not been officially classified as a huge cluster yet.”

‘Oh, right. I suppose not.’

That time, it isn’t yet set in stone, not truly.

But Isaac knew it was a large formation.

“And the problem isn’t the demonic beasts. You know, the Caldias family guards the front lines of Malidan.”

“Yeah, I know well enough. I also know they’re deeply hostile to the Helmunt.”

Like cats and dogs.

Helmunt and Caldias, called rivals.

The biggest reason Arandel didn’t want to send his sons to the front was exactly that.

Because it meant a single son of Helmunt would be left alone, stranded with the Caldias family, who were practically sworn enemies.

“You don’t know what kind of treatment he might get. Especially if he can’t even handle a sword properly, like Isaac—.”

“Rianna.”

A hollow laugh escaped.

“Whatever they do at Caldias.”

The faint disdain in Isaac’s gaze pierced through Rianna.

“It’ll be better than with the Helmunt.”

She wanted to ask, what did he know about the Caldias, but.

Rianna couldn’t say it.

It was because of Isaac’s attitude, like he trusted Caldias more than the Helmunt.

Isaac went back down the stairs.

Listening to the sound of his footsteps, Rianna once more gathered her courage.

“Tomorrow, you’re leaving, right?”

A sigh reached her.

Rianna’s heart sank, but Isaac stopped walking again and answered her.

“Yeah, I’m leaving first thing tomorrow.”

“How about we have dinner together?”

“Dinner?”

“Yeah, we were… husband and wife once.”

It was rare.

For Rianna to make a date first.

But.

“Sorry, I already have plans for dinner tonight.”

“This is the last one?”

“No help for it. Already set the date, you see.”

Isaac was set to eat the meal the chef and Millie prepared, today.

How uncomfortable it would be with Rianna tagging along.

“Then the drinks?”

Today, Rianna was a touch relentless.

A question even her pride seemed to abandon.

“Haha, can’t have more drinks.”

Isaac countered with a soft laugh.

“……”

“Let’s not make a mistake, Rianna. Save the champagne for your next husband.”

“You’re my husband now.”

“Still *your* husband, yes.”

“…….”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me. Rather busy now.”

He had to ready himself to leave.

With that tacked on, Isaac went down to the first floor.

* * *

Left in his office, Arandel Hellmunt closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought.

Just before, the way his son-in-law had brazenly spoken of divorce and even moved to negotiation, was quite impressive.

‘Is there a side I don’t know?’

The Isaac he knew was an ordinary man.

A pleasing appearance, and he’d bewitched his daughter, so he thought his way with words was somewhat.

But still, he wasn’t a man suited to the Hellmunt family.

And, he’d lived as a timid herbivore, fearful of him, so Arandel hadn’t felt the need to interfere.

‘Unexpected.’

They’d shared a house for a whole four years, and he hadn’t known that side existed.

The Isaac Arandel knew wouldn’t have spoken to him so boldly.

It wasn’t often someone would speak without flinching before him.

“If the kids just showed half of that…”

Arendel let out a sigh, small and unlike him.

If only his eldest son, Loengrin, had shown even a fraction of that spirit, he would’ve handed over the succession long ago.

When he pictured his children, perpetually crushed beneath the weight of his own brilliance, Arendel felt first and foremost, a sense of pity.

Helmunt was a presence that conquered, overwhelmed, and subjugated all.

Even if that all was their own father.

“They could learn a thing or two, I suppose.”

He never imagined he’d say that, that his children could learn from a son-in-law.

That’s how high his esteem for Isaac had risen within Arendel, how interesting he’d become.

“….”

Truth be told, at first, he believed the divorce was all Rianna’s scheme.

He’d decided to give the succession to Loengrin, his eldest, though wanting, in strength, from a swordmaster.

So, he had ordered Rianna, his eldest daughter, to freely bear children now and support the family.

He thought she’d wanted the divorce because she hated that directive.

That she had been biding her time to become the head of the family.

“It wasn’t that.”

Instead, the lingering regret in Rianna’s eyes was so wretched that it pained him as a father to see.

“Hoo.”

That’s enough.

Arendel decided to stop concerning himself with Isaac and Rianna.

In the end, what truly held his interest was strength.

And Isaac hadn’t even achieved the rank of swordsman yet.

However,

‘Intriguing.’

The boldness of his son-in-law, though not yet a swordsman, left a lasting impression on Arendel.

* * *

Evening time.

“Did you enjoy the meal?”

The chef approached with a gentle smile, filling his cup with black tea.

The crisp flavor provided a fitting end to the day’s meal.

“Exceedingly so. Thank you for making Helmunt’s last night so exquisite. It was so delicious, I almost didn’t want to leave.”

“Hah! If you, Isaac-nim, would remain, we’d be ever so grateful!”

It wasn’t a line fed from the mouth.

The head cook genuinely wished for Isaac to stay.

No one at the manor had ever given him such a sense of purpose in his cooking.

Not just as a head cook, but as a chef, he was made to feel proud, his efforts not wasted, and it was said without hiding it.

After years with masters who’d only ever eat the food with a gruff face, always pointing out areas for improvement, or complaining about their picky preferences.

Seeing Isaac’s honest joy, there was no choice but to draw comparisons.

“It would have been nice if we’d been this honest from the start.”

Isaac was also feeling the regret.

That it was only at the end could he speak to them like this.

“Isaac-nim.”

“Milli!”

A fellow cook, the same age, with skin like burnished copper.

In her hands was a tightly wrapped lunch box.

“I made a lunch box with the sandwiches you like, Isaac-nim. It’s a lunch box with a preservation spell, so you can eat it when you depart tomorrow.”

“Milli, thank you so much.”

For Isaac, Milli was a benefactor, a link all the way back from his past life.

The desire to take her with him burned like a hot coal, but realistically, it was impossible.

He’d long for her cooking for a long, long time.

“Milli, do you know why I like sandwiches so much?”

So Isaac let out a pointless, silly question.

In his past life, in Milli’s eyes as she watched him leave, there had only been pity and worry.

“Huh? Is there a special reason you like them?”

“Well, you can eat sandwiches while playing card games, so I like them.”

“Pff, such a pointless reason.”

“…it’s good.”

The Milli of this moment, as she said goodbye, was smiling.

And that, to Isaac, was very good.

That he wasn’t something for her to worry about.

Joy, boundless.

“So, if I make a fortune with card games, Millie, you’ll be my personal chef.”

“Huh?”

“My tongue is already a prisoner of your cooking. So I’ll come for you later.”

Isaac chuckled, mischievous.

Seeing this, Millie beamed back in response.

“My salary is rather high, you know? There’s a reason I’m at Helmunth.”

“Can’t a friend give a discount?”

“No can do.”

It was a conversation of easy comfort.

Isaac took out a drawing from the bag he’d brought.

“Here, Millie. A gift for the delicious food, and for listening to me.”

“Did you… draw me? Amazing!”

“Wow, I never knew you had such talent!”

Millie, painted by Isaac himself.

Both Millie and the head chef were astonished, marveling at Isaac’s skill.

‘In my past life, I couldn’t draw something like this at this time.’

In his previous life, he was known as the Silent Blade, compiling numerous manuals. His painting skills had been at the expert level.

While writing the manuals, there were parts that couldn’t be explained with simple text, so he started drawing.

And thanks to having a certain talent in that area, he had quickly improved.

The two exchanged drawings and lunchboxes.

Feeling the weight of Millie’s lunchbox, Isaac smiled softly.

“Thank you, Millie.”

“I’m so grateful. Please, be happy, Sir Isaac.”

“Yeah, but let’s stop doing this now. The chef is at a loss.”

The head chef between them was scratching the back of his head, looking bewildered.

“For a moment, I thought I was seeing a secret rendezvous.”

It was a careless thing to say, but since it was just us, he wanted to say it didn’t matter.

“……”

Rianna Helmunth was standing behind the head chef, having appeared from nowhere.

In her pajamas, she clutched a wine bottle.

“Chef.”

“L-Lady Rianna?!”

The chef, startled, spun his bulky frame around. The moment he saw Rianna, he immediately dropped to his knees.

“A-Ah, my goodness! Lady Rianna! This fool spoke out of turn! I was carried away by the drinks—!”

“That’s enough.”

Her expression conveyed that she found even the excuses distasteful.

She glanced at Millie, then commanded with a monotone voice,

“Take them all out.”

“A-Understood!”

The chef and the cooks who’d prepared dinner, glancing sideways in greeting, exited without another word.

The chef seemed to have been in the midst of finishing up by preparing some drinks, a fact he apparently lamented as he smacked his lips.

*Thump.*

Rianna sat down beside him, setting the wine bottle on the table.

Her face was flushed, already having drunk a few glasses.

Seeing her drunk was such a rare occurrence it felt like rummaging through forgotten memories.

“How many glasses have you had?”

He tried to take the bottle, scolding her, but Rianna’s strength was considerable and it didn’t budge.

“I didn’t want you to see me drunk.”

“……”

Her gaze seemed to be waiting for the question ‘why.’

But Isaac wasn’t curious at all, so he didn’t ask.

“How did we… end up like this?”

“You said you didn’t want to show me your drunken self. Then stick to it.”

“Isaac.”

“That’s enough, Rianna.”

A long sigh escaped him.

“It’s already over. Don’t act like you still have regrets.”

It was a truly pointless action.

It couldn’t halt his steps towards the door, nor could it etch a pang of conscience.

The relationship was already fractured, in more ways than one.

“Don’t make excuses. Just stay like that. The Rianna Helmundt I remember doesn’t regret her actions.”

“……”

“She was a detestable woman.”

But.

“Be remembered by me as a woman who had her own conviction.”

“……”

Rianna, after placing the bottle down, slumped her chin onto her fist, hiding her eyes with her hand.

After a brief pause.

“Isaac.”

Her voice, low and deliberately devoid of emotion.

“Take care.”

She said her farewell.