54 – 54. The Sword Ogre (1)

Seeing Alois using a cane was a novel shock to Isaac.

It was clearly a sight he hadn’t expected in the slightest.

So, while the laughter was a clear blunder, he didn’t see the need to try and swallow it back.

“No, Brother-in-law.”

Alois knew it too, and though it was irritating and offensive, he let it slide without further comment.

“My sister is acting strange!”

There was something more important at hand.

“She’s saying, she’s saying I tried to hurt you! It’s really not fair!”

Alois cried out, his eyes brimming with tears.

“Wasn’t I always on your side! I always helped when the other brothers bullied you, and I even helped plan your fourth wedding anniversary!”

“……”

“So why would I ever try to hurt you! She didn’t even listen to a word I said and made my leg like this! If it weren’t for Helmund, I might be crippled for life!”

He should have been.

Isaac smacked his lips, disappointed.

Alois’s appeal was quite heartfelt.

In his past life, Isaac hadn’t ever suspected Alois, either.

But knowing the full story now, he could only see what a petty act it all was.

‘If he was looking down on me to this extent, it’s more disheartening than angering.’

Isn’t he acting like this now because he has absolute faith that Isaac will believe him?

Maybe he thought, even if he’d heard some noise from the North, he could’ve talked Isaac around.

You could say he looked down on Isaac that much.

‘Hmm.’

Isaac pondered for a moment.

Then, nodding, he placed his hand on Alois’s shoulder.

“My brother-in-law wouldn’t do that. I don’t know what you’re suddenly on about, but I’ll speak to him, alright?”

“Brother-in-law!”

Alois sniffled, nodding along.

Isaac patted his shoulder and moved past him.

‘If I had my way……’

He wanted to tear Alois to pieces right then and there. But Rianna smashing his legs had also given him a little bit of pleasure.

In a way, wasn’t he the most certain channel to the Transcendents?

Taking revenge on Alois?

Sure, it would be nice, but he didn’t want to look like someone who’d spend their entire life doing it.

He should use Alois to see a bigger picture.

‘There’s no need to make my life’s purpose about a scumbag like him.’

Don’t cheapen yourself, Isaac.

And personally.

Once his legs were fully healed, he had the urge to take Alois’s legs for himself for sure.

Doing it now would just look like a stroke of luck thanks to Rianna’s help.

As he watched Alois’s back, relieved, Jonathan strode up beside him, saluting.

“As of this moment, I’m ending my duties guarding Isaac Helmont, sir!”

“Yeah, good work.”

“Thank you, sir!”

Jonathan beamed.

He had to hide being a half-blood of the Transcendents well, and the harassment from the seniors wouldn’t vanish completely, but.

Jonathan would probably do just fine.

He patted his shoulder the same way.

Unlike with Alois, this was encouragement with genuine sincerity for him to do well.

“I’m heree!”

The mansion doors burst open then, a scrawny seventeen-year-old tumbling out.

He brushed past Alois halfway, but no words passed between them.

Though, judging by the way Alois’s teeth ground, he seemed to hold some sort of grudge against Sharen.

“Isaak!”

Sharen, bouncing on the balls of his feet, shoved his head forward.

A kind of demand to be petted, immediately.

Something prickly stirred in Isaac, so he just stared back, stiff, and Sharen, in response, slyly stepped on Isaac’s foot.

*Ssk ssk.*

“Isaac! Big trouble! Big trouble!”

Then, Sharen, like a fish, began to flip and flap his hands as he explained.

“What?”

Isaac’s eyes went wide.

* * *

*Clunk.*

It was a first.

To just fling open Rianna’s door without any warning.

“Ah.”

Rianna sat perched on the edge of the bed.

He’d never seen Rianna like this.

A haggard face, dull, matted red hair, her eyes devoid of life, but then they seemed to soak up color again at the sight of Isaac.

Lastly, an ankle shackle.

“Isaac, you’ve returned.”

As Rianna slowly stood, Isaac moved closer, and asked,

“What is this! You were supposed to be confined to quarters, and you tried to flee!”

“……”

On his way back, Isaac had heard about many incidents in Helmunt.

The biggest one was that Rianna had tried to escape the confinement ordered by the head of the family.

She tried to flee, but was caught again by the head.

It was another clash of swords between the two, and Rianna was routed.

This was the result.

A kind of warning, that I shouldn’t defy the Lord’s authority again.

“This isn’t like you, Rianna. Why are you doing this?”

At Isaac’s question, Rianna’s lips parted. Before, she would have kept silent here.

“I think… I wanted to run from the choice.”

“Choice?”

Seeing the flustered Isaac, Rianna forcefully shook her head. Her hand reached out for a moment, but soon lowered again.

As if she didn’t have the right.

But, conversely, her eyes grew sharp.

Completely opposite from how she was shaking like a reed until just now.

“Isaac.”

The moment she faced Isaac, Rianna, as if finally resolved, clenched her fist tightly and declared.

“I will become the Lord—”

“……!”

“The day the Sword Oath ends, you will safely leave the mansion.”

Without fail.

“I promise.”

* * *

“…….”

He couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

Isaac, who walked outside, bit his lip, pondering as he went downstairs to the first floor.

“Isaacc, Isaacc!”

A voice calling him again from the second floor.

Sharen, who’d gone back to her room sometime, was beckoning and calling Isaac with a sly look.

“…….”

“Hurryyy! Quickklyy!”

“Haa.”

Entering Sharen’s room, he found snacks laid out.

Kelsi had even brewed some tea, the unique rose scent of Helmund filling the air.

“Ta-daa! My secret collection! We said we’d eat together!”

“Ah.”

It’d slipped my mind.

“The Young Lady put in a lot of effort. Even though she wanted to eat the few remaining sweets, she held back, saying she’d give them to Master Isaac when he arrived.”

“D-don’t tell them!”

Watching Sharen, embarrassed, Isaac chuckled.

Just moments ago things were a little complicated, but still, putting something sweet in my mouth made me feel a bit better.

‘Star Cookies.’

Come to think of it, I haven’t greeted Millie yet.

‘She must be busy welcoming the guests.’

I wanted to greet her quickly and then eat Millie’s food.

While eating a star cookie, Isaac naturally chided Sharen.

“Just where did you go searching for these star cookies, exactly?”

“Wh-what! Why?!”

“Because you, for just one of these star cookies… haa, never mind.”

Who would believe that someone almost became a betrayer of humanity for some sweets? Isaac sighed, trying to move on, but Kelsey apparently had a lot built up.

“That’s right, Young Lady. Do you even know how hard it was for the servants? We went all around the nearby villages to find them.”

“Huh?! N-no! But they’re delicious… “

Her voice dwindled.

When Kelsey and Isaac simultaneously stared at her, she finally lowered her head and apologized, deflated.

“I-I’m sorry… I won’t do it again next time.”

Sharen really has changed.

Isaac, impressed, put another star cookie in his mouth.

* * *

The Helmunt Manor.

In the banquet hall, a lavish feast was held every evening.

It was a way of treating the guests who arrived with invitations.

Especially today, talk was buzzing about the Sword Oje finals that would begin tomorrow.

Usually, it was an occasion for the Helmunt to showcase their strength by dueling each other, but

this time, there were quite a few external participants.

One of them was Silbern.

He hadn’t arrived yet, but he’d given prior notice of his participation by letter.

‘Milli’s not around.’

And here.

Isaac, husband of the Blood Rose, Rianna Hellmund, participating in the Sword Festival.

Despite being a Hellmund, no one particularly approached him, and Isaac didn’t really care.

Conversely, rather than them, Isaac wanted to see Milli, his only friend at the manor.

She was probably holed up in the kitchen, being the cook.

“Ah, there you are!”

The woman’s voice he’d heard in the marketplace today called out to Isaac.

There, stood Clarisse, not in the rough, adventurer-like clothes from earlier, but in a dress as elegant as a princess.

Princess Clarisse herself had approached him first.

The surrounding nobles whispered and glanced over here.

It was awkward, but he couldn’t exactly tell a princess to go away.

“I was looking for you. I worried that my appearance was too shabby before, and I didn’t look like a princess.”

Clarisse smiled faintly.

Isaac, thinking she worried about the strangest things, changed the subject.

“So, did you get much information today? You said you’d get plenty of valuable intel by going around yourself.”

Clarisse’s face tightened slightly at Isaac’s question. Then, she nodded with an awkward smile.

“A man named Foron, who lives in a nearby village, was stung by a bee yesterday.”

“……”

“Jake, who lives next door to Foron, had a tooth pulled. It must have hurt a lot.”

“……”

“And also—you know the skewer place? People were complaining that the food was bad and saying all sorts of things—.”

“……”

When Isaac looked at her with indifference, Clarisse put a hand over her chest and breathed a ‘whoosh.’

Then, with a very serious expression, she glared at Isaac and declared.

“The information I just told you, just how important, how crucial it is… I will explain logically, so even a fool can understand. Follow me.”

‘Ah, what.’

Clarisse, unwilling to admit that the information she had gathered was utterly useless.

Isaac, seeing her burning with competitive spirit to prove she wasn’t wrong, wore a weary expression.

Her guard, standing behind her, interjected with a bit of sense.

“The pairings are out.”

The Sword Rite pairings, drawn from before in the banquet hall.

Isaac found his name and scowled.

[Isaac Helment vs. Sylverna Caldias]