80. Each Their Time

*Kuuu-ung!*

A knee falls onto the rose petals.

Arundel, with no strength left to even rise, slowly lowers his head.

“Hah… Hah…”

The greatsword in Isaac’s hand is dropped before him as well. Trembling arms and a heart threatening to burst.

His eyes, wide and round, capture the scene he has wrought, yet it is hard to believe.

Arundel Hellmundt is kneeling.

Silberna, having rushed over, catches Isaac from behind as he threatens to collapse.

Rianna, supported by others, approaches as well.

“Announce it.”

Arundel, head bowed, his voice fading.

Whether from the influence of the Familiarization or not, words continued to spill forth despite his lack of strength.

“My death.”

Also.

“Your victory.”

“…Sir Arundel.”

Princess Claris stepped forward. The tears welling in her eyes were for the knight who had dedicated himself to the kingdom until the very end.

“Thank you, Sir Arundel.”

Claris knelt before him, bowing her head.

“Do not make me, the defeated, feel shame.”

The man who had protected the peace of the kingdom with but a single sword.

His fading voice warned the hearts of everyone present.

“Therefore… be great.”

His fallen head would never be raised again.

Like a rose, snapped at its stem.

* * *

Approximately three days after Arundel’s funeral,

Isaac stood, dazed, at the entrance to the Hellmundt estate.

The garden, once lavishly adorned with roses, was ravaged to a pitiable state, and the mansion remained only as ruins.

The funeral was done.

And so, Hellmunt Manor began its reconstruction.

Though there was a certain skepticism as to how long it would take, or if it could ever regain its former glory.

‘Perhaps, the old Hellmunt is impossible.’

Even in my past life, after Arundel died, Hellmunt walked the path of ruin.

Lohengrin became the head of the family, but he was far from enough to fill Arundel’s void.

A strange bitterness tugged at the corner of my lips, likely from a relationship bordering on love and hate.

“You’re leaving.”

The voice came from behind.

Liana had returned to the manor after surveying the village.

“Going to Evergarde?”

“Yes, I must.”

Isaac was to return to Evergarde, the capital. For a meeting with the Grand Master, and also to receive a noble title, earned through these recent events.

“I probably won’t be able to attend the ceremony.”

“You’ll be busy. I understand.”

Rebuilding the shattered Hellmunt would be that demanding. Liana couldn’t abandon her post here just yet.

Besides, the divorce between Isaac and Liana would be officially announced.

Originally, they intended to let the divorce pass quietly, but now there was a reason, of sorts.

Isaac had, after all, slain Arundel.

After a moment of silence, Liana spoke again.

“The nobles will be even more wary of the Transcendent Ones now.”

I nodded.

“Yes, they will be. And along with that, an increased awareness of sorcery.”

Arundel Hellmunt, no less, had been ensnared by sorcery and turned into an enemy.

Many nobles became even more cautious of sorcery, and the Magic Tower even began research into sorcery, something distinct from magic.

“Lord Arundel… left behind more than one might think.”

Awareness of sorcery, the slaughter of five Primeval Transcendent Ones, and finally, dying as an enemy, he elevated the status of the next generation.

Now.

The atmosphere was one of fervent praise for those who fought there, calling them the Golden Generation.

Even without Arundel, the kingdom was safe, they said, because of the Golden Generation.

“It’s fortunate Father stopped there,”

Rianna’s words were cold, but true.

Because Arundel died there, Arundel and Hellmundt could at least remain in the public’s eye as martyrs.

“I thank you, Isaac.”

“Rianna.”

“By stopping Father, Hellmundt could at least remain at this level.”

Even while witnessing this scene of everything collapsing, tragically broken.

Rianna, saying it’s fortunate that at least this remains.

Isaac hesitated a moment, then asked with a sigh.

“You don’t seem happy at all.”

“……”

In the world, the only one.

The man to whom she could confide her true feelings.

Therefore, Rianna spoke words she shouldn’t have easily said, along with a bitter smile.

“I wish, rather, that nothing had remained-“

If so.

She could have abandoned the name Hellmundt and lived on.

As if asking to ignore the conversation just now, Rianna glanced at Isaac and changed the subject.

“I will become the head of the family. I will lead Hellmundt from now on.”

An unwelcome position.

But it had to be done.

There was no one but Rianna who could take it on.

“Father… was a great warrior, but because of that, he abandoned too much.”

A person can only be two-sided.

Arundel, as seen from the outside, was literally a hero who protected peace with a sword.

But to those living in the mansion, he was just a merciless father who abandoned everything for the sword.

“Hellmundt will be different from now on. Just in time, it’s been broken to the point where no trace of its original form remains.”

Rianna shrugged and smiled self-deprecatingly.

“I’m thinking of creating a slightly… more family-like atmosphere.”

Now, because that’s all that’s left.

Those words lingered on Lianna’s lips, unsaid.

She did not wish to tether Isaac’s departing legs with lingering regret.

“Perhaps, when we meet again, it will be on the battlefield.”

Lianna took a step towards the manor.

It resembled a farewell, a sending-off for Isaac.

“At that time, I shall rely on you.”

Lianna’s voice softly nudged his back.

“Isaac Logan.”

“…!”

Isaac’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly, a disbelieving chuckle escaping him as he nodded.

“Sounds… awfully formal, doesn’t it?”

“Go now.”

“Heh, alright. I will.”

Isaac slowly stepped back, offering a salute to Lianna.

“Farewell, Lianna Hellmundt.”

“Isaac Logan. May your journey be filled with naught but happiness.”

Then, lifting the hem of her skirt ever so slightly, Lianna inclined her head.

A courteous farewell, steeped in etiquette.

With that final salutation, Isaac moved further and further from the manor.

Yet she remained standing, unmoving, her posture unbroken.

“Sister, the workers are inside doing interio-.”

Ethel, the youngest, who managed the administrative tasks for the manor’s reconstruction, approached Lianna, then halted.

“…….”

Tears fell, drop by drop, onto the dusty ground.

‘Sister…’

Ethel quietly retreated.

Everyone, after all, needed time to compose themselves.

* * *

“Hey!”

A slap on the back sent Isaac stumbling forward; it was Silverna.

“Huh?!”

Isaac startled.

He quietly put aside the subtly complicated feelings he’d been having from his conversation with Lianna just moments ago.

“Silberna, you were here?”

“I was helping some of these people out.”

The villages near Hellmunt were also quite busy. The damage wasn’t as severe as at the estate, but it still needed to be dealt with.

Even the knights of Hellmunt were down here helping the people, rather than staying at the estate.

“So, will you be staying a bit longer? Or would you like to leave with me now?”

At Isaac’s question, Silberna hesitated for a moment, then glanced around awkwardly, changing the subject.

“What about Sharen? Didn’t she say she’d come with us?”

“She stayed behind. She’s going to come separately when everything’s settled. Sharen needs to do what she has to do, after all.”

First her mother, and now her father, too, gone.

She was smiling bravely, saying she’d already overcome it once.

‘A facade, most likely.’

Of course, there was a hidden shadow within that smile.

Even so, since she said she would overcome it herself, Isaac didn’t bother trying to comfort her.

He knew that Sharen would, without a doubt, overcome it and grow even stronger.

“I’ll be heading straight to Evergarde. Even if they don’t say it, they won’t exactly welcome my presence here.”

Even if there was a valid reason, and Arundel wanted it that way.

How could people only think rationally?

Moreover, Isaac was no longer a Hellmunt.

The knights of Hellmunt couldn’t simply see Isaac in a positive light.

‘I wanted to say hello to Jonathan.’

He heard he’d left to escort outside supplies.

“And… that reminds me, Isaac.”

Silberna scratched her cheek as if embarrassed. Then, with a sigh, she confessed honestly.

“I’m planning to return to the North.”

“…Already?”

“Even if the Transcendents’ momentum has been broken, it doesn’t mean they’ve given up, does it?”

That was true.

They’ll never give up, not those ones.

“I’m heading North, to prepare to hold them back.”

“…Right.”

In my past life, the moment the North was breached, the Transcended Ones unleashed an even more savage assault.

For them too, the Malidian Wall in the North was a thorn in their side, no doubt.

‘This time, it’s different.’

Unlike that surprise invasion, if the Malidian Wall is ready for the Transcended Ones…

A different course of events will surely unfold.

“So Isaac, a brief farewell, then.”

“Guess so.”

The wind picked up.

Silberna’s hair danced, shyly veiling her cheeks that had reddened for no good reason.

“Well, we already said goodbye once because of the Sword Emperor, so it’s not too awkward, is it?”

“Judging by how chatty you’ve become, you seem pretty awkward to me.”

“……”

Silberna pouted her lips.

Isaac had only meant to keep things light, not wanting to dwell on the parting, but…

It seemed it hadn’t exactly worked out for the best.

“Was my line no good?”

“It felt like you were taking our separation too lightly.”

“…Bear with me.”

I’d just finished saying goodbye to Lianna, and now Silberna was leaving too, so my heart was feeling a bit adrift, that’s all.

Silberna stared at Isaac, who was awkwardly apologizing, then abruptly pulled him into a hug.

“So sudden?”

“What, why are you reacting so calmly?”

“……”

“You’re a married man, I get it? Tch, we won’t be seeing each other for a while. This much is okay, isn’t it?”

“…Alright.”

The two embraced.

Friendship and affection.

Somewhere in that space, the two of them stood together.

“Say…”

Silberna suddenly whispered softly in his ear.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About… them getting bigger.”

“…”

He tried desperately to ignore it.

The feeling of the large twin mounds against his chest felt even more pronounced because of Silberna’s words.

“You were the one who said it. That since they were getting bigger, I shouldn’t wear the compression binders and get used to it. That I wouldn’t be able to wear them anymore.”

“I, I did say that.”

“You were right. They got a little bigger.”

Isaac tried to forcefully pull her away, but he wasn’t strong enough to overcome Silberna just yet.

“Can you let go already? Are you going to make this the memory of our goodbye?”

“That would be a bit difficult.”

Nodding, Silberna slowly released his hand. The moment she retreated, a peculiar sensation brushed against Isaac’s cheek.

“…?!”

Startled, Isaac clutched his cheek. Silberna winked.

“This way, you’ll remember something other than my chest, right?”

She tried to sound nonchalant, but her face was as red as a Hellmunt’s hair.

Her pupils were unfocused, and the finger pointing at Isaac trembled, a clear sign of her embarrassment.

“If you’re going to do this, don’t bother at all.”

Isaac sighed and chided her.

Silberna hesitated for a moment, then…

“Bwee, bweekyat?!”

She tried to smooth things over with a bit of *aegyo*.