Chapter 7: Silent Prayer

Isaac continued writing until late into the evening.

Before he realized it, it was dinnertime.

“Phew.”

He had concentrated so intensely that he felt a slight headache, yet the sense of satisfaction was even greater.

He opened the window and let the cold night air wash over him.

Even in April, a chill wind, sharp as a blade, grazed his cheek.

“Whoa.”

As he urgently reached out to catch the papers that nearly blew away in the breeze, he noticed the rose-patterned vial on the desk.

It was the “Rose Elixir” that Lohengrin, the eldest son, had handed him before arriving.

They said it was a Helmut-made potion that could enhance one’s physical abilities if consumed.

Usually, such concoctions strain the body, so if you don’t have blessed genetics, you’d end up in trouble by drinking it recklessly.

‘It seems it’s diluted.’

He was deliberating whether or not to try it when—

Knock, knock, knock.

A knock came from outside.

After bundling and tidying up his manuscript, he opened the door.

There stood Silverna Caldias, distinguished by her pure-white hair like snowflakes.

“Allow me to formally reintroduce myself. I am Silverna.”

“I am Isaac Helmut.”

‘A bob cut, huh.’

In the previous life, her hair had been so long it reached down to her waist. Now it only came down to around her shoulders.

“Your welcoming gesture was truly memorable. I could sense the pride of Caldias.”

“I wished to see the Helmut Household’s blazing sword for myself, so my eagerness got the best of me. Please forgive my discourtesy.”

“Then that’s unfortunate. As a son-in-law by marriage, I’m not in a position to wield a greatsword or show off any ‘blazing blade.’”

“Then I’ve shown even greater discourtesy.”

Their gazes crossed.

Polite, but insincere smiles played at the corners of their lips.

If he were to summarize the conversation that had just transpired without hesitation:

‘Your attitude at the fortress wall left a nasty taste in my mouth.’

‘And you put up with that?’

‘I lost, didn’t I?’

‘Pathetic.’

Just as Silverna, wearing a graceful smile, opened her mouth to say something—

“Drop the pretense, Silverna Caldias.”

As Isaac took the initiative, Silverna’s smile began to fade, and soon her face went blank.

Then, as her lips curved upward again, her reply bristled with a competitive, spirited tone.

“You’re more straightforward than I expected. My cheeks were cramping from forcing that smile.”

“You started this sham back at the fortress wall. Don’t pretend now.”

“Anna advised me. She said that using polite speech at this point would only piss you off more.”

‘Anna?’

Isaac’s gaze drifted over Silverna’s shoulder.

Behind her stood a somewhat short woman by the door, bowing her head.

That must be Anna.

She was Silverna’s closest friend, someone she had yearned for so much.

A former handmaid who learned to wield a spear and enlisted in the military alongside Silverna.

In the previous life, it was said she tragically died when the Malidan Barrier was breached.

“I heard you seduced Rihanna Helmut. Well, your face is quite handsome. But that’s all there is to it, right?”

Silverna wore an enigmatic smile.

“You’re said to be so eloquent, hm? With that tongue that seduced the ‘Blood Rose Beauty,’ could you handle tomorrow’s ‘encouragement speech’ for us?”

“An encouragement speech?”

“Most of the dispatched nobles have arrived. Starting tomorrow, there will be some light training and then they’ll be assigned to field posts. The idea is to rev everyone up, get them all excited to work together.”

“Am I even allowed to do that?”

“You’re a Helmut, aren’t you? No matter how lackluster, who would dare oppose a Helmut?”

“Well, alright.”

Isaac readily agreed. A good idea had occurred to him.

Silverna, seemingly annoyed that he looked so calm and collected, just had to add one more comment:

“My father will also attend. So it’s best if you prepare thoroughly.”

“Got it. Is that all you have to say?”

“Uh, oh… yes, that’s it.”

“Then could you let me rest? I’m still fatigued from the journey.”

In truth, more than recovering from any travel fatigue, he just wanted to hurry back and continue writing.

He had plenty of time to teach Silverna a thing or two anyway.

There were still about two months until the Sword Festival began, so delaying a bit wouldn’t hurt.

At Isaac’s dismissal, Silverna stepped back, hesitating.

“Hey, um.”

She suddenly shrugged her shoulders and whispered quietly:

“Does Rihanna Helmut ever, you know, act cute or charming in front of you?”

“…….”

As Isaac frowned, wondering what kind of question that was, Silverna, flustered, hurriedly added:

“No! It’s just that the Rihanna Helmut I know seems like she’d never engage in anything resembling romance!”

“She doesn’t act cute.”

“Then what does she call you? ‘Husband’? ‘Dear’? ‘Darling’?”

“Isaac.”

“…….”

They locked eyes for a moment.

Silverna nodded as if she understood, then left the room.

“See, Anna! I told you there’s no way that woman could be smitten by a man!”

“Romance has returned to reality.”

Hearing their conversation drifting in from the hallway, Isaac smiled faintly and picked up his pen once more.

***

The next morning.

Countless people had gathered at the training grounds.

Aside from those assigned to defend the walls, all the soldiers of the Malidan Barrier stood in neat rows and columns.

Their dense formation resembled a thick shield.

The grandeur of it all was beyond words, and it filled one with pride that these warriors defended the kingdom.

“Isaac-nim will be giving the encouragement speech… If it were me, I’d be too nervous to even step forward.”

Was it because of the cold? Jonathan, making a fuss, looked around frantically.

Isaac sighed and tapped Jonathan on the back.

“Be still. Don’t fidget.”

“Y-Yes! Sorry!”

They stood among the line of dispatched nobles.

Unlike the orderly soldiers of the Malidan, they looked like a ragtag group.

Most of them had little battle experience, but their potential had earned them recognition as rising talents.

“W-Wow, that’s Uldiran Caldias.”

At Jonathan’s words, Isaac followed his gaze.

A man larger than even Arandel, the head of House Helmut, was walking by.

He had pulled all his white hair back and tied it neatly; his well-groomed beard was impressive.

He was known as the Giant of the North, Uldiran Caldias.

Trailing behind him was his only daughter, Silverna Caldias.

Once Uldiran Caldias took his seat behind the podium, the ceremony began.

Such events tended to follow a predictable pattern.

Salute the flag,

Sing the national anthem, perform drills, and so on.

“Next, we will have an encouragement speech from the representative of the nobles, Isaac Helmut of House Helmut.”

It was time for the encouragement speech.

Naturally, the gazes fixed upon Isaac Helmut were anything but warm.

Within the perfect silence upheld by the Malidan soldiers, their cold, piercing stares flew at him.

From their standpoint, as those serving under Caldias, it was only natural to look unfavorably upon a Helmut.

And it wasn’t only the Malidan soldiers who felt this way.

The dispatched nobles even voiced their displeasure outright.

“Tch, what’s this?”

“Is this some kind of joke? Are they flattering him just because he’s a Helmut?”

“He’s got black hair, doesn’t he?”

“Caldias must have fallen to ruin.”

“They’re trying to intimidate us, getting the jump on us first.”

They knew that the Helmut was a great house, but they themselves hailed from respectable lineages.

So they naturally resented Caldias for unilaterally choosing this commoner-born son-in-law as so-called ‘representative.’

Amidst their discontented stares and murmurs, Isaac climbed the podium as if pushed from behind.

‘Heavy.’

Countless soldiers and nobles filled his view.

Yet even more oppressive than their gazes was the pressure from behind—

that of Uldiran Caldias, whose stare bore down as if crushing Isaac’s shoulders.

‘Equal to Arandel in stature.’

Though the world often deemed Arandel superior, and perhaps that was true, it was said that on a given day, the outcome between the two would depend on who was in better condition. They were equally matched.

Approaching the purple jewel set atop the podium—enchanted to amplify one’s voice—Isaac Helmut lowered his lips to it and began, with calm composure:

“Warriors, be great.”

He didn’t even bother with a greeting.

Just that simple phrase.

Yet it was enough to seize everyone’s attention.

“Follow your calling.”

Because that phrase—

“Warriors, simply be great.”

—was a famous motto of Wolfdren Caldias, the founding patriarch of Caldias and the very man who had personally overseen the construction of the Malidan Barrier.

In other words, a Helmut representative had just uttered words akin to the motto of their sworn rivals, the Caldias house.

“I came here wondering what truth lay behind the command to ‘be great.’ After all, as you all know, ‘be great’ is somewhat abstract, isn’t it?”

There was a suffocating murderous aura.

The tension and pressure poured in from all sides.

Especially behind him. Uldiran Caldias’s presence pressed so heavily that if Isaac let down his guard for even a moment, it felt like a spear tip would pierce his heart.

A Helmut—

Daring to question their conviction?

Unfazed by the sharp glares that pricked his skin like the icy wind, Isaac Helmut continued:

“What does it mean to be great? I kept wondering. Is it to defend the kingdom against monsters from behind these walls?”

“To wield a massive greatsword and cut down your foes in a single blow? To uphold honor and conviction, eradicating injustice? To use one’s words to force the enemy into surrender?”

“Oh, these are all indeed great. They truly are.”

The dispatched nobles glared at Isaac with narrowed eyes.

Their looks screamed: ‘Read the room! Just shut up!’

Such was the ferocity swirling around the training grounds.

The atmosphere burned so hot it felt like it could melt the northern chill.

“However, here is what I think:”

“True greatness… is that which even the ordinary can be brought into.”

Isaac’s voice carried genuine conviction, his fist clenched tight.

“Some are exalted from birth, blessed by the goddess’ bloodline. They exalt themselves simply because they were born into lofty positions.”

“More admirable than those who are considered great merely because of the circumstances of their birth, are those who can make the ordinary into something great! That is what truly deserves reverence.”

A subtle shift in the atmosphere ensued.

‘Great because of their birth.’

Who fit this description better than the Helmuts themselves?

Their innate colossal strength and physical prowess could only be described as the goddess’ blessing.

“And today, right here, I have witnessed precisely such greatness. I hope you all will see it as well.”

He snatched the decorative spear from below the podium and raised it high, shouting:

“Look at this! The very thing that you yourselves hold in your hands!”

The soldiers’ gazes drifted to the spears they each gripped.

Their anger dissolved into puzzled looks, as if they had forgotten their fury.

Wearing a faint smile, Isaac cried out:

“If anyone were to say, ‘I will learn the art of war!’ then I would proclaim:”

“Look to the North! Look upon that high wall! Look upon the most grandly soaring spear of Caldias in all the continent!”

The world’s common evaluation of the Caldias spear style was simple:

It was grounded in the basics, universal, and easy to learn.

Because the North had fewer people, the technique was designed so any soldier could master it.

This made it easy to dismiss. Anyone could pick it up.

After all, even a certain noble lady’s maid learned the spear and volunteered alongside the daughter of the Border Margrave. That spoke volumes.

‘Though in my past life, I was called the Silent Sword, never having properly swung a blade…’

As a man who compiled countless books, he could declare this with certainty:

When it comes to martial precision,

none can compare to Caldias.

“To those of you who hold the spears of Caldias! Following the final words of Wolfdren, you are simply warriors of greatness!”

“I know for certain that not even a single colossal sword can mow down hundreds or thousands of spears!”

“And I know this too! That you, in your greatness, even if your heads were severed or your hearts pierced, would not take a single step back!”

Because that’s exactly how they truly were.

He knew it all too well.

He had been told by a woman who bore all their deaths on her shoulders, who cast aside her name to live as merely ‘Caldias.’

“Great guardians of the Malidan frontline who protect it!”

His voice now dropped to a calm, low tone.

“I thank you for your pure and unwavering devotion.”

A gentle smile graced Isaac Helmut’s lips.

“And to share this meaningful moment, let us offer a brief silent prayer to the great heroes who have completed their duty and now rest beneath this land.”

Slowly,

With eyes gently closing,

“Let us bow our heads in a moment of silent prayer.”

As Isaac Helmut bowed his head,

In an instant, the guardians of Malidan also lowered theirs.

‘Thank you.’

Some years from now, they would hold the kingdom’s strategists in awe by enduring an entire month without any aid, despite everyone’s certainty that the wall would fall in just five days.

’To all of you standing before me now—

‘I’m truly glad I have this chance to thank you.’

You defended it well.

You endured so bravely.

Your struggle was indeed great.

It’s terribly late, but:

Once again, with gratitude—

Please accept my silent prayer.’

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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