Chapter 74: Farewell

Tap!

Tap!

Was it because this place was underground?

Somewhere in the distance, the sound of dripping water echoed.

Tap-tap.

Footsteps overlapped with the dripping sounds. Alois, sensing the presence of something quietly approaching, slowly lifted his head.

Had he fallen asleep after all that weeping?

His body felt heavy, devoid of strength. His throat was raw from cursing at God and Isaac until it felt like it would tear.

Even so, what clearly came into view was a woman.

Her hair was a deep scarlet, reminiscent of a sunset, and parts of her skin had hardened scales. Her ears spread out like wings, and she even has a lizard’s tail.

Alois instantly realizes that she must be one of those Transcendents—the very ones causing such turmoil in the kingdom.

“Alois of Helmut.”

It was a sultry voice.

Even so, because Alois himself was Helmut, he instinctively sensed danger.

“…….”

Alois’s gaze grew cloudy. Although he gave no reply, the woman continued without concern.

“I am Rizel. As you can see, I’m a Transcendent.”

Rizel sets the tip of her lizard tail on her palm with a smile.

Though she had a unique appearance, Alois didn’t particularly care about that right now.

“Did you know that we Transcendents are quite interested in Helmut?”

“…Interested?”

“It’s because you’re different from ordinary humans. I believe Helmut deserves to be treated accordingly.”

It didn’t sound all that strange.

Wherever Helmut went, being treated with respect was only natural.

“Your tongue is long.”

But right now, Alois was not Helmut—he was a criminal.

The fact that she had come to him must mean she had an agenda. From his perspective, he’d do anything—even join hands with a devil—to stop it.

Perhaps, sensing his thoughts…

Like a parent telling a child not to eat the cake placed before them, Rizel smiles and whispers:

“You want revenge, don’t you?”

“…….”

“Against Isaac. It just so happens our goals coincide.”

“Coincide?”

“Isaac dared to lay his hands on someone he shouldn’t have.”

A primitive Transcendent—

And one born of the Sword Demon’s bloodline, no less.

The other Sword Demons are furious, swearing they will kill Isaac and the Grandmaster no matter what.

“Well, you don’t need all the details. I simply want to give you a chance.”

“A chance… to kill Isaac?”

The moment Rizel gives a small nod—

Alois’s lips stretch into a wide grin.

“If I can just kill that bastard, I’d sell my soul.”

Just then, he heard that Rihanna Helmut would also be arriving.

“So I’ll crush him, grind him to bits, and then take Noona for myself.”

Believing this to be his final opportunity, Alois gleefully accepts Rizel’s proposal.

In an instant, shadows consume his body, dragging him into the darkness.

***

“…….”

A simple, unadorned grave marker rests above, allowing the departed to sleep in peace.

[How happy we were, together as friends.]

Those words, engraved in Isaac’s handwriting, mark the new headstone for Milli in Evergarde. Seeing it fills Isaac with overwhelming emotion.

“I’m not sure if I should ask this…”

Isaac crouches in front of the grave marker.

As if speaking face-to-face with Milli, he swallows back tears and whispers:

“Is it comfortable there? You were so tired of the constant struggle—at least over there, I hope you can rest a bit.”

A bitter sigh escapes him.

Even though he knows people are waiting for him from a distance, Isaac slowly drops to his knees.

Placing a hand on the headstone as if calling out Milli’s name, Isaac finally fails to hold back his tears.

“Am I unable to let go of this sorrow because I lost both my dream and my friend?”

Someday, far in the future—

If he earned enough money, his first priority was to bring Milli here. He wanted her family to come and live here as well.

He had no idea how to earn that money,

no idea when it might be possible,

nor where they would stay.

It was, in the end, more of a daydream than a real plan.

Still, the sense of loss he felt was indescribable.

“Here, I’ll give this back to you—it was my gift after all.”

Isaac takes the portrait of Milli he drew and sets it in front of the grave.

Wiping away his tears, he stands up slowly.

“I’ll come again, my friend.”

With that, he turns away.

Waiting outside, Silverna and Rihanna both wear expressions of concern.

They simultaneously offer handkerchiefs, but Isaac waves them off, pretending he’s fine.

“Let’s go.”

Now yet another farewell awaits Isaac.

****

It was a church.

A shabby, rundown little church.

Paradoxically, it’s well-suited for the secretive process of a divorce that can’t be publicly acknowledged.

A nun comes out to greet the three visitors.

The faint wrinkles told her that she was a bit older, but the smile on her lips and her bright atmosphere made her look even younger.

“I’ll be here.”

An outsider to the situation, Silverna folds her arms and decides to wait outside the church.

Leaving her behind, Isaac and Rihanna walk through the churchyard. The nun accompanying them quietly asks:

“By any chance, do you know Jonathan? He’s a knight under Helmut right now…”

The question is so sudden that it catches them off guard, but Isaac widens his eyes and replies:

“Are you the nun who raised Jonathan?”

“Yes! Did Jonathan talk about me?! Is he doing well? The kid has always been so…unique—”

Jonathan had lived in a church. Though it wasn’t this exact church, it seems the nun had since moved to this location.

“He’s doing very well. Serving as a knight of Helmut, he’s more than fulfilled his duties during the latest Great Den incident.”

“Really? Oh, thank goodness. Thank you so much.”

Seeing how happy the nun is, Isaac can’t help but smile along.

Jonathan, who had once been bullied…

But ever since Sharen harshly scolded the knights in the North and Jonathan earned great merit hunting the Bricalla, he no longer suffers discrimination or harassment.

Though controlling his Transcendent instincts still looks challenging.

Thud.

They enter the church.

Inside, a bishop and a princess who arrived beforehand are waiting in the humble interior.

Isaac glances at Rihanna.

Expressionless, she follows quietly behind him, giving off no hint of emotion.

When the two stand at the front, the bishop clears his throat and begins the ceremony with solemnity:

“Marriage is a sacred and beautiful vow, entrusted to us by God.”

“…….”

“…….”

“Since you have both judged that you can no longer continue this marital relationship, you have come here to petition God for release from your vows.”

Only the bishop’s voice reverberates within the stillness, candles flickering around them.

“Take note, you who choose to part ways. From this day on, you must live humbly, seeking God’s guidance. After today’s rite is done, in each of your lives, you must ask for God’s mercy and live sincerely.”

As he listens to the bishop, memories flash through Isaac’s mind:

[I want to cross the river.]

That completely out-of-the-blue greeting.

[You, perhaps?]

The somewhat practiced coaxing.

[Let’s get married.]

Another sudden proposal.

[I want you.]

The vision of the river parting—changing the entire course of his life.

[ Rihanna, the flower meaning of a purple lilac is ‘first love.’ ]

A single flower that conveyed his heart.

All of those moments stacked upon one another, yet here they are, reaching this point.

The sting is so sharp it hurts, a hollow ache in his chest.

“Isaac Helmut, do you acknowledge, before God, that you will now lay down the vow you once made and proceed on separate paths?”

For a second, Isaac feels a tightness in his throat.

Even so, he’s determined to live differently in this life.

His feelings for Rihanna aren’t what they used to be.

“…Yes, I acknowledge it.”

Isaac proclaims with a slight tremor in his voice.

“Rihanna Helmut, do you likewise acknowledge, before God, that you will now lay down the vow you once made and proceed on separate paths?”

“…….”

A brief pause—yet not long.

“Yes.”

Calmly, as usual,

“I acknowledge it.”

Rihanna states with composure.

“Very well, we shall now perform the Severance Ring. Both parties, face each other.”

‘Severance Ring’ comes from severance, annulment, and ‘ring.’

It is the act of exchanging the wedding rings once shared as a marital promise, signifying complete separation.

Slowly, the two face each other.

Isaac gently extends his hand first, and Rihanna places her left hand on his.

The ring is rough, shabby, and worn.

“…….”

Carefully, she slips it off.

Now reversed:

Rihanna extends her hand.

Isaac softly places his own beneath it.

Very slowly, and ever so cautiously, Rihanna removes his ring. It doesn’t come off easily, but in the end, it’s no longer on his finger.

“Witnesses! Clarice Evangel Regardia and Helia Bell shall testify to today’s divorce!”

Raising both hands and blessing both parties, the bishop declares:

“Now, by the power and in the sacred name of God, I proclaim! These two are no longer husband and wife! Their bond is here and now dissolved!”

Their empty left hands feel simultaneously weightless and yet strangely heavy.

The pocket holding Rihanna’s ring pricks Isaac’s senses.

He slowly lifts his head, which had been bowed without his realizing, and sees Rihanna standing there, her fists clenched tightly.

“Ah—”

She wants desperately to hold it in.

But in the end,

“I’m sorry.”

Rihanna apologizes through tears.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Rihanna…”

“Hhk! I couldn’t give you anything more—”

Tears fall in torrents.

“And now everything ends like this—”

Isaac doesn’t even know anymore.

Before he realizes, he’s already pulled her into his arms.

Rihanna, too, falls into his embrace, sobbing.

“Sniff… Isaac, I’m sorry. I never did enough for you! I couldn’t do anything at all—I’m so sorry!”

Feeling as if his heart was being crushed, Isaac finally closed his eyes tightly.

Perhaps it’s more accurate to say he could no longer bear to look at her.

“Promise me you’ll be happy! You have to…be happy.”

“I will, Rihanna.”

“Isaac, you know… The fact that you were my husband, it was honestly so, so—”

In the heat of her trembling breaths,

she confessed through tears:

“I was happy.”

.

.

.

Squeak! Squeak!

It was nearing sunset, the moment when the sky began to darken.

Isaac, who was about to finish work for the day, takes on one last passenger and rows across the river.

His final passenger stares blankly at the water with reddened eyes.

“Hey, Isaac.”

“How many times must I say it? Don’t call me when I’m rowing—it’s hard enough as it is.”

Even at Isaac’s complaint, Rihanna shows no reaction and continues asking:

“When you get married one day, how do you think you’ll live?”

“…?!”

Startled, Isaac nearly drops the oar. His eyes go wide as he fires back:

“Are you…proposing to me right now?!”

At that, Rihanna jumps in surprise, waving her hands dismissively.

“N-no! I’m just curious, that’s all. I’ve been receiving several marriage offers lately.”

Marriage offers.

Isaac feels a twinge of jealousy, but he feigns indifference and resumes rowing.

“Well, I imagine I’d live a pretty normal life.”

“Normal…?”

“The two of us getting along, enjoying our days in a warm, loving way. Have kids, raise them. Even if we bicker sometimes, we’d talk it out and make up.”

“…….”

Like she’s listening to a fairy tale,

Rihanna listens wide-eyed to Isaac’s words.

“If our kid ever got beat up somewhere, we’d go sort it out together. And when they say they’re too old to sleep in the same room as Mom and Dad, we’d set up a separate bedroom.”

“…….”

“That’s…about how I figure we’d live.”

Isaac shrugs.

In response, Rihanna calmly replies:

“I don’t think everything would be so wonderful all the time.”

At the rare moment of honesty from a noble lady.

Isaac chuckles and rows with a bit more vigor.

“Well, it wouldn’t all be sunshine and rainbows.”

“…Wouldn’t be, huh?”

“But if you’re with a good person, wouldn’t you find yourself smiling through it all anyway?”

“…….”

At those words, Rihanna says nothing more.

She merely clasps her hands and gently closes her eyes.

She looks as though she’s dreaming, perhaps picturing what such days might be like.

After a while…

Softly—

“Ah.”

She whispers with a small smile:

“That sounds…happy.”

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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