Chapter 80: Each Person’s Time

Thud!

A knee falls onto the rose petals.

Arandel Helmut, too exhausted to even rise, lowers his head with trembling slowness.

“Haa! Haah!”

The longsword in Isaac’s hand slips to the ground before him. His arms tremble uncontrollably, and his heart pounds as if it might burst.

His eyes, round and wide, capture the very scene he has created—yet it hardly feels real.

Arandel Helmut is on his knees.

Silverna, who runs over in haste, catches Isaac just as he is about to collapse, holding him up from behind.

Right after, others help Rihanna over to them.

“Deliver the message.”

Still hanging his head, Arandel Helmut’s voice grows quieter and quieter.

Perhaps due to the effects of his forced servitude, he keeps speaking despite having no strength left.

“Of my death.”

And also,

“Of your victory.”

“…Arandel-nim.”

Princess Clarice steps forward. The tears gathered at the corners of her eyes are for the knight who devoted himself to the kingdom until the very end.

“Thank you, Arandel-nim.”

Princess Clarice kneels before him and lowers her head.

“Do not disgrace me, who was once your foe.”

He was the man who protected the kingdom’s peace with a single sword.

His fading voice gives a final warning to everyone present.

“Therefore… be great.”

His head, now bowed, never lifts again.

He resembled a rose whose stem had been cut.

****

About three days after Arandel Helmut’s funeral was held—

Isaac stands blankly at the entrance to the Helmut estate.

The once splendid garden, adorned by vibrant roses, is now in ruins, and the mansion itself has been reduced to rubble.

With the funeral over, the Helmut estate has begun rebuilding—

But who knows how long it will take, or whether it can ever regain its former splendor?

‘It’s likely impossible for the Helmut family to be what it once was.’

In his previous life as well, once Arandel Helmut died, Helmut fell into decline.

Lohengrin took over as family head, but he couldn’t fill Arandel Helmut’s absence.

A strange bitterness lingers at Isaac’s lips, perhaps because his relationship with Arandel Helmut was so close to love and hate.

“You’re leaving.”

A voice speaks up behind him. It’s Rihanna, returning to the mansion after surveying the town.

“You’re going to Evergarde?”

“Yeah, I have to.”

Isaac is headed back to the capital city of Evergarde, to meet with the Grandmaster and also to formally receive his noble title for his recent deeds.

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

“You’ll be busy. I understand.”

Rebuilding Helmut will certainly keep Rihanna occupied. She cannot simply leave now.

On top of that, news of Isaac and Rihanna’s divorce will soon become official.

Originally, they had intended to keep it quiet, but now there is a reason: Isaac killed Arandel Helmut.

After a brief silence, Rihanna speaks again.

“From now on, the nobles will be on high alert against the Transcendents, right?”

Isaac nods.

“Yeah, most likely. And they’ll be more cautious about rituals as well.”

After all, Arandel Helmut fell under a ritual and turned against the kingdom.

Many nobles are now wary of such rituals, and the Mage Tower has begun researching rituals, which differ from standard magic.

“Arandel-nim left behind more than I expected.”

Heightened awareness of rituals, the slaying of five Primitive Transcendents—

And finally, by becoming the enemy and dying, he bolstered the reputation of the next generation.

Right now, those who fought by his side are being celebrated as the “golden generation.”

They’re saying even without Arandel Helmut, the kingdom is safe because the golden generation remains.

“It’s fortunate my father stopped there.”

Though Rihanna’s words are cold, they’re not wrong.

By dying at that point, Arandel Helmut and the Helmut name are left with some semblance of martyrdom.

“I’m grateful to you, Isaac.”

“Rihanna.”

“By stopping Father, you at least allowed Helmut to remain at this level of ruin.”

Even as she looks upon this scene of total devastation, Rihanna is thankful that at least something remains.

Isaac, after a moment’s hesitation, sighs and asks,

“You don’t seem happy about any of this.”

“….”

He is the only one in the entire world, to whom she can reveal her true feelings.

That’s why Rihanna said the words she shouldn’t have said with a bitter smile.

“If only there was nothing left—”

If that had been the case, she might have been able to abandon the name Helmut and carry on with her life.

As if asking him to ignore what she had just said, Rihanna sneaks a glance at Isaac and changes the subject.

“I’m going to become the head of the family. I’ll be leading Helmut from now on.”

It wasn’t a position she particularly welcomed, but it had to be done.

No one else but Rihanna could take on the role.

“Father was… a great warrior. But because of that, he sacrificed far too much.”

People inevitably have two sides.

To outsiders, Arandel was a hero who maintained peace with a single sword.

But to those who lived in the mansion, he was just a merciless father who threw everything away for that sword.

“From now on, Helmut is going to change. It’s practically been torn down to the point where there’s no trace of its original form.”

Rihanna shrugs and laughs at herself.

“I’m thinking of making it… a little more like a real family.”

It’s all she has left at this point.

Those words are on Rihanna’s lips, but she keeps them to herself.

She has no intention of tying down Isaac, who will soon be leaving.

“I guess the next time we meet, it’ll be on the battlefield.”

Rihanna takes a step back toward the mansion, as though she’s sending Isaac off.

“When that day comes… I’ll be counting on you.”

Her gentle voice urges him forward.

“Isaac Logan.”

“...!”

Caught off guard, Isaac widens his eyes, then lets out an awkward chuckle and nods.

“That sounds… strange.”

“Hurry up and go.”

“Hehe, alright. Got it.”

Stepping back, Isaac bows his head toward Rihanna.

“Farewell, Rihanna Helmut.”

“Isaac Logan… may your journey be filled with only happiness.”

Lifting the hem of her skirt, Rihanna gives him a polite bow, her parting gesture.

After the farewell, Isaac grows more distant from the mansion, but Rihanna remains there, unmoving and still bowed.

“Unnie, about the workers inside—”

Edel, the youngest sibling tasked with administrative work for the mansion’s reconstruction, approaches but stops in his tracks.

“...”

Droplets of tears fall onto the dust-covered floor.

‘Unnie…’

Edel steps away quietly.

Everyone needs their time to grieve.

****

“Hey!”

A sudden smack on the back sends Isaac stumbling forward as Silverna makes her appearance.

“Ugh?!”

Startled, Isaac quickly sets aside the bittersweet feelings lingering from his conversation with Rihanna.

“Silverna, you were here?”

“I’ve been helping out the townspeople nearby.”

Even the villages around Helmut were busy. While they weren’t as severely damaged as the mansion, cleanup was still necessary.

The knights of Helmut were down there assisting people rather than working on the mansion.

“So, what’s the plan—are you staying a bit longer, or should we head out now?”

At Isaac’s question, Silverna hesitates briefly, looking around awkwardly before changing the subject.

“What about Sharen? Didn’t she say she was coming with you?”

“She’s staying here until things settle down, then she’ll come on her own. She has her own responsibilities, after all.”

She lost both her mother and now her father.

Though she laughs bravely, insisting she’s already overcome this once—

‘She’s just putting up a front.’

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

Even so, since she said she’d overcome it herself, Isaac didn’t bother comforting her.

He knew that Sharen would surely overcome it again and grow from the experience.

“I’m heading straight to Evergarde. Even if no one says it, I’m pretty sure they don’t want me hanging around here.”

There was a valid reason for it, and even if Arandel had wanted it that way…

After all, how can people be driven solely by logic?

Besides, Isaac is no longer part of Helmut.

The knights of Helmut can’t be expected to look kindly on him.

‘Wanted to at least greet Jonathan.’

Word is, he left to escort some supplies from outside.

“Here’s the thing, Isaac.”

Silverna scratched her cheek as if embarrassed, then let out a sigh and confessed honestly.

“I’m thinking of heading back up north.”

“…Already?”

“Even if the Transcendents seem to have lost their momentum, it’s not like they’re going to just give up, right?”

Exactly.

They would never give up.

“I’m going to head north and prepare to hold them back.”

“…All right.”

In the previous life, the moment the north fell, the Transcendents began an even fiercer onslaught.

For them, the Malidan Barrier to the north must be quite the thorn in their side.

‘This time will be different.’

If the Malidan Barrier is ready for the Transcendents, unlike the sudden invasion back then…

the outcome is bound to change.

“So, Isaac, I guess this is goodbye for now.”

“Seems so.”

A breeze blew past.

As Silverna’s hair fluttered, Isaac reached out to cover her cheek, which had turned red out of embarrassment.

“Well, we already said our farewells once before because of the Sword Festival, so it’s not too awkward, right?”

“Judging by how chatty you’re getting, you seem pretty awkward to me.”

“…”

Silverna pursed her lips.

Isaac had tried to make light of the situation because he didn’t want their parting to feel heavy, but… clearly, it didn’t produce the best result.

“Was my line that bad?”

“It felt like you were treating our goodbye too lightly.”

“…Sorry. Bear with me.”

He’d just finished saying goodbye to Rihanna, and hearing that Silverna was leaving too had him feeling off-balance.

Silverna stared intently at Isaac, who was apologizing sheepishly, then suddenly rushed in for a hug.

“Out of nowhere?”

“What’s with the lukewarm reaction?”

“…”

“You’re a married man, right? Tch. We won’t see each other for a while, so this much is okay.”

“…Yeah.”

They embraced.

A bond of friendship, and a bit of affection.

They stood together somewhere in between.

“But you know…”

“...”

Suddenly, Silverna whispered softly into his ear.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That…they’d get bigger.”

“…”

He’d been trying not to think about it, but because of her remark, he couldn’t help noticing the feel of those two large mounds pressing against his chest even more.

“You told me, remember? That they’d grow, so I shouldn’t wear a binder and just get used to it, because soon I wouldn’t be able to wear one anyway.”

“Y-Yeah, I did say that.”

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

Isaac tried to pry her off, but he still wasn’t strong enough to overpower Silverna.

“How about letting go now? Is this how you want our goodbye to be?”

“That might be a problem.”

Nodding, Silverna slowly released her hold. The moment she stepped back, Isaac felt a special sensation brush against his cheek.

“…?!”

Startled, Isaac reflexively touched his cheek, and Silverna gave him a playful wink.

“At least now you’ll remember something besides my chest, right?”

Though she was trying to act nonchalant, her face was as red as Helmut hair.

Her gaze was unfocused, and her finger, pointing in Isaac’s direction, trembled—she was clearly embarrassed.

“If it’s so embarrassing, why even do it?”

Isaac sighed and retorted.

Silverna hesitated for a moment, then—

“Squeak, squeak?!”

—she tried to gloss over it with a cute little act.

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

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