Chapter 81: Baron Logan

“Baron Logan, another fine morning to you.”

“Mm, good morning.”

“Have you been swinging your sword since dawn again? I’ll fetch some water for you to wash.”

About two months had passed.

Isaac, who had been practicing his sword in the courtyard of his estate since early morning, greeted the arriving maid, Karen, with a somewhat sheepish smile.

He still felt awkward being addressed as “Baron Logan.”

Watching the maid disappear inside, he naturally took in the sight of the estate. Compared to Helmut, it was too modest even to be called a mansion, but for Isaac alone, it was more than sufficient.

It was a clear indication of how much Princess Clarice was trying to treat Isaac with care.

“Phew.”

Morning training was no longer a choice but a necessity.

In fact, on days he skipped, his body would feel stiff. Isaac wanted to continue honing his breathing and swordsmanship every single day.

Some asked if it wasn’t too strenuous to do this every day.

But swordsmanship is all about accumulation.

Even one day spent standing still felt like a waste.

He had been given a new opportunity.

He had seen the swords of countless formidable foes.

Isaac wanted to seize this chance no matter what, to push himself to the very edge of his capabilities.

Finishing his morning training, Isaac washed with the water Karen had prepared, then sat at the dining table.

He couldn’t help but smile at the simple meal laid out before him.

“Thanks, Karen.”

“Hehe, it’s nice to see you enjoying it.”

Karen smiled before heading off to her other chores.

At first, Karen had been flustered by how politely Isaac treated her. She insisted he needn’t bother being so formal with her—that she was just doing her job.

But Isaac couldn’t help himself.

He wanted to treat her as well as he could.

He, too, was once a commoner, so he offered that as a half-truth.

But the real reason was…

He wanted to do this.

For someone else, once upon a time.

A place had been prepared.

But the person was gone.

‘I should go pay my respects today.’

‘This morning, for some reason, I miss your voice so much, Milli.’

****

Having a residence in Evergarde, the capital, was certainly convenient. There was a dedicated training hall, it was easy to go for a memorial visit, and most goods could be acquired without hassle.

Especially the forges here were remarkable.

The North’s prickly blacksmith, Antonio, would blow a gasket if he heard, but…

Here, not only were the blacksmiths highly skilled, but their equipment was state-of-the-art. They weren’t just crafting practical items for the front lines; they also produced noble ornaments.

So the concept of a “blade’s form” was more readily accepted, and the craftsmanship was excellent.

The one drawback was speed.

It was impossible to match the pace of someone like Antonio, who was constantly being hounded on the front lines.

After placing a custom order at a forge and visiting Milli’s grave, Isaac was on his way back when he noticed a man standing in front of the estate and let out a hollow laugh.

“Sir Heyrad. You’ve come again.”

“Isaac-nim, please, you have to do something. The court etiquette instructor is threatening to kill me for postponing again today.”

“Hmm, there’s not much I can do about that.”

“Ha, you say that, but she keeps running off on her own every day…”

Stepping past the sighing Sir Heyrad, Isaac entered the estate. In the garden stood Princess Clarice and the Grandmaster, who was hiding her ears beneath a wide-brimmed hat, casually looking around.

“Isaac! Where did you go?”

Sniff sniff “Ah, a grave, was it? I can smell the incense on you.”

Princess Clarice and the Grandmaster.

“You could have told me you were going. I would’ve waited.”

“It wasn’t a planned visit.”

“There was nowhere else to hide, so I ended up coming here.”

Karen, the maid, quickly brought out some tea. It was an embarrassingly small garden, with a tiny table and a few chairs tucked in one corner.

The three headed over and continued their conversation as they took their seats.

“Sir Heyrad begged me to persuade you, Princess Clarice, to stop wandering around like this.”

“Wandering? Ha, Heyrad is so annoyingly by-the-book. That’s the problem with knights sometimes.”

Princess Clarice grumbled as she took a seat.

“Don’t you think so? Does it really look like I’m just goofing off? What I’m doing has a major impact on state affairs.”

‘That side of her personality hasn’t changed.’

Taking the tea kettle from Karen, who seemed hesitant to pour tea for a royal, Isaac filled the princess’ cup. Surprised, Karen bowed and discreetly stepped away.

“…What’s this? Are you trying to charm the maid too?”

“Hehe.”

At Princess Clarice’s remark, the Grandmaster beside her laughed and popped a pastry into her mouth, amused by the princess’ wording.

Isaac poured the tea and sighed.

“Charm her? I’m not doing anything of the sort.”

“That’s exactly the problem with you, Isaac. If you look that handsome, you should carry yourself more cautiously. A woman who falls in love turns into a fool, you know?”

“…”

It was hard to argue with that.

The Grandmaster smirked as she picked up another pastry.

“Now that you’re officially a baron, aren’t you getting your fair share of marriage proposals?”

“Mm.”

She wasn’t wrong.

He was now a free man.

Isaac had become a hot topic in social circles. He was the one who had personally defeated Arandel Helmut. He was considered a cornerstone of the next generation and also had a connection to the princess. Moreover, his achievements during the Great Den were once again being highlighted.

From the perspective of other nobles, Isaac was like a ripe and promising fruit.

In the past, nobody would have dared approach him because of Helmut’s influence.

But now that Helmut’s power had waned, some nobles were starting to show interest in Isaac.

“Being in the capital means more rumors and more eyes on you. That’s why I said I’d give you your own domain, rather than just granting you a nominal title.”

“No thanks. I’m not worthy of that.”

There had been an offer to grant him land, but Isaac had declined.

He didn’t want to become a lofty noble; he just wanted to be a swordsman.

“And as for marriage… I don’t intend to.”

Marriage.

He had no interest in it.

He had various reasons, but ultimately, he had no intention of going through with it.

“Is that so? Actually, I’m also looking at potential marriages for myself lately. It’s a very powerful political move, so I might as well use it while I can,” Princess Clarice said in a rather nonchalant tone—like she was talking about someone else’s marriage, not her own.

“Even though it looks peaceful right now, I know it won’t last long.”

In truth, a fierce, behind-the-scenes clash with the Transcendents was already underway. Unlike Isaac’s previous life, the Transcendents hadn’t risen up all across the country immediately after Arandel’s death.

But they were unquestionably lying in wait.

“That’s why everything needs to be settled properly now. We can’t afford to be internally shaken by some succession dispute.”

At the princess’ calm words, the other two offered pained smiles.

The statement she had just made was precisely why Princess Clarice had been behaving this way.

Currently, the Kingdom of Albion had only two princesses:

The elder, Adeline Seraphia Regardia,

-and the younger, Clarice Evangel Regardia.

The Regardia royal family was essentially divided into two factions.

There was no prince in the royal family, and since the current king could no longer produce an heir, unless something drastic happened, the throne would eventually pass to one of the princesses.

“I need to prevent nobles who dislike my sister or view her unfavorably from flocking to me. Honestly, I think it’d be best if I just married off to another kingdom.”

With the shadow war against the Transcendents raging on, Princess Clarice sought to firmly establish royal authority and unify the nobles by narrowing down the line of succession ahead of time.

She would accomplish this by giving up her own claim.

“Oh, right—Isaac. There’s a party tomorrow evening. I was going to send you an invitation, but since you’re here, I’ll just tell you directly.”

With that, Princess Clarice smoothly shifted away from the heavy topic.

A sudden party invitation?

“Well, we don’t know who might suddenly side with the Transcendents. My sister said it’s basically to keep the nobles in line,” she explained.

“Does that include me?”

“No, no. It’s because the person you’re looking for might show up.”

“The person I’m looking for?”

“Baron Bolten.”

A smile tugged at Princess Clarice’s lips.

The Grandmaster cocked her head, not understanding what Clarice meant. But Isaac’s eyes slowly widened, and he nodded without hesitation.

“I’ll go.”

Bolten.

A lawless place that was practically abandoned, a territory where most people were looked down upon wherever they went.

There was an old saying telling travelers to avoid Bolten’s back alleys at all costs, and not without reason.

And that place was—

Milli’s hometown.

There might still be hope.

Milli had said her family disappeared after getting caught up in the Bolten revolution.

Isaac still clung to the slim chance of finding them. If, by some miracle, they were alive, he wanted them to at least have the chance to pay their respects to Milli.

“All right. But be careful. Baron Bolten rose to his rank by quelling that revolution—so, like you, he obtained his title through sheer ability.”

“…”

“Surviving in a place as brutal as Bolten proves he’s got some real grit. Don’t take him lightly—”

Just then, Princess Clarice cut herself off and let out an incredulous laugh.

“Wait a second, who am I even talking to here?”

A wry smile aimed at herself… then a grin of trust directed at Isaac.

“After all, you’re the one who survived Helmut.”

– – The End of The Chapter – –

 

[TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release: https://www.patreon.com/readingpia

 

Join our Discord server for regular updates and have fun with other community members: https://discord.com/invite/SqWtJpPtm9 ]