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Translator: uly
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Last Night in Helmunt
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The two who stepped out of the family head's office wore starkly contrasting expressions.
Isaac had a faint smile on his lips, while Rianna's face was tense and hardened.
Isaac noticed it, of course, but he chose not to acknowledge it.
'Good thing we were able to talk things through.'
His conversation with Arandel had gone smoothly.
And he'd even secured financial and material support to leave first thing tomorrow.
The sum was especially generous—essentially hush money to keep the details of the divorce from leaking out.
'Pathetic as it is, I'm actually a little excited.'
Unlike his previous life, where he'd fled in terror, stepping forward boldly like this made Isaac's heart race.
'She said she likes confident people, even if they're rude. Guess it was true.'
Especially when facing off against Arandel Helmunt, the autobiography-slash-last-will he'd read in his past life had been a huge help.
Since the man wasn't one for empty talk, Isaac had taken the memoir at face value.
'Divorce is the best.'
The miracle of turning two into one.
The symbol of freedom.
And a hefty divorce settlement to boot.
Someone once said it, didn't they?
You only realize what's precious after you lose it.
Now that he was married and finally appreciating the joys of single life, Isaac was fully prepared for another regression.
A regression back to being single, that is.
"Isaac."
Rianna called out to him as he hurried down the stairs, since he was set to depart tomorrow.
"Hm?"
"Do you even know what it means to go to the Mallidan frontline? That's the very front line."
"I know. The place we thought was just a monster nest turned out to be a Great Horde."
A monster nest was simply a gathering of beasts, but a hazard was different.
When it grew larger than a lair and gained an intelligent leader-class monster at the helm, it was called a Great Horde.
"It hasn't been confirmed as a Great Horde yet."
'Oh, right.'
It was still that point in time where it hadn't been officially determined.
But Isaac knew it was a Great Horde.
"And the problem isn't the monsters. You know that the ones guarding the Mallidan frontline are the Caldias family."
"Yeah, I know. And that they're extremely hostile toward Helmunt."
Like mortal enemies.
The rival families dubbed as such: Helmunt and Caldias.
That was the biggest reason Arandel didn't want to send his sons to the front lines.
It would leave a lone Helmunt son at the mercy of the Caldias family, who were no better than sworn foes.
"Who knows what kind of treatment you'd get. Especially someone like you who can't even wield a sword properly—"
"Rianna."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"No matter what they do to me at Caldias..."
A faint trace of contempt in Isaac's gaze pierced right through her.
"It'll be better than Helmunt."
She wanted to ask what he knew about Caldias.
But Rianna couldn't bring herself to say it.
It was because of Isaac's attitude, as if he trusted Caldias more than Helmunt.
Isaac resumed descending the stairs.
Listening to his footsteps, Rianna mustered her courage once more.
"You're leaving tomorrow, right?"
A sigh echoed back.
Her heart sank, but Isaac stopped again and answered.
"Yeah, first thing tomorrow."
"How about dinner together, at least?"
"Dinner?"
"Yeah. We were... married once, after all."
It was rare.
For Rianna to suggest meeting up first.
But.
"Sorry, I've got plans tonight."
"It's our last night."
"Can't be helped. I already made the plans."
Isaac was planning to eat the meal prepared by the head chef and Milli tonight.
How awkward would it be if Rianna tagged along?
"What about drinks, then?"
Tonight's Rianna was unusually persistent.
A question where she'd even set aside a bit of her pride.
"Haha, drinks are even worse."
Isaac chuckled softly and deflected.
"..."
"Let's not make any mistakes, Rianna. Save the champagne for your next husband."
"You're my husband right now."
"Still your husband, yeah."
"..."
"Well, excuse me. I'm a bit busy."
He added that he had packing to do, then headed down to the first floor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Left alone in the office, Arandel Helmunt closed his eyes and sank into thought for a moment.
The image of his son-in-law—boldly demanding divorce and even negotiating with him—was quite impressive.
'Does he have a side I don't know about?'
The Isaac he knew was an ordinary man.
Average looks, and he'd thought the boy had some silver tongue since he'd charmed his daughter.
But he didn't fit in with Helmunt at all.
And seeing him cower like some herbivore, Arandel had left him alone without meddling.
'Unexpected.'
They'd lived in the same mansion for a full four years, yet he'd never imagined this side of him.
Arandel hadn't thought Isaac was the type to speak so boldly to his face.
There weren't many who could talk to him without shrinking back.
"If my kids showed even half that spirit..."
Unlike himself, Arandel let out a faint sigh.
If his eldest son Roengreen had shown even that much backbone toward him, he'd have handed over succession ages ago.
Thinking of his children living crushed under his shadow always filled him first with pity.
Helmunt was meant to overcome, dominate, and crush anyone.
Even if that someone was their own father.
"I hope they learn something by watching."
He never thought he'd say "learn from your son-in-law."
His evaluation of Isaac had risen within him, and it was even intriguing.
"..."
Honestly, at first he'd thought the divorce was Rianna's scheme.
Even if they fell short at the Sword Festival, he'd decided to pass succession to his eldest son Roengreen.
So he'd told his eldest daughter Rianna to go have children freely and support the family from within.
He'd assumed she was divorcing because she hated that—biding her time to seize the family head position.
"That wasn't it."
On the contrary, the lingering regret dripping from Rianna's eyes was heartbreaking even for her father to witness.
"Hoo."
Whatever.
Arandel decided not to concern himself with Isaac and Rianna anymore.
Ultimately, he was only interested in the strong.
And Isaac hadn't even reached the level of a proper swordsman yet.
But.
'Intriguing.'
Despite not being a swordsman, his son-in-law's boldness left a deep impression on Arandel.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Dinnertime.
"I hope the meal was to your liking?"
The head chef approached with a gentle smile, refilling his cup with red tea.
Its clean flavor perfectly capped off the meal.
"Absolutely. Thank you for making my last night in Helmunt so delightful. It was so good I almost didn't want to leave."
"Haha! If you stayed, we'd be the grateful ones!"
It wasn't just flattery.
The chef genuinely wanted Isaac to stay.
No one else in the mansion appreciated his food this much.
He felt pride not just as head chef, but as a cook—Isaac openly affirmed that his efforts weren't wasted.
After years with the taciturn masters who ate mechanically, nitpicked improvements, or were picky eaters.
Seeing Isaac so openly delighted made comparisons inevitable.
"I wish you'd been this honest from the start."
Isaac felt regret too.
Only now, at the end, could he say such things.
"Isaac."
"Milli!"
His peer with sun-kissed skin, the chef's assistant.
In her hands was a neatly packed lunchbox.
"I made a lunchbox with your favorite sandwiches. It's got preservation magic, so you can eat it even on your trip tomorrow."
"Milli, thank you so much."
To Isaac, Milli was a benefactor from his past life onward.
He desperately wanted to take her along, but it was impossible in reality.
He'd miss her food dearly.
"Milli, do you know why I like sandwiches?"
So he blurted out something silly.
In his past life, her eyes as she watched him leave had been filled only with pity and worry.
"Huh? Is there a special reason?"
"You can eat sandwiches while playing card games. That's why."
"Pfft, what a silly reason."
"...Nice."
Right now, Milli was smiling as they parted.
Isaac loved that.
That he wasn't a source of worry for her anymore.
It filled him with joy.
"So if I make a ton of money playing cards, come be my personal chef, Milli."
"Pardon?"
"My tongue's already a prisoner to your cooking. I'll come pick you up later."
Isaac grinned playfully.
Milli beamed back in response.
"My salary's pretty high, you know? I'm not at Helmunt for nothing."
"Can't you give a friend a discount?"
"No way."
It was a lighthearted chat.
Isaac pulled a drawing he'd made from his bag.
"Here, Milli. A gift for all the delicious meals and for listening to me all this time."
"You drew me? Amazing!"
"Whoa, I had no idea you had such talent!"
A portrait of Milli, drawn by Isaac himself.
Milli and the head chef marveled at his skill.
'I couldn't draw at all around this time originally.'
In his past life, as the Silent Sword, he'd compiled countless manuals and reached pro-level drawing.
When writing manuals, some techniques couldn't be explained with words alone, so he'd started illustrating.
And thanks to a natural aptitude, he'd improved quickly.
The two exchanged the drawing and lunchbox.
Feeling the weight of Milli's lunchbox, Isaac smiled softly.
"Thanks, Milli."
"Thank you so much. Be happy, Isaac."
"Yeah, but let's drop the formalities now. The chef looks lost."
The chef between them scratched his head in bewilderment.
"I thought I walked in on a secret rendezvous."
It was a disaster of a joke, but since it was just them, he wanted to say it was fine.
"..."
Rianna Helmunt had appeared behind the chef without a sound.
In her pajamas, she clutched a bottle of wine.
"Head chef."
"L-Lady Rianna?!"
The hefty chef spun around in shock and immediately bowed low.
"Oh dear! Lady Rianna! This fool spoke out of turn! He got carried away—!"
"Enough."
Her expression showed even excuses were distasteful.
She glanced at Milli, then issued a flat command.
"Take everyone and leave."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!"
The head chef and the dinner staff gave sidelong bows as they departed.
He'd been about to prepare drinks at the end, but now it was ruined; Isaac licked his lips in regret.
Thud.
Rianna sat beside him and set the bottle down.
Her face flushed, clearly after several glasses already.
He had to dig deep into old memories to recall seeing her drunk.
"How many have you had?"
He tried to scold her and snatch the bottle, but her grip was ironclad.
"I didn't want to show you this side of me."
"..."
Her gaze waited for a 'why?'
But he wasn't curious at all, so Isaac didn't ask.
"How did we end up like this?"
"You said you didn't want to show me drunk. Then stick to it till the end."
"Isaac."
"Enough, Rianna."
A long sigh escaped.
"It's already over. Don't act like you have regrets."
It was utterly pointless.
He couldn't stop his departing steps, nor could she instill any guilt.
Their relationship was broken in every sense.
"No excuses. Just stay as you are. The Rianna Helmunt I remember is a woman who never regrets her actions."
"..."
"She was a woman I hated."
But still.
"Let me remember her as one who held to her convictions."
"..."
Rianna set the bottle down and slumped, covering her eyes with her hand.
After a brief pause.
"Isaac."
In a low voice, emotions tightly restrained.
"Take care."
She said goodbye.