As the curtain fell on the stage.
The sunset faded, and night arrived like darkness behind the veil.
The Malidan Wall was bustling with the appearance of a woman named Riana Helmunth, but…
When the Great Swarm began their assault on the wall, everything quickly became chaotic, as if it had never been calm.
“You’ve worked hard today. Get some rest.”
Reconnaissance Unit 5, except for Jonathan who was lying in the infirmary, was wrapping up their day.
From the front wall, the eerie cries of demons and the urgent voices of soldiers could still be heard.
“…Shouldn’t we go help them?”
“Resting is helping. If we rest, we can give those fighting now a chance to rest later.”
“Ah.”
“Judging by the scale of the attack, it’s not that big. They can handle it just fine.”
Sharen Helmunth seemed convinced, and Anna added her thoughts.
Finally, Silbern Caldias’s gaze turned to the red-haired woman standing next to Isaac.
“And Riana Helmunth.”
“…”
“Thanks for the help, but starting tomorrow, you’ll be interrogated. Why you disguised yourself as a maid, why you’ve been hiding all this time, and so on.”
“Alright.”
Riana accepted it confidently, and Silbern scratched her head before adding,
“On the flip side, it means you can rest easy for today.”
A small gift from the Caldias family to Riana.
“Keep that in mind and prepare yourself. That’s all.”
Silbern turned to leave but hesitated for a moment before speaking honestly.
“Today… thank you. You saved a lot of people.”
Her pride might have been hurt, but the fact that no harm came to the nearby residents mattered more to Silbern.
That’s why she could express her gratitude so openly.
“Anna! Let’s go grab a drink! We need at least one glass!”
“Huh? Now?”
As Silbern headed toward the soldiers’ tavern inside the castle, Anna followed after telling Isaac,
“I’ll send over some bedding for you.”
“Bedding?”
Confused, Isaac watched as Anna grinned and whispered,
“You can’t stay in the maid’s quarters anymore. Since you might be imprisoned for interrogation starting tomorrow, it’d be weird to give you a separate room. So, of course, you’ll have to stay together.”
“…Me?”
Isaac looked dumbfounded, and Anna, flustered, replied,
“Yes, you’re married, aren’t you?”
“Ah, right.”
“…”
At Isaac’s hesitant response, Riana’s cheeks puffed up slightly before returning to normal.
It was so brief that no one noticed.
“Just so you know… the soundproofing there isn’t great.”
“…”
“…”
“Anna! Come on!”
“Coming!”
As the two left, Isaac and Riana stood there without a word.
Creak.
Thud.
The door closed.
The two entered the room.
The fatigue of the day weighed heavily on their bodies.
But instead of relaxing, they only grew more tense.
“…”
“…”
Standing awkwardly by the door, Riana stared blankly at Isaac.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air.
Once, they might have been the closest of people.
But when had being together become so awkward?
‘That’s just how time works, I guess.’
Unknowingly changing—that’s what time does.
“Here.”
Since Riana wasn’t much of a talker, Isaac broke the silence. He pulled out a note from his pocket.
It was the note Riana had sent through Sharen that morning, containing her thoughts on Isaac’s swordsmanship.
“Ah.”
“Thanks.”
“Did you know?”
“Sort of? The Sharen I know wouldn’t be able to analyze the structure of swordsmanship in such detail.”
Besides, Sharen wasn’t exactly a great actor.
It was almost like she wasn’t even trying to hide it.
“Isa—”
“I’m going to wash up.”
“…”
Riana started to call out but stopped as Isaac cut her off.
After a brief glance at Riana, who averted her gaze, Isaac stepped out.
Thirty minutes later.
The two took turns washing up.
While Riana was away, Isaac continued writing about swordsmanship.
He was detailing his thoughts on Riana’s sword techniques and what he could learn from them when…
“…Isaac.”
Startled by the voice behind him, Isaac jumped up.
Riana had returned, now wearing a white negligee meant for sleeping.
“Uh, when did you get here?”
“You still can’t notice your surroundings when you’re focused. Some things never change.”
Did Riana just smile?
It was so brief that Isaac could only wonder.
Closing the manual, Isaac coughed awkwardly and looked at Riana.
Her face was slightly flushed as she met his gaze.
“Uh, sit down for a bit.”
Pointing to the bed, Riana hesitantly sat down.
Remembering that her face stiffens when she’s nervous, she deliberately pressed her cheeks with her palms.
“Do you know why I came? I heard the family head sent Sharen.”
It was time to sort things out.
At Isaac’s question, Riana lowered her hands and cautiously spoke.
“I thought you might be in danger.”
“Because it’s the frontlines? That’s a given.”
“It’s not just that—”
Riana started to say something but stopped. Or rather, she couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“…”
“…”
Silence fell between them again.
It was a familiar atmosphere.
“So you came to protect me?”
“Yes.”
After hearing her out, Isaac nodded and replied.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel like a very convincing reason, Riana.”
“…”
“I don’t feel moved or particularly grateful. It feels like you came a long way for something small.”
“I guess so.”
“I know what kind of person you are, so I know you’re not expecting anything in return.”
“…”
“Well, is there any other reason?”
Riana wasn’t here to ask for the divorce to be called off or to beg for his love.
“Just…”
After a pause, Riana fidgeted with her hands and confessed.
“I didn’t want you to leave while injured.”
“…”
“So that even after leaving the family, you could live well.”
Like the old days when she rowed alone.
Staring at Isaac…
When Isaac looked at Rianna, she quickly lowered her gaze and began to explain something earnestly.
“We’re also investigating the incident that happened on our wedding anniversary. I know we’re busy because of the Sword Festival, but still, I’m trying my best—”
“Alois.”
“……”
Rianna, who was in the middle of explaining, froze.
She slowly raised her head and looked at Isaac, asking in return.
“What?”
“Helmunth’s third son, Alois, is the culprit.”
Rianna, who had stiffened like a painting, cautiously asked.
“Why would Alois—?”
“Go ask him yourself.”
“……Alright.”
Rianna exhaled calmly, and her expression showed a sense of determination.
It seemed she was planning to confront Alois aggressively once she returned to the family.
“……”
“……”
The silence returned.
Isaac asked, as if testing the waters.
“Do you believe me?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, he’s your younger brother. And I’m… just a husband who’s about to leave.”
In response to the question of why she would trust him when he was about to leave, Rianna looked at him with a confused expression.
“Why would you lie about that?”
Isaac was momentarily taken aback by Rianna’s matter-of-fact response but tried to hide his emotions.
“Phew.”
Rianna took a deep breath and clenched her fists, as if steeling herself.
“Isaac, since we’re talking about family, there’s something I want to say.”
“Are you going to apologize?”
“……”
Rianna was struck to the core.
Isaac smiled softly and shook his head.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t?”
“Yeah, it’s unnecessary.”
Even though it had only been about a month in this world.
“The time to accept an apology has already passed.”
For him, it was a past that was already 10 years old.
He had no desire to receive an apology for something he had either forgotten, overcome, or buried.
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“……”
“There was a time when I wondered why you abandoned me.”
But not anymore.
“I don’t even want to know about Helmunth’s family affairs anymore.”
“……”
“Was there a reason you had to leave me behind?”
Slowly.
Isaac stood up and approached Rianna.
He crouched down in front of her, sitting on the bed, and met her eye level.
“There must have been. You came all the way to the front lines for me. Clearly, there were many misunderstandings between us.”
He gently wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes.
Rianna closed her eyes softly, feeling his touch.
“But Rianna.”
Unfortunately.
“I don’t even want to hear that.”
“……”
“I might understand. I might even feel like forgiving you. But then I’d end up back in Helmunth.”
No matter what.
“I don’t want that.”
However.
There was just one thing.
“The only thing I’m grateful for—”
He had thought about it many times.
Why had Rianna, even after 10 years, still been wearing the ring until the moment she died?
The answer was simple, but accepting it was difficult.
“That we—”
But.
Looking at Rianna now, he didn’t want to deny this one thing.
“Never regretted loving each other.”
He smiled softly and took her hand.
Rianna’s eyes wavered.
Tears streamed down her cheeks again as she opened her dry lips.
“Did you—”
Her voice trembled.
“Never regret loving me?”
Isaac answered calmly to Rianna’s pitiful question.
“There were times I hated you, times I resented you—”
So many times, too many to count.
“But I never regretted the days we loved each other.”
Because.
Those memories were brilliant.
Enough to light me up even in the darkest corners of Helmunth’s mansion.
“Ugh! I, too……”
Rianna nodded, tears streaming down her face.
“I felt the same, Isaac.”
The Sword Festival was just around the corner.
There was still a lot to do, so it might be delayed a bit, but as far as Isaac remembered, the Sword Festival proceeded without a hitch.
Back then, he hadn’t attended the festival, staying locked in his room instead.
But when the time came, everything would be settled.
“Phew.”
Rianna swallowed her tears and tried to steady her breathing. Seeing this, Isaac tried to let go of her hand, but she held on tightly.
“……”
“Ah, Isaac.”
It was hard to tell if her face was red from crying or from embarrassment.
When he looked down at her, Rianna hesitated and then whispered secretly.
“Hold me.”
“Rianna?”
It was such a sudden request.
But Rianna was surprisingly serious.
“Please. Just for one day. I’m not asking you to take responsibility. You can treat me like a fling, just one more time……”
Like that night.
Our first night.
Hold me.
Sharen’s room.
Sharen, who had been squeezing out her energy all day, should have been asleep by now, but she couldn’t fall asleep.
“Ah, what do I do!”
Lying in bed, she kicked the blankets and made a frustrated face.
“My sister’s going to kill me!”
Knock knock.
The sound of knocking reached her ears as she struggled.
“W-who is it?”
There shouldn’t be anyone visiting at this hour, so Sharen got up from the bed and cautiously opened the door.
“Ah, sister?”
There stood Rianna.
“Why, why are you here?! Weren’t you with Isaac?”
Sharen stammered, surprised to see Rianna.
But Rianna, not even noticing her sister’s confusion, sniffled and answered.
“I got—”
“Got?”
“Kicked out.”
“……”
