The next morning.
Isaac was blankly eating breakfast in the servants’ dining hall.
Today’s Sword Oath Ceremony begins in the evening, so he really should be eating heartily. But his slightly deflated expression as he mechanically chewed on bread made him appear dispirited.
“You don’t seem to have much energy.”
His same-age, fellow commoner-born cook, Millie, approached cautiously. She, too, looked exhausted and worn out from all the recent preparations for the Sword Oath Ceremony.
“A, well… yeah.”
Sighs escaped him.
He had come fully prepared for the Sword Oath Ceremony, determined to expose the Helvint family’s swordsmanship somehow. He had continuously dueled with Jonathan, Sharon, and even Rianne for that purpose.
But in the end, Silbern was chosen instead.
It almost seemed like there was some sort of manipulation, but that wasn’t the case. Arandel Helvint was not the type to do such a thing.
‘Well, I’ll just have to win well somehow.’
But Silbern still hadn’t arrived, it seemed.
Would she make it today?
‘The Sword Oath Ceremony is going to be full of complications, it seems.’
For one, they still needed to find the Helvint involved with the Transcendental Tribe.
And he also wanted to test himself during the Sword Oath Ceremony.
“Hey, Millie, did anything strange happen while I was gone?”
“Excuse me?”
A startled Millie made Isaac, in turn, feel a little uneasy at her reaction.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, something is strange.”
Millie discreetly brought Isaac other dishes from the table.
“Master Isaac, you’re not eating. Please don’t be a picky eater. You’ll need your strength today.”
“….”
“Does it not taste good?”
“No, it’s good. The best.”
It was a warm dining table.
Though the table was plain and for the cooks, meant he couldn’t attend the banquet for the distinguished guests, this moment was the most peaceful for Isaac in the Helvint mansion.
“Millie, watch the Sword Oath Ceremony well today.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll show you how much I’ve changed.”
Because of that, Isaac rarely boasted to Millie like a child.
But Millie, in contrast, gave a wry smile and poured him some water from a glass.
“Please don’t overexert yourself. You know you should prioritize not getting hurt, right?”
“I’m not the Isaac you remember. I’ll show you how much I’ve grown since leaving for the north.”
Now, he wanted to prove that she no longer needed to worry.
When he thought of himself since leaving the house, instead of a shadowed face filled with worry, it would be one bathed in sunlight with a kind smile.
Isaac wanted to show her this trust.
“Sorry, Silbern.”
He absolutely could not lose today.
[Bye Win: Isaac Helvint]
“….”
As evening fell, Isaac blinked at the posted match results.
“You fool…”
Isaac clenched his fists. Somehow, due to Silbern’s tardiness, he hadn’t been able to draw his sword and had advanced by default.
Naturally, around him, there was an uproar, claiming that Kaldias had disrespected the Helvints.
Even Arandel Helvint seemed displeased, needing no further explanation since it was tantamount to disgracing the Helvint family’s Sword Oath Ceremony.
“Congrats on the bye win!”
Beside him, Sharon was hopping around in celebration. Isaac tweaked her cheeks from behind without warning.
“What the heck! That’s rough!”
“Ah, well. Good.”
He had spoken so confidently to Millie, so what could he say now with this default win?
It was somewhat embarrassing.
“But, I’ll probably be knocked out tomorrow.”
Sharon pointed at the match schedule with a sigh. Isaac shrugged, letting out a hollow laugh.
He hadn’t expected to meet his opponent so quickly.
[Isaac Helvint vs Roengreen Helvint]
Isaac, remember just one thing: don’t get into useless skirmishes and get beaten up!”
“Why would you plan to provoke anyone and get beaten up?”
Right after that, Isaac grabbed Sharon’s head and shook it, making her scream, though his voice betrayed that he found it somewhat amusing.
When he finally let go, even though Sharon was still disoriented, her tone became serious.
“Isaac knows, right? Roengreen never gives quarter. Remember the knight who faced off against him? He came out as a bloody mess.”
“Especially since Isaac has already gotten beaten up by him quite a few times, Roengreen wouldn’t even feel a pang of conscience about it.”
“Don’t you remember the time Roengreen lost to Rianne? He got so furious and started hitting Isaac.”
Listening, Isaac suddenly had a question.
“So Rianne is your sister, but you call Roengreen ‘him’?”
“Huh? Should I be calling him brother, then? I don’t recognize either of them as older siblings.”
“…”
That was Sharon’s usual attitude, anyway.
“Anyway, I hope Isaac doesn’t get hurt! Especially not by those fools!”
“Hmm.”
The Helvint mansion.
With Millie around, it felt like there was one more safe and comforting place in the house.
Is that why?
“Come on, Sharon. Millie said she was preparing a special dinner because I worked hard today.”
With tonight’s banquet, Millie had said she’d take special care of him, so it’d be better to head over early.
It’s a precious time, but right now, it felt like it could be spent with Sharon.
“Yeah!”
Sharon, following behind, asked with a smile.
“So, what did Isaac work so hard on today?”
“…”
Rianne was gazing at the flower in the vase.
A single rose looked like it might wither at any moment, but Rianne didn’t seem bothered enough to change it out.
Rianne, who was unable to appear in the Sword Oath Ceremony despite it being in full swing.
Normally, it wouldn’t look great for the eldest daughter not to make an appearance, but it clearly indicated Arandel’s fury with Rianne, not allowing her even to show her face outside.
Bang!
At that moment, the door opened roughly.
Rianne’s gaze slowly moved, and it was Roengreen glaring at her, muttering angrily.
“I’ll keep this simple. I’m going to be the head of this house, Rianne.”
Had something happened?
Roengreen’s head looked hot with rage.
“…”
Rianne didn’t feel the need to say anything.
She had already made a determination to become the head. But there was no need to tell Roengreen. However, Rianne, who had no chance to respond, heard this.
“Tomorrow, Isaac will be facing me.”
“…!”
Rianne’s eyes suddenly flickered.
Roengreen, not missing that, smirked and asked again.
“No matter what you say, my plan is to leave the guy half-brained.”
“Roengreen!”
Finally, Rianne stood up. A dark energy seemed to ripple from her feet.
But Roengreen didn’t back down one bit.
“Tomorrow is a showcase, Rianne. If father selects you and you become the head—”
Roengreen gritted his teeth and actually stepped forward towards Rianne.
“It won’t end just with tomorrow. Even once you become the head, I wonder if you’ll always keep him by your side.”
Pushing Rianne aside, Roengreen walked out.
Two voices echoed in her mind.
“Be the head, Rianne.”
“Only then can you save Isaac.”
Her mother had gently said it with a smile.
“The moment you become the head,
“Understand that your husband will no longer be an ordinary person.”
Roengreen had outright warned, teeth showing like a wolf.
Though both parties wanted different things, the threatening materials were the same, which made Rianne feel like a blade was pressing against her throat.
But now was the time to take a firm stance.
‘Alright.’
Rianne was determined.
Tonight.
Roengreen will be—
Knock, knock, knock.
Without waiting for an answer, a woman knocked and then swung the door open with a creak.
At this point, it almost felt like this was no longer “confinement”.
But the woman who entered had a presence strong enough to overlook such trivialities.
“Hmm, hello?”
With a bright smile, the woman waved casually as she greeted, causing Rianne to hurriedly kneel on one knee.
“Princess Clarice.”
“I heard you’re confined, but you don’t look well.”
With a subtle smile, Clarice placed her hand on Rianne’s shoulder.
“Let’s have a little chat, shall we?”
*
“Where could the princess have gone?”
In the evening banquet hall, Isaac searched for Princess Clarice but couldn’t find her.
Apparently, she was investigating the informant again today. He wondered if she had found anything.
“Wow, there’s really no one near Isaac.”
Clad in a dress, Sharon hovered around Isaac, muttering.
All the participants in the Sword Oath Ceremony were surrounded by crowds of nobles engaged in conversation, except for Isaac, the only one who had advanced by default today.
After all, he was a commoner son-in-law.
If Rianne had been here, the scene might have looked quite different.
“Isaac-sama.”
At that moment, Millie approached cautiously. Her unusually clean cook’s uniform showed how much preparation she’d put into tonight’s dishes.
“Over there.”
“Ah, got it.”
Thanks to that, Isaac could enjoy the stew Millie had specially prepared for him quietly and thoughtfully.
“I want to eat it, too.”
Sharon, following behind, made Millie’s expression darken slightly, but she didn’t say anything.
A separate dining table had been set up. The stew on the tablecloth might look modest to others, but it brought a satisfied smile to Isaac’s lips.
Once seated, the high aroma was carried by the breeze.
Just the kind of food Isaac loved.
He liked the commoner dishes infused with luxury ingredients, especially when the stew had hearty chunks of meat.
“Is this it? It’s quite lavish.”
“Sorry, Miss.”
“Huh? No, there’s no apology necessary. Come to think of it, it’s more about Isaac’s low taste, isn’t it?!”
“No, I’m really sorry.”
The excessive apology made Sharon feel awkward this time.
Millie’s cooking would surely change her mind.
“The consistency is perfect. There’s a lot of meat inside too. As usual, Millie knows my tastes well.”
Smiling, Isaac praised her, causing Millie to lower her head and bring more dishes to the table. They seemed simple but were meticulously crafted, showing she had Isaac’s well-being at heart.
Seeing them, Isaac felt a bit guilty.
“I don’t have much to show off today.”
“I’m encouraging you for tomorrow.”
Millie gave a faint smile.
“Hey, Millie, you don’t want to become my personal chef? I’ll figure out the payment somehow.”
At Isaac’s offer, Millie just smiled the same serene smile as before.
At the moment Millie was about to take another spoonful:
“Isaac-sama.”
“Hmm?”
“You seem different. Sitting here with Miss Sharon and all.”
Isaac stole a glance at Sharon. She was enthusiastically eating, clearly enjoying the stew, seemingly oblivious to their conversation.
“Ah, well… yeah. I’ve really changed a lot. I especially want to show you that.”
With tomorrow’s duel against Roengreen, Isaac hoped Millie would surely come to watch.
“If possible, I will definitely come.”
“…Millie, is there something on your mind?”
Isaac, putting his spoon down, calmly asked. Millie’s demeanor was different from usual, giving him a strange sense of unease.
“Hurry up, your stew will get cold.”
“….”
Slowly, Isaac filled his spoon.
The warmth of the spoon slowly touched his tongue and went down his throat.
“Wow.”
Truly.
Isaac was genuinely amazed.
He hadn’t expected it to taste this amazing.
“Millie, this is really—!”
Isaac’s words never finished because Millie collapsed right there.
“…Millie?”
Isaac instantly had no idea what was going on.
The moment he saw blood trickle from Millie’s lips, his reason felt paralyzed, a throbbing headache overwhelming his senses.
“Millie!”
At the moment he hastily rose to help, another outcry came from elsewhere.
“Keeee!”
Sharon, who had been startled by Millie collapsing, now ran in the opposite direction.
“Mommy!”
Galenia Helvint.
She, in the middle of dining, clutched her neck with both hands, eyes bloodshot, writhing in agony.
