Millie-!
Millieee-!
Despite yelling from close by, the voice sounds distant, muffled as if heard from far away.
The tears in Isaac’s eyes reflected in Millie’s crimson irises suddenly reminded her of the moonlit nights they had spent together.
That day, it had been late at night. A moonlit night, where in secret, he was drenched in sweat while wielding a greatsword, unseen by anyone.
There were, of course, many reasons why one might strive in solitude, hidden from others. But in Isaac’s case, it was remarkably simple.
He did not want to appear pitiful. The image of himself being dominated by the greatsword, rather than him controlling it, would bring shame to his family.
So, alone, deep into the night, he practiced swordsmanship.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Isaac gripped the hilt and swung, he could not surpass the limits imposed by his birth. The overwhelming weight of talent passed down through the Helvint lineage was nothing short of daunting.
“Please eat.”
The chef wakes early. Millie rises before dawn to prepare breakfast, naturally becoming close to Isaac in the process.
Why was that?
Not just the common folk but someone of her background, from a small slum, had to showcase this diligence to survive in the Helvint kitchen. Several mutual understandings were formed this way, it seemed.
Together, they strove from dawn to overcome something insurmountable.
“Thank you again, Millie.”
“Even though you worked late yesterday, wouldn’t it be better to rest today?”
Their daily conversation, looking up at the moonlit night, was the small reprieve they could afford in the Helvint mansion.
“To rest? I must keep trying. I have no talent for the sword.”
“Talent…”
Millie offered a bitter smile. As someone with a talent for cooking, she wondered if it really changed anything.
The head chef recognized her potential like a gemstone and brought her in, but that didn’t mean she was universally accepted in the kitchen.
Just as Isaac endured torment from being of the Helvint lineage, Millie struggled to keep up in the relentless kitchen.
“Why does milord like practicing the sword so much?”
Now open enough to share their innermost thoughts, Isaac hesitated, then laughed awkwardly.
“Because I admire the sword, and I want to be someone like that. But more importantly…”
“I want to stand proudly beside Rianne. I want to be by her side.”
“But you are her husband.”
“Yes, but I’m unworthy. As a son-in-law of the Helvint family, I cannot handle a greatsword.”
Isaac pressed his blistered palms. Honestly speaking, despite all this effort, if he still couldn’t wield the greatsword properly, it would seem that talent was truly lacking.
But looking at Isaac’s gaze towards the night sky, it felt like the innocence of a child reaching out for a star they knew they could never touch.
“Don’t you ever feel afraid?”
“What of?”
Without realizing, Millie asked in a slightly sharp tone.
“Of trying and failing. In the end, there is a limit to what one can achieve with one’s own strength.”
“…”
“In my case, I know I have talent, but due to my background, no one would give me a chance.”
“To be honest…”
After a pause, Isaac replied somewhat awkwardly.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve never been afraid of that. I’m just preparing.”
“If, despite all my efforts, I’m still unworthy to stand by my wife’s side… then I should leave. It’s for Rianne’s sake.”
“…!”
Millie was struck by this revelation. That he worked so hard, yet it wasn’t even for himself.
“But, Lord Isaac…”
“Yes?”
Could Rianne really want that?
The question hovered on her tongue.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Millie shook her head and swallowed the unnecessary words.
Isaac and Rianne had been married for only six months at this point.
A year after their marriage.
Rumors that the couple had fallen into a rut began spreading around the estate.
Rianne’s gaze was different now. Silent though it was, it had previously carried an evident sense of affection.
Cold and composed now, it was frequent that she wouldn’t even glance at Isaac.
Absurdly enough.
“…lately, you haven’t been hurt.”
“Hmm.”
Thanks to this, Isaac’s body was more frequently unscathed.
“Well, yes.”
However, his expression was worse than ever. Rianne, who had always been sparse with expressions of affection, had recently stopped altogether, and it appeared to trouble him.
“Well, I’ll keep trying.”
To Millie’s eyes, during the year, Isaac had grown significantly. The greatsword he hadn’t been able to handle properly before, the kind used by the direct lineage, he could now wield without issue.
But like wearing ill-fitting clothes, Isaac had reached a plateau.
The limit of the oarsman who had only rowed in the river had finally caught up with him.
“I’ll get some snacks for you.”
Millie went inside to fetch boiled potatoes she’d prepared for him, gathering them in a towel in the kitchen. As she did, tragedy crept upon her.
“Lady Galenia Helvint?!”
Galenia Helvint discreetly handed Millie a small pouch.
“Put this in Isaac’s breakfast tomorrow.”
“What…?”
A glare that asked if there was even a need to ask.
Millie froze rigid, unable to say a word, trembling.
Touching Millie’s shoulder gently, Galenia whispered reassuringly.
“You needn’t worry. Consider it medicine. Medicine to keep the Helvint family healthy.”
“…!”
“It won’t kill him. It would be inconvenient for me too if it did. Please believe me.”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Millie summoned all her courage for the first time in her life.
“No, but—!”
“Ugly and dirty back-alley dweller, Millie Marsault, from the city of Bolten.”
“…!”
“Did you really think you could keep working here at the Helvint residence just because the chef liked you?”
Pressure mounting.
Her class.
Her lineage.
Her rank.
The society.
All overwhelmingly dominant. The absolute one who had been stepping on her like a rat in the back-alley now came for her.
“Reasons like yours aren’t enough. This is why I hired someone from Bolten.”
“Aha…”
“This isn’t simply about morality. It’s about weighing the lives of you and your family against Isaac’s.”
Family?
“If you think about it, a few coins can get anyone in Bolten to raise a sword for you, can’t they?”
“Why… why target my family…?!”
“You overheard my secret, didn’t you? Just now.”
“Ah…”
The lady of the house of Helvint was attempting to harm her own son-in-law. From the moment Millie learned this, she was no longer in control of her own life.
Before long.
Millie had taken the purple pouch.
She nodded despite herself.
Two weeks later.
With his body somewhat recovered, Isaac was, as always, swinging his greatsword vigorously.
Only, because of his time confined to bed, it was once again a strain for him to lift a greatsword.
“Haa! Haa!”
Setting down his greatsword, Isaac panted and looked around.
“Millie?”
Millie, who would usually have visited Isaac by this point, was nowhere to be seen.
“Millie? Hmm? Is today her day off?”
Even checking in the kitchen, there was no sign of Millie, eventually causing him to leave and return outside.
“Huh…”
Millie, hiding under the kitchen storage cabinet, stifled her sobs.
She couldn’t forget the cries of Rianne upon seeing Isaac unconscious, not blaming him at all for falling ill so suddenly.
After this period of evading Isaac…
Time passed. The guilt in Millie’s heart did not fade, but it had reached a point where she could hide it.
Thump.
A few years passed.
Though seemingly calm on the outside, a thoroughly broken Millie was again presented with a violet pouch…
Her options were but one.
“Millie-! Please, please wake up!”
As the entire banquet hall turned toward Galenia Helvint, writhing in pain, there was one person who remained steadfastly by her side: Isaac.
Were these her dying thoughts?
Millie’s memories, flowing through old recollections, now reached the present moment.
As always.
Among the splendor of the mansion, only the two of them remained.
“What’s wrong?! What did you eat?! Millie!”
Tears that hadn’t flowed amid all the persecution and torment now rolled down Millie’s cheeks. Wanting desperately to save her friend, Isaac frantically shouted to those around him.
“Doctor! No, a mage!”
Already Galenia was surrounded by mages and doctors. Clenching his teeth, Isaac hurried to rise, but Millie grabbed his wrist.
So feeble, almost pitiable, that Isaac felt a chill of fear.
“Millie, don’t worry. I’ll—!”
“A-Arthur…”
At the pleading call from Millie, Isaac suppressed the urge to immediately summon help and held on to her.
“Yeah, Millie. I’m here. So—.”
“I’m sorry. Truly, truly sorry.”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for! I’ll, I’ll take care of it soon.”
“Very… very sorry.”
The sight of the large tears streaming down Millie’s eyes made Isaac aware that something was deeply wrong. Her bizarre acceptance of death felt foreign.
“Huh, uh! Now…”
“Millie, please, don’t give up. I’ll—.”
“Even apologizing, is sorry, and—.”
“Please! Stop saying that! Whatever you say, I’ll listen to it later! Just please don’t give up!”
Deteriorating vision.
Sobbing cries were filled with moisture.
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s something I wanted to show you. I—I’m no longer under the control of the Helvint family. I wanted to show you, someone I’m proud of. I wanted you to see me overcoming and moving forward!”
Millie’s trembling hand touched Isaac’s cheek. The shaking limb mirrored how precarious her life now was.
Isaac placed his hand over hers.
“I forgive you, okay? Millie, your sins don’t matter. So—.”
Calmly.
Millie’s closing eyelids.
Her hand falling like a withering flower.
“Ah-.”
Though even so.
Millie managed a faint smile.
“I’m glad.”
Pleased that Isaac would forgive her, Millie closed her eyes.
“…Millie? Millie—!”
Millie’s name echoed, resonating through the expansive banquet hall.
The grand mansion.
Only the starlight reached the pre-dawn hours.
Though their dreams were different, their efforts were the same.
They supported, comforted, encouraged, and reproved each other while moving forward.
They each wished for only one thing:
That in the distant future,
when they would face each other,
they would not cry
or be worried,
but laugh instead.
They simply wanted to see a smile.
That was all.
The next day.
By the time the sun rose, Millie’s room was already empty.
When Isaac arrived, there was no trace left of her—clearly revealing how swiftly incidents like this were handled during the Sword Festival.
Galenia was unharmed.
She had only been briefly distressed initially.
In comparison to Millie, she had suffered no other significant issues.
In fact, she announced she would not hold Millie, who attempted to assassinate her during the Sword Festival, responsible in any way.
Many nobles praised Galenia for her magnanimity.
Many nobles hailed Galenia as saint-like.
Many nobles proclaimed Galenia as truly a noble among nobles.
The only thing remaining in Isaac’s hands was…
A portrait of Millie, drawn in the past.
The portrait was in his room; Millie had left it behind before coming to the banquet.
“…”
On the back of the frame,
Millie’s letter had already been read.
Regarding Galenia’s attempt to harm Isaac,
How her family and her own life had been held hostage,
Her family having been lost in the Bolten uprising,
And her apology for being unable to atone adequately thus far.
“…”
The letter also included the drug that Galenia had given her.
It seemed Millie had attempted to kill Galenia.
Given that the drug she used was not the one from Galenia, it indicated she had been preparing for an eventuality like this for some time.
But Millie’s death inadvertently elevated Galenia even higher.
Thump.
Cherishing the portrait, Isaac placed it gently on his desk and offered a soft smile.
Exiting the room, Isaac set off to find Clarice.
He found her amidst a garden filled with roses.
Having been updated on how bitterly Isaac wept last night, Clarice looked at him worriedly, but there were no tear stains left on Isaac’s face.
“Are you alright—.”
“Galenia Helvint.”
Through the help of a friend, Isaac had uncovered the truth.
“She has become a Transcendental.”
“Is there any basis for this?”
Millie survived only around 1-2 minutes after ingesting such a highly toxic poison. Yet, Galenia had survived without special treatment.
And according to Isaac’s knowledge,
Only the Transcendental race possessed such monstrous resilience.
“That does sound quite convincing.”
“There’s Millie’s letter.”
Even if others pointed fingers at him,
“Because you have done so much for me.”
There’s no need to worry.
If possible, he hoped you would watch over it.
My dear friend.
