After issuing a warning laced with expectation, Arandel departed.
He must be returning to his office to finish up his work now.
With the mistress gone, Arandel is the busiest in Helvint at the moment.
“Hmm, the atmosphere has changed somewhat.”
Uldiran, who had been standing there with him, muttered this as he remained standing alone in that place.
Even Uldiran, who had seen Arandel when he was younger, felt this way, so it was only natural that Rianne, who lived in the same house, would feel similarly.
‘Could cutting down Mother have meant something to Father in his own way?’
A sudden thought crossed Rianne’s mind.
What if she were put in a situation where she had to cut down Isaac?
Instantly feeling dizzy, she tightly closed her eyes and shook her head from side to side.
There’s absolutely no way that would happen.
On the other hand.
Isaac felt an odd sensation as he observed Arandel’s back.
If he were to be precise, it seemed like Arandel was preparing to leave.
From Isaac’s perspective, the only one in this room who knows about his condition, all he could do was sigh.
‘Still, many things have changed situationally.’
After Arandel’s death, the Transcendental Tribe began their activities.
Now, instead, Arandel himself had taken direct action, starting to purge the Transcendental Tribe, moving in an entirely different direction to block their advance. Isaac was confident that he had brought out his strongest card to stop the Transcendental Tribe.
‘But is Arandel’s illness truly natural?’
To be honest, Isaac had doubts about whether Arandel was really ill.
Galenia made contact with the Transcendental Tribe to save Arandel, but might this also be interpreted in an opposite manner?
‘Complicated.’
Isaac decided to focus on the issues directly in front of him for now.
To eradicate the Transcendental Tribe before Arandel dies.
It doesn’t matter how human or humane he is. Initially, there weren’t many people who expected such qualities from the Helvints anyway.
Protection and safety. All they seek is peace, whichever form it takes.
Isaac hoped that the extermination of the Transcendental Tribe would be completed before Arandel’s death.
“Silbern, let’s go.”
At that moment, Uldiran called out to Silbern.
Silbern, who hesitated for a moment, sighed deeply before following Uldiran.
“Hmm, there’s something I wanted to say.”
“Don’t. I’m not going to listen.”
“…Why are you acting like a child?”
“I said I’m not listening—!”
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble.
Glancing back, Uldiran, a giant in stature, was seen fleeing, while Silbern chased after her father.
“A cheerful family, huh.”
As Isaac chuckled softly, Rianne also nodded her head slightly.
The faint fragrance of roses wafted through the air.
In the garden of the Helvint estate, roses that symbolized tragedy with blood-red hues and signified resilience with their vivid red blooms flourished gently.
Meanwhile, the lavender, which had lingered despite the passing season, had now disappeared without a trace.
This indicated that it was now time for Isaac to leave the Helvint estate.
*
By now, it was late at night.
Plans to leave for Blackhand would begin earnestly from tomorrow, yet Isaac himself wasn’t particularly busy.
As if tidying up the house one last time, Isaac and Rianne walked around the Helvint mansion, which held no good memories for him.
Surprisingly, as Isaac toured the Helvint mansion, he couldn’t find any significant trauma or anguish.
He clearly felt that the trials and tribulations he had endured were now firmly in the past.
Rianne and Isaac parted ways to head to their respective rooms.
“Goodnight.”
“Yeah, you too, Isaac.”
Rianne’s room was on the second floor, while Isaac’s was on the first, so they naturally split up as they walked.
Rianne subtly turned her head to look at Isaac.
“…”
Watching Isaac’s back as he entered his room without even turning his head, a moment later, Rianne also stepped into her room.
After returning to his room, Isaac slowly began tidying up.
Though the act of organizing for departure felt slightly awkward, it wasn’t altogether unpleasant.
‘This place has some dust accumulation.’
While the portrait of Millie and the two swords were carefully maintained, he didn’t feel any particular attachment to other items since they didn’t seem like his own.
Knock, knock, knock.
At that moment, a knock sounded from outside.
“Rianne?”
Thinking it might be Rianne, with whom he had just spoken, but the response was unexpected.
“It’s me, me.”
“Sharon?”
Isaac quickly opened the door.
There stood Sharon, standing awkwardly, accompanied by Edel, the 15-year-old youngest sibling.
Earlier, when Isaac and Rianne had visited them, they hadn’t opened the door. Now, finding them here late at night suggested they had something to say.
Isaac invited them inside and had them sit on the bed.
Normally, he would offer some refreshments, but with his meager belongings, he had nothing to offer them.
“A, Isaac.”
Since neither of them had any particular requests, they quickly got to the point.
Both of their eyes were swollen and red from crying, and they looked exhausted. Their normally vibrant red hair was now dry and lifeless, a sight unbecoming of the Helvints.
They had witnessed their father kill their mother.
It was strange that they weren’t deeply wounded by the experience.
“I… I want to go with you too.”
Surprisingly, Sharon made a rather bold request.
The tear stains were just that—stains. Somehow, one could see it as evidence of the flow of sorrow and acceptance.
“Bring me along? Do you even know where I’m going?”
“It’s Blackhand, right?”
“What happens after that?”
“I don’t know!”
Yes, you wouldn’t know.
“Still, bring me along.”
“Haa, Sharon. Do you even know what you’re saying—”
“Please. If not Isaac, I’d have no choice but to go to Silbern.”
“…”
“I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
Sharon’s current appearance looked darker than her previously innocent self.
“I want to leave. Can you talk to Father for me? I feel like the Isaac now might be able to persuade him.”
“…”
“Anyway, I heard you’re going to Blackhand. I’ve fought Transcendental beings before, even fought Brikala, so—”
“Isn’t this just an escape?”
Their eyes met.
Having pondered this from before, Sharon answered without hesitation.
“I want to watch Helvint from afar.”
“…”
“The Helvint I saw in the north was different from the one I lived in here. And—”
Sharon, slightly emotional, clenched her fists tightly as she confessed.
“The mother I know and the one everyone knows are too different, which is… confusing.”
“…”
“So, I want to understand. If I stay here, I’d just remain the same Sharon Helvint.”
As a mute swordsman.
He had often seen the glint in their eyes of those breaking through their own limits.
Despite having different backstories and fates, what they shared in common was resilience.
In the moment Isaac heard the determination in the young girl’s voice, he realized the only path forward was to accept her request.
[You’re too soft.]
As someone who had taken on several apprentices in the past in a similar manner, the critical voice of the Senior Master still echoed in his mind.
Isaac’s gaze, after lightly patting Sharon’s head, moved to Edel.
Isaac hadn’t had much interaction with Edel.
He had only seen him get pushed around and beaten by the eldest or second son.
In fact, Isaac hadn’t even engaged in real sparring or meaningful conversation with the youngest brother.
So, he was curious.
Why Edel had come to him.
He recalled Edel as a boy who walked with a wobbly gait and seemed somewhat cute at the time.
“The eldest sister leaving to see Helvint from the outside…”
For a boy with baby fat still clinging to his cheeks but who would undoubtedly grow up to be a handsome young man.
“I want to try changing Helvint from within.”
This intelligent and ambitious young man even surprised Isaac.
“Master Isaac… I know you’ve been the one most swayed by our family.”
Glancing around timidly, Edel awkwardly asked, as Sharon gently patted his back to ease his anxiety.
“Is Helvint… beyond saving?”
The reason Edel was asking him this question.
Probably because Edel judged Isaac as someone filled with the most hatred towards Helvint.
And also because he considered Isaac as the person who would evaluate Helvint most strictly.
Thus, Edel was asking Isaac.
“That—”
At that moment, footsteps could be heard again from between the door.
A voice that whispered quietly, as if hoping no one would hear.
“Master Isaac, are you not asleep yet?”
Aloys Helvint, the third son.
The moment his voice was heard, Isaac’s eyes lowered calmly.
Without saying anything, Isaac pointed to the wardrobe with his finger, indicating for them to go inside.
Though confused, Edel obeyed silently following Isaac’s direction, while Sharon went in quietly without making a sound.
‘Somehow, this might be the best way to show them.’
Isaac thought this would be a fitting answer to Edel’s question as he grasped the sword, made by Brikala, and opened the door.
At that moment.
A hand, brimming with malevolent intent, lunged toward Isaac’s neck.
The bloodshot eyes and the breathing, a mix of madness and obsession.
Before Rianne’s relentless interrogation began after the Sword Demonstration had ended.
This was Aloys’s final desperate struggle.
However, Isaac, who had been prepared since opening the door, smoothly stepped back, thinking:
‘I can already hear the news of his collapse from a so-called ‘princess malady’ tomorrow.’
He’d been so distraught by just the news of the divorce; Isaac guessed tomorrow, upon hearing the latest, he’d likely foam at the mouth.
With a swift pull, Isaac’s sword neatly unsheathed.
The electrical strike from Brikala’s sword dismantled Aloys’s dark technique, followed by a slash through the small opening.
In an instant.
A splash of red blood dramatically painted the neatly arranged room.
“Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!”
Aloys’s scream of agony rang out.
