The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Family Wants A Divorce - Chapter 65



64. Guests Who Arrive in the Night

After spitting out a warning laced with expectation, Arendal departed.

Presumably, he would return to his office to continue his duties.

Now that the mistress of the house was gone, Arendal was the busiest person in Hellmunt.

“Hmm, the atmosphere has shifted somewhat.”

Uldiran, who had been standing with him, muttered to himself, left alone in the spot.

If Uldiran, who had seen Arendal in his youth, felt this way, it was only natural that Rianna, who lived in the same household, would have a similar impression.

‘Slashing Mother, could it have held some meaning for Father, in its own way?’

Rianna was suddenly struck with a question.

What if a situation arose where she had to cut down Isaac?

For a moment, she squeezed her eyes shut against the dizziness and shook her head.

That kind of thing would never happen.

Conversely.

Isaac felt a strange sensation as he watched Arendal’s back.

If pressed, it looked as if he were preparing to depart.

As Isaac was the only one present who knew about his illness, a sigh escaped him.

‘Anyway, so much has changed circumstantially.’

The Transcendent, who had begun to act after Arendal’s supposed demise.

Now, conversely, Arendal was taking the initiative and began to eliminate the Transcendent.

It was going in a completely different direction, and Isaac was confident that he had brought the strongest card to block the Transcendent’s offensive.

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‘But truly, could Arundel’s illness be natural?’

To be honest, Isaac even doubted if this Arundel was truly ill at all.

Galenia contacted the Transcendants to save Arundel.

Couldn’t one think of it the other way around?

‘Difficult.’

Isaac decided to first focus on the problem at hand.

Before Arundel dies, subdue the Transcendants.

Humanity, character – all of that is unnecessary.

From the start, not many people expected such things from Hellmundt.

Protection and safety.

Whatever it may be, they only wished for peace.

Isaac hoped, if possible, that the suppression of the Transcendants would be finished before Arundel died.

“Silberna, let’s go.”

Uldiran called for Silberna at that moment.

Silberna, hesitating for a moment, sighed deeply and followed after Uldiran.

“Ahem, I have something to say…”

“Don’t. I won’t listen.”

“…Why are you acting like a child.”

“I said I won’t listen-!”

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

Glancing back, Uldiran was fleeing with his massive frame, and Silberna was chasing after her father.

“A lively family, aren’t they.”

Isaac chuckled as he muttered this, and Rianna nodded slightly.

A bittersweet rose scent drifted softly.

The gardens of Hellmundt, roses that seemed both the blood-red of tragedy and the crimson of robust health bloomed vibrantly.

Before long, the violet lilac, which had lingered late even though its season had passed, had disappeared without a trace.

That was, in short, a sign that the time for Isaac to leave Hellmundt was drawing near.

* * *

Before long, it was late at night.

Preparations to depart for Blackthorn would properly commence from tomorrow, yet Isaac himself was not particularly busy.

As if tidying the house for the last time, Isaac, accompanied by Rianna, surveyed Helmuth’s manor – a place filled with nothing but wretched memories.

Ironically, even while wandering through Helmuth’s estate, Isaac couldn’t pinpoint any particular trauma or anguish.

He felt, with a stark clarity, that the trials and suffering he had endured had definitively become the past.

Rianna and Isaac parted ways to their respective rooms.

“Sleep well.”

“You too, Isaac.”

Rianna’s room was on the second floor, while Isaac’s was on the first.

And so, they naturally separated and walked away.

Rianna surreptitiously turned her head to gaze at Isaac.

“…….”

She followed the back of Isaac’s head until he disappeared into his room, never once turning.

A moment later, Rianna also entered her own room.

Even after returning to his room, Isaac slowly tidied up inside.

Preparing to leave felt somewhat strange, but the feeling wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

‘There’s quite a bit of dust gathered here and there.’

Millie’s portrait and the two attitudes were meticulously maintained, but other items seemed somehow disconnected from him, making him hesitant to touch them.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just then, a knock came from outside.

“Rianna?”

He assumed it was Rianna, with whom he had just spoken, but the answer from beyond the door was unexpected.

“It’s, it’s me.”

“Sharen?”

Isaac hurriedly opened the door.

Standing there awkwardly were Sharen and the youngest, fifteen-year-old Edel.

He had sought them out earlier with Rianna, but they hadn’t opened the door.

The fact that they came at this late hour suggested they had something they wanted to say.

Isaac ushered them inside and seated them on the bed.

Normally, one would offer some refreshment, but Isaac’s belongings were so sparse that he didn’t have anything to offer.

“Ah, Isaac.”

The two weren’t expecting anything, so they got straight to the point.

Both their eyes were swollen and red, betraying how much they’d wept.

The gaunt, thin face and the dull, dry red hair were so unlike Helmuth.

He had witnessed his father kill their mother with his own eyes.

It would be strange if he *hadn’t* been wounded.

“I… want to come with you.”

Surprisingly, Sharen made a rather bold request.

The tear tracks were just that – tracks. In a way, they were proof of the sadness and the flowing on.

“Take you? Do you even know where I’m going?”

“You’re Blackthorn!”

“And after that?”

“I don’t know!”

Yes, she wouldn’t.

“But take me.”

“Haa, Sharen. Do you even know what you’re saying-.”

“Please. If not Isaac, I’ll have to go to Silbernha.”

“……”

“I… I don’t want to stay in this mansion any longer.”

Sharen’s eyes, now clouded, held a distance from her former innocence.

“I want to leave. Could Isaac speak to Father? I think he might listen to Isaac now.”

“……”

“I heard you’re going to Blackthorn anyway. I, I’ve fought the Transcendents too, and I fought the Brycalla, so-.”

“Is it just an escape?”

Her gaze clashes with Sharen’s.

As if she had pondered this deeply before I arrived, Sharen answered without hesitation.

“I want to watch Helmuth… from afar.”

“……”

“The Helmuth I saw in the North… was different from the Helmuth who lived in this mansion. And-.”

Sharen choked up slightly, clenching both fists as she confessed.

“The mother I knew… is so different from the mother everyone else knew… I’m confused.”

“……”

“Therefore, I want to know. If I stay here, I can only ever be Sharen Helman, can’t I?”

A sword of silence.

He had often seen that glint in the eyes of those who strived to break their own limitations.

Born with different stories and ill-fated destinies, yet their common thread was overcoming.

The moment Isaac heard the girl’s resolve, he knew he had no choice but to accept her request.

[Too soft.]

Isaac had taken in several disciples in this very manner, and the Grand Master’s scolding still echoed in his mind.

Isaac gently stroked Sharen’s hair, his gaze now shifting to Edel.

Isaac hadn’t had much connection with Edel.

He had only been pushed around and beaten by the eldest and second sons.

He’d never even sparred with Edel, the youngest, let alone had a proper conversation.

So he was curious.

Why Edel had sought him out.

“I will remain.”

He remembered him as a child whose wobbly gait was, in its way, endearing.

“If elder sister goes outside and sees Helman—”

His baby fat hadn’t fully faded, but it was clear he would grow into a handsome young man.

“I want to change this place from within Helman.”

Such a boy, displaying such intelligence and a bold ambition, surprised even Isaac.

“M-My brother-in-law, I know you were the one who was pushed around most by us. S-So I came to ask you just one thing.”

Edel hesitated, glancing nervously around. Sharen patted her brother’s back, easing his tension.

“Is Helman… beyond redemption, utterly broken?”

Why ask him that question?

Perhaps because he was thought to harbor the most hatred for Helman.

And because he was the one who would judge Helman with the harshest eye.

So Edel was asking Isaac.

“That is—”

Just then, the sound of footsteps came through the crack in the door once more.

And a voice, whispering secretly, as if hoping no one would hear.

“B-Brother-in-law. You’re not asleep yet, are you?”

Three-Name, Alois Helmundt.

The moment he heard the voice, Isaac’s eyes stilled, lowering in gravity.

Isaac, who had been facing the door, wordlessly pointed a finger towards the wardrobe.

Ethel seemed bewildered by the instruction to enter, but Sharen, following Isaac’s lead, cautiously slipped inside without a sound.

‘In a way, this might be the best way to explain everything.’

Thinking this would be a good answer to Ethel’s unspoken question, Isaac grasped the Brikalla-forged blade and opened the door.

That instant.

A hand, thickly layered in red-steel bracers, lunged for Isaac’s neck.

Bloodshot eyes and a breath laced with madness and obsession.

Before Leanna’s interrogation could properly begin, after the Sword Emperor’s test.

Alois’ last, desperate struggle he could possibly muster.

But Isaac, already prepared before even opening the door, easily leaned back, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips.

‘Tomorrow, I’ll be hearing tales of the Princess collapsing from hysteria, then.’

He was already so flustered by the divorce; the news tomorrow would likely send him into a frothing fit.

*Swoosh!*

Isaac’s blade was drawn cleanly.

The Brikalla’s lightning shattered Alois’ red-steel, and through the fleeting gap, a iaido strike was delivered.

In a breath.

Crimson blood elegantly scattered across the impeccably arranged room, and.

“*Kuaaak!*”

Alois’ scream erupted.