Nighttime Visitors
After spitting out that warning laced with expectation, Arandel departed. He was probably heading back to his study to finish up his work. With the lady of the house gone, Arandel was now the busiest person in the entire Helmont family.
"Hm, the atmosphere has certainly shifted."
Uldiran Kaldias, who had been with them, muttered that as he stood there imposingly. Even Uldiran, who had known Arandel in his youth, felt it—so it was only natural that Lianna, living in the same household, shared the sentiment.
Did beheading Mother hold some special meaning for Father, in his own way?
Lianna suddenly wondered. What if she were ever put in a position where she had to strike down Isaac? The dizzying thought made her squeeze her eyes shut and shake her head vigorously.
That'll never happen. Absolutely not.
Meanwhile, watching Arandel's back, Isaac felt a strange sensation. If anything, it looked like he was preparing to depart. As the only one there who knew about his illness, Isaac could only let out a sigh.
Either way, the situation has changed dramatically.
The transcendents had begun their activities after Arandel's death in the previous timeline. But this time, Arandel himself had stepped up to exterminate them. Things were heading in a completely different direction, and Isaac was confident he'd brought his strongest card to fend off the transcendents' offensive.
But is Arandel's illness really natural?
To be honest, Isaac doubted whether Arandel was truly ill. Galeniya had made contact with the transcendents to save him. Wasn't it possible to think the opposite?
Tricky.
Isaac decided to focus on the problems right in front of him for now. Exterminate the transcendents before Arandel died. Humanity, character—none of that mattered. Few people expected that much from the Helmonts to begin with. Protection and safety. All they wanted was peace, whatever form it took.
Isaac hoped the transcendent purge would be complete before Arandel's death, if possible.
"Silberna, let's go."
Uldiran called out to Silberna then. She hesitated for a moment, sighed deeply, and followed after her father.
"Ahem, I have something to say."
"Don't. I won't listen."
"......Why act like a child?"
"I said I won't listen—!"
Suddenly, the ground rumbled with heavy thuds. Glancing back, Isaac saw the massive Uldiran fleeing, with Silberna chasing after her father.
"What a cheerful family."
Isaac chuckled softly, and Lianna gave a small nod in agreement. A bittersweet rose scent wafted subtly through the air. The Helmont garden bloomed vibrantly with roses that symbolized tragedy in blood-red or vitality in bold crimson.
By now, the purple lilacs that had lingered past their season had finally vanished. It meant Isaac's time to leave Helmont had arrived.
* * *
Late into the night. Preparations to depart with the Black Hand would ramp up in earnest tomorrow, but Isaac himself wasn't particularly busy. Like tidying up a house for the last time, he wandered the Helmont mansion with Lianna, a place holding nothing but bad memories.
Oddly, even as he toured the Helmont mansion, Isaac found no trauma or anguish stirring within him. It was a clear sign that the trials and pains he'd endured had become the past.
Lianna and Isaac parted ways to their respective rooms.
"Good night."
"You too, Isaac."
Lianna's room was on the second floor, Isaac's on the first, so they naturally split off. Lianna subtly turned her head to watch him.
"......"
She followed his back until he entered his room without once looking back.
A moment later, Lianna entered her own room as well.
Even after returning to his room, Isaac slowly tidied up. It felt a bit awkward sorting things for departure, but it wasn't a bad feeling.
Some dust has built up here and there.
He carefully maintained Milli Marso's portrait and his two taedo swords, but the other items felt foreign, like they weren't truly his, so he left them be.
Knock knock knock.
A knock came from outside.
"Lianna?"
He thought it might be Lianna, whom he'd just spoken with, but the response was unexpected.
"I-it's me."
"Sharen?"
Isaac hurriedly opened the door. There stood Sharen, fidgeting awkwardly, and the youngest, fifteen-year-old Edel Helmont.
He'd visited them earlier with Lianna, but they hadn't opened the door. Coming at this late hour meant they had something to say.
Isaac ushered them inside and had them sit on the bed. Normally he'd offer something, but with his sparse belongings, he had nothing to give.
"Uh, Isaac."
They weren't expecting anything anyway and got straight to the point. Their eyes were puffy and red from crying, their faces gaunt and exhausted, their red hair dull and unkempt—uncharacteristic for Helmonts.
They'd witnessed their father kill their mother. It would be strange if they weren't hurt.
"I... I want to come with you too."
Surprisingly, Sharen made a bold request. The tear tracks were just marks now. If anything, they were evidence of grief flowing away.
"Take you along? Do you even know where I'm headed next?"
"Black Hand!"
"And after that?"
"I dunno!"
Right, she wouldn't.
"But take me anyway."
"Haa, Sharen. Do you even realize what you're—"
"Please. If not you, I'd have to go to Silberna."
"......"
"I don't want to stay in this mansion anymore."
Sharen's clouded eyes felt distant from her former innocent self.
"I want out. Can you talk to Father for me? I think he'd allow it, with who you are now."
"......"
"I heard you're going to the Black Hand anyway. I've fought transcendents before, and even battled Bricala, so—"
"Just running away?"
Their gazes met. As if she'd mulled it over before coming, Sharen answered without hesitation.
"I want to see Helmont... from afar."
"......"
"The Helmont I saw in the North was different from the one living in this mansion. And—"
Sharen clenched her fists, her voice catching slightly as she confessed.
"The mother I knew was so different from the one everyone else knew... It confused me."
"......"
"That's why I want to know. If I stay here, I'll just end up as the same old Sharen Helmont."
As the Silent Sword, he'd often seen that look in the eyes of those breaking their limits and pushing forward. Born into different tales of hardship and fate, what they all shared was overcoming.
The moment Isaac heard the girl's resolve, he knew he'd already accepted her request.
[You're too soft.]
He could almost hear his Great Master's scolding—he'd taken on a few disciples this way before. Isaac gently stroked Sharen's head, then turned his gaze to Edel.
Isaac had little connection with Edel. He'd only been beaten around by the eldest and second sons. He'd never sparred with the youngest, Edel, or even had a proper conversation.
So he was curious why Edel had come.
"I'll stay behind."
He remembered the boy whose toddling steps had been oddly cute.
"If my sister goes out and sees Helmont from the outside—"
Baby fat still clung to his cheeks, but he'd surely grow into a handsome man.
"I'll change it from the inside."
The intelligence and bold ambition shining in the boy surprised even Isaac.
"B-brother-in-law, I know you suffered the most at our hands. S-so I just want to ask one thing."
Edel glanced nervously. Sharen patted her brother's back to ease his tension.
"Is Helmont... beyond saving? Irredeemably broken?"
The reason he asked Isaac of all people?
Probably because he figured Isaac harbored more hatred for Helmont than anyone. And because he'd judge them most harshly.
That's why Edel asked him.
"That's—"
Then came footsteps from the door crack again. A secretive whisper, as if hoping no one would hear.
"B-brother-in-law. You still awake?"
The third son, Alois Helmont.
The moment Isaac heard his voice, his eyes cooled calmly. He pointed silently at the wardrobe without a word.
Edel looked bewildered at the signal to hide, but Sharen obeyed quietly and slipped inside without a sound.
In a way, this might be the best way to answer him.
Thinking it a fine response to Edel's question, Isaac gripped his Bricala-forged taedo and opened the door.
At that instant.
A hand cloaked in Red Aura lunged for Isaac's throat. Bloodshot eyes and breaths laced with madness and obsession.
This was Alois's final desperate thrash, right before the Sword Festival ended and Lianna's interrogation truly began.
But Isaac, prepared even before opening the door, dodged back with a sly ease and thought,
I can already hear the princess collapsing from shock tomorrow.
He'd been so rattled by the divorce alone—what would happen when this got out? Probably foam at the mouth.
Schwick!
Isaac's taedo drew cleanly. Bricala's lightning shattered Alois's Red Aura, and in the tiny gap, a Quick Draw whipped through.
For an instant.
Red blood sprayed gorgeously across the neatly tidied room.
"Gaaaaaaah!"
Alois's scream erupted.