The Lady of the North
Early morning. Isaac stepped out into the garden with his bag slung over his shoulder. The rose fields, the pride of the Helmonts, hadn't yet bloomed—not even buds had formed, as their season hadn't arrived. Come June, when the Black Festival began, the roses would burst into full splendor, scattering their seductive fragrance everywhere. The Helmont roses were a special breed, blooming right up until just before winter set in.
They were beautiful.
In this place called Helmont, filled with nothing but ugly, bitter memories, the only way to describe the rose garden was beautiful. Tucked in a corner of that garden was a single sprig of purple lilac, blooming prematurely and obnoxiously ahead of schedule.
"……."
That prickly thing that made him furrow his brow—it was the flower he had planted. He had no idea why the meticulous Helmont gardeners hadn't uprooted it yet.
I should pull it out.
The moment he approached to yank it free, a knight appeared before him—slightly larger in build than Isaac, with a boyish face that could pass for a youth. He snapped a salute.
"Sir! I'm Jonathan, assigned to escort Isaac Helmont all the way to the Mallidan frontline! It's an honor to serve you!"
"Ugh."
Isaac winced involuntarily at the booming voice that rang in his ears. Jonathan flashed an innocent, childlike smile, yet he was clad in heavy Helmont plate armor and carried a massive greatsword. His blond hair was cropped short like a soldier's. Isaac offered a handshake to the guileless-looking young man.
"Isaac here. Looking forward to it."
"Yes, sir! I swear, I'll keep you safe all the way to the Black Festival!"
He was one of Arandel Helmont's minimum conditions for sending Isaac to the Mallidan frontline. If Isaac died there or tried to run, it would be a problem—so they attached an escort who doubled as a watchdog.
They sent a slacker, though. Sloppier than I expected.
Probably, the family head had ordered a knight assigned, and this half-baked nobody got pushed into it due to seniority. No need for an elite knight to babysit someone who couldn't even swing a sword.
"Then, let's head out—"
"Ah! Isaac."
Just as they were about to depart, another interruption. Isaac turned to see what it was this time, and there came the eldest son, Roengreen, jogging over with a soft smile. His long red hair fluttered as red aura rippled across his body. He'd clearly just finished training.
Eldest son Roengreen. To put it simply, a personality disorder. An emotional rollercoaster of a madman who'd beaten Isaac bloody countless times just to vent his frustrations.
And now, for the first time, he was smiling at his brother-in-law.
"Heard you're leaving. How could this be? Divorce? After all our time and memories together."
Crazy bastard.
How did he spew such nonsense so convincingly? Their "memories" were just him beating on Isaac under the guise of sparring whenever he felt sour, or toying with him forcibly.
Roengreen leaned in with a grin, whispering conspiratorially.
"Lianna demanded the divorce, right? She's gunning for the family head seat! Father said you could have kids, but she switched to divorce—that means something, doesn't it?"
"……."
Eldest son and eldest daughter. Even though Roengreen was a year older, this conversation revealed exactly why Arandel had agonized between them.
"She can't become head if she has a kid! So she forced the divorce on purpose. No pregnancy means she still has a shot at head!"
"Ah, sure."
Roengreen smirked like he'd uncovered some grand secret.
"Isaac, don't you want revenge? On Lianna, who tossed you aside for the head seat—don't you want to make her pay?"
"……."
"Get stronger, then."
With that, he slyly slipped something from his pocket into Isaac's hand.
"This is—"
"You know what it is. Rose Elixir! The Helmont secret tonic, reserved for the bloodline!"
Roengreen whispered with a sleazy grin.
"Only the eldest son like me can hook you up. Drink it, survive, come back stronger. I believe in you, brother."
He winked and sauntered off to resume training.
Brother my ass.
Just days ago in this life, he'd forced a sword into Isaac's hands, complaining his own skills weren't improving, and beaten him for fun. Pathetic, really—scheming to stab Lianna in the back just to secure the head seat for himself.
"Uh, sir Isaac?"
"Pretend you didn't see."
Jonathan glanced around nervously. Isaac sighed and uncapped the Rose Elixir Roengreen had given him. The signature scent was faint.
"Tch."
Rose Elixir, his foot. It was diluted—extra diluted.
Probably plans to frame Lianna, saying the family tonic was given to a son-in-law like me.
Another sigh. No doubt, the moment Isaac left, Roengreen would fudge the ledger counts to pressure her.
Lame.
Lianna wouldn't even flinch at such petty tricks. Isaac glanced back. No sign of her from the mansion. Hungover from last night's drinking, she was probably sleeping deeply.
[Take care.]
A pitifully forlorn farewell for someone departing. But still.
"Let's go, Jonathan."
He didn't want to stay in this mansion any longer. Isaac and Jonathan set off for the frontline.
[Isaac, my great master said it—if your legs had been whole, you would've become a great swordsman for sure.]
A vivid memory. A woman with long white hair smiled at me as she spoke.
Just lip service.
I gave a wry smile, but she turned serious.
[Do you think my master would waste breath on empty comfort? I feel the same. If only your legs were fine. If only you hadn't become that damned Helmont son-in-law…….]
Don't get worked up identifying with me—that's your flaw.
[Those muscle-brained Helmont idiots couldn't even recognize your talent.]
They won't listen no matter what I say.
[Silent Sword Isaac! The man who wields the blade with words and knowledge. We all know how much your manuals have helped. Thanks to you, my spear has advanced several levels.]
Yeah, yeah, I get it. How many times do I have to hear this?
[I'm serious, Isaac.]
[Dead serious.]
[Thank you.]
[I regret meeting you so late.]
You drunk?
[Maybe because the final battle with the transcendents is near. Our chances of survival are slim, right?]
…….
[If I'd met you sooner, our house wouldn't have been wiped out so pointlessly.]
You're overestimating me.
[You think so? I don't.]
I gave a wry smile.
[It's late, Isaac. Go get some rest.]
Yeah. Don't push yourself, Kaldias.
[……Hey.]
Hm?
[It's Silberna.]
…….
[The name I discarded for the family.]
[Silberna Kaldias.]
[That's my real name, Isaac.]
"Sir Isaac!"
"Mm?"
I cracked my eyes open at Jonathan's call. Several days had already passed. Days of nothing but riding in the carriage had left my body aching all over. But youth had its perks. I stretched my right leg—the one I could scarcely believe still worked—and listened to Jonathan.
"We're almost there! The frontline's closer than I thought—the roads are well-maintained."
"Yawn. Yeah, seems like it."
White breath escaped with my yawn. Even wrapped in the blanket, the chill seeping into the carriage chilled me to the bone. This was the kingdom's north. The great Mallidan Wall, built to hold back the flood of magical beasts. And guarding it were—
"From here on, it's enemy territory. Stay sharp."
"We're all nobles of the same kingdom—what enemy territory?"
Spending nights camping with Jonathan these past days, I'd learned a few things. Put kindly, he was pure-hearted. Put harshly, an idiot. And apparently a total outcast. Training meant curfews, food restrictions, outing bans, even bathroom controls. He'd even pissed his pants once…….
"Sir Isaac! Isn't this Kaldias territory? Helmont's rivals! Greatswords of Helmont, spears of Kaldias!"
He proclaimed it like some heroic saga, but it was just noble pride-clashing. Still, Helmont and Kaldias did hate each other's guts. That was why Lianna had worried—Helmont folk would face heavy hazing here.
"What if they beat us? I got blanket-rolled plenty at night back home, but here they might really thrash us?"
"It's fine. Luckily, we're both pros at taking beatings."
"You've been beaten too, sir!?"
"Didn't you see me helping with Helmont direct-line training?"
I got thrashed all day there. Any Helmont knight would know.
"Oh, I can't join training. I've only been a Helmont knight for a year."
"Then what do you do?"
"Lately, 'a knight must bond with his horse'—so horse impression training!"
"This idiot—ahem, Jonathan? Serious talk: quit being a knight. At least try somewhere that's not Helmont?"
"My heart is made of roses!"
"Then you'd be dead already."
Sighing, I gazed up at the approaching Mallidan Wall. I'd never seen it in person in my past life, but it matched the stories.
No wonder northerners revere the Mallidan Wall as sacred.
A colossal monument guarding humanity. Scars of battle and time etched everywhere told of how long it had protected our lands. That's why, in my past life, when the wall fell, the kingdom's frontlines crumbled helplessly. Without Helmont greatswords holding the line, the capital would've fallen in no time.
As we drew near the wall—
"I smelled some sickly sweet honey scent that only brat-lovers would like—and look what crawled out!"
A woman's thunderous voice shook the sky. Laughter erupted from atop the wall.
"Stinking up the north with that frail flower smell! It's so cloying, my bear meat from lunch is coming back up!"
"A-ah, sir Isaac?"
"Stop the carriage, Jonathan."
"Yessir!"
Jonathan halted with a squeak. The woman peering down from the wall at Isaac scowled.
"Hah! I am the spear and shield of the Mallidan Wall!"
Without a word from them, she boldly introduced herself.
"Silberna Kaldias! Declare yourself!"
A hollow laugh escaped me. So at this point, she hadn't discarded the name Silberna yet.
Right on cue, Silberna.
As the wind foretold. I've come to meet you.
"Who the hell are you, you punk!"
"……."