Chapter 64
Chapter 64
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Helena de Volibian
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Helena de Volibian."
"Why do you ask, Kallias?"
Her head tilts quizzically, coquettishness dripping from the gesture.
But I know better.
It's all an act.
A merchant's basics demand a flawless facade. Born into a merchant family and becoming a pilgrim, her life hasn't been smooth sailing either.
And yet.
"Why are you here?"
That's the question.
Why is Helena in the North?
"Isn't it obvious? The North called me, so I came."
"You?"
"Yes. Didn't you know? The lord of the North requested my family."
Elbton did?
"Fascinating."
Of all the merchants out there, he calls on the Volibian Merchant Group and Helena.
"What's so fascinating? We handle carcass-grade and monster byproducts at the highest prices, so even the North's hegemon calls on us."
"Was that the case?"
Fair enough. I don't know much about how politics work yet.
The Volibian family is a promising merchant house, but I didn't expect their reputation to be this high already.
"Of course. Why else would I come to this freezing North? Am I crazy?"
Unaccustomed to the cold, Helena's nose and cheeks were flushed red.
Behind her stood a stern-looking man about her age, dressed like a servant or family retainer.
A sword at his waist.
His guarded gaze was rather grating.
"Kallias, do they treat guests like this in the North? It's cold out here."
"You were the one waiting outside for me."
"It's been days since I arrived, and you haven't shown your face once!"
"Why are you angry?"
"I'm not angry! Ridiculous."
Hmph! As Helena huffed and stormed toward the castle, Brans whispered quietly.
"That impudent wench. How dare she speak so irreverently to you, my lord!"
"Brans."
"Yes, my lord! Shall I go give her a piece of my mind? In Trista's back alleys, one word from me and men and women alike piss themselves in—"
"Shut your vulgar mouth."
Brans's mouth caved in instantly.
"And she's not someone you can handle."
Helena is the daughter of a merchant family.
A pilgrim who has completed her pilgrimage. A pilgrim.
A paladin who forged her rosary into a scabbard to finish her pilgrimage.
"You see the twin swords at her waist?"
"Ah, yes."
"A pilgrim's rosary becomes a scabbard upon completing the pilgrimage. Even I'd rather not fight her if I can help it."
Surprised by my answer, Brans's eyes widened like a rabbit's.
"You mean she's strong enough that even you hesitate, my lord?"
I didn't answer.
She is strong, that's a fact.
Having a scabbard made from her rosary means she's already one with her sword.
No benefit in fighting a paladin fused with a sword bearing unique abilities.
'If I housed the Thunder Clarity Sword in a rosary now.'
I'd gain the Thunder Clarity Sword's unique ability.
I'd be able to unleash thunder clarity across my entire body without drawing the blade.
The divine energy in the rosary, mixed with the owner's blood and soul, makes it possible.
Sword-Body Union.
Merging the awakened soul with one's own into one.
'Thus, the sword's abilities become one's own to wield freely.'
Of course, the Thunder Clarity Sword is useless since it already has a sheath.
They're already fused.
'Same for the Devouring Sword and Possession Sword.'
The Judgment Sword could, but no need.
The Tyrant Sword I just acquired...
'If I made a scabbard for the Tyrant Sword.'
My gravity manipulation would become far more versatile and potent.
But a rosary is once per lifetime.
It's forged from a fragment of the soul, irreplaceable.
'The Tyrant Sword is a fine blade, but...'
It's a one-time opportunity.
I don't want to waste it on anything less than an Illusory Sword.
At minimum, a Phantom Sword.
Anything less would be too wasteful.
"My lord, do you know the ability of her sword as well?"
Helena's swords are a matching pair, hard to forget.
Her unique ability is rare too.
Classified as a special trait type.
"Snake and shadow."
* * *
The castle's dining hall.
At the meal where House Jerban's deal with the Volibian Merchant Group was sealed, Elbton and Helena were present.
Along with me.
"I didn't know you two were acquainted."
"We have a slight connection. When he first set out on pilgrimage, God sent him many trials."
Trials my ass. It was just lunatics trying to kill me.
"Fools who didn't know their place."
"Even so, without my help back then, you would've been in quite a bind, Sir Kallias."
Not wrong.
With bad luck, I'd have died.
Or been captured and imprisoned by those mad women.
"So, you're the benefactor of my son."
"No, it was all God's will. They say God's blessings fill only as much as the mouth opens. Kallias, wasn't it the culmination of your efforts that brought you the fortune of meeting me?"
Pretty words.
Ultimately, just slick talk adorning herself as fortune.
Yet.
Elbton knows it but doesn't seem to mind. His gaze on her brims with interest.
"Lady Helena, do you have a fiancé?"
"Pardon?"
Is he mad?
Planning a late marriage now?
"N-No, I don't..."
"I see. Young man and woman together look good, so I asked. Good that you don't."
"What's good about it?"
I snapped, and he set down his utensils matter-of-factly.
"Kallias, you're twenty-six now. The lord of the North must think of heirs. Though you're already quite late."
He meant me, not himself. Misunderstanding averted.
"What noble lady would entertain marriage talks with a wretch like me?"
The kingdom's top wastrel and prodigal.
That's House Jerban's eldest son.
Who would seriously consider marriage?
"Kallias, your name is Jerban. If you set your mind to it, suitors aren't impossible."
Not wrong.
One of Carpe's four great founding nobles.
Among nobles blessed by God in body, the four great nobles stand supreme.
Among them, steadfastly holding the North for nearly a millennium, Carpe's unbreached shield.
Carpe's pillar is House Jerban.
Plenty of ladies would come for political gain.
One word from Elbton, and nobles would line up to hawk their daughters.
Such is Jerban's prestige.
But.
"I have no such intentions."
Marry one of those women?
Absurd.
Too busy surviving to think of marriage.
That would be true extravagance.
"I see. If there's a woman on your mind, I could wait a bit."
"There is no such woman."
Even if there were, there isn't.
Besides, I have Emily.
No desire to complicate things... or burden that child with needless worries.
I won't show more disgrace to a girl who can't even call her father "father."
"I hear Lady Helena saved your life."
"Pardon? Oh, that was just coincidence..."
"Men often fall for the woman who saved their life."
A vein bulges on my forehead.
This conversation style explains why Kallias became a wastrel.
I want to flip the table...
'Huh.'
With the thought, my hand flipped the long rectangular table.
It spun in the air, scattering dishes and food.
Crash! Clatter!
Utter chaos.
"Eek!"
As the table smashed into the wall with a boom, waiting knights and servants rushed in startled.
Many rolled wide eyes in confusion.
I was just as baffled.
But kept a calm facade.
I dabbed my lips with a napkin.
Stood, tossed it aside.
"What is the meaning of this before a guest!"
What's done is done.
I was inexplicably angry anyway.
Better to say it now.
"You've already been gifted an excellent granddaughter in Emily. No need for marriage talks."
"......!"
Elbton probably didn't know.
That I knew.
"You won't treat your granddaughter as nonexistent, will you? No more. Don't force that child to hold her tongue."
* * *
After the commotion.
Rumors spread through Jaybarshu Castle like wildfire.
"Really? No wonder. Kallias dotes on her so much."
"True. I've seen him give Emily sword lessons often. But his daughter? Who knew."
Allen and Aron, of course.
"Come to think of it, she does resemble him. Emily has such noble bearing, like Kallias's features."
"Never imagined. Shocking."
Orphin and Jack.
And the other knights too.
Emily's true father being Kallias spread in an instant.
"Found out?"
"Yes. Jerban's servants have tight lips."
"So? Who's Emily?"
Helena and Alfredo strolled to the castle's rear garden briefly.
There, a child sparred alone against Jerban knights.
Gray eyes, Jerban's symbol.
Black bobbed hair.
"That's Kallias's daughter? She's huge. Fourteen or so?"
"Twelve years old, they say."
"What!? Just twelve? Sparring knights at twelve? She's fighting incredibly well..."
Impressive skill.
No child's swordplay for a twelve-year-old. Practical, a bit unpolished but clean lines.
Far beyond a twelve-year-old's technique, body grown beyond a child's too.
"Emily von Jerban appeared about ten years ago. Abandoned at the castle gates, they say."
Abandoned children are common in this era.
But gray eyes?
Northern folk aren't so ignorant as to pass by a crying gray-eyed child.
"Later, it was taken as the family head's bastard, but piecing stories together, that seems off."
"Really Kallias's daughter?"
"Not certain, but must be. He said so himself."
No one knows better than him.
So it must be true.
"Wow... Makes sense why 'prodigal' stuck. Who was the mother?"
"No idea. Can't pinpoint."
Too many thorny noble ladies.
"But really? Kallias has a younger sister. Could be hers?"
Rumor has it Kallias's sister entered orders long ago, vanished from sight.
"Not impossible, but ten years ago, she'd be too young."
Kallias's younger sister.
Violet's age gap makes it unlikely.
"Emily had blocked sacred blood, a congenital defect."
"Really?"
"But somehow, in this war, she suddenly shone."
And after that.
"Kallias was there, they say."
"Truly fascinating."
"This intel is valuable."
"Indeed."
Surprising, though.
"Fatherhood made him mature? Didn't expect him so sensitive about marriage talks."
For a house like Jerban.
A few bastards wouldn't raise eyebrows.
Yet Kallias raged for his daughter.
"Unexpectedly family-oriented."
"Interested?"
"As if. He's handsome, so eye candy. But marriage material? No way."
"With this war, Kallias's fame spreads across the North. 'Hero' isn't empty praise. He's already in line for title succession. Not bad as a match. Marry him, become mistress of the North."
Mistress of the North.
The title tempted even Helena.