Boom!
Arandel's knees fell onto the rose petals.
His head slowly dropped, unable to muster the strength to rise again.
"Haa… Haa…"
The sword in Isaac's hand slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground before him. His arms trembled uncontrollably, and his heart pounded as if it would burst.
His wide eyes took In the scene before him—one he had created—yet he found it difficult to believe.
Arandel Helmut was kneeling.
Silverna, who had rushed over, caught Isaac just as he was about to collapse.
Behind them, Liana also approached, supported by others.
"…Announce it."
With his head lowered, Arandel's voice grew weaker.
Perhaps due to the influence of the binding, even with no strength left, he was forced to continue speaking.
"My death."
And also—
"Your victory."
"…Lord Arandel."
Princess Clarice stepped forward.
The tears welling in her eyes were for the knight who had devoted himself to the kingdom until the very end.
"Thank you, Lord Arandel."
She knelt before him and bowed her head.
"Do not disgrace the defeated."
A man who had defended the peace of the kingdom with a single sword.
His fading voice carried a final warning to all who stood there.
"So… be great."
His head fell, never to rise again.
Like a broken rose.
***
Three days after Arandel's funeral—
Isaac stood blankly at the entrance of the Helmut estate.
The once-beautiful garden, adorned with roses, lay in ruins, and the mansion had been reduced to little more than rubble.
Now that the funeral was over,
The reconstruction of the Helmut estate had begun.
But how long would it take? Would it ever regain its former grandeur?
He remained doubtful.
'The old Helmut is gone for good.'
Even in his past life, after Arandel's death, the Helmuts had fallen into decline.
Though Lohengrin took over as the head of the family, he was never able to fill the void left by Arandel.
The faint bitterness tugging at Isaac's lips stemmed from a relationship that was closer to love and hate.
"You're leaving."
A voice came from behind him.
Liana had returned after inspecting the town.
"You're heading to Evergard?"
"Yes, I have to."
Isaac was returning to the capital, Evergard—both to meet with the Grand Master and to officially receive his noble title as a reward for his deeds.
"I probably won't be able to attend the conferment ceremony."
"I understand. You'll be busy."
Rebuilding the Helmut would demand all of Liana's attention.
She couldn't afford to leave this place right now.
On top of that, their divorce would soon be made public.
They had originally planned to separate quietly, but now they had a clear justification.
Isaac had killed Arandel.
After a brief silence, Liana spoke again.
"The nobles will start keeping a close eye on the Transcendents now."
Isaac nodded.
"Yeah, probably. And on top of that, people have become more wary of sorcery."
After all, Arandel Helmut had fallen under a spell and turned against them.
Many nobles had grown even more cautious of sorcery, and the Magic Tower had begun studying it separately from magic.
"Lord Arandel… left behind more than I expected."
A heightened awareness of sorcery, the slaying of five Primordial Transcendents, and, finally, his death as an enemy—one that elevated the prestige of the next generation.
Now, those who had fought in that battle were being praised as the Golden Generation.
Even without Arandel, people believed that as long as the Golden Generation remained, the kingdom would be safe.
"It's a relief that my father stopped there."
Liana's words were cold, but they were true.
Because Arandel had died there, both he and the Helmut could at least be remembered as martyrs.
"Thank you, Isaac."
"Liana."
"By stopping my father, you allowed the Helmut to survive—at least in some form."
Even as she looked out over this ruined, devastated scene, she considered it fortunate that something remained.
Isaac hesitated for a moment before sighing and asking,
"You don't look happy at all."
"...."
There was only one person in this world to whom she could reveal her true feelings.
And because of that, Liana let slip words she probably shouldn't have, accompanied by a bitter smile.
"I wish… nothing had remained at all."
If that had been the case,
She could have abandoned the name Helmut and lived freely.
As if asking him to pretend he hadn't heard that, Liana glanced at Isaac and changed the subject.
"I'll become the head of the family. I'll be leading the Helmut from now on."
It was not a position she welcomed.
But it had to be done.
There was no one else who could take on the role.
"My father… was a great warrior. But because of that, he abandoned too much."
People were inherently two-sided.
To the outside world, Arandel was a hero who protected the kingdom's peace with his sword.
But to those who lived in this mansion,
He was simply a merciless father who sacrificed everything for his sword.
"The Helmut will change.
Besides, the place has been destroyed so thoroughly that there's nothing left of the old ways."
Liana shrugged, letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
"I think… I'll try making it feel more like a real family."
Since that was all she had left.
Those words hovered on her lips, but she didn't say them aloud.
She didn't want to tie Isaac down with lingering regrets.
"The next time we meet, it'll probably be on the battlefield."
Liana took a step toward the mansion,
A movement that almost looked like she was sending Isaac off.
"Until then, I'll be counting on you."
Her gentle voice nudged him forward.
"Isaac Logan."
"...!"
Isaac's eyes widened slightly in surprise, before he let out a soft, exasperated chuckle and nodded.
"That… sounds really weird coming from you."
"Just go already."
"Heh, fine. Got it."
Taking a slow step back, Isaac gave Liana a parting nod.
"Goodbye, Liana Helmut."
"Isaac Logan, may your journey be filled with nothing but happiness."
Lifting the hem of her dress slightly, Liana bowed her head.
A formal and courteous farewell.
With that final farewell, Isaac gradually walked away from the mansion.
Yet, Liana remained standing still, maintaining her posture.
"Sister, the workers inside—"
Edel, the youngest sibling in charge of administrative work for the mansion's reconstruction, approached Liana but suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"...."
Tears were dripping onto the dust-covered floor.
'Sister…'
Edel quietly stepped back.
Everyone needed time to collect themselves.
***
"Hey!"
With a sharp slap on the back, Silverna made her entrance, causing Isaac to stumble forward.
"Ugh?!"
Isaac was startled.
The complicated emotions lingering from his conversation with Liana were momentarily set aside.
"Silverna, you were here?"
"I was helping the people around here."
The nearby villages around Helmut were also in a state of turmoil.
Though their damage wasn't as severe as the mansion's, they still needed aid.
Even the knights of Helmut had come down from the mansion to assist the villagers.
"So, are you staying a bit longer? Or do you want to leave now?"
At Isaac's question, Silverna hesitated for a moment before awkwardly looking around and changing the subject.
"What about Sharen? Didn't she say she was coming with us?"
"She decided to stay behind and help with the recovery. She'll catch up later once everything here is settled. She has things she needs to do, after all."
She had lost her father, just like she had lost her mother before.
She put on a brave smile, saying she'd already overcome something like this once before.
'She's pretending to be fine.'
It was obvious there was a shadow hidden behind her smile.
But since she had declared that she would overcome it herself, Isaac chose not to console her.
He knew that Sharen would find a way to endure and grow stronger once again.
"I'm heading straight to Evergard. Even if no one says it outright, I doubt anyone here is thrilled about my presence."
Regardless of the reasons and even though Arandel had accepted it,
People weren't purely rational beings.
And more than that—Isaac was no longer part of Helmut.
The knights of Helmut wouldn't be able to simply welcome him with open arms.
'I wanted to at least say goodbye to Jonathan.'
But he had already left to escort incoming relief supplies.
"Actually, Isaac…"
Silverna scratched her cheek awkwardly before letting out a sigh and admitting honestly,
"I'm heading back to the North."
"…Already?"
"Even if the Transcendents have lost momentum, that doesn't mean they'll give up, right?"
She was right.
There was no way those creatures would simply surrender.
"I'm going back to the North to prepare for their next move."
"…I see."
In his past life, the moment the Northern defenses fell, the Transcendents had launched an even more ferocious assault.
For them, the Malidan Wall in the North was a thorn in their side.
'This time will be different.'
Unlike before, when they had launched a sudden invasion,
If the Malidan Wall was properly fortified against the Transcendents,
The tide of battle would be entirely different.
"So, Isaac, I guess this is goodbye for now."
"Yeah."
A breeze blew past.
Silverna's hair fluttered, and she instinctively raised her hand to cover her flushed cheeks in embarrassment.
"Well, we already said our goodbyes once because of the Sword Festival, so it's not that awkward, right?"
"You sure talk a lot for someone who's supposedly not feeling awkward."
"...."
Silverna pouted.
Isaac had been trying to keep the farewell from feeling too heavy, but judging by her reaction, it seemed like his approach wasn't very effective.
"Was that the wrong thing to say?"
"You made it sound like parting ways was no big deal."
"…Cut me some slack."
He had just bid farewell to Liana, and now Silverna was leaving too—it was only natural that his emotions were a bit all over the place.
Silverna stared at him for a moment, then suddenly pulled him into a hug.
"Out of nowhere?"
"What's with that dull reaction?"
"...."
"You're acting like a married man or something. Hmph. We won't see each other for a while—this much should be fine, right?"
"…Yeah."
The two stood there, embracing each other.
A mix of friendship and something deeper.
Somewhere in between.
"But you know,"
Silverna suddenly whispered softly in his ear.
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That they'd… get bigger."
"...."
He had tried to ignore it.
But now, thanks to her comment, the two large mounds pressing against his chest felt even more noticeable.
"You told me, remember? That they'd grow, so I should get used to not wearing compression wraps. Since eventually, I wouldn't be able to wear them anymore."
"…I did say that."
"You were right. They did get bigger."
Isaac tried to pull away, but he still wasn't strong enough to overpower Silverna.
"Can you let go already? Is this really how you want our goodbye to go?"
"Hmm, that'd be a problem."
She nodded, finally releasing him.
But just as she stepped back, something soft brushed against Isaac's cheek.
"…?!"
Startled, he clutched his cheek.
Silverna gave him a playful wink.
"This way, you'll remember something other than my chest, right?"
She tried to act casual, but her face was as red as Helmut's sunset.
Her eyes were unfocused, and even the finger she pointed at him was trembling—she was clearly embarrassed.
"If you were going to react like that, you shouldn't have done it in the first place."
Isaac sighed, exasperated.
Silverna hesitated for a moment.
Then, in a desperate attempt to cover her embarrassment—
"P-Pyuu~!"
—she tried to brush it off with a cutesy act.