The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Household Wants A Divorce-Chapter 20: This Is Reality

Early dawn, before sunrise.

Today too, Isaac was swinging his sword in the training ground alone.

At this point, his training had become beyond a mere dairy routine to a ritual to clear his head from the drowsiness of sleep.

Reconnaissance team, huh?

After accepting Silverna’s request last night.

Isaac had become part of the reconnaissance team.

Though that meant he’d be forced to face the dangers outside the wall, he didn’t hesitate to accept it.

‘Considering my skills, won’t I just be a hindrance?’

[Combat ability doesn’t matter much for the reconnaissance team. We aren’t going out there to fight, but to gather information and figure out what to do next.]

[In that sense, Isaac, I highly value your eyes and judgment. I don’t think this is a strange proposal.]

Aside from that, Isaac judged that this’d benefit him too.

Like other nobles, he was also lacking in practical experience.

He thought that if he were to go out with the reconnaissance team, it would be easier for him to read the air and flow of actual combat.

Haaa... I still wish I have a better sword, though...

He slowly lowered his sword.

This sword was part of the supplies that were given to ordinary soldiers.

He couldn’t use Helmont’s greatsword, this was the sword he received after coming here.

Isaac exhaled with a bitter expression, his white breath briefly obscured his vision.

At that moment, a large man appeared at the end of the training ground.

Due to his presence and size, even under this darkness of dawn, it wasn’t difficult for Isaac to tell who this man was.

Uldiran Cardias.

The margrave approached Isaac.

Isaac greeted him politely, and he accepted it with a single hand gesture. Then, he stood in front of him.

“Anna told me you start the earliest to train out of everyone. So she was telling the truth.”

“It’s because I’m extremely lacking compared to others. That’s why I put all my efforts to catch up to them.”

“Not everyone can say those words and adhere to it faithfully like you.”

Isaac smiled slightly at Uldiran’s praise.

The margrave was called the Guardian Deity of the North.

But in reality, he wasn’t the type to put on airs that much.

It wasn’t hard to see that, especially after seeing how her daughter got along well with ordinary soldiers.

“Actually, I came here to meet you.”

“Me?”

“From what I heard, you’ve been having various conversations with Silverna recently. They said she has been frequenting the noble quarters quite often.”

“...”

Isaac closed his mouth in embarrassment.

What parent would love it if their daughter were to visit a man—an outsider, no less.

Not only that, the man was already married, and she visited him every night.

“At first, I was going to teach her a lesson. One of my flicks is usually enough to knock anyone out.”

Uldiran raised his thick fist.

But the tone of his voice was strangely warm.

“But, when I saw her training last night, I changed my mind.”

“...”

“She’s improved a lot. To the point where even I, her father, could hardly recognize her.”

A glint appeared in Uldiran’s eyes.

Isaac could see the complex emotions contained in them.

“You were the one who helped her, didn’t you? I could tell the moment I saw.”

“May I ask how you knew?”

“It looked like Helmont.”

Uldiran’s grin contained a childlike playfulness.

“Of course, I wasn’t saying that she’s imitating their swordsmanship. It’s the principle. Making a special person even more special is a Helmont’s thing.”

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.

Both in Isaac’s previous life and now...

Every time Silverna was given a few hints or pieces of advice, she’d rapidly develop.

She was a perfect embodiment of ‘do before you think’.

“The Cardias’ principle of developing a spear that’s suited for everyone was something that was holding that child back. Whenever she swings her spear to follow her own senses, she’d always think that it isn’t Cardias’ spearmanship.”

“......”

“But then someone told him that progression isn’t abandoning, but continuing. She came to me all smiles while blabbering everything that you told her.”

A gentle smile formed on Uldiran’s lips.

The kind-hearted atmosphere he exuded made Isaac unconsciously relaxed.

“My daughter is indebted to you. Thank you.”

“No, I also learned a lot from Silverna.”

At Isaac’s answer, Uldiran slowly turned his gaze and pointed towards his mansion.

“We Northerness won’t just express our thanks with words.”

“Pardon?”

“Come with me. I have quite a few useless but precious items in my storage-“

He smiled, gesturing with his chin towards Isaac’s sword.

“Don’t you need a replacement for that?”

“...!”

Apparently, Uldiran had noticed that Isaac was dissatisfied with his current sword from watching him train for a moment.

“They said a great swordsman won’t be picky about swords, but that’s just false. There’s no one as picky about their swords as the Helmonts.”

“If you’ve gone that far, how could I refuse?”

“Hahaha! Let me tell you a story about the time when I was about to duel with that bastard Arandel—”

*   *   *Early morning, after sunrise.

Isaac stood in the training ground. A satisfied smile was hanging on his face.

Covering his head and hands were a hat and gloves that were made of yeti skin—gifts from Silverna and Anna.

On his feet were boots that would protect him from slipping even when he was treading on snow.

Finally, a wide-bladed sword—a falchion hanging at his waist.

“You’ve become a real Northerner now, huh?”

Isaac shrugged at Silverna’s words.

The falchion at his waist was the thing that he received from Uldiran, a sword of considerable quality.

Although he felt a little disappointed that the shape wasn’t like the one he wanted, it was still much better than the one he had before.

The ‘Isaac’s Sword’ he was writing was a single-edged sword technique, and the falchion fit it perfectly.

“Hoooaahm... I’m sleepy...”

At that moment, a pair of twintails trudged into the training ground.

Sharen Helmont.

The girl approached the two, yawning repeatedly, exhausted from the change of her sleeping environment.

Sharen was also a member of the reconnaissance team Silverna had formed—a sort of elite force whose member was chosen solely based on ability, without regard for family background.

“Have you both eaten breakfast?”

“No, not yet. I planned to eat after we roughly have a general idea of our current situation.”

“I ate some snacks.”

At Silverna and Sharen’s answers, Isaac took out sandwich ingredients he had brought from the dining hall earlier.

He then roughly spread his cloak on the ground and sat on it to make sandwiches.

“It’s better to fill your stomach a little before going. Who knows what might happen once we’re out there.”

Hearing Isaac’s words, Silverna accepted a sandwich, albeit hesitantly.

“You’re right. Guess I got nervous from thinking about the responsibilities I have as the leader of the reconnaissance team.”

“What about me?”

Sharen asked for her portion.

Isaac threw her a glance before handing her a quickly made sandwich.

“Well, since it’s you who made it, I’m not expecting—huh?! How could this be so tasty?!”

The moment she ate the sandwich, her attitude changed. She devoured it as if possessed.

“This is something I often ate for lunch when I was a ferryman. It’s not hard to make them, you just need to pay attention to the ratio of jam.”

That one simple thing could make even a simple sandwich taste delicious.

“So this is how you seduced my sister...”

Sharen muttered with her cheeks full. Isaac was about to say something but eventually gave up and nodded.

“Yes, I seduced her with this.”

Considering what happened that time, ‘seducing’ was the right word to describe it.

He remembered all sorts of lines and things he threw out at that woman in his effort to try to get along well with her.

All in all, it was a dark history of his.

“You’re feeding me the food you used to seduce Rianna with?”

Silverna murmured, looking down at the sandwich she bitten. Isaac hastily explained.

“You’re just making it sound strange now. I’m just trying to make sure that we have some food in our stomachs before we go.”

“I-I know that.”

Despite saying that, she started changing the way she ate the sandwich; strangely careful.

** * **Rianna’s morning started later than she expected.

Haa.

Because of a bad dream that often haunted her sleep.

Her morning started a little later than others.

But it didn’t matter.

Though she was disguised as a maid, she wasn’t actually a maid. It didn’t matter even if she overslept.

Although, she had to admit. Sharing a room with other maids was a rather unique experience.

She checked under her bed—no cushion was placed there, one could call it a large wooden box and it would still be accurate.

There, was a greatsword, wrapped tightly in bandages in its loneliness, waiting for its owner.

Ragnavel.

Her greatsword.

After confirming that it was still there, she went outside after a simple wash.

Wearing the same disguise as yesterday.

The closest thing she saw the moment she came out of the quarters was the Malidean Wall’s soldiers, moving about.

If she looked a bit further, she could see the nobles, training in the training ground.

And even further, under the risen sun, stood the sturdy Malidean Wall.

It’s cold.

The weather was chilly.

She started to feel bored since for the first time in her life, she had nothing to do.

As the cold northern air contaminated her hands, an old memory suddenly sprung to her mind.

It was back before she got married.

“We...talked about the North...”

A wide blue river, spread in the background.

That day, the water was unusually calm. They were spending more time on that small boat than usual.

Sitting face to face.

The conversation they shared as they digested the sandwich they had split in half...

Was so sweet that they didn’t need separate tea and snacks.

[I guess it’s true. When you’re in love, everything just feels mesmerizing.]

Isaac said with a smile.

Is that really true?

Maybe that’s why everything about you is mesmerizing to me right now?

Rianna swallowed her inner thoughts and spoke out something different.

‘That’s just nonsense.’

[It’s true. There’s a reason why they say love is magic.]

‘Be more realistic.’

[I am being realistic. When you’re with someone you love, everything you do, everywhere you go, everything is mesmerizing.]

Lacking experience in that regard, Rianna could only keep on denying his words.

Before they knew it, on that gently floating boat, they started exchanging words like a Q&A.

‘What about the North? It’s extremely cold there.’

[We just need to hold hands.]

‘What about the humid East? Just being together with someone is enough to make you irritated.’

[I’ll make you a cool drink. We’ll sit in the shade and spend our time together there.]

‘It’s the rainy season. It’s going to rain.’

[We’ll share a single umbrella. I don’t mind if my shoulder gets a bit wet.]

‘...Did you practice this somewhere?’

[Rather than that, this is just the power of love.]

Isaac laughed shyly, finding his words funny himself.

Finding that sight quite cute, Rianna almost laughed along without realizing, but then...

Isaac, a commoner, a mere ferryman.

Rianna Helmont, a noble lady from a prestigious family.

Once again, she realized the gap between their social status. Her expression darkened.

[What’s wro—]

‘Helmont.’

Worried, Isaac was about to ask, but Rianna cut him and looked straight into his eyes.

‘What about Helmont?’

The Northern’s cold.

And the Eastern’s heat.

Both paled in comparison to her homeland.

She was certain that this time he’d definitely be stumped, but...

Gently...

He took her hand and smiled.

[You’ll be there.]

‘...!’

Rianna bit her lip hard and lowered her head deeply, hiding her face with her fallen hair.

Isaac didn’t say anything more to avoid embarrassing her further.

Because he noticed.

That she was so embarrassed that she felt her face was about to burst.

Such was the memory that came to her mind.

“Thankfully, I’m wearing a mask.”

Now back to reality, Rianna muttered alone in embarrassment.

She tried to cool her burning face with the northern wind, but then she suddenly spotted three people crouching in a corner of the training ground, eating sandwiches.

Isaac...and Silverna?

Her younger sister was also there, but she didn’t pay much attention to her.

She approached their vicinity stealthily, cloaking her footsteps.

There was no need to get too close.

Helmont’s extraordinary physique granted her extraordinary hearing.

The one who spoke first, was Sharen.

“Give me another one! It’s tasty!”

“Make it yourself.”

“Tch! I’ll make it even tastier than yours!”

“And here I thought all sandwiches were the same. So you can make something this good with simple ingredients...”

At Silverna’s words, Rianna flinched.

Sandwich?

Made by Isaac?

We...used to enjoy that whenever we were together on that small boat...

He even made it for our breakfast back on our 4th wedding anniversary...

“...”

A strange emotion welled up in her chest.

She could guess what it was, but she decided not to express it in words.

He’s gotten close with the Cardias lady. It was like that the other day too.

The sound of their conversation continued to reach Rianna’s ears, worsening her mood.

“Strictly speaking, the taste is a bit different from the sandwich I used to make. The ingredients are different, and the method I use to prepare it is also different.”

“Oh? Someone’s confident in their food, I see.”

“Of course.”

“Munch munch.”

Although the words weren’t very audible due to Sharen’s loud munching sounds, the tension in Rianna’s shoulders eased a bit.

Right... That’s right...

The sandwich we ate together on the boat was special...

It isn’t something you can easily get in a place like this...

“What’s the difference? Love?”

Sharen asked with jam all over her mouth.

Perhaps it was because she was a 17-year-old girl, she seemed quite interested in this kind of thing.

You could say that.

Even if not now, back then, it certainly was.

“Grow up. Love my ass. It’s tasty because the jam and meat are tasty.”

“...”

...She was about to nod to the word ‘love’.

But, hearing Isaac’s words, she turned her head abruptly to look at him.

“There’s no such thing as the power of love! Don’t be deluded by romance!”

“O-Okay, s-stop this! D-Don’t shove your face at me! Why are you so serious so suddenly?!”

“This is reality! Marriage is—!”