The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Household Wants A Divorce-Chapter 54: The Sword Dance Festival (1)

The sight of Alois leaning on a cane was a fresh shock to Isaac.

He really wasn’t expecting to see this at all.

But, while his burst of laughter was an accident, he had no intention of taking it back.

“No, really, Brother-in-law.”

Alois knew this too, so despite feeling irritated and offended, he didn’t mention it further and moved on.

“Sister is acting strange!”

Because in his eyes, there were just more important matters.

“S-She said that I tried to harm you! It’s so unfair!”

He cried out with tears in his eyes.

“Wasn’t I always on your side more than anyone else? I always helped when the other siblings bullied you, and I was the one who helped with your 4th wedding anniversary!”

“...”

“Why would someone like me try to harm you? She didn’t listen to a single word I said and did this to my legs! If I wasn’t a Helmont, I could have been crippled for life!”

And you’d deserve that.

Isaac clicked his tongue in regret.

He had to admit though, that Alois’ plea was quite convincing.

In fact, in his previous life, at this point in time, Isaac had never suspected Alois.

But now, after knowing the whole truth, he could only see how despicable Alois’ actions were.

He’s underestimating me to this extent... I’m not even angry at him anymore, just dumbfounded.

The way Alois acted suggested that he had absolute confidence that Isaac would believe him.

No matter what Isaac might have heard in the North, he thought he could convince him with his words.

That was how much Alois was underestimating Isaac.

Hmm.

Isaac pondered for a moment.

Then he nodded and placed his hand on Alois’ shoulder.

“My dear brother-in-law wouldn’t do such a thing. I don’t know what this is all about, but I’ll talk to her about it.”

“Brother-in-law!”

Alois nodded, sniffling.

Isaac patted his shoulder and walked past him.

If I could have my way...

He wanted to tear Alois apart right then and there. But seeing how Rianna had shattered his legs had made him somewhat satisfied already.

Besides, Alois was someone who was actually related to the Transcendent Race back in his previous life, he didn’t want to risk it.

As for taking up a revenge on Alois?

While that would certainly make him feel good, Isaac didn’t want to appear as if he had dedicated his life to it.

He decided that it would be better for him to use the guy as a stepping stone for something greater.

I don’t need to make it the goal of my life to enact revenge on the likes of him.

No need to drag myself down to his level.

Although...

He wanted to take Alois’ legs for good after they had fully healed.

Because if he did it now, it’d look like he was taking advantage of Rianna’s actions.

As Isaac watched Alois’ back as he entered the mansion with an assured face, Jonathan approached from the side and saluted.

“As of this moment, I conclude my duty as Sir Isaac Helmont’s escort!”

“Right, you’ve worked hard.”

“Thank you very much!”

Jonathan let out a bright smile.

While he would have to keep his Transcendent half-blood nature hidden, and the seniors’ bullying wouldn’t completely disappear...

Isaac knew that Jonathan would do well.

He patted his shoulder.

Unlike with Alois, this was a sincere gesture to encourage the knight to do well.

“I’m back!”

At that moment, a certain 17-year-old brat burst through the mansion doors.

She passed by Alois in the middle, but they didn’t exchange any words to each other at all.

However, judging by how Alois gritted his teeth, it was clear that he was harboring some resentment towards this girl, Sharen.

“Isaac!”

Sharen hopped over and stood in front of Isaac, immediately sticking out her head.

It was a gesture for him to pat her head.

Strangely feeling stubborn, Isaac just stared at her blankly, so Sharen lightly stepped on his foot.

Rub rub.

“Isaac! Something terrible has happened! It’s awful!”

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Then, Sharen suddenly said so while flapping her hands like a fish.

“What?”

When he heard what she had to say, Isaac’s eyes widened.

*   *   *Clunk.

It was the first time.

That Isaac opened Rianna’s door without any warning.

“Ah.”

Inside, there was Rianna, sitting on the bed.

This was also the first time he had seen her like this.

Haggard appearance, dry red hair, and lifeless eyes. But, the latter soon regained their color as they started to moisten when she saw him.

He also noticed the shackle on her ankle.

“You’re back, Isaac.”

Rianna slowly stood up and Isaac approached her.

“What’s going on? I heard you tried to escape while under house arrest?”

“...”

While Isaac was on his way back, quite a few incidents had occurred at Helmont.

The biggest one was that Rianna had tried to escape from the house arrest imposed by the family head.

Unfortunately, her attempt ended up in failure because the family head quickly caught her.

Afterwards, they crossed swords once again, and it ended in Rianna’s utter defeat.

This was why she was in this state.

It was a warning for her to not challenge the family head’s authority again.

“This isn’t like you, Rianna. Why did you do it?”

At Isaac’s question, Rianna parted her lips, which was unusual. In the past, she’d just clench her mouth shut.

“I...wanted to avoid choosing...”

“Choosing?”

Looking at the bewildered Isaac, Rianna forced herself to shake her head. Her hand reached out for a moment but quickly went back down.

As if she didn’t deserve to do so.

However, her eyes became clearer.

It was the complete opposite of her wavering appearance just moments ago.

“Isaac.”

The moment she faced Isaac, Rianna finally seemed to make up her mind. She clenched her fist and declared.

“I will become the family head—“

“...!”

“And on the day the Sword Dance Festival ends, I’ll ensure that you can safely leave the mansion.”

Without fail.

“I promise you that.”

*   *   *“...”

Isaac couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling in his heart.

He walked out, pondering with his lips tightly pressed, heading down to the first floor.

“Isaac, Isaac!”

A voice suddenly called out to him again from the second floor.

Sharen, who had somehow returned to her room, was gesturing and calling out to him with a mischievous look.

“...”

“Hurry! Come quick!”

“Haa.”

He didn’t have any choice but to follow her to her room. When he entered the room, various snacks were laid out on the table.

Kelsey was nearby, brewing tea. The distinctive rose scent that Helmont was known for wafted through the air.

“Here! These are my secret collection! I told you I’d share them with you, remember?”

“Ah.”

I forgot about that...

“The young lady prepared hard for this. She even held herself back from eating the ones she really wanted to eat, saying that she’s waiting for you to come, Sir Isaac.”

“D-Don’t say that!”

Seeing the embarrassed Sharen, a smile appeared on Isaac’s lips.

Just moments ago, his feelings had been murky from everything that was going on, but putting something sweet in his mouth seemed to ease his mind a bit.

Star cookies, huh?

Come to think of it, I hadn’t greeted Milly yet.

She’s probably busy welcoming guests, though.

I want to eat her food again... I’ll greet her after this.

While chewing a star cookie, Isaac started to reprimand Sharen.

“Just how far did you go looking for these star cookies?”

“W-What?! Why suddenly?!”

“You know, because of these star cookies, you... Actually, never mind, forget about it.”

No one would believe him if he were to say that she was almost branded as the betrayer of humanity because of cookies. So, he just let out a sigh and dropped the topic, but apparently Kelsey had quite a lot of pent-up feelings regarding this.

“He’s right, young lady. Do you know how hard it was for the servants? We searched all the nearby villages looking for those.”

“Huh?! B-But... They’re tasty...”

Her voice trailed off.

As Kelsey and Isaac both stared at her, she finally bowed her head deeply and apologized in a dejected tone.

“I-I’m sorry... I won’t do it again.”

Sharen really has changed, hasn’t she?

Isaac marveled as he put another Star Cookie in his mouth.

*   *   *Helmont Mansion.

Recently, the mansion had been holding lavish banquets every evening in the banquet hall.

This was the way they gave out proper treatment to the guests that came with invitations.

Today, discussions about the main event of the Sword Dance Festival that would start tomorrow were in full swing.

Usually, this festival would be an occasion for the Helmonts to duel among themselves and show off their strength.

But this time, there were quite a few outsiders participating.

One of them was Silverna.

Although she hadn’t arrived yet, she had sent a letter in advance saying she would participate.

I don’t see Milly anywhere.

And of course...

Isaac would also participate in the Sword Dance Festival as the husband of the Blood Rose, Rianna Helmont.

Despite him being a Helmont, no one in the room wished to approach him, but he didn’t particularly mind about it.

Because if anything, rather than them, he just wanted to see his only friend in the mansion, Milly.

Since she was a cook, he figured that around this time, she was cooped up in the kitchen.

“Ah, there you are!”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice that sounded familiar—the same one he had heard in the market earlier today—entered his ear.

When he turned around to see, there was Clarisse, dressed in an elegant princess-like gown, unlike the shabby adventurer look she had shown earlier.

Seeing her approaching him first unprompted...

The surrounding nobles whispered among themselves while glancing this way.

It was embarrassing, but he couldn’t just tell her to go away. After all, she was still a princess.

“I’ve been looking for you! I was so worried that you had a false impression on me since I had shown you an improper appearance earlier!”

Clarisse let out a bright smile.

Thinking she was worrying about trivial things, Isaac immediately changed the subject.

“So, what information did you gather today? Didn’t you say that you could get valuable information by running around yourself?”

At Isaac’s question, Clarisse’s face stiffened slightly. Then she nodded with an awkward smile.

“A man named Poron living in a nearby village was stung by a bee yesterday.”

“...”

“Jake, who lives next door to Poron, had a tooth pulled. It must have hurt a lot.”

“...”

“And also... The skewer shop. People were complaining that their skewer isn’t—“

“...”

As Isaac stared at her with a blank face, Clarisse put her hand on her chest and let out a sigh.

Then, with a very serious expression, she glared at Isaac and declared.

“Let me explain logically how important and crucial the information I just shared is in a way that even a fool can understand. Follow me.”

Oh, good grief, what now?

Clarisse didn’t want to admit that the information she had brought was utterly useless.

Seeing her burning with competitiveness, determined to prove that she wasn’t wrong, an exasperated expression rose up on Isaac’s face.

At that moment, the guard standing behind her interjected tactfully.

“The tournament brackets have been announced.”

They had finished putting up the Sword Dance Festival’s tournament brackets in front of the banquet hall.

Isaac quickly went to see. When he found his name, a frown appeared on his face.

[Isaac Helmont vs Silverna Cardias]