Chapter 21 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Dawn Training and Scouting Preparations
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The dawn before the sun had risen.
Isaac was still swinging his sword alone in the training grounds today.
This routine, now firmly established as part of his daily life, cleared his hazy mind from last night's drinks even in his half-asleep state.
'Scouting party.'
At Silberna's request last night,
Isaac had volunteered for the scouting party.
It was a dangerous mission venturing beyond the wall, but he hadn't refused.
'With my skills, won't I just hold them back?'
'Combat strength isn't a top priority for the scouting party. We're not going to fight—we're just gathering intel and making judgments.'
'In that sense, Isaac, I highly value your eyes and judgment. It's not some weird proposal.'
Isaac figured it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Like the other nobles, he lacked real combat experience.
Joining the scouting party would make it easier to get a feel for the atmosphere and flow of actual battle.
'Hoo, the sword still leaves much to be desired.'
He slowly lowered his blade.
A standard-issue supply sword, no different from what regular soldiers received.
He couldn't wield the greatsword back in Helmunt, so this was the one he'd been given upon arrival.
As Isaac let out a bitter breath, a puff of white mist briefly clouded his vision.
At that moment, a hulking figure appeared at the edge of the training grounds.
Even in the pre-dawn darkness, his presence and sheer size made it easy to identify him.
Uldiran Caldias.
The Margrave approached Isaac.
Isaac offered a polite greeting, which Uldiran lightly acknowledged with a wave before standing before him.
"Anna told me you come out here earliest every dawn for training. It's true, I see."
"I'm still sorely lacking, so I just keep striving to keep up with everyone else."
"You'll come to realize that what seems simple now isn't so easy once it builds up."
Isaac smiled faintly at Uldiran's praise.
From the Margrave's position, he was called the guardian deity of the North,
but Uldiran didn't carry himself with excessive gravity.
It made sense when you considered he was the root of Silberna's easy rapport with common soldiers.
"Truth be told, I came here to see you."
"Me, sir?"
"I've heard you've been chatting a lot with Silberna lately. She visits the nobles' quarters quite frequently now."
"..."
Embarrassed, Isaac shut his mouth.
What parent would be thrilled to hear their daughter visiting some married outsider's room every night?
"At first, I planned to give you a good scolding. One solid honey night punch from me usually knocks folks out cold."
He raised a thick fist.
But his tone was warm and folksy.
"However, after seeing Silberna training at night yesterday, I changed my mind."
"..."
"She's improved a lot. To the point even her old man can't recognize her."
A glint appeared in Uldiran's eyes,
filled with complex emotions.
"You helped her, didn't you? I could tell at a glance."
"May I ask how you knew?"
"It reminded me of Helmunt."
Uldiran grinned with a boyish mischief in his expression.
"Not that she's imitating their swordsmanship, mind you. It just looked like someone special becoming even more so. That's why I said it resembled Helmunt."
Both in his past life and now,
she advanced rapidly with just a hint or piece of advice.
She was the type whose actions outpaced her thoughts.
"Caldias's tradition of spears for the masses was actually holding her back. The moment she swung the spear following her instincts, she must have thought it wasn't true Caldias spearwork."
"..."
"Progress isn't about discarding the old, but building upon it, as they say. She came to me beaming, bragging about what you told her."
A gentle smile formed on Uldiran's lips.
His kindly warmth made Isaac relax without realizing it.
"You've done a great favor for my daughter. Thank you."
"I'm learning a lot from Silberna as well."
In response, Uldiran slowly turned his gaze, pointing toward his mansion.
"Northern warriors don't express gratitude with mere words."
"Pardon?"
"Come with me. My warehouse is full of useless but valuable items—"
He nodded toward Isaac's sword with a grin.
"Looks like you could use something better than that."
"...!"
Uldiran had spotted Isaac's dissatisfaction with his current sword just from watching his training briefly.
"They say a true swordsman doesn't fuss over the blade, but you know how picky Helmunt folks are about their swords."
"Of course."
"Haha! Once, that rascal Arandel and I were about to spar—"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The early morning after the sun had risen.
A satisfied smile played on Isaac's lips as he stood in the training grounds.
Yeti hide hat and gloves gifted by Silberna and Anna.
Boots that wouldn't slip on the snow.
And finally, the wide-bladed longsword called Perlsen dangling from his waist.
"You look like a proper Northerner now."
Isaac shrugged at Silberna's words.
The Perlsen at his waist was a high-quality sword from Uldiran.
It wasn't exactly what he wanted, which was a bit disappointing, but far superior to the issued supply sword.
His ongoing work Isaac's Sword envisioned a single-edged blade, and the Perlsen fit perfectly.
"Yaaawn, so sleepy."
At that moment, a twin-tailed girl shuffled into the training grounds.
Sharen Helmunt.
She yawned repeatedly, looking fatigued from the change in her sleeping arrangements, and approached the two.
Sharen was also part of Silberna's scouting party lineup—selected purely on skill, ignoring her family ties, as part of her elite picks.
"You two have breakfast yet?"
"Not yet. Planning to grab positions first, then eat."
"I had snacks."
At Silberna and Sharen's replies, Isaac pulled out sandwich ingredients he'd prepared from the mess hall.
He spread his cloak on the ground, sat on it, and assembled the sandwiches.
"Better to fill your stomach even a little before heading out. Who knows what'll happen beyond the wall."
Silberna hesitated but took the sandwich at Isaac's words.
"You're right. Guess I'm tense since I'm leading the scouting party."
"What about me?"
Sharen asked if there was none for her.
Isaac glanced at her and handed over a simply made one.
"Well, since it's Isaac-made, I won't expect much—huh!? This is ridiculously good!"
Sharen's attitude flipped in an instant as she devoured it like a possessed demon.
"It's what I often had for lunch hustling as a con artist. The key is getting the jam ratio just right."
The result of his efforts to make even simple sandwiches tasty.
"So this is how you reeled in big sis."
Sharen mumbled with jam smeared all over her cheeks, and Isaac started to retort but nodded in resignation.
"Yeah, this is how I reeled her in."
Honestly, back then, that had been his intention.
He remembered throwing out all sorts of lines, desperate to make things work with that woman.
Black history.
"You're giving me the same sandwiches you used to woo Rianna?"
Silberna murmured, staring at the sandwich she'd bitten into, and Isaac hurriedly explained.
"Don't read into it weirdly. It's just to line the stomach minimally."
"Yeah, I know."
Even as she said it, Silberna began eating her sandwich with oddly careful bites.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Rianna's morning started later than expected.
'Hah.'
Restless dreams were to blame, and she often had nightmares.
A breakfast a bit later than others.
But it didn't matter.
She was only disguised as a maidservant, not truly one, so sleeping in wasn't an issue.
Sharing a room with other maids was a novel experience, though.
Rianna checked under the bed—which lacked any cushion and was more like a large wooden crate.
Her greatsword, tightly wrapped in bandages, waited forlornly for its master.
Ragnavel.
Rianna's greatsword.
Confirming it safe, she did a quick wash-up and headed out,
disguised just as tightly as yesterday.
Stepping outside the quarters, the nearest sight was the bustling Mallidan Wall soldiers going about their duties.
A bit farther, nobles training in the grounds.
Even farther, the Mallidan Wall standing firm under the rising sun.
'Cold.'
Chilly weather.
As her hands numbed in the northern air during this idle moment for the first time, an old memory surfaced.
Before the two had married.
"I've told you about the North."
A blue river as backdrop.
The water unusually calm that day, they spent time on a small ferry.
Sitting face-to-face on the single boat,
Chatting while digesting the shared sandwich,
How had it been so sweet? No tea or snacks needed.
[When you're in love, everything looks good.]
Isaac smiling as he spoke.
Was it really?
Was that why everything about you looked good to me now?
Rianna swallowed her inner thoughts and voiced another.
'That's nonsense.'
[It's true. That's why they say love is magic.]
'Think realistically.'
[I'm being plenty realistic. Being with the one you love makes everything—and everywhere—seem wonderful.]
Lacking experience, Rianna could only deny.
Before long, on the gently floating boat, their back-and-forth turned Q&A-like.
'The North? It's freezing cold.'
[Then we'll hold hands.]
'The East's humid weather? Just being together would annoy you.'
[I'll mix you a cool drink. We'll sit in the shade together.]
'It'll rain—the rainy season.'
[We'll share one umbrella. My shoulder can get wet.]
'...Did you practice this somewhere?'
[What can I say, the power of love?]
Isaac laughed bashfully, amused by himself.
So endearing, Rianna nearly laughed along unwittingly.
But Isaac, the con artist from commoner stock.
Rianna Helmunt of a prestigious noble house.
The gap stabbed her mind again, darkening her face sharply.
[What's wrong—]
'Helmunt.'
Meeting Isaac's worried eyes directly, Rianna asked.
'What about Helmunt?'
The North's cold.
The East's heat.
Nothing compared to its grueling trials.
Rianna was certain Isaac couldn't answer this time, bitterness rising—
But softly,
taking her hand, Isaac smiled.
[You'll be there.]
'...!'
Rianna bit her lip hard and bowed her head.
Hair fell, hiding her face, and Isaac spared her further embarrassment by saying no more.
So ashamed.
Her face felt like it would burst.
Such a memory.
"Good thing I'm wearing a mask."
Back to reality, Rianna mumbled awkwardly to herself.
As the northern wind cooled her burning cheeks, she spotted three people squatting in the corner of the training grounds, eating sandwiches.
'Isaac and Silberna?'
Her little sister was there too, but Rianna paid it no mind.
She crept closer silently, muffling her footsteps.
No need to get too close.
A great Helmunt's body boasted sharp hearing too.
It started with Sharen.
"Gimme another. It's good."
"Make your own."
"Tch! I'll make it even better!"
"Simple ingredients, but damn tasty. I thought all sandwiches were the same."
Rianna flinched at Silberna's final words.
Sandwiches?
'Isaac's sandwiches?'
Those were what we ate on that ferry date.
He'd even made them for breakfast on our 4th anniversary.
"..."
A strange emotion welled in her chest.
Rianna knew what it was but decided not to name it.
'Up on the wall too. She's gotten close to the Caldias lady.'
The conversation continued into her dejected ears.
"Strictly speaking, the taste is a bit different from the usual. Different ingredients and prep make the difference."
"Oh? Got some pride in it?"
"Naturally."
"Nom nom."
Sharen's munching drowned some out, but Rianna's tension eased a bit.
'Right, exactly.'
The sandwiches from the ferry weren't ordinary.
Not something you could easily taste anywhere.
"What, the taste of love or something?"
Sharen asked, jam all over her mouth.
At 17, she seemed quite interested in such matters.
'Well, you could say that.'
Not now, but back then, definitely—Rianna began to nod—
"Grow up. Love my ass. It's tasty 'cause the jam and meat are good."
"..."
...only to freeze.
Rianna whipped her head toward him, staring.
"There's no power of love! Don't get duped by romantic crap!"
"Okay, okay! Stop! You're scaring me with how serious you got! Don't shove your face in mine!"
"It's reality! Marriage is!"
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