The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Family Wants A Divorce
Chapter 148: Side Effects

His heart was racing.

The single, perfect strike he had longed for—had dreamed of.

The instant Red Love split beneath his two hands, Isaac’s eyes flashed.

The path opened.

Just as Rihanna had once parted the river and pointed to the world beyond.

Through the cloven Red Love, Isaac saw Rihanna, standing motionless in the gap.

“If any god is watching—”

Sensing her own end, Rihanna slowly closed her eyes.

“Thank you for letting me pay the price of my sins.”

Isaac stepped forward through the open path without hesitation. The arms holding his twin sword blades quivered.

Why were they shaking?

Were his muscles twisting from the fatigue and shock of carving through Rihanna’s Red Love?

Was it the thrill of finally toppling the great mountain called Helmut?

Or was it the tangled knot of emotions that came with raising his blade against the woman who had once been his wife?

He did not know.

Yet—

“My lilac.”

Rihanna’s calm call.

Answering her, Isaac’s stride showed not the slightest hesitation.

“Bloom—fully.”

By now, the murderous aura had stilled.

All the rage and yearning he had poured into the fight had been spent cleaving Red Love.

Only as he lunged did Isaac grasp what he had just cut down.

It was the past.

Severing the blade that marked their beginning meant ending everything that had ever been between them.

What remains here is—

Isaac’s sword swept toward Rihanna.

****

“…….”

She awoke in a chilly room.

In a gray chamber where not even a single candle was allowed, Rihanna slowly opened her eyes.

“Where… is this—”

The words startled her.

Realizing the spell of vassalization still bound her, she understood she was not yet dead.

Defeat.

The blade had not been her own, yet Helmut’s pride had undeniably fallen to Isaac.

A strike she could not deny.

The man who had shaken her off and pressed on had grown that strong.

Sitting up, Rihanna turned at the clink of metal around her wrists.

“Chains.”

Thick ones pinned her hands—shackles set inside the links.

Her body moved before her mind.

Clank!

She pulled with all her strength, but the chains only stretched taut. Excessive for an ordinary prisoner, perhaps—but just right for binding Helmut.

Creeeak.

The door opened and Isaac stepped inside.

Seeing her awake, he looked mildly surprised, then greeted her softly.

“Hey.”

“…Hey.”

Could any greeting feel more awkward?

Hesitating, Isaac began to explain.

“It’s been a day since you blacked out. For a Helmut, that’s slower than I expected.”

“I kept pouring out Red aura nonstop. The backlash must’ve hit harder than I thought.”

The vassalization still held.

Her private thoughts spilled out and Rihanna flushed, if only for a moment.

“Now that you’re awake, they’ll decide what to do with you.”

“Not execution?”

“Everyone knows the situation you were in. Of course, we can’t simply ignore that you stormed the palace and tried to assassinate Princess Adeline, but—”

Even so, Rihanna is the head of Helmut, and the unique situation she’s in has to be reviewed with great care.

“Because your sacrifice might be what lets Caldias come back. Taking that into account, they’re not going to rush into an execution.”

“…I see.”

Rihanna nodded.

Her body was still coiled to assassinate Princess Adeline, but the restraints kept her from moving.

“I’m taking you to the Mage Tower.”

Isaac kept his voice strictly businesslike, giving her a brief outline of what would happen next.

“At the tower, Nameless is already deciphering the rituals. You’ll be there as another specimen… used to help break it down.”

“The rituals… deciphered…”

“Right, the rituals. As far as I know there’s no cure for the vassalization, but that’s just my knowledge. There could be another way.”

Isaac had never been an expert on rituals—he had actually learned more in this life than in the last.

“The mages will find out if it truly can’t be undone. Whether you want to or not, you’ll have to cooperate.”

“Okay. I will.”

Of course, Rihanna had no real choice.

“But that’s only the scenario I’m hoping for. Things could go another way. The hard-line nobles are shouting that you can’t be allowed to live—that anyone who raised a blade at royalty must be executed.”

“Figures. For them, it’s an unforgivable offense.”

“Yeah. So I’m telling you to be prepared.”

With that, Isaac slowly turned. As he started for the door, Rihanna spoke.

“Why?”

Was it the vassalization?

Or her own will?

Whatever the reason, it made Isaac stop.

“Why did you keep me alive?”

Rihanna honestly couldn’t understand.

She would have been fine dying there—no, she had even wished for it.

If she had died in that place, perhaps it would have put a period on her life.

Isaac turned back, sighing softly.

“It was small.”

“……”

“Very small.”

Yes—truly a trivial thing, but…

“…The memories you gave me weighed a little more than the wounds you gave me.”

“……!”

“That’s all.”

He started for the door again—

“You’re amazing.”

“…?”

Isaac froze.

‘Did I just hear…?’

When he glanced back, Rihanna’s face was burning scarlet—

“I love you.”

“……”

“Ah—no! I’m not saying this because I want to!”

At her frantic cry, Isaac nodded.

“Yeah, I know. It’s the vassalization. I understand.”

“Understanding me makes you even more amazing.”

“……”

Sniff.

Embarrassed, Rihanna’s eyes flushed with tears.

“P-please… just kill me.”

* * *

The council chamber of the royal court was steeped in icy tension.

On the central throne sat Princess Adeline, while nobles stood in two solemn ranks to either side of her.

Acting as regent in place of her ailing father, Adeline had Clarice stationed just a step closer than any noble—at her right hand.

At the very center of the hall knelt Rihanna Helmut, wrists and ankles bound by thick iron chains, her mouth sealed with a gag so she could not speak.

“Head of Helmut, Rihanna Helmut.”

At Princess Adeline’s level, measured voice, every gaze shifted to the prisoner.

Shackled hands, shackled feet—

Rihanna lifted her head, but the gag kept her utterly silent.

“Your Highness! Her crimes are unmistakable!”

One noble, trembling with anger, stepped forward.

“What mercy can we grant someone who raised a blade against the royal blood? Only execution is fitting!”

As though on cue, other nobles shouted their agreement.

“Indeed, Your Highness! To preserve the crown’s majesty we must make an example!”

“While Arandel Helmut lived, Helmut wielded undue power. This time the fault is clearly theirs!”

Voices erupted from every side, yet Princess Adeline heard them all in silence.

When the uproar finally ebbed, she let out the faintest sigh and spoke.

“The head of Helmut is no ordinary criminal. She is under vassalization—a transcendent curse.”

“But, Your Highness! What of it? A curse does not wipe away guilt!”

“Exactly! The blood on her hands can never be washed clean!”

Again the nobles pounced, revealing just how keen they were to clip Helmut’s wings—unco-operative swords raised only for the crown, monsters unwilling to compromise.

They seized this chance to pare back Helmut’s influence as far as possible.

“I have no intent to grant her a pardon,” Adeline said at last, her tone calm but unyielding. “Yet the crown also has a duty: to uncover the truth and prevent this from ever happening again.”

Silence rolled through the chamber. Majesty and firmness blended in her voice.

“Rihanna Helmut will not be executed. She will be sent to the Mage Tower as the first key to studying and deciphering the curse. In that way she will atone.”

The nobles found it hard to object when the very target of the assassination spoke with such rectitude.

“This decision will not change,” Adeline continued. “The dignity of the throne lies not in spilling blood, but in applying wisdom for a better future. If her existence can make the kingdom safer, that is the crown’s true gain.”

No one could muster a reply.

Humbled by the princess’ resolve, they sank into a heavy hush—until one noble timidly raised a hand.

“But, Your Highness, even for a criminal, the gag seems excessive.”

“Indeed. She has uttered not a single word here. If Your Highness has truly so decreed, we would at least like to hear the oath from her own lips.”

“I was told vassalization forbids its bearer from lying. It may prove pointless, yet we wish to hear her swear with her own voice.”

Especially since she is the head of Helmut—

To go so far as to gag a noble is excessive.

Princess Adeline flicked her gaze at Isaac.

Standing right beside Rihanna, Isaac quietly reached out.

The moment he unfastened her gag—

“Isaac smells nice.”

“…?!”

Clack.

Isaac hastily buckled the gag back in place.

The nobles who had heard her words doubted their own ears; those who hadn’t cocked their heads and demanded he remove it again at once.

Sweat beaded on his palms.

Rihanna’s pupils quivered, fear welling up.

“Release her—what are you waiting for!”

“Baron Logan! Stop dawdling!”

Driven by the nobles’ sharp prodding, Isaac leaned in and whispered, barely audible.

“Please—don’t think about me. Just remember you’re on the kingdom’s side. All right? You can do that, right?”

You know how it is: tell someone not to think of something, and they think of it even more.

Like saying “don’t picture a puppy,” and a puppy pops straight into your mind.

The instant he told her not to think of Isaac, it was already over.

Clack.

As the gag came off again—

“Isaac is amazing.”

Rihanna’s lips spilled her unfiltered feelings.

“I love you, Isaac.”

“Isaac’s scent is sooo good.”

“Pregna—”

Clack.

Isaac slammed the gag back on.

Unable to face the nobles, he stared only at Rihanna.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she begged him silently:

-Just kill me, Isaac.

– – The End of The Chapter ––

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