The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Family Wants A Divorce
Chapter 158: Sincerity

“Ahem.”

Isaac cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to break the tension. Without drawing notice, he gently nudged Rihanna toward the Grandmaster.

“I don’t want to—I’m staying with Isaac.”

“Enough, come along. The adults are talking, aren’t they?”

“I’m an adult, t—”

Rihanna was promptly whisked away by the Grandmaster. The brief commotion settled, and she would likely head back to the lodging.

“…Every rose bears its thorns.”

At Rayahn Leivice’s words, Isaac clicked his tongue before he could stop himself. That unbending spirit, even after a remark like that, was admirable. Perhaps Rayan’s reputation as a famed swordsman in his past life sprang from such tenacity.

With the others gone, Isaac turned the talk back on track.

“How are things in the North?”

As if nothing had happened, Isaac posed the question, and Rayahn answered at once.

“Hard to call it good or bad. Something peculiar happens every single day. Thanks to that, the nobles of our Pure Flow Association have become battle-hardened, like veterans of a hundred campaigns.”

“The Transcendents are still showing up,” Marlin added.

Rayahn’s proud tone hardly sounded like empty bragging, yet it was no match for the weight of Marlin’s brief comment.

“That’s right—those blasted Transcendents appear at every hour,” Rayahn continued for her.

“It never ends. I know it’s payback for dismantling the Malidan Barrier, but there’s no sign of it letting up.”

“…If anything, the Transcendents must be more frantic. Their numbers were small to begin with, and the damage just keeps building, drip by drip.”

Their side had far fewer heads. No wonder the Transcendents hated seeing casualties pile up like clothes soaked in a steady drizzle.

The Leivice siblings, who had been listening, spoke in unison.

“By the way, why the formal speech?”

“Feel free to speak comfortably—”

Sibling telepathy, perhaps. The two traded glances; naturally Isaac thought Rayahn would reply first, but—

“Please, speak comfortably,” Marlin said.

“……?”

To Isaac’s surprise, Rayahn stepped back, letting Marlin lead.

“We’re comrades-in-arms, after all.”

She was referring to their battles together in the North. Only now did Isaac realize how much weight his name carried for the pair.

Of course it did. In a sense, Isaac had saved their lives. When Hellic appeared and the Transcendents launched their indiscriminate assault, they survived thanks to his tactics.

‘…I almost feel guilty.’

Isaac could never forget that fight either. Yet it weighed differently on him—most of his battles had been life-or-death struggles.

He had fought from desperate positions more times than he could count, so the event could not move him as deeply as it did the siblings.

Still, there was no reason to refuse goodwill;

Isaac was, after all, a man of manners.

“I’ll be counting on you,” he said gently, extending his hand. The siblings smiled and clasped it in return.

* * *

Inside the Lodgings.

Isaac was still awake, even though the night had grown deep. He would have to stay at the Mage Tower for the time being—if only to lift Rihanna’s Vassalization-binding.

It might end up taking far longer than he expected… or, just as easily, finish sooner than he dared hope.

Surprisingly, the Tower had already made real progress on the spell. The Tower Lord and the mages had been struggling day after day with the spell cast on Nameless’s body; at least their efforts hadn’t been in vain.

So tomorrow they planned to tackle it with a hybrid of ritual and magic. Isaac wasn’t sure what that meant, but since they were going to try, he intended to be there.

Meanwhile, he was still knee-deep in writing about the Royal Guard’s Imperial Gate Sword.

Interesting… a sword style this flashy yet quietly practical.

Designing forms on the assumption that the wielder wore heavy armor turned out to be fun—especially since, in his previous life, he’d never crafted techniques for anyone on the Guard’s level.

Thunk, thunk.

A heavy knock sounded.

Thunk, thunk.

Again. When Isaac opened the door, Rihanna stood there with shackles on her wrists.

“…Did you knock with your head?”

Rihanna nodded, cheeks pink. Imagining her head-butting the door because she couldn’t use her hands almost made Isaac laugh.

“What’s the matter?”

Rihanna’s mouth moved, but no sound came out.

“Ah—right.”

Isaac slipped off the collar at her throat, and her voice returned.

“I need to use the restroom, Isaac.”

“…”

“I almost smashed the door down.”

“Let’s go—quickly.”

He hadn’t thought of that downside: the silence spell kept even her most basic needs from being spoken.

Tricky.

Thinking so, Isaac led Rihanna to the restroom.

Afterward she drifted naturally into his room, and Isaac didn’t find it strange at all.

“…Were you writing?”

“Yeah—the Guard sword manual. There are still a few parts I want to polish.”

At his answer, Rihanna glanced at the notebook in his hand.

The dim room felt warmer—cozier—than he’d expected. He’d never imagined he would share such an easy atmosphere with Rihanna again.

Life, as at the time of his regression, kept dragging Isaac to places he never foresaw.

“Isaac… I’ve been thinking.”

“…”

Rihanna stared at the moon outside the window, as though deliberately avoiding his gaze. Her pale skin flushed pink, but her words never faltered.

“I… want you to become my master.”

“…What are you talking about?”

It wasn’t completely out of the blue; he understood where the thread of thought had come from. Still, he had to make her say it plainly.

Rihanna continued, perfectly calm.

“The blood fiend said so, remember? That there’s a way to seize the authority. But that method doesn’t break the Vassalization-binding.”

“…”

“Of course, I’m talking about if everything turns out for the best.”

“You mean, if we actually manage to kill the blood fiend?”

“Right.”

Rihanna nodded calmly.

“If, in the end, the Vassalization-binding can’t be broken completely… I want to give myself to someone I can trust.”

“…And that someone is me?”

“Mm-hmm. I think you know by now how much faith I have in you.”

Rihanna ducked her head a little deeper, suddenly shy about everything she’d just said—but her trust in Isaac was unmistakable.

“I’m not asking you to take responsibility for me. I just—if I have to entrust my life to someone, I want it to be you. Treat me like a handmaid if you must. Of course, if you don’t want to, I won’t force you.”

…But she hope it’s you.

Her voice quavered, but the sincerity was plain to see. Isaac also understood the resolve it took for her to speak these words.

Yet he answered differently.

“The Vassalization-binding will be lifted,” Isaac declared—quiet, but firm.

“You’ll be free, bound to no one. That’s why we came to the Mage Tower.”

The blood fiend had claimed the spell couldn’t be undone—but that was only true for sorcery alone.

Once magic was added to the mix, another way might exist.

“And there was something I wanted to tell you,”

Isaac went on. He’d rehearsed these words a dozen times in the carriage ride here.

“Everything you said after you were Vassalized—I’m going to pretend I never heard it.”

“…!”

Rihanna’s eyes widened. Those passionate confessions—snuffed out like foam? The line he was drawing made her chest tighten, and it hurt.

For a moment she wanted to grab the silence collar and clamp it back on, just to stop the torrent inside her. But Isaac was smiling—gentle,

reassuring.

“You know,” he said softly, “spilling your heart like that takes real courage.”

“Y-yeah… it does.”

That was why she’d never managed it before.

Only under the compulsion of the Vassalization could she bare her true feelings.

“Feelings and expressing them aren’t the same—you understand that better than anyone.”

“…I do. Only too well.”

No matter how deeply you love, it’s meaningless if you never give it voice.Rihanna Helmut knew that better than anyone—and now she grasped Isaac’s intent.

“I haven’t… changed at all, have I?” she whispered. Forced circumstances had pried the words from her, but that wasn’t how she wanted it.

“So, Riha, I will break your Vassalization.”

Isaac stepped closer and brushed her cheek.

Instinctively she turned into his hand and closed her eyes.

“Every word you want to say—every word you need to say—speak them with your own will. When that day comes… I’ll think about it again, seriously.”

Tears welled, but Rihanna blinked them back and nodded.

“Isaac… you’re amazing.”

“…”

“I really love you.”

“Want to step outside for a bit?”

Face burning, Rihanna muttered an apology and nodded.

---The End Of The Chapter---

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