The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Family Wants A Divorce
Chapter 159: Guardian Deity

The next day.

Marlin of House Leivice swung her sword in silence. She’d never been so earnest about dawn practice before, yet here inside the Mage-Tower she couldn’t help herself.

‘…….’

Well, to be perfectly honest, there was another, rather impure, motive at play. Even so, Marlin feigned ignorance and kept cutting through the air.

“You’re up early and working hard.”

But the voice that greeted her wasn’t the man she’d been waiting for since dawn.

“……Brother Rayahn.”

A faint note of disappointment colored her reply.

Most people would have missed it, but Rayahn Leivice caught it at once.

“Were you expecting Baron Logan?” he asked, lips quirking.

Marlin flinched, eyes twitching as she searched for an excuse. Her brother might not look the type, yet he understood her far better than she cared to admit.

“……Yes.”

Worried someone might overhear, Marlin kept her answer low and cautious.

Intrigued—he’d never seen his sister react like this—Rayahn pressed on.

“So you’ve started seeing Baron Logan as a man?”

“I don’t know. But my eyes keep following him.”

“Heh. You have noticed the impressive women already flocking around him, haven’t you?”

At his teasing, Marlin clamped her mouth shut.

The silence stretched, yet Rayahn waited; he felt she needed the time.

After a long pause, Marlin spoke.

“Right now I don’t have the room to worry about anyone else.”

“For all that waiting, that’s a rather meager answer,” he clicked his tongue—“Tsk.” He’d half-expected her to declare, I’ll smash the competition and claim him myself!

“But I do understand something,” Marlin went on, voice as still as a lake—water that never ripples, never stirs.

“I know he doesn’t feel that way about me.”

“…….”

“Someone already lives in his heart. One person, maybe two—I’m not sure. But I’m certain there’s no place for me.”

“And what good does saying that aloud do you?”

Rayahn clicked his tongue again. He knew it, too:

Marlin’s first love could never succeed. Still, he didn’t want her to quit here. Sometimes you challenge the impossible knowing you’ll lose.

Especially when your little sister hides her feelings behind a blank face.

“Trying matters. Look at your big brother—don’t I always take on the impossible?”

“……That’s just a nuisance.”

“A-hem!” Rayahn toppled at the blunt force of her candor.

She’s gotten awfully outspoken lately, he thought—unaware it was Isaac’s influence. During their sparring matches in the North, Isaac had seen Rihanna reflected in Marlin and advised, If you never speak up, no one will ever know how you feel.

Since then Marlin had been learning, little by little, to be honest with her own heart.

“…….”

Even now, her gaze drifted openly toward the lodgings.

Why isn’t he coming out? Baron Logan never once skipped dawn practice.

Seeing her disappointment, Rayahn stepped closer with a sigh.

“Looks like it’s time for your brother to lend a hand. I’ll arrange some time for you alone with Baron Logan.”

“…….”

“Fate’s amusing, isn’t it? Each of us ends up with half of a broken pair! Ha! Must be that sibling synch!” He laughed heartily.

Marlin only stared and sighed. Just as Rayahn knew her, she knew him.

“You’ve already given up on Lady Rihanna , haven’t you?”

Rayahn froze, muscles locking tight. Forcing an awkward smile, he asked what she meant, but Marlin answered without the slightest hesitation.

“In the North—when Lord Isaac and Lady Rihanna descended into the Abyss realm together—I saw your face.”

“…….”

“You thought you could never win, didn’t you? So you let her go, cleanly.”

Actually, from that day on, every last flicker of interest Rayahn had in Helmut vanished.

“Yet you still tried to flirt with Lady Rihanna yesterday because …”

Only one reason.

“Because of me, right? Because I like Baron Logan.”

“Tsk, so the quiet one knows everything after all.”

Rayahn scratched his cheek, embarrassed but not denying it—because she wasn’t wrong.

“Either way, I’ll help you. Get cozy with Baron Logan and—”

“That won’t be necessary.”

Marlin cut him off, sharp as her blade.

“I’ll just bury it.”

With that flat statement she resumed swinging her sword, still half-hoping the man who’d overslept might rush out and join the dawn drills.

****

The guest quarters had their own breakfast hall on the first floor—not to pamper visitors, but because the tower master disliked outsiders roaming around.

While everyone else was halfway through their meal, Isaac ambled in, moving at a lazy pace.

The Grandmaster, who had just been asking where Isaac was, greeted him the instant he appeared.

“Did you oversleep?”

“Yaaawn. I was up all night.”

“Oh?”

The Grandmaster perked up, interested, and Nameless, listening nearby, chimed in.

“Spending the whole night in such vigorous ‘exercise’ must be tiring. Was it with Helmut? Even nighttime business is Helmut for you, eh?”

Across the table Sharen grinned and added, “Right! Night business with Helmut!”

Silence fell as everyone stared at her. Oblivious to the sudden chill, Sharen asked brightly:

“But what is night business? Did Isaac work at night?”

“Yeah, I worked,” Isaac said dryly.

“Mind your mouth around the kid, you idiot girl,” Nameless muttered.

“Oops, sorry.”

For once Nameless accepted the Grandmaster’s warning and nodded. Sitting beside Sharen, Rihanna frowned and mouthed silent scolding—though the Silence spell kept her words inaudible.

Taking his seat, Isaac smoothly changed the subject.

“I’ve been tuning the Imperial Gatekeeping Sword. Perfect timing, Grandmaster—would you spar with me? I want to feel how it moves.”

“What’s difficult about that?”

“I’ll need a bit of prep. This style uses armor, so I’ve asked the tower for a suit—”

Their discussion of the Imperial Gatekeeping Sword was in full swing when—

“Yawn.”

Regant shuffled in. His greasy hair and bloodshot eyes made an odd contrast with Isaac.

Both men were tired, yet one somehow looked filthy. That was more habit than looks; even after an all-nighter, Isaac kept himself reasonably clean.

Everyone wondered why the Tower Master had come to the dorm, but Regant addressed Isaac and the others with brimming confidence.

“Be sure to come today. I have something very important.”

Sharen stared at his beaming face for a moment, then answered bluntly:

“You smell.”

“…….”

* * *

The Mage-Tower contained many unusual sites, and this abandoned mine was one of them. Once an iron deposit, it had been left to rot when the ore ran dry—perfect for magic experiments.

Today Regant had brought several mages here to inscribe a massive array: a hybrid of ritual and magic. The very first trial would take place now.

Thus Isaac’s party—and even the Leivice siblings—had been invited to watch.

‘…Hm?’

Isaac kept sensing Marlin’s eyes on him, but when he glanced her way her face was as blank as ever.

She reminds me of how Rihanna used to be, he thought. Rianna had changed a lot since then—but still…

He stole a sidelong look at Rihanna standing beside him. Feeling his gaze, she turned and mouthed words only he could read—Silence magic kept her voice from carrying.

— Isaac, you look coolest of all.

“……Thanks,” he murmured, finally able to take such praise at face value.

Just then Regant raised his staff, weaving mana through the air.

‘He said he’d partially reinterpret the ritual on Nameless’ Isaac recalled.

Nameless carried a lesser form of “Vassalization.”

Ever since the Grandmaster whom those people called “Number Ten,” had fled, Nameless couldn’t raise her sword against certain individuals.

Opening a rift to the Abyss realm or breaking Vassalization is still out of reach, Isaac judged.

Traveling into the Abyss realm mattered

greatly—humans had always been invaded, never the invaders.

Mana surged around Regant’s staff.

He planned to test only a light spell, paying for it with mana. Nothing serious… or so everyone thought.

Bzz-zz-zz-CRACK!

“Uh…?”

A scream of sparks—and Regant’s sharp intake of breath.

The simple spell drank up mana and twisted into something grotesque.

Moments later—

GRRR-R-R-RUNCH!

Space itself warped open before Regant, revealing a scene every northerner here had once witnessed: a gateway to the Abyss realm.

Did he already succeed in opening a path?

“Why… is this happening…?” Regant stammered, more shocked than anyone. Yet beyond the rent, the land of the Transcendents was unmistakable.

Whatever it is, it worked, Isaac was about to say when—

Suu-uk!

A colossal head pushed through the tear.

Towering over them, the giant bellowed:

“Even after the Deceit of the Silver Clock, you humans still covet our rituals! Rituals belongs to us—!!”

It wasn’t a successful spell at all. Regant hadn’t warped space; he’d inadvertently summoned this thing.

BOOM!

Hauling itself out, the giant looked every inch a guardian deity—one come to hunt down mortals who dared reach for the forbidden knowledge of rituals.

---The End Of The Chapter---

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