"Helena de Bolivian."
"What's with you, Callius?"
She tilted her head and asked, looking coquettish.
But I knew.
It was all just camouflage.
Controlling your appearance and expression is the basics of being a merchant. As one born into a merchant family who became a pilgrim, her life hadn't been easy either.
But –
"Why are you here?"
The issue was –
Why was Helena in the North?
"Because I was called to the North, of course?"
"You?"
"Yes. Didn't you know? The Lord of the North himself requested our family."
Elburton did?
"That's weird."
Among so many options, he called the Bolivian Merchant Group – and Helena in particular.
"Why is that so surprising? Our Bolivian Merchant Group pays the best prices for demonic beast corpses and byproducts, so the Lord of the North called us, isn't it?"
"Is that so?"
I see. I'm still unfamiliar with the political landscape of the kingdom.
I already knew that the Bolivian family had a promising future as merchants, but I hadn't expected them to already have such high reputation.
"Yeah. Who'd be crazy enough to come to this cold North otherwise."
Helena's nose and cheeks were splotched with red, as if she wasn't used to the cold.
Behind her stood a blunt-looking man who looked to be her age, but judging by his outfit, he seemed to be a servant or a family retainer.
He had a sword wrapped around his waist.
His sunken gaze was quite annoying.
"Callius. Is this how you treat your guests in the North? Leave them out here in the cold?"
"You were the one waiting for me outside."
"Because it's been a few days already since you came back, but I haven't seen your hide nor hair!"
"Why are you mad?"
"Who's mad? Don't be ridiculous."
What the hell! Seeing Helena walking to the castle, sniffling, Bruns whispered quietly.
"That cheeky bitch. How dare she act so disrespectful!"
"Bruns."
"Yes! Master. Should I go take care of her right now? You know, this one time in the back alleys of Tristar, I ended up making a couple piss themselves with just my words…"
"Shut up that vulgar mouth of yours."
Bruns' lips curved down at once.
"And, it's not something you can do anything about."
Helena was not just some daughter of a merchant family.
She was somebody who'd already finished her pilgrimage. Such a pilgrim –
Who has completed their pilgrimage, turning the rosario into a sheath, is called a paladin.
"You saw those twin swords at her waist."
"Oh, yeah."
"A pilgrim's rosario becomes a scabbard once they complete their pilgrimage. Even I would hesitate to fight a paladin like that."
Perhaps quite surprised at my answer, Bruns asked with wide eyes.
"Are you saying that she's strong enough that even master doesn't want to fight her?"
I didn't grace him with a response.
She was indeed strong.
A rosario transforming into a scabbard means that it has already become one with the sword.
There's no point fighting a paladin who's become one with their sword, assimilating its unique abilities, for no reason.
‘If I put the Blue Thunderbolt Sword into the rosario, for example.'
I'd gain the unique ability of the Blue Thunderbolt Sword.
I'd be able to spit out thunderbolts from my whole body without having to unsheathe my sword.
The divine energy contained in the rosary, and the swordsman's blood and soul, would make it possible.
Unity of Body and Sword (身劍合一).
It means to blend the sword's awakened soul and your own soul into one.
‘So, you can freely use the sword's power as if it were your own.'
Of course, the Blue Thunderbolt Sword is useless as an example, because it's a demon sword that already has a scabbard.
Because it's already got a mixed soul.
‘The same goes for the Predator Sword and the Strong Sword.'
Judgment Sword was an option, but there was no need for it.
The Tyrant Sword that I got this time…
‘If I make a scabbard of the Tyrant Sword –'
I'd have the ability to freely manipulate gravity, and it'd be significantly stronger.
But one rosario lasts a lifetime.
There can be no second time, because it's created with the loss of your own soul.
‘The Thunderbolt Sword is definitely a good choice, but…'
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I didn't want to waste that opportunity on a spirit sword.
Shouldn't it be a vision sword at least?
Anything less would simply be a waste of such a rare opportunity.
“Master, do you know her sword's ability by any chance?”
Helena's swords were a pair, so it wasn't easy to forget.
Her unique ability… was also similarly rare.
Categorized as a trait –
"Snakes and Shadows."
A dining hall inside the citadel.
Elburton and Helena are dining together, discussing the trade between Jervain and Bolivian.
And I am a tagalong.
"I didn't know that you two knew each other."
"There was a slight relationship. When he was just starting out on his pilgrimage. Lord God had set a number of ordeals in his path."
Ordeals, my foot. Is that what you call people rushing out in droves, frothing at the mouth to kill you?
"Those bastards simply didn't know their place."
"Still, if it weren't for my help at the time, Master Callius would've been in quite a pickle."
That isn't incorrect.
Dying would've been a lucky break.
Or I might've ended up being caught and imprisoned by one of those crazy bitches.
"So you are my son's benefactor."
"No, no. It was all God's will. It's said that God's blessings come only if you don't waste your breath asking for it. Callius. Isn't your good fortune of meeting me, simply the result of all your hard work and tireless effort?"
How flashy.
In the end, they're just words without substance, talking herself up as a lucky charm.
But.
Even knowing that, Elburton somehow isn't repulsed at all. His eyes are full of interest.
"Lady Helena. Do you have a fiancé?"
"Yes?"
This crazy old gentleman.
Are you trying to buy her and lock her into a birdcage?
“No, but…”
"I see. I asked because a young man and a woman naturally complete each other. I'm glad."
"Glad, what do you mean?"
He puts down the tableware and continues, as if his words are completely natural.
"Callius. You are now twenty-six, too. The Lord of the North must also consider heirs. Of course, it's still not too late."
Were you talking about me, not yourself? I misunderstood.
“Where would I find a young woman willing to deal with a guy like me?”
The kingdom's greatest fool, the prodigal son of the Order.
That's who Jervain's eldest son is.
Who's going to earnestly consider such a match?
"Callius. Your last name is Jervain. If you make up your mind and search for marriage partners, it's not impossible."
It's not wrong.
One of the four noble founding families of Carpe.
Aren't the four noble families the epitome of aristocracy, with the grace of God in their bodies?
Among them, the Shield of Carpe, standing unbroken for nearly a millenium while firmly holding on to the northern lands –
The Pillar of Carpe, is Jervain.
There must be no shortage of young women who'd marry into the family for political purposes.
One quiet word from Elburton, and nobles would no doubt line up to sell me their daughters.
That's how high Jervain stands.
But.
“I'm not doing that.”
But marry those women?
Nonsense.
I'm so busy trying to save my own life, and a marriage on top of that?
I can't afford such luxury.
"I see. If there's a woman already in your heart, you can wait a little."
"There is no such woman."
There isn't.
Besides, I already have Emily.
I don't want to complicate things, and… I don't want to make her worry about anything.
I don't want to show any more of my ugly side to a child who can't even call her father, ‘father'.
"I heard you, Lady Helena. You said you saved Callius' life."
"Yes? Oh, that was just a coincidence…"
"It's common for a man to fall for the woman who saved his life."
A vein bulges on my forehead.
It's a conversational style that makes you understand why Callius became such a bastard.
I consider smashing the table, but…
‘Whoa.'
Parallel to my thoughts, my hands have already flipped the long rectangular table over.
The table is midway through its flip, dishes and food tossed into the air.
Kadadadang!
Ah, so I've already smashed it.
"Damn!"
As the table slams against the wall with a crack, the waiting knights and attendants jump in amazement.
People blinking their wide eyes, nonplussed.
I'm feeling just as absurd as them, though.
But I still keep my composure.
Wipe my lips with a napkin.
Then get up and throw it away.
"What do you think you're doing, in front of our guest!"
I've already done it, though.
Somehow I got angry without even realizing it.
So it's better to just lay it out straight.
"I've already given you a wonderful granddaughter named Emily. There's no need to think about getting married."
"…!"
Elburton probably didn't know.
The fact that I know.
"Stop treating your own granddaughter like a stranger. No more. Don't make a kid keep that kind of a secret."
After all the commotion subsided.
Rumours seemed to have spread within the Jevarsch Fortress.
Spread quite quickly at that.
"Really? No wonder. Master Callius loves her so much."
"Certainly. I often see Master Callius coaching Miss Emily in a spar. But to think she was his daughter…"
The pair talking were Allen and Aaron, of course.
"Come to think of it, they look alike. Because she resembles Master Callius' appearance, Miss Emily also looks very noble."
"I really didn't know. I was shocked."
This time it was Jack and Orphin.
And the rest of the knights, too.
The fact that Emily's birth father was actually Callius, spread like wildfire.
"Did you find out?"
"Yeah. Jervain's servants seal their lips tight, though."
"So? Who is this Emily?"
Helena and Alfredo walked into the backyard of the castle.
There was a child fighting alone with the knights of Jervain.
Ashen grey eyes, the symbol of Jervain.
And short black hair.
"Is that girl Callius' daughter? Isn't she too big? She must be around fourteen."
"They say she's twelve years old."
"What!? Only twelve years old? Twelve years old, and she's fighting with the knights? She's fighting really well, too…"
She had a decent level of skill.
It wasn't the swordsmanship of a twelve-year-old brat. It was practical, and there was still some unneeded clutter, but her cuts were clean.
Not only did her swordsmanship not match her years, but her body itself had grown beyond being called a small child.
"Emily von Jervain was a child who appeared out of the blue about ten years ago. Abandoned in front of the castle gates, they say."
Abandoned children were common in this day and age.
But what if the child's eyes are gray?
The inhabitants of the North weren't ignorant enough to avoid looking a weeping babe in the eyes.
"I thought somehow an illegitimate child of the family head had appeared, but looking at the various stories, it seems that's not the case."
"Is she really Callius' daughter?"
"I'm not sure, but isn't it possible? That's what he said."
More than anyone else, he said so.
So it had to be true.
“Huh… well. The word prodigal didn’t come out for nothing. Who is the other party?”
"Well, I can't be sure."
Because there were a lot of young girls who would be a possibility.
"But is it really? Callius has a younger sister. Could it be that person's daughter?"
It was known that Callius' younger sibling had left for the Church a long time ago and never came back.
"It's not that I haven't thought about it, but she's too young to be involved in a decade-old incident."
Callius' younger sister –
Violet, had a bit of a wide age gap with her brother, so it was an impossible story.
"They say that the child named Emily originally had a blockage in her divine blood."
"Really?"
"But somehow it got fixed, and she suddenly rose to prominence during the war."
And behind that –
"They say it's Master Callius who did it."
"It's amazing, really."
"This information is quite valuable."
"I know."
But it was surprising.
“Did he grow up after having a child? I never knew he'd be so sensitive to the mention of marriage."
For a family like Jervain –
A few bastards are nothing noteworthy.
But, for the sake of his daughter, Callius grew so angry.
"How unexpectedly domestic."
"Are you interested?"
"Nah. He's handsome and good eye candy, but not the best marriage material."
"Due to this war, Master Callius' reputation has spread throughout the North. He isn't being called a hero for no reason. He isn't bad as a marriage partner, because the title succession is already in progress. If you marry Master Callius, you'll become the Lady of the North."
The Lady of the North.
Even for Helena, that title held a fatal attraction.
Editor's Notes:
None for this chapter.
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