Chapter 45: Crossed Paths

A group of warhorses galloped across the snowy path. Though they looked visibly exhausted, the riders showed no signs of stopping, continuously shaking the reins.

Leading the charge were Liana Helmut and Silverna Caldias. They were ahead of even the commander, Uldren. Ignoring formation and protocol, their frantic riding made it clear just how desperate they were.

"Why did you let him get away?!" Silverna snapped irritably. The battle had ended sooner than expected because the leader of the Great Colony had chosen to flee from the start, breaking through the encirclement.

Boom! Crash!

The distant sound of thunder echoed. As they approached the Malidan Wall, the destructive mana emanating from it pierced their skin like sparks.

'Isaac.'

Liana's grip on the reins tightened.

'Please, I'm begging you.'

Liana sincerely hoped he had escaped. The leader of the Great Colony was not an opponent Isaac could handle. No, not just Isaac—none of the forces remaining at the wall could stop him.

"Haa! Haa!"

After a long gallop, the Malidan Wall finally came into view. The wall looked different from usual. A thick, white mist swirled like clouds, and the wall itself was frozen, covered in a thick layer of frost.

Uldren quickly explained the phenomenon.

"It's the wall's defensive magic. It activates automatically in times of crisis."

Uldren's additional explanation that it would stop on its own in a few hours fell on deaf ears. The sight alone was enough to show that the Malidan Wall was in grave danger.

"Kuaaaah!"

A roar filled with rage, accompanied by the deafening noise of lightning spreading like flames in all directions.

On top of the wall, Bracalla was unleashing a storm of lightning.

It was too far to see who was standing on the wall. Except for one person.

"Isaac—!"

Liana's eyes widened.

The monstrous lightning shot toward Isaac without a moment's hesitation. It would have been no surprise if it had engulfed him, burning him to ashes in an instant.

But then, in the sky above the Malidan Wall, a silver line was drawn.

Steady and unshaken, it was as beautiful as an ice crystal, as delicate as a master's brushstroke. It pushed forward as if testing its limits.

"Wow."

Even Silverna, forgetting the situation for a moment, let out an involuntary gasp. Uldren also stared wide-eyed at the sight.

A magnificent light, not born of aura, but of a sword.

Those who witnessed it all opened their mouths in awe, letting out exclamations of amazement.

Closest to it.

Bracalla, who likely didn't even realize he had been cut, fell to his knees as his head tumbled to the ground.

***

"Aaaargh!"

The first thing Isaac did upon waking was let out a scream of pain.

His arm felt twisted. Frantically checking his right hand, he saw it bandaged with a splint.

"Haa! Haa!"

Though his arm was still there, it felt as though his muscles and bones were tangled in a whirlpool.

Clenching his teeth, he realized there was a thick cloth in his mouth, likely placed there to prevent him from biting his tongue in his sleep.

"Pah."

He spat out the cloth and looked around. The familiar surroundings told him he was in the infirmary.

"Is… is anyone there?"

His voice was weak, but the sound of hurried footsteps outside answered him.

"Isaac?"

The door creaked open, and Liana rushed in.

The moment he saw her, Isaac felt an inexplicable sense of relief. At the very least, seeing Liana unharmed meant that the situation had been resolved to some extent.

"Are you okay? How's your body?"

"I'm—ugh, I'm fine. More importantly, what about him?"

He asked, enduring the pain in his right arm. Even in his hazy memories, that moment remained vivid, and he wanted to confirm whether it had been real.

At Isaac's question, Liana nodded slightly.

"He's dead. You did it."

"...I see."

He hadn't thought of it as something particularly grand. But hearing it from Liana, who was now on the verge of tears, Isaac felt something warm and heavy welling up in his chest.

"I did it."

A mix of relief and emptiness coexisted within him.

Since his regression, he had fought formidable enemies in the north, but this was the first time he had faced such a fierce and overwhelming opponent and emerged victorious.

"I… really did it."

Isaac covered his face with his left hand.

The emotions surging within him were indescribable. The hundreds of hours of effort that had turned the impossible into possible were now telling him that he had earned his place.

"I saw your sword."

Liana hesitated before speaking, her gaze fixed on Isaac. With a mix of complicated emotions, she carefully placed her hand on his right arm, the one that had delivered the miraculous sword strike.

"To be honest, until yesterday, I wished you would stop wielding your sword."

"..."

"It seemed to me like you were clinging to swordsmanship because it had left scars on you. Especially the way you kept trying to embody the sword of Helmut while wielding a completely different style."

During his time in Helmut, Isaac had undoubtedly tried to master their greatsword techniques.

The reason he endured sparring sessions with the direct descendants, which were almost akin to violence, was for the sake of learning. To become a son-in-law worthy of Helmut. To be someone who could stand beside Liana without shame.

"Do you remember the time you spent a week in the infirmary after sparring with Lohengrin?"

"How could I forget?"

Isaac let out a bitter smile.

Lohengrin, who had lost to Liana in a sparring match. The next day, Lohengrin had deliberately called Isaac out and challenged him to a duel.

He was utterly crushed.

Afterward, while Isaac lay in the infirmary, Liana had come to him and bluntly said one thing before leaving.

"I told you to stop with the sword."

"...You did."

Liana took a deep breath. She looked pained, but knowing she wasn't the one who should be suffering here, she composed herself and continued.

"I wanted you to stop trying. The way you kept crashing against the rock that was Helmut made it seem like you would shatter at any moment."

But she had been wrong.

She realized now that she shouldn't have said those things.

"It was the opposite."

Tears welled up in Liana's eyes but didn't fall.

As if she didn't deserve to cry.

"I—."

Slowly, Liana met Isaac's gaze. Her smile twisted with the bitterness of regret.

"I should have told you… that you could do it."

The truth was.

On the day Liana had told him to give up.

She had cried more than anyone knew.

The thought that even the person she most wanted to acknowledge her had given up on her.

The blazing fire of her efforts had been extinguished in a heartbreakingly hollow way.

"I wanted you not to break—."

Trying to hide her tears, Liana covered her eyes with her hand.

"But in the end, I—!"

Her emotions burst forth like a flood. Hot breaths filled with burning regret.

"I was the one who broke you."

Hardship is part of the process of moving forward.

But the moment the purpose of moving forward is lost.

There's nothing left to do but collapse.

Liana was Isaac's purpose.

Everything else was merely a hardship he had to overcome.

"Now, I understand."

Forcing a smile, Liana slowly straightened her posture. Sniffling, she apologized for her misunderstanding.

"You… really overcame it all. Before we, who hurt you, could even realize the wounds we caused."

He already had.

"You've… overcome it all."

And so.

She realized, painfully, that there was nothing she could do.

"...It wasn't easy."

The misunderstandings that piled up because of his regression.

It might have seemed like he brushed them off easily.

But in truth.

To be completely honest.

"It was a hellish time."

In his past life, he hadn't overcome it so easily.

After being injured in Alois's scheme, he spent a year.

Locked away in his room, refusing to see anyone.

There was only one reason.

He hadn't wanted Liana to see him in that completely hopeless state.

But now.

"I admired your sword, Liana."

All of it had ultimately become nothing more than hardships he had overcome.

The Isaac who had blossomed was no longer the one cast aside by Helmut.

"How did it look to you?"

He wanted to hear the impression of the swordsman who had set him on the path of the sword.

"It was truly—."

Liana, without even thinking to wipe the tears streaming down her cheeks, smiled brightly.

Recalling the astonishingly magnificent sword strike she had witnessed.

"—Incredible."

She wasn't good with words, and even if she wanted to embellish them, she couldn't.

But.

Even hearing such a simple response.

"Finally."

A gentle smile formed on Isaac's lips.

"I've been acknowledged by you, Lia."

***

"It was truly… incredible."

On the other side of the door.

The moment Silverna heard Liana's tearful confession, she felt as though her breath had been stolen.

"Finally."

She closed her eyes gently.

Though it was just a voice from outside the infirmary, in her mind, she could almost see the expression on his face.

"I've been acknowledged by you, Lia."

Because his answer carried such transparent emotion.

"..."

Silverna's head dropped.

Her cascading hair obscured her vision, but the silver earring resting in her palm remained clear.

She tried hard to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes.

Clench.

She gripped the earring Antonio had made for her in her fist.

As if trying to hide what she had been about to do just moments ago.

She walked down the hallway.

Under the pretense of not disturbing their moment, she forced herself to stay quiet.

There were things she wanted to say.

But she swallowed them down, along with her tears.