Chapter 105: The Reeves Sibling

“Hahaha!”

Despite Isaac’s firm response, Leian Reeves tried to smooth things over with his laughter.

“Perhaps I was too hasty in my request? I should have mentioned what I could offer before stating my demands!”

“I told you to leave. Don’t test my patience any further.”

But, in Isaac’s eyes, he had already crossed the line.

He gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to punch Leian in the face right then and there.

“Oh my, at least hear my terms. If you help me, I’ll provide a substantial amount of gold. To be specific…”

Leian Reeves whispered to him.

The amount of gold he mentioned was enough to host another Sword Dance Festival.

Even Isaac couldn’t help but flinch in surprise.

I heard the Reeves were wealthy, but…

Sure enough, he acted like a typical rich noble.

It wasn’t a wonder that the amount of gold he proposed was enough to make one’s tongue limp.

At this point, Isaac couldn’t help but be curious.

“Do you desire Rianna that much?”

“Of course. The moment I marry her, I can exert influence over Helmont. Though their status has fallen considerably, Helmont is still Helmont, no?”

“…”

“That isn’t all.”

Leian smiled as he added, as if to reassure Isaac.

“Is she not a beauty? I’ve encountered her a few times at banquets, and each time I felt that she deserves the nickname Blood Rose. Truly a lovely woman. I wouldn’t be a man if I didn’t try to pluck such a flower. You were the same as me, no?”

“If I had a sword at my waist, I would have drawn it.”

Despite Isaac’s calm warning, Leian responded with a smirk.

“Feel free to draw it. I wouldn’t have been hurt!”

I want to kill him.

It had been a long time since Isaac had felt such a genuine desire to kill someone.

The last time he felt this way was when he was facing Alois.

He couldn’t help but feel amazed at how quickly someone became so detestable in his eyes.

Meanwhile Leian, probably thinking that they were wasting precious time, returned to the main point.

“Well, what do you say? Honestly, I think this is a deal that only benefits you Baron Logan, don’t you also think so?”

“…”

“You can earn such a large sum just by telling me about your ex-wife’s preferences. There isn’t an easier way to make such a killing, no?”

“…”

“With that money, you could move to a larger mansion instead of this small one. You can also hire more servants. Barons of common birth tend to be short on money—”

“This is why.”

Isaac cut him off in a low voice.

“That attitude of yours is precisely why you can never win her heart.”

“…”

For the first time in their entire conversation.

Leian’s smile froze.

As a swordsman, he always tried to discern his opponent’s weaknesses.

Perhaps this skill had worked to some extent even in this situation.

Leian’s gaze moved left and right for a moment. Uncertainty filled his eyes. Then he let out a hollow laugh.

“Ahaha… I suppose I learned something new from that…”

Perhaps as a final effort to maintain his noble demeanor, Leian slowly bowed and turned to leave.

“Leian Reeves.”

As he was leaving, Isaac called out to him.

“Hm?”

He turned his back to face Issac, who once again, raised his middle finger.

“I’m still not over it.”

“Hah…!”

Leian left for the garden without another word.

Reeves Family’s Leian.

As far as Isaac knew, he fell in battle against the Transcendent Race.

Around the time when Arandel died of illness, the Transcendent Race appeared across various parts of the kingdom…

Apparently, Leian greatly contributed to sorting out the kingdom’s internal situation. But…

I didn’t know he was this kind of man.

You’d never know someone unless you met them directly, huh?

Isaac entered the house, seething.

It was barely a day since he returned from the Brentarion Kingdom, and his head was already in a mess.

On his way to the bedroom, he passed Karen, who was still cleaning the mansion.

“Karen, I’m exhausted, so I’m gonna get some sleep.”

“Yes, understood!”

Isaac lay down on his bed, closing his eyes tightly. He found himself mulling over Leian’s words.

Well, I suppose he had a point.

Rianna is Helmont’s family head now.

There’s no way she could remain single.

Eventually, she’ll have to remarry.

Thinking this, a strange feeling crept on his heart, and thanks to that, he had trouble falling asleep.

“Hmm.”

When he woke up again, it was already dark outside.

One good thing about his current body was that most of his fatigue would be gone after a good sleep.

Also he didn’t need to look for his cane after getting up.

Being young is nice.

Muttering as if he was an old man, Isaac headed to the dining room. Since it was already late, he figured that Karen would’ve gone home by now, so he was just going to get some water, but…

“…”

“Ah, you’re awake, Sir!”

In the dining room, there were two people, sitting and chatting.

One of them was Karen.

“You haven’t gone home yet, Karen?”

“Hehehe, I was waiting for you to wake up, Sir baron.”

Karen stood up as she introduced the woman sitting across from her.

“This is Lady Marlin of the Reeves Family. She came to see you, Sir Baron.”

“The Reeves Family? Wants to see me?”

Though he was taken aback over the fact that she waited for him to wake up…

For the time being, Isaac reminded Karen.

“You should head home now, or else your fiancé is gonna be worried.”

“Yes! Then, I’m going home, Sir!”

Karen left with a playful salute.

As Karen departed, Lady Marlin slowly stood up.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Marlin of the Reeves Family.”

“I am Baron Isaac Logan. You didn’t have to wait, you could have woken me up.”

“I’ve heard about how my brother had been acting rudely to you, so I wanted to at least maintain some basic courtesy.”

“…You’re quite different from him.”

Though she had the same blue-green hair and eyes as Leian, her personality seemed almost the complete opposite.

“The reason I came is to apologize. I heard that my brother greatly offended you, Baron Logan, so I came to bring this.”

Marlin then took out a money pouch from her bosom.

“It’s not much, but please accept it.”

“…”

Seeing the money pouch, Isaac felt a sudden urge to let out a sigh.

“If this is something that could be resolved with money, I wouldn’t have been angry in the first place.”

Accepting her money would make him feel cheap somehow.

Besides, thanks to Princess Clarisse’s help, he wasn’t particularly short on money.

“…”

Seeing his reaction, Marlin silently put the pouch back in her bosom.

But, she continued to stand there without saying anything.

“Um, why are you still here?”

When he subtly asked why she wasn’t leaving, Marlin answered briefly.

“I still need to receive your forgiveness.”

“…”

“What can I do for you?”

Her words were brief, and she delivered it in an expressionless manner.

At first, he felt a bit annoyed, but…

The more he looked at her, the more she reminded him of someone.

“Hm.”

Perhaps because of this, Isaac found himself smiling without realizing it.

“…”

Marlin’s eyes slowly widened, then she spoke again, still expressionless.

“What’s so funny?”

“You remind me of someone I know. Don’t worry, it’s nothing.”

At Isaac’s words, Marlin just clenched her lips shut. Regardless of whether she understood him or not, she expressed through her silence that she wanted to provide him with some kind of compensation.

“Are you going to keep standing there?”

“The eldest son of the Reeves family has been acting rude towards you. As his younger sister, I need to make amends for his mistake.”

“…”

“…”

Silence fell between the two again.

She really resembles her.

Her considerable beauty, her taciturn and expressionless demeanor…

If it weren’t for her hair color, he’d probably mistake her for a certain someone.

Then Isaac thought of something he’d like to receive from her.

“In that case, would you show me the Magic Sword?”

He had read about the Reeves Family’s Magic Sword, but had never seen it in person.

It was a somewhat abstruse and complex swordsmanship, making it difficult to understand without seeing it firsthand.

This is perfect.

As Isaac’s eyes lit up as he spoke, Marlin, who had been staring at him blankly, slowly stood up and said.

“Would that really be enough?”

“Hm? Yes, that would be enough.”

“…”

Faced with this unexpected response, Marlin maintained silence for a moment.

“I didn’t bring my sword today, so I can’t show it to you.”

“Ah.”

He let out a deep sigh.

Seeing Isaac’s genuine disappointment, Marlin continued.

“I heard you’re joining the northern dispatch. If there’s an opportunity on the way, I’ll show it to you.”

“Would it be possible for us to have a duel then?”

“…It would.”

“That’s great. I’ll look forward to it.”

Isaac cheerfully offered his hand for a handshake. Looking at his hand, Marlin took it and muttered.

“What a strange person.”

The next morning.

Despite it being so early in the morning, Isaac’s mansion had already received a guest.

Others might have grumbled about someone coming at such an hour, rubbing their sleepy eyes as they greeted their guest.

But at this hour, Isaac had already finished his morning training and washed up. He was actually in the middle of writing when the guest came.

The book he was writing was none other than the book about his sword, which showed no signs of ending anytime soon.

Because the more he swung his sword, the more things he added into the book.

“Are you writing your book again?”

In any case, the one who visited him was none other than Princess Clarisse.

Her escort knight, Heyrad, was also there, but he only stood quietly in the garden, wearing a gentle smile.

The atmosphere surrounding him was a bit more relaxed compared to back when they visited Brentarion Kingdom.

“…You’ve come.”

Recently, whenever he was around Princess Clarisse, he’d feel a little awkward.

Hence why he tried to avoid her as much as possible; he even used a different carriage on their way back from Brentarion.

“I have something to discuss with you, Isaac.”

But seeing her serious expression, Isaac relaxed a little.

“What is it?”

“It’s about the northern dispatch. You know we’re leaving in two days, right?”

“Yes, I do.”

That’s why I haven’t unpacked my bags since our last journey.

“There’s a bit of a problem with this. It’s not a big problem, but it’s not a small problem either.”

“What do you mean?”

As he tilted his head and asked, Clarisse explained with a sigh.

“There are some young nobles… Well, they’re all older than me, but, that’s not important—“

“…”

“Anyway, these guys formed a group called the Blue Stream Society? And they’re causing some trouble within our ranks.”

“I’ve heard of the Blue Stream Society, but… They’re causing trouble?”

“Well… Not actual trouble, they’re just…underestimating our enemies, you know? They’re kinda taking the whole situation way too lightly.”

“…What?”

The Malidean Wall in the North had disappeared in a single day.

Meanwhile, the Demonic Beasts were invading southward, and the Transcendent Race could appear at any time.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the kingdom was in an unprecedented crisis.

“But now that I think about it, their attitude kinda makes sense. I mean, besides us, no one has really fought the Transcendent Race properly.”

“That’s—“

Isaac was about to say something, but…

He found himself nodding without realizing it.

“I see.”

Come to think of it…

Using the knowledge from his regression, Isaac had been blocking or preemptively eliminating the Transcendent Race.

The Blackthorn Subjugation, except for the end, was essentially Arandel’s one-man show with virtually no casualties.

The Evergard Terror Attack with Alois ended up to be just a diversion that didn’t cause much damage.

Even the ‘Sponsors’ failed to approach the nobles due to Princess Adeline using the information he had obtained from Volten properly.

Every incident so far was either prevented before it could happen, or even if it did occur, the damage didn’t spread widely.

“That’s why they’re looking down on the Transcendent Race. Well, that’s the gist of our current situation.”

“Ah…”

This was another side effect of utilizing the knowledge he got from his regression.

Because those incidents didn’t spread widely, the nobles had become arrogant.

“But the Malidean Wall has disappeared. How can they take the matter lightly—“

“That’s the problem. The Blue Stream Society doesn’t understand the dangers of sorcery, so they don’t believe that the wall has disappeared.”

“…”

“They think it’s propaganda spread by some conspiracy theorist… Haa… Still…”

Clarisse held her head and nodded with a sigh.

“If I didn’t know about sorcery and the Transcendent Race, and the news about the Malidean Wall suddenly disappeared enter my ears, I wouldn’t believe it either. I mean, who’d believe that?”

Believing that a huge wall disappeared overnight would make one either a fool or a conspiracy theorist.

Isaac couldn’t outright deny this statement.

“So, Isaac, please knock some sense into them. They’re still nobles of the kingdom after all. We can’t just let them foolishly die.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“Thank you. Then—“

“Just one thing I’d like to confirm. Is Leian Reeves also part of the Blue Stream Society?”

“He’s their leader. That disgusting, greasy guy—”

“…Good, good.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll accept the mission.”

As Isaac spoke as if nothing had happened, Clarisse clapped her hands with a bright smile.

“Great! Now let’s move on to some more substantial talk. Would it be okay to have our wedding at the church in Evergard? Of course, if you prefer, we could do it in your hometown.”

“…”

The shift of topic was too sudden, but…

Isaac was already used to it.

This was why he had been avoiding Princess Clarisse recently; this recently changed behavior of hers.

“I won’t make it too grand. We can keep it modest. You’d prefer that, right?”

“…Princess.”

“Darling, please, you can just call me ‘Clarisse’.”

“Haaa… Princes…”

“What is it, my love?”

“PRINCEEEESSSS!”

“Kyahaha!”

Clarisse stood up, laughing at him as if it was fun.

“Sorry, sorry~ As you could see, I’m just way too talented for my own good. It seems like I have a talent for love too~”

Saying this, she winked and struck a cute pose she had learned during her effort to seduce Prince Raphael.

“HEYRAD!”

Isaac desperately glared at Heyrad standing in the garden.

But the knight just wiped his nose with his finger, looking at them with a content smile.