Chapter 94: Wedding Preparations Complete

“…”

Isaac threw a perplexed expression at the two women staring at him.

They gave off the atmosphere of a pair of children looking at their grandfather, expecting an interesting story from him.

He awkwardly scratched his cheek and asked.

“What do you even want me to teach you?”

“Maybe, we should start with how to admire someone.”

“How to admire someone?”

At that, Princess Clarisse nodded without any hesitation.

“Yes. I think I can become more proactive after knowing that.”

“…”

“Honestly, right now, I’m in a perfect state. I don’t need men nor love!”

“Haa.”

Though he knew it was absurd, Isaac somewhat understood her.

The foundation of her request was that she did this for the sake of others.

To reiterate, she wanted to love someone for the sake of someone else.

The basic premise is a little strange, huh?

If this was his romantic self from the old days, he’d definitely point that out first.

But, it was different for the current Isaac.

“First of all, what are your preferences?”

“I don’t have any.”

He had expected that answer.

“Have you ever felt something towards a man at all? Is there a man that feels somewhat close to you?”

“Someone I’m somewhat close to… You and Heyrad, probably? Heyrad has always been together with me since he’s my escort knight.”

“Then, try to imagine you holding his hands and kiss—”

“Ew, no.”

“…”

“…”

“You know, I don’t understand why people kiss in the first place. Do people even know how dangerous that act is? If you get contaminated—“

That was when Isaac realized. Teaching this princess would take quite some time.

The sun had set, and so their journey halted.

Around the carriages, bonfires had been lit, and people gathered with their own groups.

Knights with knights.

Maids with maids.

As they gathered in small groups, lighting fires and engaging in conversation, or watching the smoke rise, it felt like the dormant romance was blooming again in Isaac’s heart.

Actually, maybe it was because he was single that he felt that way.

“So you’re teaching the princess about love?”

“Yes, more or less.”

The Grandmaster, sitting next to him, grinned as she bit into the meat on her skewer.

Licking her lips that were shiny with grease, she added.

“Interesting. Love is something inherently emotional, something that’s selfish in nature, and yet you want to understand it for the sake of others.”

“Hm?”

Sharen, who was eating a skewer beside them, let out an exclamation as if she had heard something impressive.

Then, the Grandmaster offered her own advice to Clarisse, who was sitting across the bonfire.

“Emotions are something natural. Like a river, they will flow on their own. Trying to change that flow with force is a bad idea.”

“Ooh!”

“So, you’re telling me that I don’t need to force it?”

“Yes, and even if you do, in the end, the truth will hit you in the face. That’s what love is.”

Although the Grandmaster mainly taught about swords, occasionally, she’d say profound words about other things like this.

Well, in the end, she’d always tie it back to sword technique, but that was another thing entirely.

“Then, could you tell me a bit more?”

“Hmm?”

Hearing Clarisse’s request, the Grandmaster stopped chewing the meat in her mouth.

“You must have had moments when you feel excitement about such things, no? I want to know the hows and why.”

“…”

The Grandmaster hesitated for a moment, then she opened her mouth again, but…

“It has to be with a person, not the sword.”

Those words made her close her mouth again.

“…”

Her ears drooped, as her tail swept the ground. Then, she turned to Isaac and whined.

“I want to drink.”

“We’re still in the middle of escorting the bride. No alcohol.”

“Then I’ll go smoke some tobacco. Change the subject while I’m gone.”

With slumped shoulders, she went to a corner to smoke.

At a distance away from the bright bonfire, the tiny light at the end of her tobacco seemed even more pitiful than usual.

“Haaa… This is difficult. It would be nice if there’s a clear-cut answer for this.”

Clarisse let out a long sigh, pouting.

Everything else aside, Isaac actually agreed with the Grandmaster’s point about flow.

“Look over there.”

He pointed towards other bonfires.

More specifically, towards the other groups.

From the group of knights, one of them cautiously approached the maids and said something.

The bonfire’s light concealed his flushed face, creating a dreamy atmosphere.

Soon, one of the maids took his hand and stood up, and the two started to do a simple dance.

They were just holding hands and matching steps, but the atmosphere around them was undeniably nice.

“It’s like that.”

“…”

Following the lead of the first knight, other knights started to approach the maids.

The maid also did the same thing, quietly approaching the more reserved knights who had been sitting and watching.

And then, a humble dance party started.

With the cool night sky and the smoke of the bonfire as the background, and the fire’s crackling sound as the music.

“What do you think?”

“Honestly…”

In a situation where everyone had a gentle smile on their faces, Clarisse scratched her cheek.

“While yes, we’re resting, we’re still technically on duty. Is it okay for them to be playing around like this?”

“…”

“…”

For a moment there, the two looked at each other.

It was clear that her sense of logic was so strong that such emotions just refused to emerge from her heart.

Sensing this, Isaac was about to say something, but…

“I got it!”

Sharen suddenly stood up with a smile.

Then she approached Isaac with big strides and held out her hand.

“This is how you do it, right?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to.”

“…”

Despite that, she didn’t withdraw her outstretched hand.

Who knows if it was out of embarrassment, or if she was just being stubborn; she didn’t back down.

But Isaac had his reasons too.

“If I dance with you here, how do you think others will see it?”

“They’ll think of us as a good-looking couple?”

“No. They’d think that the reason why I got divorced is because I’m having an affair with you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, so—“

Sharen suddenly grabbed him. Considering her strength as a Helmont, he was quickly pulled to his feet.

Then, she dragged him into the crowd of people.

“Sharen!”

“Oh, c’mon! This seems fun! I wanna try this too!”

Hearing Sharen’s shout, the people dancing nearby burst into laughter.

They probably saw this spectacle as an uncle playing around with his cute niece.

In the end, Isaac had no choice but to give in to Sharen’s request.

“Mhm! This feels so romantic!”

“…I guess so.”

It was as Sharen said.

The atmosphere was quite warm, making him feel like he had returned to old times.

Skillful steps.

The way he was holding hands with a red-haired girl.

Both unexpectedly roused his memory, prompting a bitter smile to appear on his face.

“Wow, are you thinking about Sister?”

“How did you know?”

“You always have this wistful smile when you think about her!”

“…I see.”

“By the way, whenever she is thinking of you—”

Sharen suddenly clenched her mouth shut. Realizing that she probably made a great mistake there, she averted her eyes.

But, that only made Isaac more curious, so as he matched her steps, he asked.

“Whenever she thinks of me?”

“I don’t think you’d want to hear it. Do you still want to hear?”

“…Then I won’t.”

“A wise choice!”

Sharen nodded with a bright smile.

Seeing her like this, Isaac unknowingly found words he wanted to say stopped on his tongue.

“Hahaha! This is fun! It feels so different to be with people like this! It’s different from the parties we hold in the mansion!”

They twirled as they danced.

“…”

At this point in his life, what ifs held no meaning about it.

Even thinking about such a thing was meaningless, and he knew that, but…

If only.

Yet, it kept coming to his mind.

Perhaps, due to his regression, he found himself thinking about those what ifs more often.

He thought of the few parties they had attended.

If, at that time, she, with her face tense from nervousness…

Had smiled, even once.

If that had happened…

Maybe…things could have been a little different…

“Wow! That was fun!”

As the dance ended and they let go of each other’s hands, Isaac and Sharen returned to their original seats. On the way, he saw Clarisse talking with Heyrad.

The two were in a heated argument, and it seemed best not to approach them right now.

Even the Grandmaster, who had been smoking near them, came over and put her arm on his shoulder.

“Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To dance, of course. Don’t you think you should dance with me at least once?”

“…”

Honestly, he didn’t want to.

Since he had to deal with Sharen spinning him around so many times, he was a little dizzy.

But the Grandmaster pressed him with a smile that didn’t look like a smile.

“What, do I need to dye my hair red for you to dance with me? Or is there an age limit for it? Right, didn’t you seduce Rianna Helmont when she was—”

“Let’s go! Come on!”

Since the Grandmaster dragged Isaac away, Sharen was left alone.

“I don’t want to go there…”

Obviously she had no intention of going near Clarisse and Heyrad, who were still bickering.

So in the end, after looking around, she ran to the maids and was fed by them with the snacks they had brought.

About two weeks had passed.

“We’re gonna arrive tomorrow.”

At this point, even Pegasus, which seemed so amazing at first, looked no different from other carriages.

Inside the rattling Pegasus, Isaac asked.

“Are you prepared?”

Hearing his question, Clarisse pondered for a moment, and then chuckled.

“I think even if it had taken twice as long, I wouldn’t be much different from now.”

Clarisse had been trying to understand love in her own way.

But, even after putting in the effort, there hadn’t been much change in her.

In her ears, she had only been fed abstract concepts, but that was what love was like.

“Although, I think my attitude towards accepting it has changed. How should I put it? I feel like I can act more proactively as a wife.”

“…”

“A certain someone emphasized things to me until his mouth wore out, after all”

‘Smile at your husband.’

‘Talk with your husband.’

‘Spend time with your husband.’

‘Eat meals with your husband.’

‘Your husband is not a stranger.’

‘Even if you dislike your husband, talk to him first.’

‘Your husband is on your side.’

‘Consult with your husband.’

‘Even if your husband seems foolish, he’s still your husband.’

And so on.

“At least you’ve learned something. Like the importance of marital relationships.”

As Isaac said that awkwardly, a frown appeared on Clarisse’s face.

“Sure, but your teaching sounded more like you’re venting about Rianna.”

“A-Ahem.”

Well, I can’t do anything about that, you know…?

Clarisse let out a slight smile at Isaac’s awkward cough.

“Thank you.”

“Sorry?”

“Thanks to you and Sharen—people I can talk comfortably with—I had fewer distracting thoughts.”

“…”

“I think I can greet my groom without any unnecessary thoughts.”

“Is that so?”

Clarisse closed her eyes.

Under the gentle sunlight that seeped through the window, she let out a gentle smile.

“Considering that this will be our last, it’s a little sad.”

There probably wouldn’t be any chance for them to meet with Clarisse again.

After all, she’d have to act as a queen of another country.

Even if they met at official events, they wouldn’t be able to have comfortable conversations like this.

“My sister and Heyrad are making a fuss, saying that I’m sacrificing myself, but I’d…rather think that this is all fortunate.”

Because…

“Since I don’t know what love is, I won’t feel sad about this.”

“…”

“If I had someone in my heart whom I would give everything to, like Isaac back then—“

‘It would have been much more difficult for me,’ Clarisse whispered.

“Princess…”

In Isaac’s past life.

Before his regression, Clarisse was the last remaining pride of the kingdom.

A commander who half-forced to assume the kingdom’s military power after the assassination of Princess Adeline.

Without ever giving up or running away…

She died heroically in battle.

Isaac didn’t know the details of her death, but…

“Maybe, the future that’s waiting for you at the end of this path isn’t too bad.”

Certainly, compared to then…

Marrying a prince from another country would be a happier outcome for her.

“Whether it’s the the Transcendent Race, or strengthening royal authority, put all that down. Just live as his wife.”

“…You think so?”

Clarisse lowered her head for a moment.

When Isaac first saw her.

Like Silverna, he had judged that her talent hadn’t fully bloomed yet.

There was clearly a difference between her that he saw in his past life and her right now.

Silverna was probably still working hard in the North to make her talent bloom.

But…

Yours might not need to bloom.

If it can sleep peacefully…

It in itself might be a good future for you.

“I see.”

A smile formed on Clarisse’s lips as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Princess.”

“Thank you, Isaac.”

A bright smile spread across her face.

Now, Clarisse had resolved herself to become someone’s wife.

And then…

Heyrad, who had rushed in through the door of the moving carriage, shouted urgently.

“P-Princess! They said Prince Raphael ran away after falling in love with someone else—!”

“…”

Isaac blinked before turning her gaze at Clarisse.

Clarisse, her mouth agape, expressed her feelings in just one line.

“This bastard…”