Paladin of the Dead God

Chapter 143:

The Emperor had rewarded Isaac with various gold and jewels as a reward for thwarting a plot and kidnapping related to Isolde. Although he had already received a more than generous reward from Dietrich, Isaac did not refuse.

Rather, he was not in a state of mind to refuse.

‘Isolde Brant.’

Instead of returning directly to Rougeberg Castle, Isaac simply walked the streets.

His stomach was churning. The fact that he had crafted the current situation with his own hands only made it worse.

Isaac needed to restore the Holy Land. For that, the Dawn Army must rise, and he had to involve the Emperor. By participating in the Dawn Army, he would need to take on a significant military role, and for that, he needed a strong background.

And the most prestigious and splendid background would require marrying Isolde.

What kind of logic was that?

He could find no way out.

What was the Prophet of the Red Flesh suffering for, only to be digested by Isolde? Perhaps she too was crying tears of blood inside Isolde’s stomach.

If not, Isaac felt like gouging out his own eyes.

‘You must be angry, having an unwanted woman by your side. But I’ll try not to be a bother.’

Those were Isolde’s words before he left.

Isaac was also angry with Isolde’s attitude.

Isolde was neither deficient enough to make such remarks nor a person to be sold into marriage. On the contrary, she was a woman with more than enough merit.

A woman everyone wanted, someone who would stand in a position of power with anyone she married.

Yet ironically, she acted this way because of Isaac. Because he was pushing her away.

That was what infuriated Isaac.

‘Your reluctance is abnormal. You know that?’

The Mirror Handmaiden words were true.

Isaac knew that Isolde was more than sufficient for him, even excessively so.

However, Isaac could not accept her love.

Who would marry a person who, when cut open, might have a monster jump out?

What if they had children? What could emerge from them? Could he ever be honest with his spouse for a lifetime? Could he admit that he was a person who used others, killed, and fed as needed for his objectives?

Even if everything went well and one day he loved someone enough to consider a lifetime together, what if suddenly a message popped up saying, ‘Congratulations! You have won!’ and he was returned to his original room?

If all this was an illusion?

All these thoughts terrified Isaac.

He did not want to create a person he loved in this world.

He did not want to feel truly grounded in this world.

Isaac wanted to scream.

[The Nameless Chaos watches you.]

At some moment, Isaac realized that he had been standing still.

And that someone was tightly holding his hand.

Turning around, he saw Isolde gripping his hand painfully.

It was already drizzling winter rain.

She looked pale from running in the rain; one hand still clutched an unopened umbrella.

“I didn’t get to say this earlier, Isaac.”

Isolde caught her breath, her words punctuated.

“I really like you. Isn’t this how it usually starts?”

***

“Inquisitor, when…”

“We got off to the wrong start, didn’t we?”

Isaac thought he should cover her with the umbrella, but she didn’t give him the chance.

“Throw away the Red Chalice, the duchy, the emperor, all of it. This isn’t how it should have started.”

“…”

Isaac struggled to find words to reply, but facing Isolde’s unwavering eyes, he couldn’t find any.

Her eyes were filled with intense conviction.

A face he hadn’t seen when she was locked in a tower hoping for salvation.

A face he hadn’t seen when she was being pushed as a bargaining chip in front of the emperor.

This was the real face of Isolde.

“Then let’s start over from here!”

A person willing to pull another from the dark rain with a bright light.

“I really like you! If it’s alright with you, would you consider dating me?”

Isolde’s voice rang out clearly.

Amid the pouring gaze, Isaac felt breathless. Fortunately, it seemed no one recognized Isolde or him. He was thankful it was a rainy winter street.

Isaac knew this was her sincerity.

Not just something said to push through a political marriage.

He knew this without activating the Eye of Chaos. In fact, he had always known.

“I’m not as good as you think, Isolde.”

After a long silence, Isaac found his words.

“You’re not seeing the real me, but an ideal version of what you want.”

Isaac was not showing his true self, but performing as a false grail knight.

Inside him, a monster hungry for blood writhed. Madmen dreaming of the end were conspiring to invade his mind. In fact, Isaac had considered harming her to survive. Isolde did not know this.

But Isolde spoke unwaveringly.

“May I speak honestly?”

“Yes.”

“I fell for Isaac’s face, not his inner self. So, my heart won’t waver.”

Isolde responded decisively without hesitation.

Isaac briefly opened his mouth, waved his hand in the air, and his eyes darted around, but still, he could not find the words to say.

He had hoped to hear such words at least once in his life, but he never thought it would be in this moment.

Isaac tried to think of something else to say to console Isolde but gave up. It seemed irresponsible to suggest finding someone who could surpass a Nephilim in looks.

And in a different context, he liked her response.

He wasn’t sure if she was serious, but if Isolde meant what she said, she might leave him when his looks faded, as Nephilims are not immune to aging. Or she might grow tired of him before that.

It wouldn’t matter to her how monstrous he was or how terrifying secrets he harbored. Then it was okay to keep playing the role of a fabricated Grail Knight.

She liked the version of him that was made up.

If he used the Eye of Chaos now, he could peer into her entire mind to see if her words were sincere or just meant to comfort him.

However, Isaac chose not to. Or rather, he didn’t want to.

“Alright then….”

Isaac opened the umbrella Isolde had brought. The sound of rain hitting the umbrella was loud.

He had thought there would be no one around on a rainy winter night, but surprisingly, there were a few people.

A few elderly men were sharing drinks in a late-open bar, and a patrol guard walked by with the sound of military boots. A well-dressed man and woman were chatting under a roof before walking down an alley.

Under the umbrella, Isaac kissed Isolde’s rain-dampened lips for the first time.

Isolde stood quietly, holding the umbrella and Isaac’s hand. Even after they parted lips, she didn’t say what they should do next or anything like that. She was just there.

His mind was foggy. He felt like he should say something, but no words came to mind.

It was a cold, lonely, damp, and dark night.

Most nights are like that.

But that night held something beautiful enough to make the heart flutter.

So, Isaac felt that he might love nights for a while because of that.

***

For now, the announcement of Isolde and Isaac’s engagement was postponed.

There was a lot to prepare, and there were opinions that it was not appropriate to reveal Isaac suddenly. The banquet inevitably fizzled out, but the nobles who had hoped for a surprise announcement were not disappointed.

Rumors that Isaac was already in Rougeberg had spread enough. Thus, rumors of Isolde’s return and their association spread together.

Rumors that the son-in-law of the Brant family was the Grail Knight, Isaac Issacrea.

Although the truth of the matter was not yet confirmed, it had spread as a fact among the emperor-supporting nobles.

And anticipating the potential repercussions, political calculations were hurried.

“When the appropriate time comes, we might make it public, right?”

“That’s true. The problem is when that ‘appropriate time’ is.”

The Royal Guard spoke, and Isaac grumbled in response.

The Emperor stayed in that small mansion in Rougeberg during his stay, unable to go out because of the glowing deer antlers, but he constantly consulted and planned something with Dietrich. And he talked to Isaac every day.

Naturally, Isaac also had many opportunities to talk with the royal guards in the garden.

“I’m not in a hurry to announce it. I just hope the timing is right. The Codex of Light sect is already on edge with the news of my return, so it might be better to announce it when there’s a situation that justifies the sect’s presence.”

Politics, politics, politics,it never ends.

Everything had to be political, especially for someone ‘delicate’ like Isaac.

Rene Lomerk, the royal guard, touched her cheek with a troubled expression. She was not very articulate compared to her skill in swordsmanship, having focused solely on training her whole life.

She made a headache gesture and said,

“Thinking too much is because your body is at ease, Knight. Shall we train with swords?”

“…Didn’t I tell you how terrible my swordsmanship is?”

One would think that the Imperial Royal Guards, devoted to protecting the royal family, would focus solely on their duties, but it turned out they were obsessed with self-training. Of course, they were skilled enough to take down even knight commanders, but whether their protection skills were exceptional was another question.

‘Maybe it’s because the Emperor himself is strong? If he protects himself and the royal guards eliminate threats, that might work.’

Moreover, Emperor Waltzemer had the ability to summon a named-class divine beast, Haltaba, comparable to an angel. Perhaps protection wasn’t a concern at all.

And the royal guards were indeed strong. Isaac could tell even without fighting. It would be difficult to defeat these monsters without using miracles.

“What’s going on?”

Another royal guard approached after hearing Isaac’s mumbling.

“Chief Guard Bashul.”

“Ah, has Grail Knight arrived?”

It was another Imperial Royal Guard dispatched here, Bashul Norton, but everyone called him Bashul. He seemed to be in his forties, with slender eyes and a somewhat slack appearance, but he actually held the position of chief guard, effectively the leader of the knight’s action team.

The Imperial Royal Guards were considered the strongest as they only took commands from the Emperor and had no ranks among themselves.

“Bashul, it’s just…”

Rene relayed Isaac’s concerns to Bashul.

Bashul listened and answered without much thought.

“Rene is right. You’re overthinking because your body is at ease. How about a duel?”

‘What do I do with these sword-crazy fools?’

Isaac wondered if he had actually died and fallen into Elil’s Colosseum. However, Bashul, not stopping at a joke, naturally threw a practice sword to Isaac.

Isaac caught the sword instinctively.

“Come out, please. Grail Knight. A good sweat and all your worries will disappear.”

Isaac did not ask how he was supposed to beat the chief of the Imperial Royal Guards. He knew they would say, ‘Duelling is not about winning but about reflecting and improving oneself.’

‘To me, swordsmanship is a tool for victory, not a means for self-improvement.’

But looking at Bashul and Rene’s faces, it seemed they were just dying to see the skills of the Grail Knight. Isaac sighed heavily but decided to go along with them.

‘Maybe honing my sword skills will be useful before going to the Kingdom of Elil.’

Elil’s swordsmen would be no less formidable than these folks.

–TL Notes–

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