The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Household Wants A Divorce-Chapter 11: Teaching

Isaac fell into contemplation.

Was I expecting too much?

He knew.

Comparing the current Silverna to the Silverna from his previous life would be unfair.

But...

The problem here was that...

I can’t even see a glimpse of her from back then.

He expected that he’d at least a glimpse of her brilliance.

That he could sufficiently capture her growth potential.

If I didn’t know her, I’d have thought that she’s a completely different person.

Just looking at the way she was holding her spear, he already couldn’t connect it to the person he knew.

That’s how much of a gap there was.

Hence why he fell into contemplation.

Just why?

Why is there such a difference?

But, his contemplation didn’t linger for long.

Because before he realized it, Silverna already stood before him.

“What did you say?”

Her eyes clearly portrayed hostility and a strange sense of betrayal.

After all, this was the man who had acknowledged Cardias’ spear, yet he had spoken in that way after seeing hers, doubling her anger.

“...”

“U-Um... H-He didn’t mean it like that...”

Jonathan tried to come up with an excuse from the side, but he was clearly struggling.

“S-Sir Isaac h-has, u-um, a-a kind of mental illness! S-So, he sometimes speaks nonsense...”

“...”

Still, he blabbered on, refusing to give up.

Unfortunately, Silverna wasn’t even pretending to listen; her eyes were locked at Isaac.

Isaac pondered.

How should I say it?

In his previous life, at times like this, he’d bow his head and apologize.

Whenever there were arguments between the fellow disciples of the Grandmaster, it was always Isaac who ended up bowing his head.

Because at the end of the day, he wasn’t a swordsman.

They might praise him as the Ink Sword, but there was a clear gap between them when it came to actual combat.

“Have you suddenly turned into a mute?”

Silverna’s glare didn’t cease.

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Even the instructors around could only watch nervously. Only the savage sound of the harsh wind filled the silence.

After making up his mind, Isaac finally answered.

“Your spear is worse than I thought.”

“...!”

“S-Sir Isaac!”

Isaac boldly declared, directly facing Silverna.

After gesturing to Jonathan to be quiet, he asked Silverna, whose eyes had widened.

“From the beginning to the end, it’s all bad. Let’s start with your grip on the spear shaft. If you hold it there, you can’t put all your strength into it.”

“What?”

Silverna wondered, ‘What kind of nonsense is he even on about?’.

But Isaac had already taken action.

He grabbed her hand that was holding the spear.

“W-What are you doing!?”

Silverna’s shoulders hunched in surprise, but Isaac just continued without any hesitation.

“Look at this. The part where the spear shaft is worn. This is the place you gripped when you started the duel.”

“So what?! I’ve been doing it like this since I was young! This is the posture my father taught me!”

Silverna retorted, telling him not to nitpick strange things like this.

“You forgot that you’ve grown older. That means, your body would’ve grown too. Naturally, the width of your grip on the spear should widen, and your stride should broaden.”

“Huh...?”

“It’s good to follow the family head’s teachings. You probably forcibly maintained it even though it became more awkward to do it as your body grew—forcefully ingrain it in your body. But, you need to change it.”

Isaac corrected the position of her grip on the spear and crouched down to widen her stance to an appropriate range.

Somehow, she had turned into a doll that could only follow his words.

Meanwhile, Isaac’s concentration had reached the level he had when he was writing.

“You there, come here too.”

“...Me?”

Suddenly, Isaac called Meladik Drakemoor, the noble who had just dueled with Silverna.

Pushed by the gazes around him, Meladik came forward.

“Do it again.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Feeling frustrated at the Silverna and Meladik just staring at him without doing what he said, Isaac let out a sigh and repeated his words.

“I said, do it again. Start your duel again.”

“Ah, um.”

Meladik, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, hesitantly took his stance, but Silverna frowned and argued.

“I thought we are addressing the part where you insulted me? Why does it suddenly turn into a duel review?”

“Do as I said. If you still can’t understand what I’ve told you after we finish the review, I’ll retract my statement and apologize.”

“...”

“Start. Do it again.”

With that, those three started their duel review.

*   *   *Lunchtime.

While the dispatched nobles had finished their training, all heading to the dining hall for lunch...

A loud shout erupted from a corner of the training ground.

“Meladik! How many times do I have to tell you?! You need to relax your grip on your swords at certain points!”

“Y-Yes, Sir!”

It was Isaac, holding a branch the size of a cane that he got from God knows where, teaching Meladik.

Standing opposite of him, Silverna showed her genuine surprise.

I never expected him to have this side...

To speak frankly.

Isaac looked weak.

To put it harshly.

He looked pathetic.

Silverna knew she could just overwhelm him in one exchange if they were to fight right now.

But, from his words, it was clear that he was extremely well-versed in combat and martial arts.

I can’t even say that he’s a fraud...

That was how competent he was.

“Drakemoor’s swordsmanship is all about lightness and footwork. When you put too much strength in the hand holding the sword, your overall movement becomes stiff. That’s why you couldn’t dodge Silverna’s third strike and ended up having to fight defensively, which led to your loss!”

“Yes, Sir!”

Meladik, completely enthralled, moved quickly and sung his sword.

He’s not just knowledgeable about Cardias’ spearmanship but also knows a lot about Drakemoor’s swordsmanship... Just, how on earth...?

His knowledge isn’t superficial either...

It’s as if...

He had researched about it for a very long time.

The words Isaac uttered were imbued with traces of deep comprehension of the respective martial arts.

Amazing...

The spear in her hand felt unusually awkward today.

They had only trained together for a few hours.

Yet, it felt like she was treading into a whole new world.

Anxiety and excitement occupied her heart, leaving her bewildered.

“Now it’s getting better. Keep practicing like that. If you relax and look at things from a broader perspective, your understanding of Drakemoor’s swordsmanship will improve even more.”

“T-Thank you very much.”

Meladik bowed, panted for a bit before quickly fleeing to the dining hall.

Isaac watched him with a satisfied smile. But when Silverna came into his view, a surprised look appeared on his face.

“Ah, sorry. I tend to forget my surroundings when I concentrate.”

He apologized awkwardly.

Silverna almost laughed at how foolish he looked, especially compared to how lively he was when reviewing her spearmanship and Meladik’s swordsmanship.

“A-Ahem, so how was it?”

He made a call back to the question he asked before they started.

“Was my statement merely an insult, or was it not?”

“Ahaha...”

Silverna couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

She was surprised at herself for acknowledging his words, even though she wanted to maintain her pride so badly.

“Alright, I’ll admit it. I understand why you said that about my spear.”

“...You understand?”

“Yes, you’re right, Isaac. In that short moment, I managed to learn a lot. Honestly, while listening to you, I could sense how deep your understanding of spearmanship is...”

She let out a bitter smile.

“It’s ridiculous. I still can’t fathom how I, someone who has learned Cardias’ spear all my life, understands it less than Helmont’s son-in-law.”

“...”

“But accepting your input is a different story.”

She started to honestly reveal her conflicted inner thoughts.

“If I do as you say, I’ll certainly improve. But at that point, would that really be Cardias’ spearmanship?”

“...”

“You said it too, didn’t you, Isaac? Our spearmanship is great. And I want to continue that legacy.”

Because it was great, she took pride in it.

Hence why she didn’t want it to lose its identity.

“It’s the spear that I’ve been with all my life. While I can tell that I’ll learn new things through your teaching, I feel like if I accept it, my spear will change into something radically different.”

“...”

“I have a duty to protect this spear that our ancestors have cultivated.”

Hearing Silverna’s confession, Isaac felt like the puzzle in his head finally fit together.

I see.

So that’s the difference between the Silverna I know and the current Silverna...

There is a fundamental difference regarding her attitude when it comes to pursuing strength.

The Silverna I met had already lost everything.

Indeed. By the time they met in his previous life, the Malidean Wall had already fallen, the Cardias Family had been massacred, and she was left alone.

Family, comrades, homeland...

She had lost everything except her spear.

But the current Silverna was different.

She hadn’t lost anything precious to her yet. Hence why her desire to get stronger was lacking.

“How could you be so foolish, Silverna Cardias?”

And so, he rebuked her.

“...What?”

“If it was someone else, I could understand; I would have accepted it without making a fuss.”

But...

“You are the only one who should never have said such words.”

“Y-You—! W-What do you know?! Cardias’ spear is my pride, my heart! Telling me to change it thoughtlessly—!”

Bang!

The wooden stick in Isaac’s hand struck the ground.

“Your name.”

Like a master, scolding his disciple.

The emotion burning in his black eyes represented his anger.

“What’s your name?”

“What on earth-!”

“I asked, what is your name?!”

At Isaac’s shout, Silverna hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Silverna... Cardias.”

“Yes, Cardias! You said you’ll protect the spear of your ancestors? You can’t just give up your great pride? Do you even know what those words mean?”

He pointed his cane at her.

“It means you’re going to let your spear become obsolete! It means you are going to declare that the path that your ancestors had laid for their predecessors ends here!”

In his previous life...

As the Ink Sword, Isaac had taught many people.

Among them, the type he hated the most were those who set their own limits.

Even Isaac, who couldn’t wield a sword due to his crippled leg, refused to give up and tried to move forward somehow.

And yet those people defined their own limits and stopped moving forward.

“Look at your spear! It’s a great legacy cultivated little by little by your ancestors! You said you’re going to keep it that way? Protect it because it’s precious?”

Gritting his teeth, he shouted as if pleading.

Begging her to not become such a person.

In his previous life, only after experiencing a cruel tragedy did her stubbornness, frozen by the northern cold, break, allowing her to gain enlightenment.

But this time...

I’ll make you realize.

Before such a tragedy could happen—!

“A warrior shouldn’t settle down and hesitate, except when they are dying.”

As if enchanted, Silverna’s gaze was locked into Isaac’s eyes.

His rebuke melted her frozen heart and mind.

Ah...

At that moment, a path suddenly appeared inside her.

The name of that path was ‘Cardias’.

And it was also the path she had walked.

Though it was rough and crude.

It was still a path.

Laid out by someone in advance.

“I’ll ask again, what’s your name?”

Silverna lifted her head forward.

In front of her, laid the thick northern snow.

There was no path for her to tread on yet.

Because that was the place she thought she shouldn’t go to.

“I am... Silverna... Cardias.”

In the future.

For her future descendants who’d pass through here...

This would be the path she would pioneer from now on.

“Improving is not abandoning, but ‘continuing’.”

Noticing the change in her, Isaac let out a gentle smile.

“Where you are now is the end of someone’s path.”

As well as...

The start of your own path.

Before she knew it.

A bright smile had formed on her lips.

She realized that she shouldn’t just live with gratitude for her ancestors’ greatness.

That she was one of them, that she should walk the same path as them.

“Ha... Hahahaha!”

As a warrior, it was an honor.

And an expectation that made her heart swell.

Slowly...

Silverna bowed her head deeply.

Politely folding her hands, she put her sincere feelings into words.

“Thank you.”

To the benefactor who had given her this enlightenment.

“Many thanks to you.”

She looked up at him again; his smile only served to reassure her even more.

It was as if he was rejoicing that she had finally found the right answer, making her even more excited. So, she approached him enthusiastically.

“Could I ask you to teach me even more? Not just these simple things, but things that I could learn to further develop Cardias’ spear

“If you think I can be of help, of course. But shouldn’t we eat lunch first?”

As he shrugged and pointed to the dining hall, Silverna nodded exaggeratedly.

“Alright, let’s talk more while eating! Oh, by the way, is there a good direction I should follow when I train?”

“Blindly following my words won’t be good for you either.”

“I won’t, I just need to hear some advice!”

Advice, huh?

Isaac hesitated.

Actually, there was indeed an advice that he wanted to give her.

It was one of the things Silverna had really struggled with in his previous life.

“...Can I really say anything?”

“Huh? Of course!”

“First, promise you won’t get angry.”

“Hm? I even let it slide when you insulted my spear. What more could make me angry?”

Silverna’s eyes shone brightly as she urged him to speak quickly.

Isaac scratched his cheek as if embarrassed.

“It would be better to remove your chest binder.”

“...Huh?”

Hearing that unexpected advice, Silverna’s body froze for a moment.

Her hand unconsciously moved towards her chest before stopping.

“I-Is it obvious?”

Indeed. Compared to other women around, her bosom was more ample, and she had been hiding it.

Her eyes lost their focus and trembled, but she was able to blurt out an excuse.

“I-It’s hard to wield the spear without this! I-It’s a little too...b-bouncy...”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. You need to get used to that.”

“...B-But why?”

I’m going crazy...

Isaac put his hand on his forehead and continued in a small voice.

“In the future, you might not be able to use the binder anymore.”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to—“

Before she was even able to finish her words, her face turned bright red.

I-Is he saying that in the future—?!

“H-How do you know about such things!”

She shouted in panic, but Isaac just muttered with a sigh, wearing a troubled face.

“I just know... Somehow...”