The Son-In-Law Of A Prestigious Household Wants A Divorce-Chapter 21: Silvernas Reconnaissance Team (1)

Silverna’s reconnaissance team consisted of exactly seven members.

The leader, Silverna Cardias.

Her adjutant, Anna.

Three people from Helmont; Sharen Helmont, Isaac, and Jonathan.

Meladik Drakemoor, the noble who previously dueled with Silverna and learned swordsmanship from Isaac.

And Pollu Blackthorn.

“I-I don’t know why I’m included in this team...”

Pollu Blackthorn was one of the younger dispatched nobles, having just turned 20.

Currently, he was ridden with anxiety, not understanding why he was included here.

Silverna made quite a bold move.

Isaac was actually a little skeptical of Silverna’s decision to include Pollu Blackthorn in her team.

Especially considering that the Blackthorn Family had been revealed as traitors to the kingdom.

Only a few people knew about it though, at least for now.

Right now, they were a target of the royal family’s secret investigation, thanks to the tip from Uldiran the other day.

Isaac thought that it would be best to not disturb the hornet’s nest before that matter was finished, but...

It was obvious that Silverna had other ideas. In her eyes, it was precisely because he was a dangerous guy that they had to keep him close.

Both sides’ had reasonable arguments behind their view.

“S-S-Sir Isaac! T-T-That person...!”

As Silverna was gathering the members before their departure, Jonathan approached Isaac.

Trembling, he pointed at Pollu, standing carelessly next to Meladik Drakemoor.

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Ah, right.

When I revealed the matter about the Transcendent Race and the Blackthorn Family, he was there too.

“D-Don’t worry. This Jonathan will protect Sir Isaac with his life-!”

“Jonathan, don’t say anything about him, don’t talk to him. You’ll give everything away.”

“A-Ah, u-understood.”

Jonathan’s expression turned into that of relief.

He seemed to be aware that he could never lie.

Meanwhile, Isaac noticed something strange about Jonathan.

His gait was slightly off, and his standing posture was crooked.

“Take off your armor.”

“Pardon?”

“Quickly.”

Jonathan hesitated, but he complied anyway.

When he took off his armor, bruises and wounds were revealed underneath.

Seeing the bruises placed cleverly in places that were completely covered by the armor, a fire burned in Isaac’s eyes.

“These crazy—!”

When the second Helmont’s dispatch arrived, he noticed the Helmont knights coming along.

But, he didn’t expect them to do this to Jonathan on the very first day of their arrival.

He was about to get angry and go find those bastards, but.

“A-Ah, Sir Isaac! It’s fine! It’s no problem! The seniors just disciplined me because I’m lacking!”

“What discipline?! We’re about to go outside the wall! How are you going to perform well in this state?!”

“N-No, really I’ll be okay! You don’t need to worry, Sir Isaac!’

Jonathan pretended that he’d be fine.

But that only made Isaac even more frustrated.

Seeing this, Jonathan grabbed him and started to beg.

“Please, Sir Isaac, I beg you. If you do this, it’ll be harder on me later!”

“Jonathan...”

Isaac bit his lip hard.

It was as he said.

Isaac would be leaving Helmont in a month since he’d be divorcing, but Jonathan didn’t know it yet.

Besides, even if he threatened those guys here, they probably wouldn’t care much, since he was just a son-in-law.

Especially when many of them had seen him being beaten by Helmont’s direct lines.

“What’s this ruckus?”

At that moment...

Sharen, with her arms crossed, asked from behind Isaac, looking at Jonathan.

“Is he a knight of our family too? Why does it feel like I’ve never seen him before? Also, why is his body all bruised like that?”

“Y-Young Lady Sharen!”

Jonathan saluted.

Isaac let out a sigh and explained to her briefly.

“Hmm?”

Sharen raised one finger, her words fell.

“Gather everyone else.”

“...Pardon?”

“I said, gather everyone else.”

Jonathan stared at her with a blank expression.

Meanwhile, Isaac just grinned, gently pushing his back.

“What are you doing?! The second daughter of Helmont is giving you a direct order! If you call yourself a Helmont’s knight, then obey me!”

Since they had just arrived yesterday, the Helmont knights hadn’t been assigned duties yet.

In other words, this was the only time when they could gather everyone.

Ten minutes later.

A group of armored knights lined up in the training ground.

Even though Sharen was only 17, she was a Helmont’s direct line.

But, since this was the first time she had ever called them to gather like this, they were all staring at her in bewilderment.

“Those who beat him up yesterday, step forward.”

Sharen said with sharp eyes, pointing at Jonathan beside her.

The knights started glancing at each other.

“Not coming out? Should I go back right now and tell Father about this? That Helmont’s knights are bullying someone like a bunch of children?!”

“Y-Young Lady Sharen.”

One knight carefully stepped forward.

He was the most senior one among the dispatched knights, slightly older with a dignified beard.

“This is the Malidean Wall. If you do this, you’ll be tarnishing Helmont’s reputa—“

At his words, Sharen hesitated for a moment.

Is that how it is?

She tilted her head, pondering. The reliability she had shown until now completely disappeared.

“No, it’s the opposite.”

That was when Isaac stepped forward.

“Coming all the way to the Malidean Wall and committing cruel acts is already shameful, but to cover up this incident on top of that? If this isn’t tarnishing Helmont’s reputation, then what is?!”

“Sir Isaac—“

“Also. Do you think this matter will stay within Helmont?!”

At Isaac’s words, Silverna approached them, as if she had been waiting.

Her cold gaze, resembling the northern wind’s blade, pierced through the knights’ armor seams, as if stabbing them.

“The one you did this to is someone who’s supposed to go out on reconnaissance today. I could easily bring this matter up to the military court.”

“...!”

“We trust you to handle this matter among yourselves since you’re Helmont’s knights. But, if you dare to brush this matter under the rugs, I assure you we won’t stay quiet either.”

Silverna stood beside Jonathan, boldly taking his side.

With Cardias stepping in like this, Sharen finally regained her previous fierceness.

“Are you going to let Helmont be insulted like this?! Should I really tell Father about all of you?! Maybe I should. I’m really curious to hear what he has to say.”

The moment Arandel was mentioned, the atmosphere changed drastically.

“We apologize!”

The senior knight bowed his head in apology.

“Did you sell your chivalry away?! How could the proud knights of Helmont involve themselves in such dirty deeds?!”

Sharen grew even more fiercer. Harsh criticism kept on pouring out of her mouth.

“W-We’re sorry, Jonathan.”

“We were wrong.”

“Please forgive us...”

Then, three knights who had beaten Jonatahna came out and apologized, bowing their heads deeply.

But, that was that. The victim himself didn’t want to drag the matter out any longer, so they were let off quite easily.

After the knights got disciplined a little more and dispersed, Silverna threw a worried gaze at Jonathan.

“If you aren’t feeling well, you can sit this out, Jonathan.”

“No, I’m fine!”

“Haa... We do have a mage who can perform recovery magic, but... We can’t call him for something like this...”

This was essentially a wartime situation.

They couldn’t waste the precious recovery magic on something like this.

“Jonathan should sit out today.”

Now that even Isaac was joining in, Jonathan had no choice but to yield.

Jonathan then went to the medical room for treatment and rest. That meant, the reconnaissance team would proceed with 6 members today.

“If this happens again, I’m going straight to Father, Great Colony or not!!”

At the other side of the field, the middle-aged knight—who was still being disciplined alone, was scolded by Sharen.

Seeing the way he apologized to a girl younger than him, saying he was sorry over and over again made him look a little pitiful.

“May I ask something?”

At that moment, Isaac interjected.

Sharen didn’t seem to like his interruption, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Yes, Sir Isaac!”

His gaze as he stared at Isaac was filled with gratitude.

Lowering his voice, Isaac asked the question that had been bugging him.

“Don’t Helmont’s knights consider upholding chivalry important?”

“Y-Yes. That’s why I have been reflecting a lot about this incident—”

Cutting his words, Isaac added another question.

“Then why did you do this to Jonathan?”

Just to Jonathan.

Not any other person.

To this question...

The knight hesitated for a moment, then, after making sure no one else could hear...

He explained only to Sharen and Isaac.

Immediately after hearing the story.

Sharen slowly turned her head, looking for Jonathan.

Locking her gaze on his back as he trudged towards the medical room, Sharen shouted.

“Is that guy out of his mind?!?!”

*   *   *The reconnaissance team stepped outside the wall.

Leading the way, Silverna advanced calmly with her spear in hand.

Noon had passed, and it was now 2 pm.

Due to the thing with Jonathan earlier, they arrived at the planned point later than expected.

“They won’t detect us if we’re here. This is ‘Snow Garden’.”

The place Silverna called ‘Snow Garden’ was a dense forest.

It was near the entrance of the mountain range where the Demonic Beast’s Hive was said to be located.

Since this was the North, all the trees were covered in snow like fully bloomed white flowers, blocking the sunlight.

“The snow here will leave the Demonic Beasts’ footprints intact, so we can quickly tell if they’re nearby. We could roughly deduce their location from the fallen snow.”

“The North’s unique method of tracking, huh?”

Seeing how they could utilize nature to become part of their defenses left everyone impressed.

Moreover, they could always hide themselves by burying their bodies in the snow if the need arose.

“Since this is a Great Colony we’re dealing with, there’s a high possibility that a highly intelligent Demonic Beast would appear, so it’s important to cover our bases so that they can’t easily identify us.”

“Here you go.”

In the midst of Silverna’s explanation, Anna took out a bottle from the bag she had brought.

“Apply it on the cloaks I gave you earlier. It’s a strong deodorizer, so be careful not to get it on your clothes.”

“Deodorizer? No way I’m using that.”

“Demonic Beasts can easily pinpoint a human’s scent. You’ll need it whether you like it or not.”

Despite Sharen’s grumbling, Anna opened the deodorizer’s cap.

She applied the deodorizer on their brown fur cloak. This would prevent the Demonic Beasts with a sensitive sense of smell from identifying them.

After that, the reconnaissance team put on their hoods, making it hard to identify them by sight.

“H-Haa... Haaah! Haaah!”

Meanwhile, Pollu Blackthorn seemed to be more nervous than expected.

Seeing this, Meladik Drakemoor and Sharen instantly chided him.

“C’mon, no need to be so nervous. It’s just a reconnaissance mission.”

“Don’t you think he’s too young to go with us? Can he even fulfill his duty as a noble?”

For reference, Sharen was 3 years younger than Pollu Blackthorn.

In any case, even Silverna didn’t expect Pollu to be this nervous.

His display was so embarrassing that she even regretted her previous judgment of thinking that he was a dangerous descendant of the traitorous Blackthorn.

“Pollu, if you’re too nervous, just wait here for now. We need one person to stay here anyway—“

At that moment, the wind split.

What flew in silently was a ‘bone’.

“Uuurrggh!”

The white snow field became stained.

Pollu fell to his knees, dark red blood flowed out of his mouth.

His eyes trembled as he looked down at the ‘bone’ in the shape of a spear that had pierced his chest.

“Guh, heuk! Eeeurk!”

“Sir Pollu!”

Startled, Anna quickly checked his condition.

Silverna and Sharen immediately drew their weapons, glaring in the direction the bone had flown from.

“Sniff... Sniff...”

From that direction, with its thick white fur...

Its towering figure and bulging muscles that seemed like it was about to burst...

“Sniff... Sniff...”

On its back were various weapons made from Demonic Beasts and animals.

“Sniff... Sniff...”

It was a ‘yeti’—the most famous Demonic Beast of the North, except that its behavior showed that it wasn’t an ordinary yeti.

“Sniff... Sniff...”

It bared its teeth, smiling brightly as it tapped its nose.

“Human scent. Sniff... Sniff....”

“It remembered the deodorizer scent.”

Isaac’s bitter mutter prompted a surprised expression from Anna.

“What? The deodorizer’s scent?!”

“It probably caught it from another team.”

“There’s no way such an important thing wasn’t report—”

Her words were cut short.

Crack!

By a skull thrown by the creature, shattered when it faced Silverna’s spear.

“Are there any teams that haven’t returned?”

Anna quickly answered Silverna’s urgent question.

“T-Team 3... They are supposed to switch with us...”

Hatred filled Silverna’s eyes as she took her stance.

“Proxa, Torbik, Calden, and Irkasur?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Great. So great. I feel really, really fucking shitty now.”

There were other skulls in the yeti’s hand. Human-shaped skulls, numbered exactly three.

Since Silverna just blocked and shattered one, it meant there were four in total.

“How’s Pollu’s condition?”

“I-It isn’t good! The penetration didn’t cause much bleeding, but he needs an immediate treatment back at the wall”

“Sharen, how long would it take you to reach the wall if you were to carry Pollu?”

“Fifteen minutes if I don’t bring anything else.”

Sharen had already dropped her greatsword and other items on the ground.

Her expression was completely different from the innocent child-like impression she had shown before.

Instead, she had an expression befit of a warrior of Helmont, preparing to carry the injured.

“Sharen will carry Pollu and leave first. We’ll follow behind her and retreat.”

Silverna gritted her teeth, frustrated over the failure of their first mission.

At that moment, Isaac drew his falchion and stood beside Silverna.

“We learned about Team 3’s annihilation and the existence of a Named. That’s enough achievement for a reconnaissance team.”

“Isaac...”

“If the battle drags on, Demonic Beasts from the mountains will swarm in. Retreating is the right choice here, Silverna. We’ll take our revenge next time.”

Though it didn’t erase the bitterness in her heart, Isaac was right.

She took a deep breath and nodded. Meladik and Anna were about to step back to retreat, but then...

“KYAAAAAAH!”

Sharen screamed, and everyone turned their gazes at her.

At one point, instead of blood, a sticky black liquid started flowing out of Pollu’s body, covering Sharen’s body all over.

“W-What is this?! What is it?!”

Sharen dropped Pollu in a fluster.

More and more black liquid started to seep out from the unconscious Pollu’s body, trying to swallow Sharen.

Sorcery!

If humans had magic.

The Transcendent Race had sorcery.

Of course, sorcery wasn’t something common among them, just like magic.

The moment he realized the Transcendent Race had done something to Pollu, Isaac reached out to help Sharen.

Crack!

Another loud sound of impact echoed, this time from the side.

“Kuhup?!”

A skull flew in and hit Silverna’s shoulder before it shattered.

She furrowed her brows as she was pushed back by the impact.

“Sniff... Sniff...”

With thundering footsteps, the yeti began to approach them.