A rugged stone path.

People dressed in black mourning clothes are walking, carrying a wooden coffin.

"They're coming."

Those who have survived the tail end of the storm called war.

Their faces, battered by the heavy wind, are gaunt and worn.

Inside the coffin they carry lies a great swordswoman who stood against the invasion of demons.

Yet, despite this glorious return, no one but me came to greet them.

Under normal circumstances, I would have done the same.

But this time, I could not.

For the woman inside that coffin…

…was my wife.

"..."

Silently, I welcome them.

They, too, bow their heads slightly in greeting as they see me.

"We greet the Silent Sword."

The Silent Sword.

An alias given to me, meaning one who wields the sword through words.

"Thanks to you, we learned so much."

"The books written by the Silent Sword were of great help to the soldiers on the front lines."

"Hearing that from knights like you feels a bit embarrassing."

A bitter smile crosses my lips.

As someone unable to wield a sword, the only thing I could do was devise theories and put them into writing.

"You may lower her here now."

Behind me, as they were about to enter the small castle, I spoke to them with a faint, bitter smile.

"There's no one here to welcome you, so entering would bring little comfort."

At my words, they nodded reluctantly with pained expressions and gently lowered the coffin.

"Do you have a place to go?"

"..."

There was no answer.

But that was not strange.

"Well, who among us has a place to return to?"

"May you stay safe."

After bowing deeply to me, they left.

I would likely never see them again.

I could only be grateful for their final act of loyalty in carrying the coffin here.

The resting place I had prepared was a small clearing near the castle.

Though it wasn't far in distance, it took so long that the sun had set and risen again by the time I got there.

"Forgive me. As you know, I cannot use one of my legs."

Leaning on a cane, it had taken far longer than expected to move the coffin.

I placed it beside the pre-dug grave.

Beads of sweat, glistening like pearls in the sunrise, trickled down my cheek and fell onto the coffin as they gathered on my chin.

I let out a small laugh and gently brushed the coffin.

"This is the finest jewel I can offer you."

Creaaak.

Slowly, I opened the coffin.

It was adorned with artificially arranged roses.

Nestled amidst the flowers lay a beautiful woman, her hands folded and eyes closed.

Liana Helmut.

The eldest daughter of the great Helmut family.

An exceptional swordswoman who had slain countless villains and massacred transcendent beings.

The woman I truly loved.

My wife.

"Even after ten long years, you are still as beautiful as ever."

I let out a hollow laugh.

I'd heard she had spent a long time on the battlefield, yet she looked as though she had just returned from a ball.

The faint fragrance of roses lingered around her—likely a result of magical preservation measures taken with her body.

"I thought I'd have so much to say, but now that I see you, there's not much at all."

Despite standing before a corpse, the awkwardness made me lift my gaze to the rising sun.

"Were you curious why I ran away?"

Five years of marriage.

And at the end of it, I chose to flee.

The reason was simple.

The oppression I faced as a commoner from the members of the Helmut family.

And Liana's choice to stand by and do nothing, as if she had lost faith in me.

"I resented you deeply. Did you resent me too?"

Even now, meeting like this after ten years…

"Or did you laugh in relief?"

In the end, our so-called reunion was an awkward and incomplete conclusion.

"Questions without answers are meaningless, aren't they?"

Still, if I had to pick the one thing I was most curious about…

"Were you—"

To the very end, as you swung that enormous greatsword,

And drew your last breath—

"—a great Helmut?"

A woman who lived solely for the sake of Helmut.

A Cruel Woman Who Abandoned Her Husband

"Heh… hehe, haha."

A bitter laugh escaped me.

A relationship that had long since ended.

It felt like I was finally putting a definitive conclusion to it.

"Even at this moment, you must be smiling, mustn't you?"

A farewell to the woman who had smiled as beautifully as a rose.

She had likely already cast away all lingering attachments and moved on with her life.

But I wanted to make this farewell absolutely final.

"Well then, goodbye."

As I loosened our clasped hands and gently held hers for the last time…

I felt an odd texture beneath my fingers.

Her hands, calloused from gripping a sword for so many years, had a roughness that was familiar.

And yet, there was something else.

A modest ring.

It was on her left ring finger.

The same humble ring that had once been mocked for its simplicity—despite it having cost me every bit of wealth I had as a commoner.

Our wedding ring.

The sole dowry of our marriage.

And there it was, still on Liana's left ring finger.

"..."

I froze for a moment, staring blankly at it.

"You…"

A voice tinged with lament escaped me as I chuckled bitterly.

"You continue to bewilder me, even now."

***

"Hmm?"

The usual pain that stabbed at my right leg every morning… was gone.

I waved my hand around where my cane would usually be, but found nothing.

The body that had started creaking in my late thirties now felt as smooth and limber as if it had been oiled.

"Where… am I?"

It was my room.

To be precise, the room I had used ten years ago in Helmut.

Back then, of course, my wife and I had separate rooms.

I had been given a guest room to use.

At the time, it had felt a bit disappointing, as if it drew a clear line between us, saying I wasn't part of the family.

I looked at the mirror in the room.

It was me—Isaac.

Myself from ten years ago.

Smooth skin and neatly kept black hair.

The appearance that had often earned me compliments about my good looks.

And perfectly functioning legs.

The disability I had endured for ten years… gone.

"Is this a dream?"

It felt like a dream, but more unbelievable than anything was the fact that I seemed to have returned to the past—back to Helmut.

Click! Creak!

"Brother-in-law!?"

The door opened abruptly, and someone stepped inside.

A man with striking red hair, a sharp face, and a tall stature—a hallmark of the Helmut family.

It was Alois Helmut, the third son of the family.

"Alois?"

He looked exactly as I remembered him.

He had been one of the very few in Helmut who had been kind to me.

"What are you doing? My sister's been waiting for you!"

"Your sister… Liana?"

"What's with you today? Yesterday, you worked so hard preparing with me for your wedding anniversary!"

Wedding anniversary?

Prepared with Alois?

Familiar words began to arrange themselves naturally into a coherent thought.

"Our fourth wedding anniversary?"

This was one year before Isaac would flee from Helmut.

"You've worked so hard on this one; I'm sure she'll really love it this time. You went through so much trouble!"

Ah, yes.

Isaac looked at Alois and let out a hollow laugh.

The final effort he had made to salvage his broken marriage.

And also…

'The trap that ultimately pushed me into an even deeper abyss.'

From this day forward, neither his wife Liana nor anyone else in Helmut would ever expect anything from him again.

"This was also the day I lost my leg in that accident."

Because of it, I became incapable of wielding a sword and was being known as the Silent Sword.

And now…

The person who took my leg…

"Hurry up, brother-in-law! Please! If we're late, my sister is going to get really mad at you!"

Was standing right here, rushing me along.