Carriages pass through the fortress walls, guided by soldiers.
Helmut's knights were busy, carrying supplies or being directed to their accommodations.
Amidst the commotion,
A small girl with twin braids strides forward, leaving everyone behind.
Her bold steps led her to none other than to her brother-in-law.
"Isaac!"
"Sharen… You actually came."
Isaac was a bit surprised when he heard Sharen was coming.
He hadn't thought a tomboy like her would voluntarily come to the battlefield.
But looking at her now, Isaac realized he had completely misjudged her.
"She came here for fun."
It seems the girl is more carefree than he ever imagined.
Even in the midst of a crisis like the Great Colony, she treats her visit to the Malidan Wall as nothing more than a picnic or an adventure.
Sharen wasted no time and began speaking rapidly, as if she had been holding it in.
"Where are you staying, Isaac? Is there a room next to yours? Without you, I'd have to order the maids around, but I feel bad doing that, so I couldn't just boss them around without hesitation!"
"…"
"I think it's better to have you nearby while I'm staying here. That way, I can send you on errands and such!"
Hearing that she found it easier to order him around than the hired maids left Isaac flabbergasted.
With a sigh, he realizes his time at the Malidan Wall is about to get much more tiring.
"Hey, kid."
Silverna, who had been silently watching beside Isaac, crosses her arms and glares at Sharen.
"This is a battlefield. If you're going to act like a child, leave now."
Isaac bit his lip, barely suppressing a laugh.
On the other hand, Sharen widened her eyes in shock and flailed her arms dramatically.
"What?! Do you even know who you're talking to? I'm Sharen! Helmut's second daughter!"
"I'm Silverna, eldest daughter of Caldias."
"Caldias—"
Sharen was about to retort but froze as soon as she heard Silverna's family name.
Turning her wide eyes toward Isaac for confirmation, she found him nodding.
With an awkward cough, Sharen stepped back.
"Uh, Kelsey, what? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?!"
"No one called you, Sharen." Isaac corrected.
Blushing, Sharen puffed out her lips in defiance.
"Someone did call me! Helmut has good ears, you know! Right? Kelsey, you called me, didn't you?"
Turning around, she was met only by the sound of the wind. No one was near her.
Unfortunately, her personal maid, Kelsey, was busy carrying luggage and couldn't cover for her embarrassment.
"…"
Sharen pursed her lips, saying nothing for a moment. Silverna wasted no time adding another remark.
"On a battlefield, the chain of command is critical. If you keep behaving like this, pick up a sword. If you can win, I'll hand over command to you."
"Oh?"
Sharen perked up, spinning around to face them again, her twin braids brushing Isaac as she moved with uncontainable energy.
"If I win, you'll hand over command? Are you sure about that?"
"Absolutely."
Silverna uncrossed her arms and reached for the spear resting on her shoulder, stepping forward.
"Hah!"
Sharen smirked mockingly and took a step back.
"Great! Let's see what you've got!"
"…"
"You're underestimating Helmut?"
Sharen took another step back.
"Just because I look small and cute, you think I lack skill?!"
She's really good at walking backward, Isaac thought.
"You must not have heard from Isaac! I'm Helmut's prodigy, the one who'll inherit my sister's title of Blood Rose!"
"…"
"The Princess of Roses herself!"
"What?"
She had stepped so far back that her voice was starting to fade.
Silverna had already re-slung her spear over her shoulder and crossed her arms again.
"Actually, never mind! I'm too tired from traveling today, the weather's too chilly, and, oh, I need to polish my sword! Such a shame!"
"…"
"…"
By the time anyone noticed, Sharen had backed into the carriage she arrived in.
As the ridiculous scene unfolded, the two of them stared blankly at her.
Sharen, now red-faced, shouted in embarrassment.
"Wh-what are you staring at?!"
"S-Stop staring at me like that!"
Huffing, Sharen storms off to the luggage compartment to grab her greatsword.
"Ouch! Who hit my head?"
She rushes out of the carriage, holding the back of her head and looking like she's about to cry, as though someone smacked her from behind.
"Geez!"
Finally, clutching her head with both hands, she goes off to find Kelsey.
"What's going on? Is she really Liana's younger sister?"
Silverna asks Isaac, still bewildered by the scene that just unfolded.
"…"
But Isaac's attention isn't on Sharen—it's on the maid he suspects might have secretly hit her.
A woman with her hair pinned up, her face completely concealed by a mask.
"Isaac?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, what did you say?"
"I said she's a peculiar girl. Completely the opposite of Liana."
"She certainly has a unique personality."
Even as he responds to Silverna, Isaac's gaze drifts back toward the carriage. But the mysterious maid has already disappeared.
"Surely not…"
While he harbors some suspicion, he continues his conversation with Silverna.
***
Evening.
Isaac sits in his room, reviewing his sparring journal and reflecting on his progress.
Thanks to his relentless daily training, he's gradually improving. But he remains critical of himself, constantly pushing for more.
"Blaming my lack of stamina isn't an excuse to accept defeat."
When he lost a leg and became crippled, he felt like his efforts were akin to pouring water into a bottomless jar. But now, that wasn't the case.
No matter how small the steps, he was determined to fill the jar named Isaac through persistent effort.
"Yawn."
A sudden yawn comes from behind him.
Isaac turns his head slowly and sees Sharen lying on his bed, reading a book.
"…When are you leaving?"
"Hmm?"
Without looking up, Sharen pops a cookie into her mouth and replies.
"I told you, didn't I? Kelsey's still cleaning up my room. Besides, you're all alone, so it doesn't really matter, right?"
"You're trying to annoy me, aren't you?"
At Isaac's words, Sharen stared at him blankly. Then, with a scoff, she put her book down and stood up abruptly.
"Isaac, you've really grown up, huh? You spend a little time outside, and now you've lost all your manners, Haven't you?"
She clenched her fists, glaring at him, her lively hair swaying as if emphasizing her seriousness.
But Isaac isn't one to back down. Rising from his chair, he counters,
"Sorry to break it to you, but you know I'm getting divorced in a month, right? Do you know what that means? It means I have no reason to cater to your whims anymore."
"Ha! Cater to my whims? Wouldn't 'overwhelmed by my brilliance' be a better description? Or is that one of those Northern jokes? Because it's not funny."
The two lock eyes, tension crackling in the air.
But surprisingly, Sharen is the first to retreat.
"Tch! You should be grateful to Father!"
She gathers her book and snacks, preparing to leave.
"What's that supposed to mean? Did the head of the family say something about me?"
"Yes! He said there are too many eyes on us from outside, so I should avoid bothering you unnecessarily!"
"…"
"He even said to treat you properly as my brother-in-law. Ugh, this is why I hate leaving the estate."
Grumbling, Sharen heads for the door but pauses with her hand on the handle.
"Hey, Isaac, can I ask you something?"
"Ask me? You? To me?"
Her expression turns serious, catching Isaac off guard. He remains silent, waiting for her question.
"Star cookies. Where do you get them?"
"…"
The tension shatters immediately.
"No, seriously! Those star cookies you bring me! I've asked everywhere, but no one seems to know where they're sold."
"Haah."
"I'm serious! Do you know how much I've suffered because I couldn't eat them? My hands were shaking! Are there drugs in those cookies? I'm addicted!"
"Are you crazy?"
Isaac let out a sigh.
The "Star Cookies" Sharen was so obsessed with were cookies that Isaac brought her whenever she craved snacks.
"Hurry up and tell me! I'm going to finish the Great Colony and go get them to eat!"
Sharen jumped up and down impatiently, urging him, while Isaac looked at her incredulously and asked,
"You seriously searched for them?"
"I went to the neighboring village! The village after that! Even nearby towns! I searched everywhere, and there's nothing! No one sells Star Cookies!"
"Of course not."
Because those cookies…
"They're made by Millie."
Hearing Isaac's words, Sharen narrowed her eyes suspiciously and asked,
"Millie? Is that the name of a shop? Where is it? Tell me more."
"Chef Millie. She's in the Helmut estate's kitchen."
"…What?"
"Every time I saw you craving snacks, Millie felt sorry for you and baked them herself. She made them often because she knew you liked them."
"Th-that… That means…"
There had been no need to turn the nearby villages upside down, no need to make the effort to track down Isaac all the way to the defense line of Malidan.
"I could've just eaten them at the estate?!"
"That's right."
Isaac revealed the harsh truth casually. Sharen dropped to the floor, pounding it in frustration.
"Ahh! Why! Why did I come all this way?! Ahhh!"
Is this really worth crying over?
Watching Sharen sob uncontrollably, Isaac thought she was still just a child. She was 17 years old but often acted immature for her age.
As Sharen continued her dramatic meltdown, the door slammed open.
Standing there was Silverna.
"…."
She had come by to chat, but Sharen's antics, audible even from the hallway, seemed to have irritated her again.
"It's you again? Don't you know how to tone it down? You're not the only one using this place. Other nobles are staying here too."
For the record, Silverna stayed in a different room altogether.
"Show some consideration for the other nobles here. These rooms are small enough as it is, packed tightly together."
Her own bedroom was about the size of three of these rooms combined.
"W-well! I just got a little carried away!" Sharen stammered, trying to excuse herself.
Silverna folded her arms and stared at her sternly. Her casual attire accentuated her chest, causing Sharen to blink for a moment before yelling,
"I'm leaving!"
As she stormed past Silverna, Sharen suddenly turned back to shout at Isaac,
"Already inviting another woman to your bedroom?! I'm telling my sister as soon as I get back!"
"Hey!"
Isaac was caught off guard, his face flustered, but Sharen had already bolted down the hallway.
And then—
"Already?" Silverna asked, tilting her head in confusion at Sharen's comment.
"Sigh. It's nothing. Don't mind it."
Isaac brushed it off and sat back down in his chair.
"What brings you here?"
When Isaac asked why she had come at this hour, Silverna glanced down the hallway where Sharen had run off, then quietly closed the door behind her before speaking.
"Starting tomorrow, I'll be leading the reconnaissance team. It looks like the beasts in the Great Colony are starting to stir."
"…."
"So, Isaac."
Her voice carried the weight of long deliberation as she made her request.
"Could you join my unit?"