There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

The Battle of Beltus (6)

– ‘Young Master Robenalt, you are doing well enough.’

– ‘This is excellent, Robenalt.’

– ‘You’re doing fine, Robenalt.’

Valerian, the eldest son of the Duplain family, was already using 2-star magic at the age of coming of age, and Linus, the eldest son of the Belmiard family, was widely trusted and respected by many inside and outside the mansion with his unique free-spirited charisma.

However, Robenalt, the eldest son of Beltus, was neither magically exceptional nor charismatic enough to lead people, and despite his efforts, he had no clear achievements.

That doesn’t mean he was incompetent, but he was just such a chicken rib-like existence, regrettable to be called the eldest son of the mighty Beltus.

Therefore, the words Robenalt heard the most while growing up were encouragements like ‘You are doing well enough.’

– ‘You are doing well enough, so don’t worry too much, Brother Robenalt.’

His younger sister, Lady Denise, was the same.

Whenever Robenalt’s confidence waned, she would speak nonchalantly as if it was nothing, with a carefree look in her eyes.

– ‘You don’t have to try too hard. You just need to do your part, right? Just your part.’

Denise said.

Born with the blood of Beltus, receiving everyone’s respect and care, and living our whole lives in this glory… there is no need to try too hard or burn more ambition than necessary.

Just be grateful for being born into a blessed environment… and live as you are, taking it easy.

She appears to have a sharp personality, but if you delve into her inner self, you’ll find that she’s steeped in laziness.

Robenalt, who had somewhat noticed her disposition, had once found a strange comfort in her words.

However, Denise changed.

– “Huff… Huff…”

Late in the evening, if you walked through the garden of the Beltus estate, you could easily see Denise, exhausted from training her magic and physical strength all night long, resting.

Reading books late into the night, saving meal times to practice exploration magic, and engaging in lady-like etiquette and social activities, she had unknowingly distanced herself from laziness.

She still seemed to think of herself as someone who was just trying to live comfortably… but from Robenalt’s perspective, who saw her up close, it wasn’t quite so.

She was influenced by someone.

Born into the blessed environment of the Beltus family, she was gradually breaking away from the comfortable life where she only had to move as the Grand Duke of Beltus commanded.

Breaking out of her shell, she was beginning to understand the harshness of the world where storms raged.

He already knew that she was active in the Ebelstein social circle and had taken on a new mentor.

However, he couldn’t tell how much of a turning point that had been in her life.

He was just curious about what she had seen.

– Whish!

With such thoughts, Robenalt blinked for a moment.

The white-haired mercenary who had stormed into the command room and subdued the retainers in an instant seized the moment of Robenalt’s brief daze.

Leaping like a bird, he planted his leg into Robenalt’s stomach in an instant.

– Thud!

The feeling of the boot digging into his stomach was vividly imprinted.

Robenalt’s eyes widened, and he squeezed them shut against the pain that came belatedly.

Derek then turned his body again and kicked Robenalt’s side with his back foot.

Pain surged simultaneously from his stomach, side, and the chest where he had been struck by magic. The pain was so dizzying that Robenalt couldn’t help but retch.

This was completely different from the dignified duels held in the Veltus Magic Training Grounds, where opponents respected each other.

Derek Lydorf Ravenclaw, Baron.

The attacks he used had no consideration for the dignity and etiquette of nobility. That was only natural.

The central garden and the grounds were ablaze, and the buildings began to crumble. This place was, without a doubt, the heart of the battlefield.

What etiquette or dignity could there be in a battle in such a place? This was completely different from the splendid and luxurious training grounds where Robenalt had trained all his life.

“…”

Derek shook the dust off his boots and began to glance at the documents scattered around the command room.

To him, Robenalt was no longer even a subject of caution. Just as he had easily subdued those vassals, Robenalt was also just an easy prey that could be crushed with a mere flicker of movement.

“Ugh… Ah…”

However, Robenalt grabbed the edge of the fallen desk and pulled himself up.

Watching Derek as he surveyed the command room, it felt as if an indescribable aura was emanating from his body.

“You’ve come to deactivate the protective magic of the spire…”

“…”

“I’m sorry, but… that won’t happen… Not while I have my eyes wide open…”

– Whoosh!

Eventually, a first-class magic spell, ‘Ice Spear,’ was conjured. Its size was not very large, and its magical power was so weak that Derek could clearly see its trajectory and power.

It was such an ordinary and insignificant spell that he thought the magic Diela had first learned was stronger.

The ice spears that Robenalt cast with clenched teeth flew towards Derek, but Derek didn’t even make a gesture to avoid them.

– Crash!

– Whoosh!

With just a flick of his fist, Derek shattered Robenalt’s weak magic.

The more terrifying thing was that Robenalt couldn’t even sense the form of Derek’s manifested magic arrows. The casting was so fast and the interception so precise that Robenalt’s magical senses couldn’t keep up.

Derek then leaped off the desk and lunged towards Robenalt.

Robenalt squinted and lowered his stance, but Derek anticipated the movement and kicked Robenalt’s side again.

– Crash! Bang!

Robenalt was slammed into the desk beside him.

However, he gritted his teeth and stood up, grabbing Derek’s foot.

The sound of grinding teeth could be heard.

Derek looked down at Robenalt and spoke calmly.

“The protective magic seems to be managed from the top of the spire. There are no objects inside the command room that feel like they have magical energy…”

“Ugh… Grr…”

Robenalt endured the intense pain surging from the hit area and soon began to ignite flames from his fingertips. He had not yet given up.

As Derek leaped back to widen the distance, Robenalt quickly got up and dashed towards the broken inner wall.

Then, he took out the magic stone used to control the spire’s magic from his bosom and began to resonate with it.

‘I can’t stop him with my power alone…! I must use every means I have…!’

Just by exchanging a single blow, he could clearly feel it. That Derek was not someone Robenalt could stop on his own.

Gritting his teeth, he ran towards the top of the spire, thinking he must come up with some method.

‘If I can divert some of the spire’s protective magic for my own defense… at least I might be able to match his firepower…!’

Who could deny it? Derek was a completely superior being.

Although they didn’t seem to have much of an age difference, Derek was already aiming for the level of a 4-star mage.

In terms of magical proficiency, combat experience, everything, Derek was far above Robenalt.

Where does that difference come from? There’s no need to explain at length. It’s a difference in talent.

As his thoughts reached that point, Robenalt clenched his fist tightly. It was no longer the time to be hurt by such things.

However, the enemy he had to face felt like an insurmountable wall.

From Robenalt’s perspective, who had to somehow defend this spire, the existence of the intruder Derek was nothing short of a disaster.

But would he give up? He shook his head.

Most of the trials in Robenalt’s life were considered impossible to overcome.

– Tap, tap!

Looking down, he saw Derek, who had burst out of the command room, climbing the spiral staircase, chasing after him.

The speed was so fast that it was clear he would be caught soon.

Robenalt gritted his teeth and kicked over all the cabinets on the way up the spiral staircase.

The cabinets rolled down the luxurious carpet but were all split in two by Derek’s swiftly manifested magic arrows.

The power was so overwhelming that he realized the magic Derek had manifested in the command room was just a sample.

Chills ran up Robenalt’s arm.

His legs trembled, and cold sweat ran down his forehead.

It felt like a giant beast was chasing him. For someone as timid, small-minded, and lacking as himself, it was an enormous trial to block.

Would it feel like this to be chased by a lion in the middle of the prairie? It wasn’t hard to imagine being caught and devoured.

Nevertheless, Robenalt had one innate trait: resistance to fear.

He grabbed the ceremonial sword hanging on the wall and imbued it with the transformation magic ‘Attribute Conversion.’

Flames erupted from the blade, leaving afterimages with every swing, and the heat rose.

Robenalt turned his head and swung his sword at Derek, who was climbing the stairs.

– Kaang!

Derek, who drew his sword at an invisible speed, easily blocked Robenalt’s attack.

The tip of Derek’s sword didn’t even move, but the tip of Robenalt’s flaming sword was trembling.

The overwhelming pain and the fear rising in his heart. He couldn’t tell which of the two was causing his hand to tremble.

“The, the, the teacher who taught Dinis… I heard it was you…”

“…”

“At least back then… our families had a friendly relationship…”

Robenalt knew well. It was the Beltus family that first bared their teeth at Baron Derek.

The Duke of Beltus’s lust for power was sky-high, and no one wanted a new force to rise. So, at the end of that greed, they touched someone they shouldn’t have.

He probably didn’t think much of it. He had always trampled and crushed countless people underfoot, causing their decline or death, as if it were the most natural thing. The result was now.

The Duke of Beltus’s judgment was wrong, and Robenalt, who followed the family’s will like a puppet, did not stop that judgment. He was a person who was used to moving as he was told.

The price for that was Derek’s enmity.

Knowing this well, Robenalt spoke firmly, even as his fingertips trembled.

“If you don’t kill me… you will never be able to move forward…”

“Do you think I can’t kill you?”

He swallowed his breath at those words.

Facing the sword. Beyond it, the man’s eyes seemed to contain genuine murderous intent.

He was someone who had been drenched in blood many times.

If he swung his sword with determination, Robenalt’s head would surely fall.

Even amidst the overwhelming fear, Robenalt gritted his teeth and swung his sword again.

– Hwaak! Hwaak!

The afterimages of the flames tried to burn the surroundings, but they couldn’t touch Derek’s body as he appropriately stepped back and dodged the sword.

Derek took out the staff ‘Footsteps’ from his back. It was a high-grade staff awarded directly by the royal family for his contributions during the Duplain disaster. Robenalt, who had a deep understanding of transformation magic, instantly realized how high-level a magical weapon it was.

A sword in one hand, a staff in the other.

It seemed like a combination that would make it hard to maintain balance, but he was already so used to it… He lowered his stance and twisted his body, dodging all of Robenalt’s sword strikes.

Soon, the aura of magic enveloped the staff. Robenalt instinctively knew. If he allowed Derek’s magic, he would surely die.

From here on, the fight had to be a matter of life and death. Knowing this, Robenalt gathered magic at his fingertips and gritted his teeth.

“Haaa!”

With a shout full of spirit, he charged towards Derek.

– Boom! Whoosh!

However, the shout was just a feint.

From the top of the distant spire, ominous magic began to move.

A portion of the magic, which should have been used solely to protect the mansion, was drawn towards the spiral staircase by the magic stone in Robenalt’s possession.

Robenalt knew he could never win against Derek in a pure skill-to-skill fight. He was aware that he was the weaker one.

The weak must fight with the logic of the weak. Without using every means at his disposal, he could never stop Derek.

– Clang! Clang! Whoosh!

Despite the intense pain surging through his body, he swung his sword wildly to prevent Derek from noticing the magical energy stirring atop the spire.

If he could direct the spire’s bombardment towards himself, he could at least create a situation where both he and Derek would be left in a critical state.

Thus, he screamed until his throat tore and charged at Derek, enveloped in dazzling flames.

Even if his movements seemed clumsy and his magical energy appeared weak in Derek’s eyes… as long as he could hold Derek’s attention, it was enough.

– Clang! Whoosh!

– Thud!

However, Robenalt was knocked down in less than three seconds.

Derek, having blocked one strike, made a large sweeping motion to one side and kicked Robenalt’s solar plexus with his opposite foot.

When he came to his senses, he found himself sprawled on the spiral staircase, his sword lying on the ground.

Gasping for breath, he looked up to see Derek gazing down at him coldly.

Derek snatched the magic stone from Robenalt’s chest and dispelled all the magic that had been wrapped around it.

The magic atop the spire began to dissipate. Derek had already seen through Robenalt’s final gambit.

“…”

Derek looked down at the fallen Robenalt for a moment, then began to climb the spiral staircase again. Although he had taken the magic stone, he still needed to reach the top to dispel the protective magic.

– Tap

However, Robenalt, trembling with labored breaths, grabbed Derek’s ankle tightly.

He was already too exhausted to properly support himself, and he understood well that the gap in skill between him and Derek was insurmountable.

Nevertheless, he did not loosen his grip on Derek’s ankle, determined to stop him even a little longer.

Derek looked down at Robenalt again.

It would not be difficult to shake off that feeble hand. A simple kick would send Robenalt’s hand sprawling to the ground.

However, there was a certain resolve in Robenalt’s arm that was tightly gripping Derek’s ankle.

Derek looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Why do you go to such lengths?”

“I was ordered to stop this spire, and I must carry out that order…”

“Is that a reason to go this far?”

“I have to do this… to be recognized for my worth…”

Robenalt, who lifted his head sharply, had a youthful face for his age, but his determination was comparable to that of a seasoned general.

“Duplain, Belmiard, Beltus… all were names of glorious families, but their succession structures were vastly different. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

“I am nothing compared to Prince Valerian of Duplain or Prince Linus of Belmiard. I have no talent, no innate elegance or spirit. So, to survive, I must not go against the will of my family, strive to be recognized for my worth, and do my best to fulfill my given duties… Though I wear the splendid attire of a noble, I am merely a petty commoner.”

Robenalt, who gritted his teeth and grabbed his ankle, must have understood this well enough.

The gap between the two was already as vast as the difference between heaven and earth, and even if he did this, the result would not change.

“If you want to pity me, go ahead. Among the many noble families, there are always pathetic and empty people like me… Even if one more person looks at me with pity now, it doesn’t make much difference.”

Grand Duke Beltus was a cold and ruthless person who could sacrifice even his family without hesitation.

Born as the successor with insignificant talent, he had no choice but to lie flat and bow his head to survive somehow.

From noble mtl dot com

That was the survival method of the boy named Robenalt.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from Drenis. Born and raised at the bottom of the slums, you overcame that harsh environment and achieved great things. Drenis, who is indifferent to everything, has never shown such respect to anyone. You must have been a truly admirable teacher to my brother Drenis…”

“…”

“But, just as there are people like you… there are also people like me. Born with the distinguished bloodline of a renowned noble family, raised with everyone’s respect, but struggling to hold my position without achieving anything… Even if I grind my teeth and work hard, nothing changes… But what can I do?”

With a crunch, more strength was put into the hand gripping Derek’s ankle.

Robenalt and Derek were completely opposite individuals. This was not just about their magical abilities.

A genius who bloomed in the filthy slums, and a mediocre person born in a splendid noble family.

A splendid background does not always guarantee exceptional abilities.

“What else can I do but struggle and work hard? So… as long as I am here with my eyes wide open… you will never… pass…”

With that, flames began to erupt from Robenalt’s body again.

His transformation magic had not advanced much beyond a basic level, but his determination to draw out magic even from his exhausted body was commendable.

Robenalt drew his flame-wrapped sword again, rolled his body, and leaped onto the spiral staircase.

With his raised body, he gripped a sword in one hand and a staff in the other. The end of the burning sword was imbued with flame magic, and the staff shimmered with ice magic.

His platinum hair was completely disheveled, and blood was seeping from his mouth. His swollen face was a terrible sight.

He looked more like a pathetic person who gets beaten up often rather than a noble. Compared to Valerian or Linus, it was hard to believe that such a pathetic person was the heir of this great family.

However, despite his swollen and ridiculous face, he was serious in his own way.

“You are said to be the most renowned teacher in Ebelstein. They say you can turn any ferocious lady into an elegant lady and teach the mysteries of magic to any mediocre person.”

“It’s not that much. The rumors have been exaggerated.”

“That’s something we’ll have to see. Fine. I’ll admit it. You’re stronger and more talented than me. But, so what?”

Rovenalt raised his voice and spoke clearly.

“I…!! I will fulfill my given duty…! If stopping you… is my duty…! Even if my bones are ground and my body burns…! I will stop you…! Only..! Only that…!!!!!”

Being born as a descendant of Beltus and fulfilling the duties of a nobleman. He takes that weight more seriously than anyone else.

Rovenalt’s fingertips were trembling, but he showed no intention of backing down. His willpower to resist fear was certainly commendable.

Therefore, Derrick looked up at him and said.

“Indeed, Young Master Rovenalt, your will is outstanding. In respect of that…”

At Derrick’s words, Rovenalt flinched.

Anyone could see that Derrick was excessively strong. Knowing that fact, he couldn’t help but be on edge with every word Derrick said.

“…Re, respect…?”

“…”

Could it be… that he’ll stop here and go back?

Such a glimmer of hope seemed to rise in a corner of Rovenalt’s mind, but-

“─Without holding back, I will also go all out seriously.”

“…….”

“That would be my way of showing respect to Young Master Rovenalt, who is burning with conviction and determination. I will consider you a serious opponent.”

As Derrick said that, he began to concentrate all his magical power at his fingertips.

A whirlwind began to rage around him, and the sheer force of his magic caused the surrounding cabinets to fly through the air and fall into the void in the middle of the spiral staircase.

The sheer force of his magic was enough to feel it.

A 3-star level magic is coming.

It’s a high-level magic that even most nobles have to train for many years to master.

– Whoosh

Derrick’s magic swirled around the entire spiral staircase, and his staff ‘Footsteps’ began to glow. If you try to block or deflect it clumsily, you will surely die. It was a magic that had to be avoided at all costs.

“…”

Rovenalt began to regret uttering such a pretentious line.

He wanted to kill the version of himself from 15 seconds ago.