There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Elente (4)

If the grade and proficiency of magic determine the completeness of a technique, then the total amount of magical power itself can be likened to basic stamina.

No matter how many splendid spells one learns, if the amount of magic to manifest them is lacking, the meaning often fades.

If one were to list the reasons why commoners can’t match the magical achievements of nobles, there would be dozens, but one of the main reasons is the innate amount of magical power.

Magicians born into noble families often have an extraordinary amount of innate magic.

Especially the magicians of noble families like DuPlain, Beltus, and Belmierd—there’s no need to say more.

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– Whooosh!

The first-tier magic unleashed by Ellente with her hands was, by its sheer scale, impressive enough to make even those at the entrance of the second-tier take notice.

The difference between the first and second tiers is akin to that between an arrow and a cannonball. There’s an inherent chasm in power between the two, yet when overwhelming numbers come into play, the meaning can change.

Such was the case with Ellente’s magic.

The wall of flames erupting around her seemed to engulf the whole world. Who could deny it? She was the most talented magician in the Belmiard family.

But her opponent was Aislinn Elenore Duplain.

Her father is one of the few fifth-tier magicians on this continent, a man who can wield such massive spells without batting an eye.

Anyone seeing such a level of magic for the first time would be overwhelmed, but Aislinn had seen it several times before. She didn’t panic and instead drew upon her mana to manifest the first-tier magic ‘Shockwave’.

– Fwoosh!

There was no need to completely neutralize that colossal magic. Protecting oneself was enough.

Aislinn was not ignorant of such flamboyant magic. In a magic duel where dignity is paramount, there’s more to consider than just the size of the spell.

Ellente knew this too, yet she pressed on Aislinn with an all-encompassing magic as if to say, ‘What of it?’

Each heavy blow was laden with Ellente’s sincerity, her very will to win.

‘The amount of mana is impressive…! But if it’s not focused, it’ll run out quickly…!’

Sweating from the rising heat, she resolved never to let her guard down.

‘The larger the magic, the more opportunities to penetrate…! I see an opening…!’

Miss Aislinn saw Miss Ellente, radiating mana beyond the flames. A mana arrow, swiftly loaded, curved and struck directly at Miss Ellente.

‘Hit!’

It was a moment of triumph.

The body of Miss Ellente, which seemed to be emitting mana, vanished in an instant, turned to mana itself.

Miss Aislinn quickly adjusted her stance. It was the confusion magic, ‘Minor Illusion’.

Illusion magic, a hallmark of the confusion school, but even a first-tier illusion is nothing more than a crude mimicry that can hardly move or resemble the original.

A single hit and it vanishes into mana, nothing more than a target.

Yet, in this extreme situation, surrounded by magical flames, distinguishing those illusions isn’t easy.

Regaining her senses, she saw Ellente’s figure everywhere. A closer look would reveal the incongruity of each, but Ellente didn’t intend to give her that chance.

Now she understood why Ellente had launched such a wide-ranging attack, even at the expense of wasting mana. It was to keep pressing Aislinn, to throw her into confusion.

In such chaos, if an unexpected strike were to land, even Aislinn couldn’t be sure of an appropriate response.

‘The maturity of the technique has improved, and the ways of utilizing it have diversified…!’

Above all, it was dazzling.

It was the perfect scale for a magic duel between prestigious families, watched by many. Showcasing magical prowess while elevating the family name is, after all, not an uncommon sight in such dueling environments.

From beyond sight, Elente’s magic arrows flew, embedding themselves in rapid succession.

Aiselin deftly intercepted each arrow with swift reflexes, yet a moment’s delay could have tipped the scales—a sharp strike that might have decided victory or defeat.

Deception and confusion were the tactics. Such maneuvers could seem petty if mishandled, but Elente’s diverse and flamboyant use concealed any cowardice. It was almost akin to trickery to overcome an opponent, yet the beauty of the flames blooming like flowers buried such intentions.

Indeed, the audience was captivated by the beautifully blossoming flames.

If Aiselin was a pure white lily, then Elente was a rose in full, resplendent bloom.

As if to prove this, she revealed her identity through her magic.

Strolling leisurely among the flames, shaking off her skirt’s hem, she resembled a peacock preening its feathers. Her cascading red hair became one with the fire.

Within Elente’s dazzling display, Aiselin easily discerned the subtle influence of the white-haired mercenary.

She had absorbed the mercenaries’ characteristic resourcefulness and agility without losing her own splendor.

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“Do not become too complacent.”

Lady Aiselin fully grasped the advice Derek had given her.

It was different from when she taught Diela. The magicians trained by that boy often brought strategies that targeted their opponent’s weaknesses.

Considering that one of the boy’s specialties was chaos magic, it was clear that Elente’s strategy was influenced by him.

“It seems I have no choice but to push forward with firepower…!”

Aiselin did not particularly enjoy flaunting grandiose magic, but that did not mean she was incapable of it.

If she couldn’t subdue her opponent with each exchange, like swordplay, then she too would have to unleash a barrage of arrows.

Thus, Aiselin drew forth her magic and conjured dozens of large ice spears.

“Oh!”

“To conjure magic of that caliber with hardly any incantation!”

Exclamations of awe flowed from the audience.

Aiselin’s speed of magic manifestation was such that even seasoned magicians would nod in approval.

However, the ice spears Aiselin had conjured shattered before they could even find their direction and take flight.

“Crash! Shatter!”

Coming to her senses, she realized that Elente’s magic arrows had already struck precisely and exploded upon the ice spears.

Elente had already experienced this with Derek.

Before the opponent could even set the direction of their magic, Derek would preemptively respond and neutralize the magic.

That delicate manipulation of magic wasn’t something one could mimic after seeing it just once, but she had seen it dozens, if not hundreds of times, while wandering the labyrinth with him.

Magic has direction.

If you can read the opponent’s intent, you can see where their magic will go.

The theories Derek had tirelessly spoken of were now embodied within her, beginning to be utilized in actual combat.

Elenté felt an odd sense of exhilaration.

The casual advice that the boy used to toss out in everyday life began to take on meaning in practice.

Even the trivial words that could have been easily ignored, she now realized, were all practical advice based on experience.

In actual combat, there could hardly be a better teacher than Derek.

Both Aislin and Elenté come to understand this fact.

Aislin’s eyes widened for a moment, then quickly regained composure.

Having subconsciously thought Elenté’s magical prowess to be far beneath her own, Aislin realizes in an instant that all such thoughts were merely the product of arrogance.

She is quick to self-reflect and adapt.

Lady Aislin decides to reset all her premises from the beginning and give it her all.

– Whooosh!

The feeling of competing toe-to-toe with Aislin.

Elenté, who had been riding the wave of excitement, is suddenly confronted by the cold blade of reality.

Aislin’s magic, resolved to give it her all, began to envelop the dueling ground.

Then, everything happened in an instant.

The fiery feast that had filled the dueling ground vanished as if it had never existed.

And the magic arrows that Elenté had been gathering were also crushed by the overwhelming magic, disappearing as if they had never been there to begin with.

Lady Elenté’s eyes opened wide.

The girl standing on the opposite side of the podium, like the flower of the Duplain family, neither made any grand gestures nor showed any emotional expression.

She simply closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and with her skirt fluttering in the swirling magical energy, she focused her gaze with determination.

In that moment, the world was painted in tranquility.

It wasn’t even a hasty spell. It was the sheer volume of rising magic that suppressed Elenté’s magic.

No technical skill was involved in the process.

Like an adult overpowering a child’s elaborate technique with sheer arm strength… The girl neutralized all of Elenté’s magic with pure magical power alone.

A nearly two-star magician, and a magician who had just matured to one-star.

The seemingly insignificant difference was, in fact, a vast chasm, and now was the time to truly feel it.

All this was not to suppress Elenté’s magic. It was merely a preparatory process for the next spell.

Her demeanor remained graceful. As if the term ‘pure white lily’ fit perfectly, her hand, which had gently brushed the hem of her beautifully draped dress, eventually clenched into a fist.

At that moment, Elenté’s vision was blinded by a burst of light.

– Boom!

The sound of the explosion followed shortly after.

*

– “Derek, to be honest, I’m not sure if I can win against Lady Aislinn.”

– “I’ve been assuring you all along. You will win.”

– “Can you really be so certain?”

– “Yes. In fact… to speak precisely…”

Ellente recalled the words the boy had said among the corpses of the beasts.

– “You will win.”

The boy’s assertion that Ellente would surely make her victorious over Aislinn.

She had endured tough times trusting in that single promise, but now, she found herself doubting his words once again.

As Aislinn’s eyes grew serious, magic burst forth from her hands in an instant—it was the second-tier spell ‘Fireball’.

The explosion, large enough to engulf the entire stage, spread out, and cries of astonishment and admiration erupted from the audience.

The girl had just used a second-tier spell.

Even the observers from the magic academy had to widen their eyes at the spectacle.

“Does this… make any… sense?”

Lady Ellente managed to protect herself from the aftermath of the explosion.

The only reason she could maintain her protective magic while the second-tier spell flew towards her was sheer luck.

Lady Aislinn, still inexperienced with second-tier magic, had tried her best to increase its accuracy, but her fireball had completely missed its target, allowing Lady Ellente to only deal with its aftermath.

Had it been just a bit more accurate, the match would have been decided at that moment.

“Haah… Haah….”

Lady Aislinn was panting as if exhausted.

Judging by the situation alone, Aislinn seemed to be on the defensive, but the range and impact of her attack had already proven everything. The same deceptive tactics wouldn’t work on Lady Aislinn.

Her every strike rendered all tricks powerless.

In the face of such overwhelming difference in ability, what technique could possibly have meaning?

However, Lady Ellente took a moment to catch her breath and then quickly created distance, gathering her magic once more.

While the audience was filled with admiration for the use of second-tier magic, Lady Ellente paid it no mind.

With the single-minded resolve to win, she drew upon her magic again, employing all sorts of spells to bewilder her opponent as she had done before.

If she couldn’t win by matching power with power, she would use every means at her disposal to corner her.

After exchanging a few blows, when the second fireball flew in, another gasp came from the spectators.

The firepower was still tremendous, but it wasn’t easy to completely subdue Ellente with the immature second-tier magic. She could somehow evade it, but it was clear that even a graze would decide the outcome.

But… even in the face of such an overwhelming difference in power, Ellente could faintly sense the tide turning in her favor.

Aislinn’s face flickered in and out of view as the magic was exchanged back and forth. The ease in her expression had greatly diminished.

The beads of sweat trickling down revealed that she was gradually being cornered.

It was then, all of Derrick’s strategies seemed to come into focus at once.

She could never beat Aislinn with mere capability alone.

But within Derrick’s calculations was also Aislinn’s upright nature.

Once she acknowledged her opponent and began to engage as a worthy adversary, the upright Aislinn would exert all her might.

She would lay out all her cards, aiming for a fair and earnest duel. That’s the kind of person Aislinn is.

The problem lies in her second-tier magic, which is still in an immature transitional phase.

Uncontrolled second-tier magic is a monster that devours magical power. It would become more efficient with skill, but the immature spells cast in haste would quickly exhaust her magic.

Given her nature, if she resolved to give her all, it was clear she would unleash her second-tier magic. In a duel, exerting one’s full strength is a sign of respect and courtesy to the opponent.

This would change the very efficiency of the magic wielded by both.

It seemed like a puzzle falling into place, the reason Derrick had drawn the duel into a war of attrition.

He had foreseen that Aislinn would soon master even the second-tier magic.

Endure and win. There was no need to face the opponent’s attitude head-on.

What if it’s a bit cowardly and petty? What’s wrong with exploiting the opponent’s upright character?

Priding herself on respect, Aislinn, wielding her poorly controlled second-tier magic, would soon show her vulnerability.

Or the duel would shift to a battle of wills, where the one who could scrape together just a bit more magic from the bottom would win.

And if it came to mental fortitude, that’s what she had been grinding through for the past several weeks. The mental strength Elente had built up while enduring Derrick’s relentless training was already on a different level from those coddled in a greenhouse.

Had her young magic tutor considered all this in his strategy?

Elente stepped back sharply and clicked her tongue.

Regardless, she understood his thinking. If things continued this way, seizing the duel itself wouldn’t be impossible, second-tier magic or not.

– Wham! Clang!

– Wham!

After about ten more exchanges, the duel was racing towards its climax.

“Haa… Haa….”

Both were completely drained of magic. There was still some time left before the bell would ring to signal a draw.

Elente, who had started with a flourish of magic, began to tremble. She had unleashed magic until exhaustion many times, but never got used to this fatigue.

On the other hand, Aislinn’s fingertips were quivering. She seemed to have never experienced such reckless use of magic. It couldn’t be helped. No tutor from the Duplain family would push their lady so hard.

That gap would decide everything.

In the extreme of extremes, Elente gathered what little magic she had left. Clenching her teeth, she seemed intent on manifesting a new spell once more.

“Ugh, gasp… gasp…”

Aislin too was breathing heavily, trying to scrape together her magic, but such a situation was not familiar to her, making it no easy task.

She tried to muster whatever magic she could, but upon seeing the amount of magic flickering in Elente’s hand, she had an intuition.

She would try her utmost to block it, but the next blow… or the one after that would decide it all.

Yet, despite this, Lady Aislin clenched her teeth. Defeat seemed to hover before her eyes, but still, she tried to resist with all her might.

“…Done! I’ve cornered you! I… I have cornered Aislin…!”

Elente felt a surge of exhilaration, even through her hazy vision.

The fact that she was gaining the upper hand against Aislin, that everything was going according to Derek’s plan, seemed to dominate her mind.

In that exhausted state between them, it was the moment Elente was converting her magic for the final blow.

“…”

The moment Elente saw Aislin’s eyes, filled with determination, she felt as if cold water had been poured over her head.

If the battle of attrition continued like this, the scales of victory would surely tip in Elente’s favor. Her magical level was high, but she lacked the finesse in distributing her power properly… With that, she could declare victory over Lady Aislin, exit with a smile, and the future seemed easy to picture.

How long had she dreamt of such a satisfying victory?

Yet, silence enveloped the audience.

Far away in the spectator’s seat, leaning against the wall, watching the duel, she locked eyes with Derek.

Lady Aislin, completely exhausted, and Lady Elente, who could still grit her teeth and exert more power.

The boy, who seemed to have anticipated this situation from the start, watched with an unfazed expression and his chillingly red eyes.

The moment those eyes bore into Elente, she felt as if a knife had been thrust into her heart.

“…”

A brief lull.

The exchange of dazzling magic stopped, and both ladies caught their breath, panting.

Elente couldn’t help but quietly question herself. Why had she been so intent on defeating Aislin? The answer was clear.

She despised herself for envying and being jealous of the idol everyone admired, alone. She wanted to defeat Lady Aislin to escape from this inferiority complex.

But now, she wasn’t sure anymore. Even if she won this war of attrition against Lady Aislin, could she really stop feeling jealous of this living idol?

Could she escape from this loathsome sense of inferiority that had been eating away at her for so long?

Even cornered and gasping for breath, Lady Aislin looked noble and radiant. Her eyes, too, shone brightly, as if she could easily overcome any trial.

There was a certain nobility in her demeanor.

– “Then let’s win.”

“…”

Even as he declared “Let’s win,” Derek did not adopt a relieved attitude.

Elente finally comes to accept everything. She thought she had fully understood all of Derek’s intentions, but even that was arrogance.

What Derek wanted to teach Elente in this duel was not how to win, nor how to corner Aiselin, nor how to escape that loathsome inferiority complex.

It is only in this situation that Elente finally realizes. She has been fighting a battle she cannot win.

Considered a pillar of the Belmiard family, she has learned all manner of practical skills, but her mind is still that of a girl of her age.

There are things one can never realize with immature life experiences. That is, humans live their lives in jealousy until they die.

The envy and jealousy boiling in her heart, which she so despised and tried to restrain, are like a part of the body that cannot be removed no matter what. Because she is human.

As with all people struggling through a tough world, everyone has their own burdens to bear.

It is something that anyone can eventually realize, thrashing about with all their might to rid themselves of those wretched emotions, punching the air time and again.

That’s why Derek had been so wholeheartedly helping Elente.

Though they were of similar age, there were times when Derek seemed to have lived decades more than Elente.

The boy already knew.

The very attempt to restrain such feelings meant that Elente was fighting a battle she could not win.

With that thought, Elente was finally able to look around her.

In the audience, there were spectators watching the duel with sweaty palms. Their admiring gazes were all directed at Lady Aiselin. It couldn’t be helped.

With her dignified appearance enchanting everyone, and her virtuous character embracing all, she even manifested a two-star spell on this occasion. It was clear to anyone that she was the protagonist of this place.

Right below the large light source, there is always a cool shadow formed. Elente, who had lived her life in that shadow, felt as if she had finally realized something she had never understood all her life.

“…”

In the silence, Elente closed her eyes tightly and then opened them… and soon, she wore a dignified smile. It was a smile so noble and beautiful.

Lady Aiselin’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

“Indeed, I can’t compete with Lady Aiselin. My magic has completely run out.”

Aiselin, who had been watching her opponent closely, had sensed it well enough.

She knew that if she scraped the bottom of the barrel, she could fight a little longer. If she continued this war of attrition, she would be the one to lose.

Nevertheless, Lady Elente, with a smile full of dignity as ever, lifted the hem of her skirt and offered a polite greeting.

“It’s my defeat. It was a good duel.”

– Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap Clap!!!

Then, the hall erupted with a thunderous standing ovation.

Respect for Lady Aiselin filled the venue.

*

“Lady Aiselin! That’s amazing! A two-star spell!”

“There’s already talk that Prince Valerian alone has brought light to the Duplain family, but with Lady Aiselin too…! The Grand Duke will be so pleased to hear this!”

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“I am Belia of the Redon family! I have always admired you…! This duel… it was so moving…!”

As soon as the duel ended, numerous people, along with Aiselin’s followers, flocked to praise her.

Amidst the crowd that surged in, the figure of Ellente adjusting her skirt in a corner of the dueling arena could be seen.

Before Aiselin could catch her breath and call out to her, Ellente quickly gathered her skirt and swooped down beneath the platform.

“Ellen…!”

Before Aiselin could call out to Ellente, she had already whisked away beyond the door of the corridor. Watching her retreating figure from a distance, she was rubbing her eyes, head bowed.

Derrick, who had been leaning against the wall in the corner of the spectator’s seat, quietly stood up and followed after her.

Yet, Derrick turned back to offer a polite bow towards Lady Aiselin.

Amidst the throng of people singing her praises, Aiselin could only stand there, dazed, watching the scene unfold. Regardless of what anyone said, Derrick was now one of Ellente’s people.