There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Denis (1)

‘I knew it would come to this.’

Lady Denise of the Beltus family was quietly reading the letter sent by her father, her crescent-shaped eyes wide open.

It was something everyone had been anticipating since the duel between Lady Ellente and Lady Aiselin.

Whether it was the border count of Belmierd or the Grand Duke of Duplain, when it came to their own children, they were all too eager to intervene.

If Aiselin and Ellente began a nerve-wracking competition to recruit a mentor to their side, it was likely to escalate into a matter between families.

“Bella, when did this letter arrive?”

“It arrived early this morning. It’s been a while since the head of the family sent a letter directly, so I remember it clearly.”

“Considering how someone who usually doesn’t bother to check on me is suddenly seeking me out, it seems like an urgent matter.”

Though the sun was high in the sky, Lady Denise lay sprawled on the bed in her inner chamber. She stretched with a loud yawn.

Her pajamas, adorned with decorative lace here and there, suggested it was the middle of the night, but in reality, she was just too lazy to get up. On holidays, it was common for her to stay in bed until late afternoon.

She was tired from maintaining the facade of a pretty and proper noble lady all week long.

Maid Bella would sigh with worry every time she saw her like this, but as time passed, she adopted an attitude of indifference. Denise wasn’t one to change just because someone nagged her.

Lying in bed, she casually picked up the neatly written letter and read it over several times.

Although it was quite lengthy, the content was not particularly substantial. Denise tossed the letter onto the tea table with a sigh and said,

“I had planned to finish reading the great author Reilly’s ‘A Love More Mysterious Than Death’ today…”

“Will you be getting up? Then I’ll have them prepare your meal.”

“I’m not hungry… Isn’t there something simple? I want cherry pie…”

“Please take care of your nutritional balance. I’ll be the one whipped if you get any skin trouble…”

Senior maid Bella had been with Denise since her childhood.

Despite the clear distinction between nobility and commoners, the two had lived almost a lifetime together, so there was no significant formality between them.

Denise groaned as she forced her stiff body up.

“Ugh… It feels like all the muscles in my body have stiffened.”

With that, she opened her crescent-shaped eyes wide and lifted her head swiftly.

The Grand Duke Beltus had instructed her to inquire about a man named Derek in the social circles and, if possible, to consider employing him. Denise had already anticipated this.

She detested bothersome tasks, but she couldn’t deny that it was better to deal with unavoidable matters quickly. Therefore, Denise had proactively gathered information about Derek.

She was the first among the three great families to send a request to the Beldern Mercenary Group, and she had been discreetly monitoring Derek’s movements.

She could have made direct contact with him if she had been more proactive, but any further action might have raised the suspicions of Ellente or Aiselin.

Thus, Denise had done all the preparations she could up to this point.

Now that the Grand Duke Beltus had given his orders, all that was left was to quickly wrap up the rest.

“If you’re getting up, I’ll open the window. It needs to be aired out in advance.”

“aaah! My eyes!”

As Bella swept the curtains aside, a sudden burst of light startled Denis, who rubbed her eyes in surprise.

*

“They say he’s only a one-star, but to my eyes, he could easily pass for two. Otherwise, why would Lady Aiselin seek his tutelage so earnestly?”

Accompanied by two guards and three servants, Denis stepped out of the noble quarter.

It was rare for a lady of nobility to venture outside her quarter, so wherever she went, the eyes of Ebelstain’s citizens were upon her. Denis, her dress impeccably arranged, smiled gracefully and walked calmly towards the tavern district.

From noble mtl dot com

She had chosen not to ride in a carriage because she wanted to organize her thoughts on the way to the tavern district.

“It’s been about a week since he went missing, so the Belmierd and Duplain families must have started a thorough search for that wandering mage. I need to move quickly.”

Denis was a person born with exceptional talent in transformation and search magic.

Especially in search magic, she was almost reaching the realm of two stars. However, she had told no one but her childhood friend, Bella.

Being the center of attention like Aiselin might be important in noble society, but sometimes it’s more efficient to hide one’s abilities.

Especially Denis, who disliked being entangled in needless affairs, often concealed her true capabilities.

Despite this, she was one of the three members of the Roséa Salon.

If she completely neglected her duties as a noble lady out of sheer annoyance, she would be treated as a burden by her family. So, maintaining a balance was crucial to live comfortably.

Sometimes, you just have to roll up your sleeves and do what needs to be done, even if it’s reluctantly.

Denis sighed deeply and, leading her servants, continued to sort out her thoughts.

A spark of life flickered in her usually listless eyes.

Her calm demeanor and thoughtful pose, chin propped on her hand, made her look like a petite bisque doll, causing passersby to glance back at her time and again.

Leaving the noble quarter and crossing the commercial district to reach the tavern street.

Given the sheer size of the city of Ebelstain, it would take a considerable amount of time to travel on foot. Yet, throughout that long journey, Lady Denis remained deep in thought, never changing her posture.

Lady Denis had only seen this man named Derek from a distance once. She had never spoken to him.

However, she could infer his character from the descriptions given by Lady Aiselin and Lady Elente.

His confidence in teaching noble ladies despite his commoner status indicated a strong belief in his own abilities.

And the results he produced showed that he was indeed a man of exceptional talent.

He wasn’t particularly large, but the muscles and veins visible beyond his elbows suggested he was accustomed to physical labor.

He wasn’t overly proud, knowing when to bow his head and yield when necessary. He seemed to like money as well.

Yet, he was ambitious. It seemed he never neglected his own magic training while teaching Elente and Diela.

He also knew how to maintain at least a semblance of dignity. Lady Aiselin did not favor vulgar individuals, so surely he was quite knowledgeable about noble etiquette.

He was calm by nature, with deep inner convictions. However, he rarely revealed them.

He was adept at shielding his thoughts behind a stoic expression. If one were to peel back the layers, there’s a good chance of finding a wealth of emotions.

In Denis’s mind, an estimate of the kind of person Derek was began to take shape.

Surprisingly, the preliminary sketch drawn from a series of inferences and conjectures was almost an exact match for the real Derrick.

“Not one to despise money, so there’s no reason to be stingy with a noble’s request. But to disappear like this, is there another reason for refusing a noble’s request? Pinpointing that reason seems like it would roughly complete the picture.”

To track down a person’s whereabouts, one ultimately had to fully understand their way of thinking.

“Miss Denise, from here on is the tavern district. It’s not the safest place, so please stay close to the guards.”

“…”

“Miss Denise?”

Bella, who had been following Denise with a demure demeanor, asked again.

However, Denise did not respond. She was quietly touching her chin, muttering to herself.

Seeing this, Bella concluded that it might be better to ask the guards to be more vigilant.

“Ambition.”

Denise had already followed Derrick’s footsteps more than halfway.

No one had told her, but she had guessed Derrick’s disposition on her own and pinpointed the principles behind his actions.

“That wizard mentor who doesn’t turn down money must value something more than money. It’s strange, though.”

“Either he found a good wizard mentor, or he got his hands on a decent spellbook… In any case, something must have happened that would aid in his mastery of magic. Otherwise, this kind of disappearance doesn’t make sense.”

“But… wasn’t he the one who left the Duplain family’s mansion to practice magic on his own? It doesn’t seem like he would be so easily engrossed without a significant reason…”

He was a boy who had even left the Duplain residence, where a five-star wizard lived, to learn magic in his own way.

What kind of mentor could teach him, and what kind of spellbook could excite him to this extent?

Miss Denise’s head began to spin.

From here, she had to assemble all the scattered information into one. Each piece of information, seemingly unrelated and piled up in the world, entered and exited Miss Denise’s mind.

Things seen in the newsletter. News about the duel between Lady Ellente and Lady Aiselin. News about the tariff agreement between the three major families, the market prices of various goods, rumors about a certain wizard among the high nobility…

All the news and information that Miss Denise had heard over the past week came together, scattered, assembled, and then disassembled again.

Even when she reached the front of the tavern ‘Beldern’s Tears,’ Miss Denise was still quietly touching her chin, muttering to herself. At this point, she had a hypothesis in mind.

“Miss Denise, we’ve arrived at our destination.”

“Hmm…”

Without changing her expression, Miss Denise entered ‘Beldern’s Tears.’

It was the headquarters of the mercenary group to which that wizard mentor belonged.

– Creak

“Welcome… Oh my, such a distinguished guest in such a humble place…”

“…”

As she opened the door and entered, the owner Jayden greeted her with a smile.

It is rare for a noble lady to venture deep into such a rough establishment. Yet, Jayden did not seem as perturbed as one might expect.

In recent days, investigators from noble houses had been frequent, seeking the wandering magic master.

At first, he must have been quite startled, but now, perhaps accustomed to entertaining nobles, he might even be weary of it.

Upon seeing Lady Denice, he promptly poured her a glass of cold water in an antique, clean glass.

“Lady of the Beltus family, what an honor it is to meet you in person.”

“…”

“…”

Lady Denice walked into the tavern but remained silent.

Jayden, too, wore a slightly awkward expression. It was the first time someone had just stood there, silently observing, after a week of nobles searching for Derek.

Without a word from Lady Denice, Jayden had nothing particular to say, so he simply offered an awkward smile.

Jayden had already anticipated how the conversation would unfold. They would inquire about Derek, but Jayden had little information to offer with confidence.

After probing, they would ask about Derek’s whereabouts and then proceed to investigate that place.

Familiar with the sequence of events, Jayden remained silent.

Surely, they would ask about Derek at length.

However, Denice’s next question caught Jayden completely off guard.

“─Has a magician named Drest Wolfetail visited this tavern?”

It was a piercing surprise.

The question struck like a dagger suddenly thrust into his chest, but Jayden only slightly trembled his fingertips on the table, betraying a moment’s silence that lasted less than a second.

Jayden’s expression did not change.

It was a brief gap that ordinary people would not sense any discomfort in. But Denice did not miss that fleeting moment.

Before Jayden could respond, she raised the corners of her mouth and said,

“He was here, wasn’t he?”

With swift certainty, she cut off Jayden’s retreat, and even the old veteran had to swallow dryly.

If he hastily denied it now and was found to be lying, the situation would become difficult to salvage.

*

From there, things moved swiftly.

After leaving the Tears of Beldern, Lady Denice’s next destination was the Commercial District’s Coachman Guild.

She donated dozens of gold coins as a contribution to access the internal records, a move not even the usual noble investigators made with such conviction, leaving the guild staff dumbfounded.

Among the high nobility, rumors were already swirling that Drest, a six-star search mage, was haunting Ebelstain like a ghost.

It was highly unlikely that Drest, with his complex ties to the nobility, would be wandering the noble district, and it was clear he would be around the outskirts of the Commercial District or the slums.

Derek was a figure who had even stormed out of the mansion where the Duke Duplain, a five-star magician, resided. To captivate such a person, it was clear that one would need to bring a six-star magician, literally.

Therefore, Denise hypothesized. Could his disappearance be related to the six-star magician, Drest Wolfstail?

After seeing Jayden’s reaction and gaining some confidence in her hypothesis, she immediately reviewed the list of carriages that had left Ebelstain.

If Derek truly met Drest, they couldn’t possibly remain within Ebelstain.

Drest, who many sought to meet. If he decided to impart some magic to Derek, they would have had to go to the outskirts of Ebelstain, where few people tread.

However, the number of requests to leave Ebelstain exceeded hundreds each day.

The volume of requests at the Coachman Guild was so vast that it was impossible to review them all quickly. Yet, Denise sorted through all that massive data in one fell swoop.

After all, most carriages leaving Ebelstain followed a set trade route. Adding the routine trade and external business requests, nearly nine-tenths of the data became irrelevant.

It was clear that Drest and Derek, secretly training in magic, wouldn’t have moved along the common trade routes. They must have headed towards a ‘special’ place that ordinary people wouldn’t bother visiting.

The timeframe was also somewhat fixed. It was about a week ago when he went missing.

The timeframe was clear, and the content of the requests was unusual, not to mention the requester’s descriptions were well known.

At this point, it didn’t take long to sift through meaningful data.

After sorting through the data with the servants for a couple of hours, an outline emerged.

‘The vast cave on the outskirts of Ramhel Hill.’

Exactly one week ago, records of a coachman who took a request from a boy and an old man in robes.

The destination, compensation, time taken to arrive, date, and information about the requester were all briefly noted.

Seeing the record, Denise smiled.

It had been precisely half a day since she rolled up her sleeves to find Derek’s destination.

*

“Bella, no matter how I think about it, I seem too competent. What should I do?”

“…”

“Being too competent means getting entangled in bothersome matters, and sometimes I should be a bit incompetent… Sigh… What to do…”

Denise’s behavior in the Rosea Salon was always elegant and aristocratic, but her private demeanor could not be more unfortunate.

Bella had to admit it. Denise was proactive, quick-thinking, and even had good intuition.

Sorting the data appropriately, reading others’ expressions with ease, and driving work forward were her abilities. But linking the rumors about Drest to Derek’s ambition was almost a matter of sense. She was a person with an uncanny intuition.

Inside the carriage heading to Ramhel Hill.

Lying on the luxurious seat and being fanned, Denise said with a satisfied voice.

“I should finish this quickly and go read the new work of the great author Reilly. By this evening, I’ll persuade that magic teacher and make him a part of the Beltus family. Father will surely be pleased and won’t bother me for a while.”

“But… even if we go there, will we be able to meet him easily? If he really is accompanied by a six-star exploration magician… If they decide not to meet us, we have no way.”

“Don’t worry. Would they really not show up after we’ve gone to such a remote place and caused a commotion?”

Miss Denise chuckled with a hint of mischief and spoke as if she had a plan in mind.

“Even if we don’t meet, the impression will be etched in memory. If someone goes to the lengths of finding a secluded retreat for meditation, their sincerity is felt, isn’t it?”

“But, even Miss Aiselin and Miss Elente, who are not easily appointed… would they be so accommodating…?”

“Don’t worry, Bella. I told you I have a plan, didn’t I?”

“May I ask what that plan is?”

When Denise rolls up her sleeves, success is guaranteed.

Bella knew this well, yet she wore an anxious expression. Once Denise rolled up her sleeves, her drive could sometimes take an unexpected turn.

“A beauty trap.”

“…”

“You know as well as I do, Bella, that with my enchanting appearance, anyone will fall. As everyone is aware, I am a charming woman.”

“…You do realize that Miss Aiselin and Miss Elente are your competitors, right?”

“So what, I’m prettier than them.”

To smile so fully in the face of Miss Aiselin, likened to a lily, or Miss Elente, compared to a resplendent rose, is certainly not something just anyone can do.

Where does such self-esteem spring from? That was Bella’s longest-standing question.

“I feel sorry for Miss Aiselin and Miss Elente. But… relationships are like the wild; it’s natural to take and be taken. Hmm.”

“…”

“As a representative of the Beltus family, it’s a necessary choice, but I must consider how to behave if relationships sour… The Roséa Salon must always remain harmonious…”

“…”

Bella did not retort.

Though childhood friends, they were still a noble lady and her maid.

Fearing harsh words might follow, she quickly shut her mouth.

*

“Someone has come.”

In a deep cavern clearing, Drest Wolfetail, perched on a rock with eyes tightly closed, was tuning his magic in a low voice.

Across from him, Derek, also focused on the flow of magic, opened his eyes just as narrowly.

He had barely eaten anything for a week. His food pouch was nearly empty.

Looking quite haggard and completely unkempt from not bathing, Derek’s appearance was almost hermit-like.

Yet, even in such a state, there was a spark in his eyes, reminiscent of his days in the slums.

He was accustomed to such conditions. Hunger and thirst were natural hardships to endure on expeditions.

“Someone has come? Is there a horse at the entrance of the cave?”

“It seems to be someone from the Beltus family. It might be good to go out and meet them. It’s about time we aired out the place.”

“…”

As Derrick rose from his seat, his whole body screamed in protest.

It was the aftermath of pushing his magical senses to the extreme for nearly a week. The level he had reached was incomparable to when he had trained Ellente.

Derrick closed his eyes tightly and released his magic.

Even without invoking a spell, the structure of the nearby cave was easily etched into his senses.

He had already reached a higher realm.