There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

The Blood Ball (1)

When Lady Denise returned to the mansion, all the maids, starting with the head butler, were in an uproar. It was because her beautiful body had been injured.

Denise was a person who, if she even slightly injured her fingertip, the maid attending her that day would have to make a deep apology, but now her forehead was split open and bleeding.

“Miss Denise!”

“Are you, are you alright! Please come into the mansion quickly. You need treatment!”

Denise, who was getting off the carriage, had disheveled hair and her dress was torn in places.

Seeing that she was covered in dust, it was clear that something unusual had happened during her duel with Diela.

The servants gathered to check Denise’s condition and asked the accompanying servants and coachman what had happened, causing the mansion’s affairs to be disrupted for a while.

However, Denise, with a calm demeanor, smiled faintly and said,

“It’s nothing.”

Even though she was in such a mess, it would have been natural to get angry, but Denise had a rather refreshing expression.

*

“So, the moment I cast the exploration magic, Diela, that wild horse, was completely stunned. At that point, I thought it would be good to say something cool, so I tried to think of the most impressive words, but nothing came to mind… Hmm… I should have come up with a better line…”

Denise, as if her injured body was nothing, returned to the mansion and, while receiving treatment from the maids, poured out her tales of valor to Derek. Derek, listening to Denise’s tales, found it surprising.

Inwardly, Derek had thought that Diela was practically his favorite disciple.

—

—

Even Ellente thought that compared to Diella’s talent, she was still lacking, so no matter how skilled Drinis was, she thought she would struggle against Diella.

Moreover, Diella’s versatile use of magic would not have been easy for the noble ladies accustomed to the magic of the discipline school to deal with.

However, contrary to Derek’s worries, Drinis was completely overwhelming Diella.

The speed at which Drinis was achieving magic, even faster than Derek had expected, was such that it could be said that there was almost no one in Ebelstein who could keep up.

“And then, with a face full of wounded pride, she started crying. When she was being so rude to me at the tea party, acting like she was going to devour me, and now look at her. Serves her right. Serves her right.” “Are you alright?”

“As you can see, I have some scratches, but they said there won’t be any scars. But Derek, you should have seen her face. Hehe. If it weren’t for the need to maintain a dignified appearance, I would have laughed at her outright.”

Drinis spoke to Derek without any intention of lowering her raised shoulders.

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“No matter how good the raw stone is, at the level of just starting to be polished, she can’t beat me. Hmm. In the end, she lacks experience in dueling and decisiveness at critical moments. She can’t even show the wit to create openings by throwing off her accessories like I do. And, she’s not prettier than me. If you look closely, my skin is better and my features are more refined. Right?”

“…”

“How about it, Derek? You warned me not to underestimate Diella. You didn’t expect me to come back victorious like this, did you?”

Drinis was proudly speaking to Derek with her chest puffed out. It seemed she wanted to be praised.

However, Derek shook his head and spoke firmly to Drinis.

“Removing protective magic during a duel can be extremely dangerous. No matter what, that’s not acceptable.”

“You have to take that kind of gamble to buy time to implement a 2-star magic in front of that mad dog-like girl, don’t you think? Even if it’s just 1-star magic, the chances of it being a critical hit are almost none. Besides, at that moment, her expression was…”

“Miss Drinis.”

Derek spoke in a low voice.

Even though he was just a commoner, that alone made Drinis hiccup.

Derek, who was always full of enthusiasm in front of Drinis, was fundamentally a blunt person, but it was clear that he had a somewhat positive attitude when dealing with Drinis.

However, Derek, who stood in front of Drinis, who had returned with a victory, did not look very pleased.

The reason became clear soon enough.

“No matter what the reason, removing protective magic during a duel cannot be justified.”

“…What?”

“Didn’t you see the power of Lady Diella’s magic? If it had hit wrongly, it wouldn’t have been strange if an arm or leg had been completely crippled.”

Even 1-star magic could vary greatly in power depending on the magician’s ability.

Diella’s magic was already at a level where there were almost no peers among the noble ladies of her age, so if it had hit wrongly without protective magic, she could have lost her life in an instant.

While it was commendable that she returned with a victory, Derek could never condone such a reckless act.

He was a boy who had spent his life weighing his life on the battlefield. He knew better than anyone how heavy the risk of losing one’s life was.

He had to make her understand the gravity of that act properly so that this girl would not make such reckless decisions in the future.

Therefore, Derek was wearing a stern expression even though Drinis had returned victorious.

It was a rare celebration, but Drinis did not expect Derek to show such a lukewarm attitude. It was truly disappointing, but she couldn’t express such feelings.

—

—

The reason Derek was angry was because he was worried about Denise.

When he thought about it that way, he couldn’t help but acknowledge that Derek’s reprimand was justified.

Denise, being a sharp individual, was somewhat aware of how reckless her actions during the duel had been.

Seeing Diela trying to take Derek away with a fiery look in her eyes made her anxious as well.

The atmosphere seemed to tense up for a moment, and the maids helping Denise with her grooming swallowed dryly.

Considering Derek’s background, it was absurd for him to reprimand someone like Denise.

However, Derek was someone who conveyed what he believed to be right without any reservations. Denise was not unaware of this fact.

“Alright, I’m sorry.”

So she apologized first without any complaints. It was a scene that would have made anyone who didn’t know the circumstances pop their eyes out.

Derek seemed to sense that Denise’s response was not just empty words… He eventually sighed and eased the atmosphere.

“Still, it seems like there has been some achievement. I was happy to hear the news.”

“Hehe… It’s me, after all.”

“But if I may speak frankly… From Lady Diela’s perspective, wouldn’t Miss Denise seem like a truly insidious person?”

“What, what do you mean? Where else can you find someone as good-hearted as me?”

“Shouldn’t we also consider this from Lady Diela’s perspective?”

“Hmm? Hmm…”

Denise fell into deep thought as she felt the maid’s hand brushing her hair.

After all, it was Denise herself who had lured Diela with a letter.

At first, she really intended to lose, but midway through, she changed her mind and gave it her all.

Thinking about it that way, from Diela’s perspective, she must have seemed like a truly nasty person.

She had lured her into a duel with a lie in the letter, then overpowered and beat her, breaking her pride.

From Diela’s perspective, there was no way she could know about Denise’s change of heart, so she must have thought there couldn’t be a more wicked person.

Until now, there might have been some unfairness in Diela’s hostility, but looking at the current situation, Denise was just someone who beat up Diela out of spite.

“…”

“Have you realized it now?”

“Derek. I might really be a bit of a nasty person…”

Answering with “Did you just realize that now?” would have been going too far.

“It’s just a misunderstanding, so can’t we just talk it out?”

“If you were Lady Diela, would you talk to me?”

“…Considering her personality, I don’t think she ever would.”

—

—

Even winning the duel, she could sell off the shady landscape painting as promised.

In many ways, Drinis was nothing short of an enemy to Diela.

“This, this can’t be… But, um… I don’t know how this will sound, but… I don’t really dislike Lady Diela…?”

“…”

“Lady Diela really likes you, Derek. Can’t you explain it to her properly?”

“At this point, I don’t think my words will make much of a difference…”

“I, I don’t want to antagonize the Duplain family. What good would it do to make enemies with the most renowned family in the southwest of the empire?”

“Miss Drinis… This is the seed you have sown.”

“Ahhh!”

Drinis scratched her head furiously. The maid, who had been diligently grooming her hair, was flustered and broke into a cold sweat.

Drinis was adept at navigating and behaving appropriately among the young ladies of influential families. Her policy was not to make enemies or antagonize anyone.

However, to keep Derek in the family, she could never befriend Diela.

That much she had to accept.

*

When Aiseline visited Diela’s mansion, Diela was completely disheartened, burying her head on the garden table.

She had given her all to crash into Drinis, but her composure, experience, and magical precision were all inferior.

“Diela…”

“Sister Aiseline. You’re here. As you can see, I am in a disgraceful state after a miserable defeat.”

“Don’t be too disheartened, Diela. You haven’t even properly entered the magical dueling society yet. It’s not a big deal to be outdone by Lady Drinis, who has gained various experiences while being part of the Rosea Salon.”

“It was a chance to bring Derek…”

Diela’s face was like that of a corpse.

If she had any excuse, she might have been able to hold onto her pride, but the duel itself was nothing short of a complete defeat for Diela.

It was fortunate that they fought in Diela’s private dueling ground; if they had dueled in the official dueling ground of the noble district, where many eyes were watching, it would have been a disgrace.

Of course, just losing would already spread rumors among the salons.

Diela didn’t care about such gossip or rumors. What mattered was the fact that she lost.

“In the end, to bring Derek into the family, Derek’s own feelings are the most important, aren’t they? I don’t think it means much to force things through the duel results… So don’t give too much meaning to the defeat, Diela.”

“Thank you for comforting me, Sister Aiseline. But a loss is a loss. My pride is deeply hurt.”

“…”

“What I can’t stand even more is the fact that if Derek hadn’t personally taught that insidious person, I might have won. Even if it’s second-class magic, the fact that she could handle it so skillfully must have been due to Derek’s influence.”

Diela shook her head and finally relaxed her expression.

—

—

“Anyway, it’s not a good idea to leave Derek in another family. If we can bring him, we must bring him.”

“But, still… we lost the duel, and we don’t have any justification to take him from the Veltus family.”

“Aiseline, you said that what’s more important than binding him with contracts or anything is Derek’s own heart, right? I’ve thought about it, and I agree with that opinion.”

Diela sighed deeply and brushed her hair with her small fingers.

It was a habit she had whenever she was thinking.

“It’s not easy to bring Derek with money, and it’s not easy to create a legitimate reason either… So… maybe a beauty trap…”

“…”

“….”

“If the beauty trap doesn’t work, maybe we can appeal to his human compassion, or perhaps evoke his respect for us?”

“…”

“….”

Aiseline’s silence was out of consideration. Diela knew that, so she didn’t say anything more.

In terms of appearance or authority, it wasn’t easy for Diela to surpass Lady Drinis.

Internally, it might be different, but externally, Lady Drinis’s image was close to that of the most perfect noble lady.

Even when Aiseline herself stepped forward, Derek shook his head, so it was clear that the still-young Diela wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Argh!”

Unlike when she ruled over the servants like a tyrant, Diela sometimes had moments of inner turmoil like children her age.

Her current appearance, shaking her head wildly and screaming, was one of those moments.

“To bring Derek to the Duplain family, you first need to become someone worthy of it, Diela. If you make a name for yourself in the Rozea Salon and prove that you are worth teaching, Derek might waver. Don’t you think so?”

“How can I persuade someone that even Aiseline couldn’t?”

“Well… you never know… The important thing is to try anything first, isn’t it?”

Since coming to Ebelstein, Diela had always been complaining.

As her sister, Aiseline felt quite heartbroken seeing that, so she sat next to Diela and patted her back.

Diela wanted Derek so much that Aiseline wanted to do everything she could for her.

“First, you need to finish your debutante and officially enter the social world, right? Everything is ready, from the audience with the emperor to the ball… Let’s finish everything we need to do first.”

“Ah… I guess there’s no choice.”

Anyway, Diela’s debutante is just around the corner.

Next week, she will go to the capital to have an audience with the emperor, then officially greet him and return to the mansion to hold a ball.

Many nobles will come to celebrate Diela in front of a luxurious banquet. She will debut in the social world under all the spotlights and return to Ebelstein as the mistress of this mansion.

Thus, Diela will become a person who can stand shoulder to shoulder with other noble ladies.

—

—

When the process was completed, it seemed that there would be a change in the relationship between Denise and Diela. Aisellin hoped that Diela would adapt well to this icy social circle.

“I sent another letter to the main house to confirm. We will leave for the imperial capital directly from this mansion next week. After the audience, you will attend the ball at the main house as the main character.”

“The servants at the main house must be busy too. If they are to host a ball by inviting many distinguished guests to the mansion, there must be a lot to prepare from now on.”

“Everyone is working with joy to celebrate your debutante, Diela. So, your job is to show the noble lady’s demeanor that befits a lady. Diela.”

Aisellin emphasized to Diela in a warm voice.

Many people were working hard for Diela’s debutante. When everything was successfully completed, the whole family would celebrate Diela.

“Since all the influential people are invited to the ball… Mr. Derek from the Beltus family might also attend as a representative.”

“Do you think so? He came to deliver a letter this time, and he seems to be trusted a lot by Lady Denise’s mansion…”

“I’ll send a separate invitation. If you show that you have grown well as a proper lady at the ball, Mr. Derek’s view of you will change a lot. So let’s do our best, Diela.”

“Ugh…”

Encouraging her with Derek as bait, like a monkey chasing a banana, didn’t sit well with her, but it would be a lie to say it didn’t bother her at all.

Diela sighed deeply and nodded.

The ball of the Duplain family, which blesses the debutante of the young lady, is enormous in scale.

The servants fussed that the young ladies, who would be the protagonists of the event, exuded an angelic appearance as if they had descended to earth. The splendor of the event was directly related to the pride of the servants who prepared the event.

If she could leave a strong impression at such an event, Derek might change his mind.

“Yes. For now, I should focus on what I have to do immediately. There will be more opportunities.”

Diela sighed deeply. She was too busy to be heartbroken.

“By the way, Sister Aisellin. When did you send the letter to the main house? I sent one recently, but I haven’t received a reply.”

“Hmm? Well… it was a few weeks ago. The main house must be very busy, so they might not be able to reply immediately.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Brother Valerian returned recently. I heard that they invited the royal court magician, Kohella, to handle the spoils he brought back and to hear her opinion.”

Even while staying in Ebelstein, Aisellin couldn’t grasp all the news from the main house accurately. It was inevitable due to the physical distance.

“Since the magician Kohella is about to visit the main house… the main house must be very busy. But there shouldn’t be any big problems in preparing for your ball.”

“Even for the ball, there must be a lot of distinguished guests to invite… The servants must be exhausted since the royal court magician visited the mansion.”

“But they will think of it as an extension of preparing for your ball. If she visits the mansion at this time, she might even attend your ball.”

Royal Court Magician Kohella.

The delay in replying to the letters after her visit to the Duplain family was because they became busier.

Even so, it would be a great disrespect not to promptly reply to the letters sent by the most noble young ladies of the family, but Aisellin decided to forgive them. She knew well how hard the servants worked when such joyous events overlapped.

Since communication was not smooth, it was impossible to know what was happening at the main house…

Anyway, she would see them again when she visited soon.

—

—

The most splendid and luxurious debutante ball of Diella is soon.

Aisellin smiled contentedly, her anticipation rising for her beloved sister’s grand debut in high society.

‘Given the occasion, it would be wonderful if Mr. Derek could attend. If I personally invite him, the Beltus family would surely permit it, right? After all, they would need someone to represent the family formally.’

*

– Rustle

‘Who would have thought the day would come when I’d be invited to a noble’s ball.’

Early in the morning, a letter arrived for Derek, who was swinging his sword here and there, shirtless in his quarters.

The letter, bearing the seal of the Duplain family, invited Derek to Diella’s debutante ball next week.

He was the only one who had extended a hand to her during her wandering days, so it seemed the Duplain family regarded Derek as a great benefactor.

Otherwise, it was unheard of for a commoner to receive such a formal invitation.

‘It’s likely that people from the southwestern part of the empire, as well as those from the north and east, will attend. It’s rare for the head of the family to come personally, but… most will send representatives…’

The Beltus family would also need to send someone formally, and Derek, who was acquainted with Diella, would be a suitable choice. Aisellin seemed to have considered this situation when she sent the invitation.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Duplain family’s mansion. It probably hasn’t changed much.’

Though the grand ball would have the place decorated in various ways, it was still a place where he had spent quite a long time.

Feeling a sense of nostalgia at the thought of visiting again, Derek took the invitation and put it in his coat pocket.