There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Watercolor (2)

Derek gathered both of Raig’s arms, who had fallen to the ground, behind his back and tied them tightly with a torn curtain.

Then he wrapped the remaining cloth around his entire body and used 1-star transformation magic ‘Attribute Imbuement’ to give it rock-like hardness.

The series of actions flowed naturally, as if he had done it many times before. Lady Freya, sitting in a corner of the hallway, watched Derek with wide eyes.

‘The former disciple of Master Katia? I heard he was a commoner, but he was like this?’

Five minutes ago, Lady Freya had tried to quickly distance herself from Derek and escape, but she was caught in an instant.

It was the first time in her life that her confusion magic had been seen through so quickly. She was so flustered that she begged for her life, but this white-haired mercenary recognized Lady Freya and calmed her down.

Without mentioning his family name or affiliation, the boy who briefly introduced himself as Derek said he knew that Lady Freya was the eldest daughter of the Elvester Count family.

The man who politely greeted her, following the etiquette of nobles, exuded a sense of normalcy that was incomparable to when he subdued the frenzied Raig.

“You, you said your name was Derek? Master Katia often talked about you. She said you were a person with exceptional magical talent among commoners…”

“Is Master Katia well?”

“…Of course. The position of magic teacher for the Elvester Count family is one that everyone looks up to.”

Derek, who was tightly securing the cloth, answered without even looking at Lady Freya.

Given the situation, he couldn’t afford to show all the necessary courtesies to the lady of the Elvester Count family.

“It seems we are like brothers. I also received great teachings from Master Katia. Knowing that she is well puts my mind at ease. However, now is not the time to reminisce.”

Derek, having completely restrained Raig, spoke.

“Lady Veltus is hiding in the upper VIP room section. We plan to gather the survivors there, so Lady Freya should head up as well.”

“No, I… I was trying to escape outside the mansion.”

“The outside of the mansion is full of moving corpses. If you recklessly try to escape alone, you will regret it.”

“If I decide to escape, no one can catch me. I even escaped alone from the great fire at Roventer Castle caused by bandits.”

“Didn’t I just catch you?”

“…”

—

Freya couldn’t say anything. However, it was only because Derek’s ability to sense magic was unusually sharp.

In reality, Countess Freya was so adept at diverting others’ attention that even Katia had to search the mansion all day with all her might to barely find her.

Derek rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought for a moment.

Indeed, Countess Freya’s level of illusion magic had reached a considerable level. Derek, having been personally taught by Drest to sense magic, could barely catch Freya, but it seemed difficult to chase Countess Freya with ordinary detection magic.

A third-class mage might barely notice something, so it would be easy to shake off the corpse monsters.

The thought suddenly crossed his mind that it might be better to send Countess Freya outside the mansion to request rescue. It was a seriously worth considering alternative.

‘I’ve seen many people die, but why is this girl so calm?’

Meanwhile, Countess Freya was looking at Derek as if she had discovered a magical unicorn.

Even in a situation where the mansion was full of people possessed by something, she searched for survivors, subdued Raig, and even stopped Freya from escaping without showing any signs of panic.

Her magical skills were outstanding, her judgment was good, and above all, she was tied to Katia by fate. Freya quickly revised her judgment.

‘It’s better to trust this girl for now. My intuition tells me so.’

“Then I’ll go to the guest room and meet the lady from the Beltus family. But… what are you planning to do by gathering the survivors? Given the situation, wouldn’t it be better to plan to escape first?”

“Let’s save as many as we can. Each guest gathered in this mansion is a prominent figure in the empire, aren’t they?”

“Is it loyalty to the empire?”

“If someone from the empire asks, I would answer that way.”

“And in reality?”

“Half of it is the duty to save lives as a human being, and the other half is that if I save the guests, there will be something in it for me.”

It was said that the nobles of the northeast paid hundreds of gold coins for their lives without hesitation.

They generously donated that amount of gold even to save prisoners, so if they saved the life of a noble, they would be recognized for their great merit.

“There’s no law that says a person’s motives must fall into one clear category, is there?”

Just hearing those words, Freya felt as if she had glimpsed a certain aspect of Derek’s character.

Basically, he was a good person, but he wasn’t blind to profit. He was selfish in selfish matters and knew how to be altruistic in matters where he could be altruistic.

He was much better than someone who was focused on only one of the two.

Freya took off the necklace she was wearing and handed it to Derek.

“…What is this?”

“It’s a magical accessory that the Arendelle Academy gave me as a gift for my coming-of-age ceremony. It’s a set with this ring, and when worn, they can detect each other’s location.”

“Isn’t it expensive?”

“It’s better not to know the price. Anyway, if we’re going to be wandering around this mansion, it’s better to maintain a state where we can check each other’s location.”

Derek quickly wrapped the necklace around his neck and tucked it inside his clothes.

“If you go out to the main hall, you’ll find a lot of unconscious mages sitting at the banquet table. Most of them don’t seem to have lost their lives.”

—

—

“Banquet table?”

“Yes. I don’t know why, but the servants of this mansion are still busy preparing for the ball. In fact, it looks more like a kind of ritual than a ball.”

Derek’s brow furrowed.

A ritual where a banquet is laid out, music is played, and wizards are killed was literally something that only necromancers would do.

By worshiping the god of corpses or the god of souls and killing a high-ranking wizard, they would take away the magical power embedded in the soul and bestow some of it to the wizard.

Certainly, disguising it as a ball might have been a wise decision.

It could naturally gather high-ranking guests in one place, and the preparation of bands and food for the ritual would not seem suspicious.

With the significant event of Lady Diela’s debutante overlapping, the gathered guests would have had no choice but to let their guard down.

It is the mansion of the Duplain family, one of the most prestigious families on the continent.

No one could imagine such a horrifying thing happening.

The problem is, from the Duke of Duplain to his subordinates… there is no one who would lead such a mad act.

Especially Derek, who was close to the Duplain family, knew this very well. Valerian, Raig, Aiselin, Diela… none of them would touch such a taboo.

‘There must have been some shocking trigger, someone instigated them… or they might have been enchanted by a magical artifact imbued with thoughts…’

Derek quickly deduced the possibilities.

It was impossible to hastily guess who in the Duplain family was drawn to such necromancy.

However, Derek could sufficiently guess who it was.

– ‘Before you become an adult, Valerian Delomein Duplain will dabble in necromancy.’

– ‘If that happens, you will kill him.’

Drest, who had foreseen all this, had warned Derek.

He told Derek to kill Valerian, not anyone else. He himself, who had already reached the level of a 6-star wizard, did not step forward.

Now that the situation had come to this, the intention was somewhat visible.

Most of the distinguished guests of the continent were captured and faced with a life-threatening situation. In this situation, if Derek cleaned up the scene and captured the mastermind, the merit would be indescribable.

If he had the merit of saving the lives of numerous nobles, it would greatly help Derek on his path to a higher level. The Empire would have no choice but to personally commend him.

So, Drest intended to give all this merit to Derek.

He had trained Derek at that time to ensure he reached the necessary level to subdue Valerian, who was enchanted by necromancy.

─It is impossible to gauge how far he had foreseen.

Having a 6-star exploration wizard as a backer meant that.

However, Derek felt complicated.

The Valerian Derek remembered was sweating profusely, clumsily sewing a doll to win Diela’s favor.

He was always a person who only thought of his family and was the most reputable future head of the Duplain family.

—

—

Derek, who rarely acknowledged others, recognized that Valerian was a leader worthy of everyone’s respect.

‘Nevertheless… if he strays, he must be killed.’

However, Derek was a resolute man.

Even with his complex emotions, he did not hesitate to wield his sword at crucial moments.

Thus, Derek walked steadily into the main hall of the mansion.

*

The moon was moving towards its zenith.

Even as the hour approached midnight, moonlight filled the main hall of the Duplain mansion.

– Step, step.

Upon entering the main hall, an indescribably strange sight unfolded.

Several long banquet tables stretched out vertically in the vast hall.

Lavish feasts were spread appetizingly on them, and numerous wizards, unconscious, were slumped over the tables on either side.

An orchestra, seemingly entranced, sat quietly beside the main staircase, clutching their luxurious string instruments to their chests, their eyes unfocused.

Every candelabrum had flickering candles, and the center of the main hall, where the protagonist of the stage would sit, was empty, bathed in moonlight.

Had people been chatting lively, it would have been an unmistakable scene from a ball.

However, the hall was eerily silent. As Derek walked across the hall, only the sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty space.

Derek furrowed his brows as he looked around.

The wizards lined up in front of the banquet tables were all unconscious, but still alive.

Before the ritual began, there was no intention of taking their lives. Sacrificing this many wizards to elevate one’s rank was not a normal mindset.

All the renowned necromancers in history who attempted such feats had their throats slit and vanished into the annals of history.

Touching the forbidden was such a thing.

As Derek crossed this strange place and shifted his gaze to the center of the main hall, he saw it.

Moonlight streamed through the stained glass spread across one wall, illuminating the spot.

It was likely the seat where the host of this ball should be sitting. In front of it, a man sat slumped on a wooden chair, his head bowed deeply.

His blond hair, reaching down to his shoulders, was longer than before. However, streaks of gray were now mixed in. His skin had grown pale, and his frame had become more robust.

Once dressed in the elegant attire of a noble, he now wore steel armor adorned with ornate decorations.

Though his appearance was now more fitting for the next head of the family, there was an unsettlingly precarious atmosphere about him compared to before.

Derek paused his steps, keeping his distance.

“…”

“Who is this? Derek. You’ve come to attend the stage celebrating Diela’s debutante.”

—

—

“…Prince Valerian, your appearance has changed a lot.”

“Yes. Time changes people. Still, it is truly appreciated that my beloved youngest sister Diela’s most respected teacher has personally come. As the host of this ball, I am grateful.”

Valerian lifted his head to look at Derek.

His ominous and pale figure was revealed. His pupils were trembling as if an earthquake had struck.

“However, as you can see, the ball has been canceled due to circumstances. If Diela returns to the mansion, could you take her back to Ebelstein?”

“…”

“In my current situation, there is no one I can trust to handle this request.”

Behind Valerian, the largest and most grand wooden chair was placed.

It was the seat where the highest-ranking person at this ball would sit. The place where Valerian was sitting was clearly visible due to the moonlight streaming through the stained glass, but that seat was subtly hidden in the shadows and not easily seen.

As Derek took a few steps to the side and twisted his viewing angle, the figure sitting in that chair gradually came into view.

As soon as he recognized who was slumped with their head down, Derek’s eyes narrowed even further.

Raymond Oswald Duplain, the Duke.

The head of this mansion was slumped in the chair with a dagger piercing his chest.

The dagger bore the clear insignia of an eagle. It was the insignia of the Duplain family.

“…”

Valerian’s expression softened once more as he saw Derek confirm the Duke’s appearance.

“As you can see, I am now busy picking up the pieces of my mistakes.”

Valerian stood up with a bitter smile.

The clanking sound of armor echoed through the hall.

“…What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t I just tell you?”

Valerian said with a complicated smile, his voice gently lowering.

“I am picking up the pieces of my mistakes.”

Derek stood still, staring at Valerian without moving.

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Sometimes firm, sometimes gentle, Derek’s gaze was resolute this time. There was no need to ask about the intentions in his eyes.

Valerian quietly looked at Derek, then eventually lowered his gaze in a defeated manner.

“I see.”

Valerian, with that defeated expression, stared at the floor for a while, then eventually raised his hand, which was wrapped in magic.

A wave of ominous dark red magic swept through the ballroom, then gathered at Valerian’s fingertips, taking the form of a staff.

It was known to the world as the relic of the five-star summoner mage, Rozin.

—

—

However, contrary to what is known, the owner of that staff, Rozin, is not a summoner.

Derek could only quietly frown.

– Whoosh

The moonlit ballroom.

The owner of that place, rising and looking down at Derek.

Necromancer Valerian.

He was the master of this mansion.