There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Watercolor (4)

Ellente maintained her composure while quickly assessing the current situation.

The fact that the Duplain mansion was being completely devoured by monsters was anything but natural. With a 5-star mage as the head of the family, the situation should have been resolved long ago.

The fact that even the servants seemed to have been completely consumed by something, and there was still no sign of resolution, suggested that the family leadership might be involved in this matter.

It was also possible that this ball itself was a large trap.

‘It seems unlikely that all members of the Duplain family are in on this. The most powerful family in the southwestern empire has no reason to engage in such suspicious activities. It must be the unilateral action of someone within the family…’

After carefully checking the hallway once more, Ellente looked at the expression of Aiselin, who was trying to calm her flustered mind.

If this were truly an event pushed by the family, Aiselin would surely know about it. She wouldn’t be meeting Ellente here, and her trembling appearance would be an act.

Ellente’s intuition concluded that this was not the case.

“Lady Aiselin, you don’t seem to understand the current situation, do you? As you can see, the servants of the mansion are bewitched by some sinister force and are not in their right minds. There are many guests dragged to the main hall, and it seems difficult to guarantee their lives.”

“W-What do you mean? What’s happening at the Duplain mansion right now…”

“If you need to see it with your own eyes to believe it, then do so.”

Just looking at the collapsed outer wall of the mansion was enough to infer the seriousness of the situation.

Aiselin swallowed dryly. She had just regained her senses, but she had to think quickly.

Ellente was in the same situation.

If things had come to this, it was likely to leave a significant stain on the Duplain family.

The imperial family might hold them accountable, or various noble families might demand responsibility. In the worst case, they could lose their title and territory.

A noble who lost their territory usually met a miserable end.

If they could continue to command their own forces or private soldiers, they might be able to scrape by as mercenaries, but women with no place to lean on often fell into terrible situations.

Ellente quietly watched Lady Aiselin.

Her figure, biting her lower lip and looking out the window, was still noble and beautiful. But she was on the brink of ruin.

When she first entered the Rosea Salon of the Ebelstein social circle, she felt jealousy and even harmed this perfect girl.

There were many times when Ellente felt awe towards Aiselin, who didn’t even blink an eye despite her efforts for days.

However, even though the long-awaited downfall of Aiselin was right in front of her, she didn’t feel any sense of satisfaction in her heart.

Instead, the serious expression on Aiselin’s face made Ellente feel tense as well. It was truly a strange thing.

—

—

“Lady Aisellin, please listen to me carefully. You might feel a bit overwhelmed since you just regained consciousness, but it seems like the Duplain family is facing a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.”

“…I need to go out and find out.”

“…”

“Lady Ellente, you should find a way to escape the mansion. Or you could hide in the wine cellar or the library in the basement and wait for rescue. I know the structure of the mansion well, so I can help you.”

Even in the midst of this, Aisellin was worried about Ellente and trying to ensure her safety. It was truly a judgment befitting her.

Ellente’s mind was racing.

Given the current situation, the Duplain family is at least in decline or at most on the verge of collapse. The mansion is also half-destroyed, and high-ranking retainers or key figures are nowhere to be seen in this situation.

It means everyone is experiencing a crisis in some way.

The girl named Aisellin in front of her, noble, beautiful, and the flower at the pinnacle of all noble culture, might only exist until today.

She would become a lady who has been weeded out of the noble society, with no value as a connection and no backing from her family.

Therefore, it is right to cut off unprofitable connections.

The decline of the Duplain family is a major event that will bring a huge seismic shift to the southwestern noble society.

If safety is secured, it would be best to inform the main family of this situation as soon as possible. If she could leave the mansion and send a carrier pigeon, she could inform the Belmire main family of this huge news faster than anyone else.

In a time of storm and stress when the tide is changing, being able to acquire this important information faster than anyone else is crucial.

If the Belmire Margrave knows this, he might send troops to clean up the disaster at the mansion and make a contribution, or he might station private soldiers to legally occupy the mansion and the surrounding territory.

And once they succeed in legally stationing soldiers, it would be easy to exert influence over the area without withdrawing them. Justifications are difficult to create at first, but once they exist, they have a tendency to multiply.

‘…’

The Duplain family was a great lion that ruled the southwestern noble society of the empire.

However, when any beast dies after its lifespan ends, its fate is the same. It becomes nothing more than a piece of meat that the eagles and beasts of the whole mountain flock to and tear apart.

Countless nobles will rush in to tear apart this great body. Being able to stick their heads in first in that war is an enormous privilege.

For the sake of the Belmire family, she must escape the mansion and run with this news to the Belmire family.

Her nature, honed through long years of struggling in the cold social circles of the nobility, whispered so.

However, even in this situation, Aisellin, who had risen from the bed without forgetting her graceful demeanor, looked unusual.

“Lady Ellente, please find a way to escape. I will give you all the necessary information. As the eldest daughter of the Duplain family, I must go to the main hall to see what is happening.”

“It’s okay, let’s go together.”

“Pardon?”

Ellente did not think deeply.

Even in a situation where the decline of the Duplain family was almost certain, she made an inefficient choice.

Aisellin had heard that Ellente was quick-witted in such situations.

Therefore, Aisellin could not help but be wide-eyed in surprise.

—

—

“Why did Lady Ellente…”

Ellente was about to ponder how to respond to those words.

– Boom, boom.

It felt as if the earth was shaking.

The entire mansion was vibrating. It was a massive rumble that seemed like the world was about to collapse.

Aisellin was startled and quickly ran to the window.

The main hall, with its collapsed outer wall, was clearly visible.

Through the gap in the collapsed wall, a grotesque pile of skeletons began to rise. Its body was already so huge that it broke through the ceiling of the mansion’s main hall.

“What, what is that…”

An ominous and dark red magic seemed to engulf the world.

It was a 4-star necromancy spell, ‘Giant Skeleton’. Its palm bones alone were large enough to cover an entire room.

The two girls were overwhelmed by its terrifyingly gigantic appearance.

– Boom, boom!

The giant skeleton placed its hand on the roof of the west wing to stand up. Just that alone caused half of the western building to collapse.

In the rainy night sky, the monster, having risen to its full height, began to run towards the garden, and soon it started to swing its body as if to smash the building where Aisellin was.

*

Valerian admitted it in an instant.

In a duel where victory and defeat are determined by experience and quickness, he could never defeat Derek.

Against such a seasoned mercenary who had honed his senses to the limit, he had to drive the situation into a pure and simple contest of strength.

Therefore, Valerian raised his staff and cast his magic with all his might.

Pure and overwhelming power.

He intended to crush Derek with shock and mass that allowed neither blocking nor deflecting.

Soon, the giant skeleton, obeying Valerian’s command, looked down at Derek, who appeared as small as an ant.

– Whoosh

– Boom!

Despite its enormous size, its movements were agile.

The foot that flew through the rain crushed the ground where Derek had just been standing.

The marble floor shattered, and the scattered stone fragments spread around.

Derek used his magic to protect the unconscious guests who were about to be buried under the rocks.

It was a 2-star combat magic, a large-scale shield. The range was wide, but the magic consumed a lot of mana accordingly.

—

—

– Thud, thud, thud

Having dealt with all the falling rocks, Derek got up again and ran towards the central garden.

If the battle continued in the main hall, the guests would start getting swept away and killed.

Before the unconscious guests could be sacrificed, Valerian had to be subdued.

Derek stepped onto the fountain in the center of the mansion and leaped towards the annex.

It was impossible to subdue that giant skeleton soldier with firepower alone. Unless the magic was cut off or the magic user was subdued immediately, there was no solution.

‘The battle must not drag on for too long. If we give him an opening, Valerian will kill all the guests and try to save the Grand Duke.’

He understood Valerian’s guilt for wanting to atone for killing the Grand Duke, but his methodology was wrong.

There was no guarantee that he could successfully perform a 5-star necromancy spell, and even if he succeeded, the Duplain family would be left with nothing but the stigma of being a family of massacres who violated taboos and sacrificed numerous wizards.

In the end, the future of the Duplain family would be nothing but darkness.

From Valerian’s perspective, who was driven to madness, this was the only way he could struggle, but from Derek’s perspective, it was absolutely unacceptable.

– Boom! Boom! Boom!

The fully risen skeleton giant was striding towards Derek.

The distance Derek was creating by sprinting was covered by the giant in a single step. It was the moment when the giant’s massive fist came crashing down towards Derek.

– Bang!

The fountain in the garden shattered, and half of it was swept away by the impact of the attack.

The soil that was swept away spread out, covering the surroundings. The beautifully maintained flowerbed trees were also floating in the air.

In the midst of this, Derek planted a fireball at the weakest point of the giant’s center of gravity, its left toe.

Although the firepower was somewhat weakened due to the rain, it was enough to topple the giant’s center of gravity.

The fallen skeleton giant grabbed the roof of the east wing of the Duplain mansion and somehow managed to maintain its posture.

– Crash, crackle, crackle!

However, in the process, the east wing building also began to collapse. Derek, who was running towards the annex, stared at the giant and then widened his eyes.

There were a few guest rooms at the end of the east wing. He had tried to minimize the sacrifices, but if the giant started destroying buildings recklessly like that, casualties were inevitable.

In the midst of this, he saw a girl being swept away by the collapse at the end of the east wing building.

“Ahhh!”

The girl with her elegant hair beautifully draped was Lady Aisellin.

In the guest waiting room, where the windows and outer walls were shattered, she was on the verge of being swept away by the collapse.

Quickly drawing out her magic, Aisellin clung tightly to a decorative structure protruding from the outer wall to avoid being swept away by the storm.

However, the outer wall structures, soaked with rainwater, were all slippery.

– Thud!

—

—

Aisellin’s frail hand slipped away.

Her body began to plummet into the night sky.

Aisellin quickly tried to summon her magic to minimize the impact of the landing, but wind magic was a field she was too inexperienced in. Still, she tried to release her magic to avoid a fatal injury.

– Thud!

– Crash!

Derrick, who had swiftly climbed the outer wall, caught Aisellin and rolled into the flower bed.

They rolled several times on the mud-covered flower bed, and Derrick gently laid Aisellin on the lawn.

“D-D-Derrick…! Huff…!”

“Get up. There’s no time for pleasantries.”

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“W-What?!”

Just as Aisellin was about to ask Derrick, whom she hadn’t seen in a while, if he was okay, the giant skeleton chasing Derrick began to slam its fist down again.

– Boom!

Each strike was a critical hit. If even one blow landed, they would be crushed to death instantly.

Derrick wrapped his arms around Aisellin’s waist and pushed off the ground, rolling once more on the muddy ground.

The giant’s fist, which had struck where Derrick had been, shattered the window beyond the flower bed and destroyed an entire room.

– Crash! Boom!

“Ugh…!”

When Aisellin finally managed to get up, she was a mess.

Her hair, usually neatly combed and ebony-like, was covered in mud. Her elegant dress was torn at one side, revealing her bare leg, which was covered in scratches.

Panting heavily, she struggled to get up from the mud, but the rainwater, sweat, and dirt clinging to her body made each step feel heavy.

“D-Derrick…! L-Lady Ellente was with me… We need to check if she’s safe…”

“Keep running! There’s no time for that now!”

Derrick got up and broke a window beyond the flower bed. He was telling her to get inside the building.

They planned to run around inside the building to escape the giant skeleton’s sight. They could keep running until the building collapsed entirely.

Aisellin quickly climbed over the windowsill and got inside. As she entered, she realized it was the room Lady Diela used to live in when she stayed in the main house.

It was the room Valerian had shown Derrick when he first came to the Duplain family.

“Derrick, come over! Hurry! Ah!”

As she called out to Derrick and climbed over the windowsill, Aisellin felt pain in her hand. Broken glass shards were embedded in her hand.

Aisellin quickly removed the large glass pieces. In the meantime, Derrick also climbed over the windowsill and entered the room.

Seeing Derrick’s disheveled appearance, Aisellin gasped.

—

—

“D-Derek… your wound…”

Derek’s right shoulder was riddled with large glass shards.

It seemed to be a wound he got while rolling around the flower bed, holding and embracing Aiselin. Aiselin’s body, which was in Derek’s arms, was unharmed, but Derek was not so fortunate.

Blood was dripping down, mixing with the rainwater, and falling to the ground.

“D-Derek…”

– Snap!

As Aiselin approached in fear, Derek wrapped his arm around her waist and pushed her back into the corner of the room.

Aiselin fell onto the bed that Diela used to use. And a giant skeleton’s fist crashed into the window frame where Aiselin had been standing just moments ago.

– Boom! Crash!

Through the collapsed outer wall, the face of a giant skeleton appeared. It let out a grotesque laugh, seemingly overjoyed to have found its prey.

As soon as Aiselin saw it, cold sweat broke out all over her body.

– Boom! Boom!

Soon, the ceiling, which had lost its support, came crashing down.

*

– Drip, drip.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

When Aiselin opened her eyes again, Derek was above her.

The pain she felt all over her body was from being hit by the fallen marble debris. Yet, there were no fatal injuries.

It was because Derek had covered her body with his own.

Next to Aiselin’s head, she could feel Derek’s hand, which was supporting his own body, trembling.

Blood was dripping from Derek’s snow-white hair onto Aiselin’s cheek and then to the floor.

“D-Derek…”

“Listen carefully, Miss Aiselin. As you can see, the situation is urgent.”

Pushing away the marble debris that had struck his body, Derek managed to stand up and looked straight at Aiselin.

As Aiselin struggled to lift her upper body, Derek placed his arms on her shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes.

“Take a deep breath.”

“O-Okay… Hah… Hah…”

“I don’t have time to explain in detail, so I’ll get straight to the point. The Duplain family is facing a life-and-death crisis. If we stay here, we will be annihilated.”

“W-What do you mean…”

“Valerian is gathering the guests in the main hall and plans to perform a ritual to kill them all.”

—

—

“Yes, yes…?”

She would need time to accept it. Normally, he would have given her time to slowly chew over the whole situation, but now was not the time for that.

“We need to subdue him while it’s still an attempt. In the worst case, we must be prepared to kill him.”

“Va, Valerian… brother…?”

A myriad of questions must have flashed through Aiselin’s mind in an instant.

She would want to ask in detail why Valerian, who would never do such a thing, had done this, what had happened while she was away from the mansion, and why the situation had come to this.

However, Aiselin was quick to understand. She accepted faster than anyone that there was no time to resolve all those questions now.

“,…So, so, what now?”

The two, covered in mud, quickly exchanged glances in the rain.

“If it comes to that, Miss Aiselin, you must kill him. I will help you.”

“…”

What on earth are they talking about?

Swallowing such questions, Aiselin looked at Derek with tearful eyes.

Derek wiped the blood dripping from Aiselin’s cheek and spoke in a firm voice.

“Since things have come to this, we can’t stop the decline of the Duplain family. But you don’t want the family’s very existence to disappear beyond history, do you?”

“Then…”

“The imperial family won’t leave alone a family whose eldest son killed the head, touched the forbidden, and massacred numerous guests. So, while we can still respond quickly… we must handle it as much as possible.”

“Killed the head? What… are you talking about…”

“I understand it’s hard to keep up with the situation. But, the more it is like this, the more you need to stay focused.”

The guests who were still unconscious in the main hall were not dead. The ritual itself had not yet begun. If they stopped Valerian now, they could end everything as an attempt.

The difference between actually killing everyone and stopping it at the family level as an attempt is enormous.

Ultimately, the core of all the damage is the lives of the guests.

The mansion is being destroyed, but it’s all just Duplain’s assets. The head is dead, but that too is just a loss for the Duplain family.

All of this was done independently by Valerian, who was enchanted by necromancy.

So, if the family steps in to subdue him, completely remove him, and clean up the aftermath, they might be able to prevent the family’s annihilation.

If the guests caught up in the situation do not lose their lives, they can somehow manage through apologies and compensation.

Of course, they can’t return to the heyday of the Duplain family.

They lost the head, numerous high-ranking vassals, this grand mansion, honor, the trust of the imperial family, and more than half of their soldiers.

The neighboring territorial nobles will not leave the weakened Duplain family alone.

This grand territory will be nibbled away under all sorts of pretexts, and even the authority to manage various resources and the monopoly on the territory’s tax revenue will be threatened. Most of the servants will leave, and the mansion will be reduced in size.

—

—

In the social circles of Ebelstein, she would be treated like a duck egg. She might not be able to add her name to the Rosea Salon anymore.

Everything is perfect, beautiful, and noble, but now only a thorny path may lie ahead for this girl.

Nevertheless, Derek spoke.

“Still, you must avoid becoming a fallen noble.”

Derek’s mentor, Katia Flameheart, had lived half her life as a fallen noble.

Derek knew well how miserable the life of a fallen noble could be, having heard countless times from her.

Even if you have to sacrifice a lot and give up the glory of your prime, you must hold on to the family name tightly.

If you endure and endure again, someday the sun may shine again.

So, even if it is nominal, dirty, and miserable, you should not easily give up the life of a noble lady.

Even if your pockets are empty, surrounded by crocodiles trying to take advantage of you, and mocked by everyone… you must hold your head high and carry the family name on your back.

That is what noble ladies are.

That pride sometimes acts as poison, making people arrogant, but you must not deny the meaning behind it. It is pride in the place where you have lived your life.

There is no such thing as a bad noble lady in the world. In this icy noble society, everyone has become tenacious in their own way to survive.

Aiseline, who had always looked down on everyone from her lofty world, must now understand this fact.

“Who can take responsibility for the Duplain family in this situation?”

Even a sinking ship needs a captain.

However, a strange intuition was wrapping around Derek’s mind.

If it were Aiseline, not anyone else, she might be able to hold on to the completely shattered ship and raise it again. She is capable of that.

And people never forget the connections that helped them when they were at the bottom.

Those who have fallen even once in their long lives know.

When everyone is laughing at you stuck in the mud, those who reach out to you then are your true connections.

Derek tightly held Aiseline’s slender hand, trembling in the rain.

“To make the world aware that the Duplain family suppressed the arbitrary actions of Prince Valerian, a member of the family must become a swordsman. Miss Aiseline, you are the right person.”

– Swoosh

“D-Derek…”

“If you decide to do so, I will help you.”

Derek’s face, looking up in the rain, remains unchanged.

Even in the midst of this chaos, he remains calm.

Aiseline’s pupils, looking up at Derek, were trembling endlessly.

Even in this chaotic situation, there was something she could be sure of.

—

—

Everyone would abandon the sinking Duplain and run off to find their own way to survive.

Even in the midst of it all, the boy sat in his usual spot, not moving an inch. His steadfastness was like a great mountain.

This was the reason why the young ladies of the three noble families were so desperate to hold onto this one boy.

Just as Aiselin, who had been trembling all over, was about to slowly open her mouth.

– Bang!

With a loud noise, the outer wall of the building collapsed once more. Derek quickly drew his magic and leapt to block the debris.

– Rumble! Thud!

Amidst the broken debris, a giant skeletal giant appeared, clad in massive armor, revealing Valerian.

“…”

The half-destroyed old room of Diela.

All kinds of watercolor canvases were scattered on the rain-soaked floor, and Aiselin was sitting there, a complete wreck.

– Swoosh

The pouring rain.

In Valerian’s eyes, who had landed in the room, there was an even more distant madness than before.

He had already crossed the swamp of mistakes and gone to a place from which he could never return.

He had to finish everything here and now.