There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Watercolor (5)

– Bang

As the skeletal giant’s fist struck the wall, fragments flew out and began to collapse.

Amidst it all, Valerian, with his crimson eyes glowing, charged at Derek, swinging his sword.

The concentration required to use 4-star necromancy magic while simultaneously swinging a sword was astounding. He had already surpassed his limits. His mind, already driven to the brink, had no reason left.

If Derek blocked him, he would simply remove Derek. Just thinking about such a simple cause and effect filled his mind.

The downfall of a noble family, which had collapsed to the point of no return, was a pitiful sight, and Derek felt a tinge of sympathy for him.

But wrong is wrong. Derek was a person who extremely guarded against indecisiveness that slowed his judgment due to sympathy.

– Snap!

Valerian had already reached his limit.

He had bewitched the servants of the mansion, controlled numerous corpse monsters, and even handled a giant skeletal giant.

No matter how much he wielded the staff of Rozin, handling necromancy magic of this scale simultaneously was pushing himself to the limit.

– Clang!

—

—

Derek moved with the agility of a wild animal, slipping into Valerian’s embrace.

The dagger held in a reverse grip stabbed into the gap in Valerian’s armor at his wrist. The sudden surge of pain almost made him drop his staff, but Valerian gritted his teeth and endured the agony.

– Thud!

He kicked Derek away, creating distance, and then commanded the skeletal giant once more.

The physical force of each strike from that massive skeleton was something no human body could withstand. Blocking was out of the question, and even deflecting was not an option. It was an attack that had to be avoided at all costs.

Valerian knew this well, and as he tried to summon more magic to press Derek harder, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

“Valerian, brother…!”

At the sound of his name, Valerian’s eyes trembled.

His body momentarily lost strength, and he shuddered all over. Derek didn’t miss the opportunity and kicked Valerian in the chest.

– Crash! Bang!

Valerian rolled across the ground, tumbling towards the garden’s flowerbed.

In the pouring rain, Valerian struggled to his feet and looked towards Aislin.

He had been avoiding her gaze, but now it was time to face her.

The father he had respected so much, he had stabbed with his own hands, and the guilt of killing his family had driven him to madness.

Even as he forced himself to rise, trying to atone for his sins, Valerian had to face reality.

The family he had loved so dearly was not just his father.

Beyond the broken wall, the girl trembling beside Diela’s bed was also one of the family members Valerian cherished so much.

“…Aislin.”

Finally, the whispers of madness that had clouded his mind began to clear, and Valerian answered in a trembling voice.

*

As his blurred vision returned, life came back to Valerian’s eyes.

It was the moment he saw Aislin, soaked to the skin and sitting on the ground.

– Swoosh

In the drizzling rain, he looked down at himself. His armor was soaked with blood.

He turned his head slightly to see the mansion, completely destroyed, with countless servants injured and lying on the ground.

In one hand, he held a sharp longsword, and in the other, the staff of a necromancer that clouded his mind.

“…”

The deeds committed in madness were vivid.

The mastermind behind all this carnage was none other than himself.

Valerian looked at Derek with trembling eyes. Derek met his gaze and frowned.

—

—

The light of reason was returning to Valerian’s eyes.

The moment he saw Aislin trembling behind Derek’s back, Valerian dropped his sword and collapsed to the ground.

– Kagang!

The giant skeletal figure that had broken through the wall stopped moving.

Standing still in the rain, it looked like a giant statue. Despite being pelted by raindrops, the giant seemed to have no intention of moving any further.

“Huff… Huff…”

Droplets of water trickled down Valerian’s hair and fell to the ground, disappearing after a few impacts.

Valerian quietly watched his trembling hand resting on the ground.

The floor of Diela’s room was scattered with watercolor paintings.

Among them were drawings of Derek. It was a masterpiece that his beloved youngest sibling had poured her heart into, intending to gift it to her most respected teacher.

It seemed like just yesterday that they had applauded Diela for her ability to effortlessly correct any misplaced strokes and complete the painting.

When he came to his senses, the ball was already a lost cause.

Moreover, the family itself was almost completely devastated.

Who was responsible for this? It was none other than Valerian himself.

Valerian lifted his trembling head and spoke in a crawling voice.

“Kill me.”

His gaze was directed at none other than the direction where Aislin had collapsed.

Aislin shuddered once more, swallowing her breath. Valerian was sincere in his words.

“B-Brother Valerian…”

“Before any outside interference comes in, you must finish it.”

Valerian had already realized. He should no longer be alive.

For the Duplain family to maintain even a semblance of its lineage, there had to be an external justification that the family had expelled its wayward eldest son.

Valerian’s erratic behavior was nothing more than his own unilateral actions, and there needed to be a symbolic event to indicate that it had nothing to do with the family’s intentions.

If the wizards in the main hall started to regain their senses or if interference began from the surrounding territories that had noticed the signs, there was no telling how the situation would unfold.

Therefore, this matter had to be concluded within the Duplain family.

The sword was in Aislin’s hands.

– Thud!

Valerian removed the steel armor protecting his upper body.

His slender frame, clad in noble attire soaked with rain and sweat, clung tightly to his body.

Valerian, still collapsed, threw the sword towards Aislin.

—

—

From noble mtl dot com

The sword rolled on the ground, hitting it several times. Derek stomped on the sword that was heading towards Aiselin, stopping it.

“..There is no time, Aiselin.”

“Brother… What are you saying…”

“…Before I lose my sanity again, you must end it.”

Derek quietly looked at Aiselin. Soon, he nodded silently.

Aiselin bit her lower lip and picked up the sword with her trembling, delicate hands.

And through the rain, she slowly walked towards Valerian. Her whole body was soaked, and she stumbled several times as she couldn’t muster any strength.

However, Valerian stood still, watching her approach without moving an inch.

“I’m sorry things turned out this way….”

“Valerian, brother…”

Aiselin, with trembling hands, lifted the sword and called Valerian several times with a shaking voice.

But there was no more retreat. If she didn’t end Valerian while he had a moment of sanity, the Duplain family would fall further into ruin. Valerian himself knew this fact.

So, with tears streaming down her face, Aiselin raised the sword higher.

– Whoosh!

However, from the staff of Rozin held in his hand, a greater power began to emanate.

As if it couldn’t allow the death of Valerian, who was wielding power using it as a host, a more intense thought began to emanate, whispering in Valerian’s ear. It urged for more power, more corpses, more massacres.

Valerian bit his lower lip, holding onto his sanity, and quietly looked at Aiselin.

Aiselin, with tears streaming down her face, looked down at Valerian and eventually lowered the sword from her hand.

“Brother… Brother, there must be a way. Even if it’s not like this… there must be another way…”

“Miss Aiselin! Do not hesitate!”

As Derek raised his voice, Aiselin’s arm began to tremble.

For her, who had lived her whole life like a pure lily, the situation of having to stab her own blood was too cruel. She knew this fact, but hesitating here wouldn’t solve anything.

Soon, a more powerful force began to emanate from Rozin’s staff.

Valerian screamed in pain, and the storm around them began to rage even more fiercely.

– Whoosh!

Aiselin sat down in the fierce wind, looking at the sword rolling on the ground with trembling eyes.

The sudden burden she had to bear seemed to weigh down on her shoulders. Derek watched her quietly, realizing there was no hope.

It might be better for Derek to handle it himself and publicly announce that Aiselin had finished everything. In such an urgent situation, there was no time to waste.

So, at the moment Derek was about to pick up the sword,

“─Then I’ll do it.”

—

—

– Snap!

A girl appeared through the storm and picked up a sword.

The sword looked too heavy for her tiny hands, but she bit her lip and approached Valerian.

– Thud!

What happened next was instantaneous.

The girl’s abundant hair whipped around in the storm. It looked like a lion’s mane fluttering in the wind.

*

I still vividly remember Diela chasing after a ball rolling far away in the mansion’s garden.

She was just a cute little girl, but as she grew older, she became a beautiful young lady.

She had her own way of managing the servants, accumulated various manners, and excelled in the arts.

Sitting alone in the garden with a canvas spread out, pouting her lips as she pondered how to paint, she truly looked like a noble lady.

Feeling a strange sense of pride, Valerian quietly looked down at Diela, who had burrowed into his arms.

The sword in her hand pierced through his chest. Blood splattered from Valerian’s lips.

The dress he had prepared for the ball was stained with blood.

As soon as she arrived at the mansion by carriage, Diela saw the situation and made a quick decision.

Though she had a tearful expression, she bit her lower lip to suppress her emotions. However, her trembling hands betrayed her feelings.

‘Is that so…’

Only then did Valerian realize. This firmness, taking a step forward despite anxiety and fear, was Diela’s greatest weapon.

Her determined face was the same as when she painted watercolors.

How much determination must it take to draw each irreversible stroke on a vast, empty canvas?

And when she made a mistake, the quick adaptability and skill to correct it were all gifts from the heavens.

In this splendid and excellent family, Valerian himself must be like a wrongly drawn stroke. This was quite a remarkable improvisation.

Valerian smiled bitterly and placed his hand on Diela’s head.

Looking down at the trembling Diela, Valerian let out a faint laugh and said,

“Have you… grown taller…?”

Diela, who had been looking down, widened her eyes.

Soon, Valerian’s strength left him, and he quietly collapsed to the ground.

– Thud

– Clang! Clang!

The staff fell from Valerian’s hand and rolled on the ground.

—

—

The drizzling rain was slowly subsiding.

*

Diela, drenched in the rain, quietly looked up at the slowly dispersing dark clouds in the sky.

Sunlight was seeping through the bones of the giant skeleton that no longer moved.

Kneeling on the muddy ground, she looked at the cold, lifeless body of a man.

She swallowed air to suppress her emotions, feeling like she might burst into tears if she let her guard down even a little.

– Squelch, squelch.

A mercenary approached the girl who was sitting there.

“Miss Diela.”

The voice that called Diela softly was her favorite sound.

“It’s been a while, Derek. I hate to say this after inviting you, but as you can see, the ball has turned into a mess. I’m ashamed.”

“It’s alright.”

Diela spoke with a voice that was barely audible, full of tears.

Derek stood quietly behind her, brushing off the mud-soaked clothes.

Diela, with her shoulders trembling, slowly spoke.

“Derek. I’m sorry, but can I ask you a favor?”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Could you hug me just once?”

“…”

Without any hesitation, Derek lowered himself beside her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

Soon, the girl who had lost her family burst into tears in Derek’s arms.

She clutched his collar tightly and buried her head deeper.

Both were drenched in the rain, covered in blood and sweat, but no one complained.