There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Journey to the North (2)

Unlike the southwestern continent, which has three large ducal families, the north, which is always close to the battlefield, has only one person with the title of duke, Sir Melverot.

He was the head of the Rochester ducal family and the only living 6-star combat mage.

He was also the one who personally killed the ‘demonic beast Noir,’ the main culprit of the greatest disaster in the north… the ‘Dawn War.’

Derek had heard the horrific scenes of that day several times from Jayden, the mercenary leader who had directly participated in the Dawn War.

Famous warriors from all over gathered to catch the gigantic demon Noir, which could be seen even from the horizon, but only the mountain of corpses grew higher.

The sight of the snow-covered plains turning red with the blood of the fallen warriors seemed to be a lifelong trauma for him.

Sir Kalimford, a 6-star mage and a long-time friend of Sir Melverot, also died in the Dawn War, and the story of Sir Melverot delivering the final blow to Noir’s heart using his sacrifice as a stepping stone is famous.

It is truly a mythical tale and the reason why Sir Melverot still reigns as the ruler of the north.

—

—

“I’ve heard this story so many times since I was young, but it seems that even a mythical figure finds it difficult to educate their children.”

“Indeed. But we can’t make hasty judgments until we see Lady Sierne in person.”

“Of course. Even Diela might have seemed like an uncontrollable brat based on rumors, but in reality, she had a tender side, didn’t she?”

“…”

The swaying carriage.

The warm climate of the southwest began to feel like a distant memory. As the journey lengthened and they approached the north, the weather started to turn chilly.

Early autumn had already passed. In the north at this time of year, there were places where the severe cold had already set in.

Feeling the reality of this, Derek replaced his cloak over his mercenary attire with a thicker one and added some fur.

Aiseline, who was wearing a cape adorned with pretty floral decorations, also seemed to feel the chill in her fingertips and requested gloves from the servants.

Derek took out the winter gear he had prepared in advance and handed it to Aiseline.

Aiseline accepted the gloves and winter cloth that Derek handed over and stared blankly at him.

“Please use them.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

He had only handed over some winter gear out of consideration, but Aiseline’s mind began to spin with all sorts of unnecessary imaginations.

Giving winter gear in such cold weather was not just a gesture of kindness, but did it imply entrusting one’s life or valuing the other highly?

The fact that he handed over these well-used gloves meant that he trusted her enough to casually give her something he used daily, didn’t it?

Not asking for them back might subtly suggest that they were close enough to give such things without a second thought.

Assigning excessive meaning to each item handed over casually was characteristic of girls at the age when they first started paying attention to the opposite s*x.

And Aiseline was the type whose expressions blatantly revealed such thoughts.

Derek rested his chin for a moment, lightly biting his lower lip at the thought of having to be cautious about even such things.

‘It’s good that Lady Duplain shows kindness, but if I don’t maintain the proper distance, it could backfire.’

Derek was undoubtedly a bad man.

He thought highly of Aiseline as a person, considering her very admirable, kind, and respectable, but he also had no qualms about thinking that her kindness would be advantageous to his actions in many ways.

The underlying rule was to use whatever could be used.

If it was just the innocent affection of a young noble girl who didn’t yet know the ways of the world, it wasn’t too difficult to play along, thinking he was teaching her a bit about life.

However, if it went too far, it was sure to backfire.

It was good to be moderately close, but if things started to get serious, it could become unmanageable.

‘If Pelline saw this, she would hate it.’

Thinking this, Derek quietly rested his chin and glanced sideways at Aiseline.

Unaware that her ears had turned red, Aiseline looked like a small animal facing its natural enemy, engaging in a pointless staring contest with the gloves Derek had handed over.

—

—

It was hard to say that such a sight wasn’t cute, so Derek let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

Derek was a cold-blooded person who could easily measure people’s emotions with a yardstick of profit and loss.

However, separate from that, Aiselin was a good person, and it was undeniable that the occasional gap she showed was quite charming.

Therefore, Derek let out a light sigh and slowly cast his gaze at the scenery outside the window, which was gradually turning white.

*

“I am Layton, the head butler of the Rochester family. And this is Serena, the head maid.”

“…”

It was when Derek, who had gotten off the grand carriage with his luggage, met the two people in charge of managing the Rochester estate. The location was the gate at the entrance of the northern Rochester territory.

There was still some distance to the Rochester mansion, but it seemed that the two had come out in advance to greet the distinguished guests. It was clear that Sir Melverot had given direct instructions.

‘What…?’

Derek felt an unusual sensation.

Layton, dressed in a neat suit, was a gentleman with a well-maintained beard. Standing upright in the snow with a fur coat, he looked well-groomed for a northerner.

However, the head maid Serena was not quite the same.

She was dressed in a neat maid’s uniform, but she had bandages wrapped around one arm, her ankle, and near her neck.

One eye was also covered with a bandage, and her fingers were full of various scratches.

“I apologize for showing you such an untidy appearance.”

When Serena bowed her head in greeting, Aiselin, who had gotten off the carriage, shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. There’s no way wounds can heal at a convenient time. You seem to be seriously injured, are you okay?”

“Yes, thank you for your concern. It is a great honor for the Rochester family to have Lady Aiselin, the most noble lily of the Duplain family, visit us personally.”

Rumors of the decline of the Duplain family must have already spread to the north.

They might not have felt the severity, but they would surely know that its authority and grandeur were staggering compared to before.

Nevertheless, the treatment from the Rochester family was truly courteous. Even if it was decaying, a duke’s family was still a duke’s family.

Derek’s expression hardened as he looked at Serena’s condition.

He could only superficially glance at the wounds on her arm, ankle, and near her neck, but they seemed to have been inflicted at different times and in various forms.

‘These are not temporary wounds from an accident or attack. She has been consistently harmed or even tortured…’

If she introduced herself as the head maid, she must be a high-ranking figure among the servants of the Rochester mansion.

Despite that, if she had to work while showing such wounds, one couldn’t even imagine the state of the lower maids.

Derek thought that the task might be more difficult than he had initially expected.

“Was this the work of Lady Siern?”

Derek did not hesitate in such matters. When he asked the two of them directly, both looked away with troubled expressions.

—

—

Even in his prime, Dielado never laid a hand on someone who had risen to the rank of maid chief.

However, this seems to go beyond mere physical punishment and almost looks like torture.

‘What were Sir Melverot and the other high-ranking retainers doing? If someone is causing this much trouble, shouldn’t they be confined somewhere…?’

Even though he was a warlord, Sir Melverot was a person with at least a minimum level of common sense.

There must have been a reason why he left his daughter alone in a situation where the lives of the servants were at stake.

“I will explain the details at the Rochester mansion.”

With that, Derek and Aisellin were guided by two servants to a grand carriage and climbed aboard.

They were finally on their way to the Rochester mansion in earnest.

“I’m a bit scared…”

“I told you in advance that it wouldn’t be easy.”

“Yes… I need to stay focused…”

Aisellin, despite her anxious expression, bit her lip tightly and put on a determined face.

She was in a situation where she wanted to secure as much money as possible. She had many dependents on her shoulders, and her family was faltering.

She bore a heavy sense of responsibility that did not match her delicate frame, but she did not show it.

“Anyway, Lady Siern doesn’t seem to be an easy person.”

“I expected that, but I think we need to come up with a specific plan. She doesn’t seem like someone who would listen just because we persuade her.”

“I have thought of a plan. There are three in total.”

Derek spoke, thinking it would be better to organize his thoughts before arriving at the Rochester mansion.

“The first is to connect with her on a human-to-human level. By doing so, we can build a rapport and proceed with the lessons smoothly.”

“That’s an ideal method. I hope it works out that way…”

“It seems unlikely at first glance. Then we have to go with the second method. Whether it’s scolding, getting angry, or trying to persuade her… we have to do our best to move Lady Siern’s heart.”

“That’s also fundamental, but it makes sense. I’ll… try my best too… But what if that doesn’t work?”

When Aisellin asked with a worried look, Derek clenched his fist tightly and said,

“Then we have to use the third method.”

“…”

“This has been effective historically.”

“…”

Sometimes Aisellin thinks.

Derek’s methods can be rough for a noble lady to handle. He is a man who advances like an iron horn.

In fact, that’s why it works well. The noble ladies who grew up in greenhouses don’t know how scary a fist can be.

—

—

…Although he didn’t know what the family might do if he made a wrong move, Derek was already beyond such concerns.

From the beginning, many of the people who came to him were those who couldn’t be handled without such means.

The first beneficiary was none other than his sister, Diela.

“That might not be easy.”

At that moment, the head butler, Layton, who was sitting across from him, spoke.

Right in front of him were the people plotting to harm the lady he served.

Derek thought he should have chosen his words more carefully, but he immediately shook his head, thinking that wrong was wrong.

“What do you mean, not easy?”

“You two don’t know Miss Siern well yet.”

Layton spoke in a calm, subdued voice with his head bowed.

“The North is a perilous land where high-level magical beasts frequently appear. The people there are rough, extremely exclusive, and have each devised their own means of survival.”

“Yes, I’ve heard about that.”

“There’s no fertile land, and people live by hunting magical beasts or receiving subsidies from the royal family. In such a place, only the tough and strong can survive. Miss Siern is a symbol of the North.”

From the sound of it, she seemed to be overflowing with wild charm.

In Derek’s mind, the image of Lady Siern was already overlapping with the mercenaries in the tavern, showing off their muscles while drinking rum. It seemed like it would be an insult to the person herself.

“What kind of person is she to warrant such words?”

“She’s none other than the only daughter of Sir Melverot. To put it simply…”

At that moment, as Layton was about to add a detailed explanation,

– Thud, thump!

Without warning, the carriage jolted, and soon a great impact struck.

– Bang! Crack! Crash!

– Thud! Clang! Bang!

The event happened so quickly that Aisellin couldn’t even scream. Suddenly, the carriage tilted sharply, and all sorts of items inside began to spill over.

– Clatter, crash! Bang!

“Ahhh! Wh-what’s happening!”

“Hold on tight! The carriage is shaking!”

– Rumble!

In the midst of the sudden chaos, a body of a magical beast covered in white fur was visible through the window.

It seemed that a large magical beast had attacked the carriage. Although the overall shape couldn’t be discerned from the window view, it was clear that they needed to get out of the carriage immediately.

“Miss Aisellin! We need to get out of the carriage right now!”

—

—

“Gyaah!”

Derek shouted as he kicked open the door of the carriage at the back.

He practically threw Aiselin out of the carriage, then evacuated the servants before rolling out himself.

– Whooosh!

A cold blizzard was pouring through the snowflakes. Derek frowned as he looked up at the monster that had attacked the carriage.

When he rushed outside to check, it wasn’t an attack by a monster.

Although a large monster, resembling a polar bear, had indeed covered the carriage, it was already a corpse, spewing blood from its neck.

Even from a distance, it was clear that it was already dead. How could a dead monster attack the carriage? Such a question was inevitable.

“What, what is this…!”

“Are you alright?”

The servants, startled, checked the condition of Derek and Aiselin. Fortunately, neither of them was injured, but Aiselin was gasping for breath in shock.

Derek looked up at the corpse of the monster in the middle of the snowy field, where the cold wind was blowing.

He wondered if someone had used necromancy to control the corpse of the dead monster, but such forbidden magic was not something one could easily encounter.

It seemed more likely that someone had simply thrown the giant monster’s corpse at the carriage heading towards the mansion. The intent felt malicious.

‘Why throw the corpse of a monster?’

The carriage, tilted and stuck in the snow, seemed unable to move any further. The two luxurious white horses were also severely injured and unable to get up from the ground. The struggling of the two beasts looked pitiful.

‘This isn’t something that can be done with human strength, is it magic?’

With that thought, Derek quickly closed his eyes and activated the detection magic, ‘Mana Detection’.

If the magic had been used recently, it couldn’t escape Derek’s detection magic.

To hide from a wizard’s detection magic, one would need to be at a much higher level. There was no ordinary wizard who could hide from Derek’s detection, as he had already reached the level of a 3-star wizard.

Indeed, Derek sensed traces of mana at the top of a tree behind him.

Without hesitation, Derek activated a mana arrow and attacked the suspicious person hiding at the top of the tree.

– Whack! Pop!

A strike without even an incantation or preparation.

The swift strike was so fast that it was difficult to avoid, let alone perceive. The suspicious person on the tree leaped high to evade. It was almost an animalistic reflex.

– Crack! Thud!

The figure, spinning once in the air, was more slender than expected. Judging by the build, it looked similar to Diela.

She, not he, turned her body once and landed in the middle of the snowy field beyond the carriage. The sound of her landing on the snow was surprisingly small and light.

“…”

Aiselin’s eyes widened as she saw the figure land.

—

—

Derek was still furrowing his brows.

Her bluish hair spread out on the snow, and the hem of her pretty dress was also laid beneath it.

As the girl, who had quietly risen from her crouched position, slowly opened her eyes, her brilliant white pupils, like snowflakes, were revealed.

At first glance, she looked like a princess in the ice, standing nobly in the snowfield.

However, that impression quickly vanished when one saw what she was holding in her hands. In one hand, she held a deer with its neck twisted and bleeding, and in the other, she clutched a blood-soaked wolf cub.

The sight of her holding the corpses of beasts larger than her own frame was bizarrely surreal.

Her hands were stained with the blood of the beasts. Under her left eye, the dark red blood of the dying deer was splattered. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, so her bare feet, as white as jade, were buried in the snow.

The smell of blood was surely rising, but she didn’t seem to care. Given the circumstances, there was no need to guess who was responsible for the carcass of the giant beast that had attacked the carriage.

“Miss Siern!”

Head maid Serena lowered her posture, trembling all over. The other servants also bowed their heads and trembled.

Derek glanced sideways at the trembling servants.

Their knife-like movements were not out of loyalty. What moved them was the fear coursing through their veins.

Watching her standing in the snowfield where the cold wind blew, one felt a strange sensation, as if seeing a wild animal in a dress.

The only daughter of the greatest 6-star mage in existence, Sir Melverot, who inherited his devastating magical talent.

A madwoman whom even that great mage couldn’t tame and had to concede to, a lunatic who regarded human lives as mere stones on the roadside.

A maniac whom even the tough people of the North couldn’t control, no matter how many of them came at her.

All those descriptions were of her, Siern Alaina Rochester.

Derek furrowed his brows and held his position.