There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

People (8)

The instinct of a monster lies in killing people.

It doesn’t seek a reason for it. Just as people have no particular reason for craving honor and achievement, monsters simply kill people.

Siern understood that fact more clearly than anyone else.

At some point, he realized that if he let go of the string of reason, he would kill people. When he noticed that everyone who saw him treated him as a monster, he had already given up his life as a human.

Feeling disgusted by the detestable monster’s blood, lamenting a life that would only fade away in vain… such one-dimensional emotional play had ended long ago.

If he could have controlled that instinct even once, he might have seen a fragment of hope.

However, there is no one who would risk their life to stay attached to someone who doesn’t even know if they can be controlled. Such a person like Sullivan is rare in the world.

Even his family shook their heads, let alone the aristocratic magic teachers who valued their own safety.

The abandonment by countless teachers only emphasized Siern’s imperfection.

There was no one left who would risk their life to correct her.

In that case, all that remained was a long descent into darkness.

Slowly, slowly sinking as if falling into the deep sea, and when even his father could no longer handle him, he would quietly end his life.

Until then, it was just a life that would pass by the world for a while.

If he could kill even one less person in the process, it would be fortunate. He would tell those who trembled in fear and treated him as a monster, “I am not a human, but a monster, so don’t come near me.”

The only fortunate thing was that the monster’s blood did not always get in the way.

Occasionally, there seemed to be people in the world who deserved to die.

Many were born as humans, harmed others, exploited the poor, raped women, and drove others to ruin out of selfish desires.

—

—

Every time Siern saw such people, he couldn’t help but think. Even though they are called humans, there are many who don’t seem human at all.

It might be better to kill them without guilt.

He was referring to people like Derek, who was right in front of him.

– BoooM!

The outer wall of the Rochester mansion collapsed, and Derek’s figure emerged from the falling dust.

There was a beast running towards Derek, casting magic indiscriminately to kill him. The beast, dressed neatly in a pretty dress, soon followed Derek inside and began to unleash all sorts of elemental magic.

‘This is not good.’

As he dodged Siern’s rampaging spells and widened the distance, he found himself back at the mansion.

Derek, who had intended to finish everything in the snowy field, couldn’t help but frown.

– Thud

– Growl

Siern stood straight on the debris of the collapsed wall, bathed in moonlight. It was hard to call him human by any standard.

The eerie magic floated around him in the form of blades, and his eyes, filled with murderous intent, no longer held the light of reason.

“Ahhh! Miss Siern is rampaging!”

“Call the head of the family! Hurry! We can’t stop her!”

“Save me… Please save me…!”

How many times had they seen Siern like this?

The servants working in the garden began to run for their lives.

Derek, after brushing off a scratch on his shoulder, looked up at Siern, who was rampaging in the blood of monsters, and thought.

‘It certainly feels more like dealing with a monster tribe often encountered in high-level labyrinths than dealing with a human. The magic-using monster tribes were all troublesome, but this is even more troublesome.’

There are monsters like Banshees, Liches, and Reapers that specialize in slaughter magic or forbidden arts.

Of course, they are not common, but at least Siern seemed more troublesome than those types of monsters, not less.

Above all, he must not kill her. She must not be too injured either.

But if he faced her half-heartedly, she would behead him in an instant. There were hardly any people who could walk such a tightrope against a wizard who freely wielded 3-star level magic.

He had to risk his life. Teaching Siern meant that.

Derek brushed his face once and took a deep breath.

– Whoosh!

– Bang!

Siern’s movements, breaking through the outer wall of the mansion and charging into the garden, felt like the wind.

Even when she was rational, her movements were hard to follow with the eyes, but now it was almost impossible to gauge without insight comparable to foresight.

—

—

Derek calmly felt the flow of magic and intercepted all of Siern’s 1-star magic ‘Flame Arrows’.

– Pababak! Paak!

He swiftly turned his staff and deflected Siern’s claws that came right up to his nose.

– Kagagang! Kaang!

Siern shattered Derek’s sword with bare hands using transformation magic, but a 4-star magic staff couldn’t be broken so easily.

No matter how much of a genius Siern was, at this age, he couldn’t glimpse the realm of 4-star magic.

Derek deflected Siern’s fingertips and then lifted one foot to kick him away.

– Pababak! Kaaak!

Siern rolled across the garden floor and flew into the flower bed.

The servants hiding in the building, watching this scene, all swallowed dryly at the sight of Derek nonchalantly kicking the noble lady of the Rochester family.

To lay a hand on a noble lady’s body was, from a commoner’s perspective, akin to dipping one’s arm in lava. It was an act tantamount to hastening one’s own death.

But Derek didn’t care. He was already accustomed to wielding the ‘rod of love’ while working as a magic teacher.

Butler Layton felt a chill as he watched Derek’s expression next to the collapsed building debris.

Derek’s expression was truly serene, and there was no emotion in his movements.

It was calm to the point of wondering if he was really human.

“Get up.”

Derek said, shaking his staff once in front of the flower bed where dust was rising.

“Aren’t you going to kill me?”

Silence.

There was no sign of life from the chaotic flower bed.

“Do you think I will die from this?”

Derek spoke in an overwhelming tone, pressing down. It was also a provocation.

Even without doing so, Siern had already lost his reason. But Derek’s actions seemed to push Siern’s emotions to the extreme.

Derek knew.

The demon race seemed to have killing humans ingrained in their instincts.

But as Aisellin said, not all beings in the world live solely by their instincts.

Just as humans suppress their appetites, sleep desires, and s*xual desires, suppress their nature for ambition, lie in the face of injustice, and act against their conscience to do things that are disadvantageous…

There have always been those who go against their instincts. This was no different for beasts or demons.

There were many demons who tried to kill Derek.

However, in the face of overwhelming power, many demons eventually gave up their instinct to kill humans and turned their actions towards survival.

—

—

Simply feeling fear is not enough.

In the midst of that rage where all reason is lost and only instincts are raging, one must be able to regain reason to say that they have overcome the killing instinct that flows through their blood.

The killing instinct that comes without warning is like a wave.

It is a mistake to think that you can control the waves just because you have overcome a few small ones.

Only by overcoming the biggest wave that crashes into your heart does it become meaningful.

Therefore, Derek pushed Siern to the extreme of extremes.

He pushed her to the limit, inciting the will to kill Derek no matter what. Her entire mind had to be filled with murderous intent towards Derek.

And only when she finally overcame that impulse, Siern would, for the first time, have the experience of overcoming her instincts… such a successful experience.

The first time is important. That one time would change Siern’s life completely.

– Hwaak!

– Kang!

A beast leaps out from the dust.

It charges at Derek with unbelievable speed, swinging its claws.

The claws were blocked, but it was not easy to fend off all the numerous magical blades flying towards her back.

– Pabababak!

A girl equivalent to a 3-star mage charges with the sole intention of killing.

Derek deflected most of the magical blades, but a few dug into his shoulder and collarbone, leaving wounds.

Blood flowed down his arm, but Derek’s expression did not change.

– Whiik!

Derek swiftly pulled his staff back.

As Siern, whose center of gravity was greatly off, stumbled forward, he twisted her wrist and threw her to the ground.

– Kwadangtang! Kwak!

And when he embedded a magic arrow in that spot, Siern instinctively manifested a protective spell to block it.

She reached out to tear at Derek’s leg, actually leaving a scratch on his ankle.

Blood splattered, but Derek, without a hint of concern, used his magic to fling Siern away.

– Kwadangtang! Kwak!

Close combat, long-range magic battles, psychological warfare, speed battles, firepower battles… none of them surpassed Derek.

As they fought and clashed, the wounds on Derek’s body increased, but Siern also began to breathe heavily as if she was getting tired.

If the limit was to come, it should have come long ago.

The level of magic Siern was handling was something that even experienced mages had to concentrate to manifest.

—

—

Firing such things wildly would soon tire him out, but for Sierne, who had already lost her reason, such considerations of stamina were not a concern.

– Thud!

Thus, Derek, who was already bleeding quite a bit, grabbed Sierne by the collar.

She quickly tried to push him away, but her arms lacked strength. Sierne made a growling sound as she tried to tear Derek’s arm away.

Even though Derek’s flesh was being torn off and blood was dripping, his grip did not loosen.

The difference in physical strength was incomparable. A robust man who had trained all his life versus a frail girl relying on transformation magic.

Derek’s forearm, with its bulging veins, held firm like a mountain, no matter how much the girl struggled with all her might.

“Kaaargh!”

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“…”

Sierne screamed and glared at Derek. The cold-bloodedness in his red eyes remained unchanged.

At that moment, concluding that she could never shake off his hand with sheer strength alone, she decided to manifest more magic.

Though she had already drawn out almost all her magic, strangely, the more she drew out, the more it continued to pour forth.

– Whooosh!

With the determination to unleash a final blow, she drew out all her magic from head to toe.

Finally, Sierne manifested the 3-star combat magic ‘Freeze’.

– Crackle!

– Crunch!

*

– Whiiish! Crunch!

The 3-star magic ‘Freeze’ was a spell that froze everything around the caster and subdued it.

Everything within a radius of almost 10 meters from the caster would freeze instantly, subduing any approaching targets. It was a decisive spell among 3-star close combat magic.

Not only would it freeze people entirely, but also the ground, buildings, and even the leaves of plants, stopping all movement. It looked as if time had stopped.

The magic required meticulous control and was of such a scale that even advanced magicians rarely used it.

Pushed to her absolute limit, Sierne managed to cast such a spell. No matter how strong Derek was, he could not have anticipated this.

– Whooosh!

As the aftermath of the magic subsided, a world covered in ice revealed itself.

The gazebo in the garden, the leaves of the trees, everything was frozen── yet Derek’s arm still firmly gripped Sierne’s collar.

“..,!”

Feeling the temporary depletion of her magic flow, Sierne’s eyes widened in shock.

In that brief moment, Derek had discerned the type of magic Sierne was trying to manifest and had fired a flame arrow at himself.

—

—

His body was covered in cuts and burns. However, the ice that should have been surrounding him was nowhere to be seen.

In terms of quick thinking, judgment, and coping ability… Derek was far superior to Sierne. This was the moment when that fact became certain.

“Huh… huh…”

As Sierne swallowed his breath, Derek grabbed his collar tighter and brought his face closer.

“Is it all over?”

“…Huh… huh…”

“You certainly learn magic quickly. The ice magic was helpful. I should try to use it if I get the chance.”

“…You… huh…”

“It seems you can’t use magic anymore.”

Derek was skilled not only in swordsmanship but also in hand-to-hand combat. In fact, without needing any of that, no one could beat Derek in a simple contest of strength.

If his magic power was exhausted, there was no way to kill Derek.

No matter how much of a beast driven by a killing instinct, it would not throw itself towards certain death.

Charging at Derek here was no different from throwing oneself off a cliff.

And even a monster that had lost its reason would not throw itself off a cliff.

“Huh… huh… huh…”

Sierne, panting heavily, stared quietly at the bleeding Derek. Despite hitting him with so much magic, this man stood firm like a towering wall.

Gradually… a light of reason returned to Sierne’s eyes.

“Yes…”

“…”

“I can’t kill you…”

– Flash!

– Crash!

As Derek let go, Lady Sierne’s body rolled pathetically on the snowy ground.

Amidst the softly accumulating snow, the battered Sierne gritted her teeth and spoke.

“…Yes. I feel relieved that I couldn’t do it even with all my strength…”

“…”

“Kill me. Dying so miserably is the most fitting end for me. Unable to achieve anything properly, just… just… living and dying as a monster was the life given to me from the start.”

Sierne lowered her head, tears streaming down her face.

Her dress was covered in dust. Rolling on the snowy ground in that disheveled state suited her best.

“You’re right. Even if I live like this, I will only direct my killing instinct at someone else. I always thought a day like this would come.”

—

—

Sieren gritted her teeth and, scattering her welling tears haphazardly, shouted at Derek.

“Kill me.”

Sieren, who no longer had the strength to resist, spoke.

Derek, who had been quietly looking down at her, had a cold glint in his eyes.

Soon, Derek reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass bottle.

He tossed it in front of Sieren, who was sitting on the snowy ground.

With a thud, the glass bottle landed and buried itself right in front of Sieren’s eyes.

The glass bottle, containing a bluish liquid, was crafted in an antique design.

“It’s a medicine made from the Floren plant. Drink it.”

“Ha…”

Sieren let out a hollow laugh.

She had already heard from Aiselin that Derek intended to kill her using poison.

In the end, this cruel boy wanted Sieren to end her life with her own hands. Perhaps that was the punishment he had in mind.

Feeling miserable, Sieren eventually accepted the reality and picked up the glass bottle.

However, she wanted to leave some final words.

“Tell Father… that he worked hard to embrace and take responsibility for a daughter like me. At least I… don’t resent him… for trying to love a monster like me until the end… Thank him for that…”

“…Understood.”

“Yes. That’s enough.”

With that, Sieren, holding back her tears, drank the medicine Derek had given her.

– Thud.

She dropped the empty glass bottle to the ground and sat back down.

Closing her eyes gently, she remembered the first time she committed slaughter.

The first to discover Sieren amidst the wolf carcasses was Sir Melverot.

He strode over, grabbed Sieren’s arm tightly, and led her back to the mansion without a word.

She didn’t know what expression he had or what he was feeling.

Even so, Sieren’s murderous intent never directed towards her father. Perhaps that was the last line she was holding onto.

A father with a daughter who committed slaughter. He might have resented Sieren.

Still, she was loved by her father. She wanted to leave this world thinking that.

Regardless of the reality, dying with that thought was the happiest death allowed to Sieren.

And so, Sieren gently closed her eyes.

—

A life full of suffering. However, a life where one couldn’t play the victim anywhere.

Living as a monster, dying as a monster. If I were to be reborn, I just want to be a human.

With such a monologue… he gently closed his eyes.

He entrusted his body to the cold wind sweeping through the frozen land.

It was the end of his life.

*

“…”

However, life did not end.

When Sieren gently opened his eyes again, he thought he would vomit blood and collapse due to the effect of the deadly poison.

However, instead of the poison circulating through his body… a warm energy began to flow, and soon a bit of magic power started to return.

Through the transformation magic he had wrapped around his body, he could endure the harsh climate a little longer.

“…What… is this…?”

“The Flonen herb temporarily amplifies the recovery of magic power. Its power is minimal, but it should be enough to withstand the cold.”

“What, what…? Wasn’t it… poison?”

“If there was a poison that could kill a monster so easily, would there be a reason for so many mercenaries to die while subjugating the labyrinth?”

“Then, this is…”

Sieren looked up at Derek with a bewildered expression.

Derek put away his staff, treated his wounds, and had a nonchalant expression.

Approaching Sieren, who was still in a daze, he quietly whispered.

“Even though you reached the extreme situation, you regained your reason in the end.”

“…Wha, what…?”

“Well done.”

At those words, Sieren’s mouth fell open.

Indeed, despite being consumed by instinct to this extent, it was the first time he hadn’t killed a single person.

It was more because Derek stood firm like a mountain than Sieren’s own will.

However, for the first time, Sieren regained his reason at the brink of a slaughtering instinct.

That was an undeniable fact.

“Remember that feeling.”

Blood was dripping from various parts of Derek’s body. All were traces of his battle with Sieren.

However, the boy didn’t seem to care about such wounds, and he casually took off his cloak and roughly covered Sieren’s head with it.

—

—

“Let’s call it a day.”

“…….”

“It’s cold, so please go inside.”

With that, Derek quietly turned around and walked away, crunching the snow underfoot.

Sierne could only watch him silently, her eyes wide open. His figure, quietly fading away in the snowstorm, seemed like an illusion.

Derek, too, was in a wretched state, but he did his job steadfastly without a single complaint.

That was the kind of man Derek was.

*

– Thud, thud

“Ugh… Huff…”

Sierne groaned as she struggled up the spiral staircase, leaning against the wall of the spire.

Her hair, once like white silk, was now completely disheveled, and her beautiful, expensive dress was torn and tattered.

In such a state, it was natural for the servants to come running to assist her, but none of them dared approach Sierne.

Unless they were certain that Sierne had fully regained her sanity, no one could approach her.

Thus, despite her noble status as a lady of the Rochester family, the girl had to drag herself up to her room in a wretched state.

In the cold and solitude, the girl thought.

‘What on earth… is that man… trying to teach me… the sense of regaining my sanity…?’

Even though he could have killed Sierne on the spot, the man coolly turned away as if the previous battles meant nothing.

His actions, as if he had accomplished his mission and was relieved, even carried a sense of incongruity.

‘Was it all an act…? To push me to the extreme… to make me overcome my instincts even once…?’

She had heard he was a renowned magic teacher.

Indeed, his skill in handling Sierne’s attacks, even when she lost her sanity and lunged at him, was extraordinary.

Unlike the previous magic teachers, who were more like scholars, he was a thoroughly practical person.

If all his actions were solely to correct Sierne.

If he had fought, risking his life, to help Sierne, who had lived as a monster to everyone, regain something as a human… Sierne found it hard to organize her thoughts.

If that were true, it meant that from beginning to end, he had led Sierne solely as a teacher.

– Thud, thud.

Struggling up each step, Sierne muttered through gritted teeth.

“Even so… even so… such actions can’t be justified…!”

Grinding her teeth, Sierne spoke to herself.

—

—

What comes to mind is the image of a girl bleeding to death on the snowy field.

The image of that noble girl who had to lose her life to Derek’s blade just because she was in the way still lingers before my eyes.

She was a person of such high integrity and conviction that she didn’t seem to fit in with Sieren.

I could never understand why such a beautiful girl, like a fairy, had to be driven to death for trying to correct a monster like me.

“…”

However, soon a great chill settled in the girl’s chest.

Killing people is wrong, the value of life is precious… Do I have the right to say such things?

I did not have that right.

Therefore, I cannot blame Derek.

That fact gnawed at Sieren’s heart even more. It was an undeniable fact.

Nevertheless, the death of Aiseline remains a deep wound, lingering in my heart. At the cruelty of Derek, who mercilessly killed her, Sieren ends up shaking her head.

Grasping at the thoughts filled with confusion, Sieren barely managed to reach the door and open it.

For now, I just wanted to lie down on the bed.

– Creak

As the door opened, Aiseline, who was drinking tea, was startled and put down her teacup.

“…”

“…Ah! Ah! Lady Sieren..! Are, are you okay..? Are you not seriously injured?”

“……”

Aiseline blushed with an awkward face and fidgeted with her hands on her lap.

Sieren thought quietly.

‘Now I’m even seeing hallucinations. I need to calm my troubled mind first.’

Sieren walked to the bed.

As I barely lay my tired body on the soft bed, a warm comfort enveloped my whole body.

It relieved the tension of my body that had been to the brink of death.

What soon surged up was a sense of loss.

The death of a girl who truly wanted to help me, and my helplessness in front of it.

That miserable feeling gnawed at my heart, but I was used to such sensations.

Sadness, grief, frustration, loneliness, pain.

As I lay there with my arm covering my eyes, my nose began to sting.

Even if I didn’t want to, I couldn’t help but sob, as my heart ached.

—

—

“Uh, uh… Lady Sieren. Yes, that’s right… It must have been very hard for you. I should have given you some time to recover… I was so thoughtless…”

– Sniffle, sniffle

“But still… you might be curious about the situation or want an explanation… Ah, no… that’s just my judgment. You should rest for now. I’m sorry for suddenly coming into your room.”

– Sniffle, sniffle

“I’ll leave the tea here for now. It’s supposed to help you calm down. It’s good tea, so please try it. Um… if you feel better, maybe later…”

– Suddenly!

As Aiselin continued to speak in a flustered tone, Sieren suddenly sat up.

Aiselin was startled and quickly straightened her back.

“…Huh?”

Sieren made a dazed sound. She had already held a funeral for Aiselin in her mind.

However, Aiselin, still feeling awkward, was fiddling with her fingertips and glancing at Sieren’s face.

She seemed to be very embarrassed.

There is one thing you should never do in front of someone who is sincerely expressing their condolences.

That is to come back to life.