There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Sieren (1)

There comes a time in life when you have to accept the current reality as your fate.

Sieren thought it was so obvious that she never doubted it.

Living and dying with blood on her hands in this vast snowy land seemed miserable at first glance, but if you accept it, you can somehow accept it.

Living in a warm and fertile land like the Duplain or Beltus territories, walking through flower fields, is a life allowed only to people like Aiselin.

She envies it but doesn’t covet it.

Sometimes, when she looks down at the northern territory from the top of the spire, with snow falling on her, she has no choice but to accept that this land is her home.

On the cold and lonely snowfield, trees with bare branches protrude like thorns.

This was Sieren’s hometown, the Duchy of Rochester.

*

“Why, why are you alive?”

“I’m sorry for being alive… You must have been very surprised…?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that… Surely… by the blade of that guy…”

When Sieren asked with a bewildered expression, Aiselin slowly explained what had happened to her.

Derek had planned to have Sieren killed. He had deceived Aiselin and attacked Sieren.

—

—

From noble mtl dot com

Pretending to stab Iselin with a knife, using dye and confusion magic to create an illusion.

From the beginning, Derek had not the slightest intention of killing Siern, and all of this was done to guide Siern to control her killing instinct.

It was easier said than done, as he had to be prepared to face Siern’s attacks, which were driven by genuine anger.

No teacher had ever gone to such lengths to try to control Siern’s instincts.

After experiencing Siern’s killing instinct once, nine out of ten would flee in terror.

“Why… why go to such lengths…?”

“Because that’s just the kind of person I am.”

Although he had been promised a noble title, Iselin didn’t bother to mention that fact.

Even without such a reward, Derek would have made every effort to correct Siern to some extent. The fact that he immediately began thinking of ways to correct her upon seeing her true nature showed that.

Whether Derek was aware of it or not, he was already developing a sense of professionalism as a magic teacher.

There are no bad young ladies in the world, only those who haven’t been properly taught yet.

If there was someone wandering, he would try to guide them in a better direction. The way he habitually thought of such methods already made him a respectable teacher.

“Anyway… I came to apologize. No matter how good the intention was, the result was that Miss Siern was startled, and although it was unintended, I ended up being involved…”

“…”

“And… as I said, I thought you might be very frustrated or sad… I wanted to tell you that you don’t have to be. I’m alive and well, and Derek had no intention of killing Miss Siern… well, that’s it.”

Iselin sighed as if relieved, then smiled to show that everything was okay.

“We came to the north for Miss Siern. I just want you to know that.”

Seeing that, Siern lowered her head for a moment, as if looking at the sun shining warmly on the meadow.

The anger that had been rising towards Derek now lost its direction and wavered. Only a slight sense of betrayal remained.

If he truly accepted all the harsh roles solely for Siern’s sake, where should her anger be directed?

Perhaps it should be directed at herself. That was the moment she thought so.

“Anyway, Miss Siern didn’t kill anyone. Even in the midst of giving in to instinct and anger, you succeeded in regaining your reason. If you succeeded once, you can do it twice or three times.”

“…Can I really do that?”

“I’ll help you. As I said, you don’t have to trust me completely. You can just use me and discard me. So…”

“…No.”

Siern spoke in a voice that crawled like a mosquito, hugging her knees tightly.

She buried her head as if embarrassed, looking very shy.

“I’ll try to trust you.”

Iselin clasped her hands together and smiled, stars shining in her eyes. It seemed she was very happy that the icy-cold Siern was finally starting to open her heart.

Quickly approaching her and sitting next to her on the bed, Iselin spoke in a soft voice.

—

—

“Thank you, Lady Siern. I’m so happy.”

“You, you don’t have to be that happy. It’s not like it’s such a big deal for someone like me, a monster, to earn the trust of the flower of the Duplain family.”

“What are you talking about, Lady Siern? It’s such a great honor.”

Placing her frail hand over one of Siern’s hands, she spoke with a warm smile.

“I actually have a younger sister about your age, Lady Siern. She also had a bit of a wandering period, but she met good people and now she is leading many and aiming to become a ruler. I’m sure you two could become good friends.”

“R-really…?”

“Yes. I remember her always following me around, calling me sister, and now she’s become so reliable that I can’t help but feel proud every time I see her. Lady Siern, you may seem lost now, but you will be able to control that blood and become a great magician.”

Giving Siern encouraging words and embracing her was the role Derek wanted Aiselin to play.

In fact, even before talking about roles, Aiselin was just that kind of person by nature.

“You know…”

Siern, still hugging her knees and burying her head, spoke hesitantly.

Her voice was so small that one had to strain to hear it.

“Can I… Can I call you sister too…?”

Aiselin’s face filled with joy at those words, and an uncontrollable excitement surged within her.

It was like seeing a wounded stray cat finally approach her.

*

Head maid Serina swallowed dryly as she bandaged Derek’s wounds.

Although she sat with a nonchalant expression, the scratches and cuts all over Derek’s body were severe enough to be quite painful.

But for mercenaries who roam the battlefield, were these kinds of wounds just routine… or was Derek simply mentally strong…

Sitting on one side of the private room’s sofa, with his arm extended, Derek’s face showed no sign of movement.

“The scratches and cuts on your right arm have all been treated. We just need to take care of your ankle and lower back.”

“Yes, you’ve worked hard. Thank you.”

“No, Derek, you’ve worked much harder than I have.”

Serina had also been struck by Siern many times, but it had never been this bad.

Among the servants of the Rochester mansion, there was already an atmosphere of recognition for Derek. Everyone had seen him fighting with the rampaging Lady Siern in the middle of the mansion.

Seeing him somehow controlling what was practically the mansion’s disaster, a glimmer of hope arose that he might be able to take responsibility for Siern.

In any case, all she could do was treat his wounds.

Just as Serina was unwrapping a new bundle of bandages.

– Creak

– Thud Thud

—

—

Without even a knock, the door to Derek’s private room opened.

Turning his head, he saw Melverot entering, dressed in the fur-laden attire of a northern noble.

Serina shuddered and trembled, putting down the bandages and trying to stand up.

“Stay seated. Continue with the treatment.”

Derek, who had also been about to rise, sat back down on the sofa at Melverot’s command.

Melverot walked steadily into the private room, past Derek sitting on the sofa, and perched on the table by the window.

He quietly stared at the snowy landscape outside the window, then crossed his arms and spoke softly.

“I saw you causing a commotion in the garden.”

“I damaged some property. I apologize.”

“That trivial amount is nothing. But, it seems Siern has regained his reason.”

Being led by a light instinct and then regaining reason is nothing.

However, Siern truly succeeded in regaining his reason amidst the raging anger and rampaging instinct to kill.

Although it was thanks to Derek’s perseverance, it was a significant improvement.

Compared to the time when there was no hope and he was just keeping Siern, it was a meaningful change.

However, Melverot did not show any signs of joy. He was merely acknowledging Derek’s efforts.

“What are the plans from here?”

“Having controlled his instincts once, I plan to try again. We need to keep repeating based on the success experience. Before the next killing instinct rises, I also plan to teach him some simple calming magic…”

“Do you think Siern will follow you?”

“It might take some time for him to follow me, but with Lady Aiselin, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Aiselin has the ability to open people’s hearts.

Melverot seemed to agree with that opinion, as he did not express any disagreement.

Derek extended his other arm to the maid. The maid quickly applied the medicine and began to bandage it.

“I acknowledge it. You’re better than those desk-bound scholars who came claiming to teach Siern. I’m glad to see Siern changing.”

“Thank you. But… you don’t seem that happy.”

“Didn’t I tell you from the beginning? Siern is just a subject for my magical research. How could I love the detestable blood of Noir? It’s a monster that brought about the great disaster of the Dawn War.”

“…”

Derek quietly watched as the bandage was wrapped around his arm, then observed the maid’s expression.

She seemed tense, seeing Derek conversing casually with Melverot, the ruler of the north.

In fact, the difference in status between the two was so vast that it could be compared to the sky and the earth.

However, Derek felt he had to add a word.

—

—

“This time, while teaching Lady Siern, I had such thoughts. Indeed, it is not something just anyone can do. There are not many people who can withstand such overwhelming magic, while ensuring Lady Siern does not get hurt, preserving their own life, and calmly carrying out the battle in a practical manner.”

“Yes. Do you want to highlight your achievements?”

“Well. At least within this Rochester mansion, there is no one. Except for Sir Melverot, of course.”

Derek quietly spoke while looking down at his bandaged arm.

Melverot was also just staring out the window where snowflakes were fluttering.

“But… it seems you couldn’t do it to that extent. I wondered if there might be a reason why the great wizard Sir Melverot, who is at the level of a 6-star, could not personally reach out… such thoughts crossed my mind.”

“…”

“In fact, to go this far, you have to push Lady Siern to the extreme. And, you have to be prepared to earn her hatred and resentment. Pushing someone off a cliff to teach them is such a thing.”

Derek carried out that role without any hesitation.

To Siern, Derek was the epitome of evil, a monster that deserved to be killed and erased from the world immediately.

Receiving such a gaze meant nothing. When doing great things, such things are natural.

Someone like Melverot would surely know that.

Derek was silent for a moment.

In the quiet private room, only the sound of the maid wrapping the bandage flowed, and he just stared at the sight of snow falling on the window glass.

“You said you saw a glimpse of a 7-star level in Lady Siern. However, when I rode around the nearby high-level labyrinths, there were no traces of subjugation or research. No matter how hard I looked around, I couldn’t find any traces.”

To research the magic of monsters, exploring labyrinths was not an option but a necessity. Monsters like liches and reapers, which use various kinds of magic, only appear in high-level labyrinths.

There were quite a few traces of subjugation in the low-level labyrinths around the mansion for maintaining public order, but there were no traces of people passing through the deep high-level labyrinths.

He says he is interested in Siern’s magical power, but he has no interest in the magic of monsters. Melverot was such a person.

“Is it true that Sir Melverot is… peeking into the realm of a 7-star?”

“What do you want to say?”

“In fact, it was just a meaningless meddling.”

Derek spoke quietly with his head bowed.

“Sir Melverot is renowned as a hero of the nation. When Lady Siern realized she had the blood of Noir, I can only imagine the considerable burden that came from that high honor… that’s all I thought.”

“…”

“That’s all I wanted to say.”

Derek spoke only up to that point and gently closed his eyes.

After that… there was nothing more to explain.

The day Siern opened her eyes among the slaughtered wolves.

The day her first instinct for massacre revealed itself to the world, what did Melverot think when he first discovered her?

Only Melverot himself would know that. If he doesn’t speak, no one in the world will ever know.

—

—

However, one can infer.

The daughter left behind by the deceased comrade.

During the years spent with the daughter they left behind, what kind of feelings did Melverot harbor?

Watching Siern, who grew up in this snowy field, gradually becoming a lady, what thoughts did Melverot have?

When he realized that the instinct for slaughter that had bloomed was Noir’s blood, what expression did he make?

Melverot is the hero who killed Noir.

He would know better than anyone the scars that Noir left on this land. An unimaginable number of people died, and even his most cherished comrades were all killed by that Noir.

Unable to overcome his petty personal feelings, the fact that he left traces of that Noir, which could be the seed of disaster, in the world would be something his heroic self could never accept.

Therefore, another reason was needed.

He had to come up with another grand reason to keep Siern alive, one that was not personal or private.

To persuade not anyone else, but himself, he had to create any reason.

That might have been the fervor for the ‘7-star magic’ that would remain in magical history for a long time.

A magician before a hero. A magician before a father.

The legendary realm left by the great magician Adelbert, which would bring a new wind to this vast magical history. That was reason enough.

Nevertheless, there was one person he could not deceive.

Even though he deceived the people of the world and even himself, there was one person he could not deceive.

“Miss Siern left a will. She asked me to convey it to you.”

“A will?”

“Miss Siern thought she would die today.”

– ‘Tell my father. Thank you for embracing and taking responsibility for a daughter like me. At least I… do not resent my father… for trying to love such a monster as a daughter until the end… Thank you…’

It was the words left by the daughter who decided to accept death while shedding tears in the middle of the snowy field.

Since she asked to convey it, I am just conveying it. Since it is just delivering the message, Derek had no particular roughness.

“…”

Melverot did not particularly look at Derek upon hearing those words.

Just as he had been doing all along, he was just quietly looking out the window where the snow was falling.

When he closed his eyes, he would occasionally think of it.

The image of Siern standing among the wolf corpses.

Even though his hand was on the sword at his waist, in the end, he had no choice but to grab that wrist and return to the mansion.

Anyway, that daughter would have been tightly holding his arm as she followed him through the cold snowy field.

On the way from the middle of the snowy field to the mansion, the footprints left on the snow were for two people.

—

—

Since that day, it would have always been like that.

“You, you are a capable and smart person, but… you talk too much.”

“I apologize.”

“It’s fine. If you want to teach Siern, such qualities might be necessary.”

Sir Melverot, who had been silently watching the snow falling outside the window for a long time, finally spoke in a small voice.

Derek apologized appropriately and accepted his words without any fuss.

Thus, the two of them sat quietly for a long time without saying much.

“There is a small vineyard area near Rodelen.”

After maintaining silence for a while, Melverot finally spoke again.

“It’s a place famous for its wine. It’s right next to the Duke of Beltus’ territory and the Delua Plains, so its location is quite good and the trade routes are not bad, but it’s too small and relatively remote, so the central nobles almost consider it an exile.”

“…Is that so?”

Derek replied nonchalantly, lifting his fully healed arm and clenching his fist tightly.

“For some, it might be an exile, but for others, it might not be. Even if it’s tiny, it’s still a territory, and there is a need to control the residents. So, unless it’s a titled noble, there’s not enough justification to manage it. It’s a troublesome area that needs at least a baron to oversee it.”

Melverot turned his head and asked.

“Do you like wine?”

“Even if I don’t, I should.”

“Good.”

He stood up from his seat and let out a haughty laugh.

No matter what happened, his arrogant demeanor never seemed to disappear.