There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Marriage Proposal (4)

The idyllic landscape of the Rodelen region was peaceful and heartwarming just to look at, but it was understandable why the central nobles did not come.

The vineyards, arranged in a stepped formation on the hilly terrain attached to the outskirts of the Beltus Duchy, were not of a particularly impressive scale. It was said that the artisans living in the borderlands were so dedicated to quality control of the wine that they vehemently opposed expanding the cultivation scale.

“…I thought all noble houses would be luxurious and flashy, but that’s not necessarily the case.”

Derek had ridden his horse from early morning for nearly half a day to reach the outskirts of the Rodelen region.

Feline, who was tapping the horse’s rump next to Derek, looked at the noble mansion built next to the small vineyard and showed a surprised reaction.

The elegant two-story building made of bright limestone had aged too much and was covered in cobwebs due to lack of maintenance.

The ceiling was high, and the floor was marble, so if well-maintained, it could become a decent stronghold, but the labor required for that would not be free.

“This is good enough. Looking closely, there’s a stable next to it, and although it’s embarrassing to call it a garden due to its size… there’s a circular garden too. It’s just overgrown with weeds.”

Derek shrugged his shoulders as he dismounted from his horse. Feline, who had been staring at the mansion with a disinterested look, also dismounted her horse.

—

—

“Is it too early to start proper repair work… I guess it’s something to be done after receiving the title and gaining authority… But I still wanted to check the condition.”

“Oh my, our lord is already excited about receiving the title and making a name for himself… Coming to inspect a mansion that isn’t even his yet…”

“Just by looking, you can tell there’s a lot to be done. I can’t manage this mansion alone, so I’ll have to hire staff… I’ll also need to check on the state of the tenants… And since I have a strong wanderlust, I need to establish a system so that the mansion runs smoothly even when I’m not around.”

Derek’s goal has never changed.

It is to become a higher-level wizard.

To achieve that, it was best to handle the necessary tasks quickly.

For some, a noble title might be a lifelong goal, but for Derek, it was merely a tool to achieve a greater goal.

He had no intention of wielding authority or showing off by flaunting the title.

“There’s just a lot of expenses.”

“Where will you get that kind of money? Just by looking, the maintenance costs seem enormous.”

“When I receive the title, I’ll also be granted authority related to taxes, so it won’t be a big problem. However, I’m not sure if the local nobles who have lived without a lord will readily follow my opinion. It’s one challenge after another.”

Derek sat on an old wooden chair in a garden overgrown with weeds.

As he sat quietly, he could hear the sound of insects under the warm sunlight. It was certainly a good place to come for rest in old age, but it wasn’t a place that a central noble in his prime would covet.

“The location is nice.”

“Yeah, sigh.”

Feline still had a disinterested look in her eyes.

She agreed to accompany him because of the money, but she seemed to have a strong aversion to the idea of playing nobility.

She preferred drawing her bowstring on a blood-soaked battlefield to maintaining dignity in a well-prepared environment.

“Have you decided on a family name?”

“Ravenclaw.”

“…Hmm.”

Derek, who had been staring blankly at the sky with one arm draped over the back of the wooden chair, answered without hesitation.

The fact that he didn’t even hesitate for a second suggested that he had already made up his mind.

Feline, who felt the name was familiar, rested her chin in her hand and fell into thought. There seemed to be a reason why it felt so familiar.

After pondering for a long time, Feline finally remembered where she had heard that name.

“…”

Despite being active in the Veldern Mercenary Corps, Derek occasionally visited the slum where he spent his childhood.

Not very often, maybe once or twice a year… He would walk along the river that crossed the Ebelstein slum.

Curious about why he would go to such a place, Feline had once followed him.

When she finally followed him, she found it was nothing special, so she didn’t give it much thought.

—

—

Before going to work, I wake up early at dawn and buy steaming butter bread from a grocery store or bakery in the commercial district.

Then, I place the bread in front of a modest grave made of old planks under a shabby bridge in the slum river, and sit by the river, quietly watching the water flow.

Without any particular emotional expression, I just sit quietly from time to time.

I don’t really know what meaning there is in quietly looking at the river’s scenery in the early morning air…

I remember the old inscription on the grave where Derek left.

The name engraved there was ‘Ravenclaw.’

A crow that picks at corpses.

When wandering around the slum, I would often see those unpleasant birds clinging to the corpses that had starved to death in the corners of alleys.

As a wizard, I thought I had climbed up from such a bottomless pit by honing my skills… but does Derek still think of himself as just such a crow?

Or does it have some other meaning… Felinne had no way of knowing.

“The weather is nice.”

Just muttering that surname and blankly looking up at the sky next to Derek, I would just sigh deeply through my nose.

The sky is high and blue.

Even as time passes, the revolving seasons remain unchanged.

It is natural that spring comes after winter.

That principle remains the same without change.

In the end, it is always people who leave.

*

“I was so worried that Lady Aisellin would be upset that I couldn’t sleep, pacing around. It was an inevitable choice to maintain the authority of the Rosea Salon, but from Lady Aisellin’s perspective, there must have been some parts that were hard to accept.”

Lady Trisha of the Renouel Viscount family was the most active in trying to expel Duplain from the three great families.

In fact, it was an awkward position to even show her face in front of Aisellin, but she appeared confidently and sympathized with her.

Sympathy is an emotion with a clearly established hierarchy. It is natural for the one above to sympathize with the one below.

On the surface, she might seem like a kind person worrying about the declining Lady of Duplain, but in reality, her intention to establish such a hierarchy was more blatant.

Her intentions were so insidious that Elente, who was watching from the side, frowned.

‘How should I intervene in this…’

Denise was sipping her tea indifferently, but Elente was rolling up her sleeves, determined to do something.

However, Trisha’s words and actions were so insidious that she did not immediately do anything problematic on the surface. That was the nature of the power struggle among noblewomen.

“I heard you went all the way to the north to secure funds for the family…”

“Yes. I went to the Rochester estate.”

“Oh dear… You must have had a hard time. It’s never easy for a noble lady to run around earning money herself, but I really can’t help but acknowledge Lady Aisellin’s determination.”

—

—

“You’re too kind, haha…”

The grace of a noble lady is revealed when she appears like a solitary flower detached from the mundane world.

Running around frantically to secure a bit more money cannot be considered dignified, even as a compliment.

Trisha’s words subtly jabbed at Aisellin’s frivolous behavior.

Those who were oblivious would have just laughed it off, but the three members of the Rosea Salon, who knew everything, could clearly feel the weight behind her words.

Was she trying to scratch Aisellin’s pride and feel a sense of superiority?

Lady Trisha was already smiling contentedly as she took a cake from the dessert tray and placed it in front of her.

“The only thing I can offer you is some delicious desserts. I brought things that go well with tea. You probably don’t get to enjoy them often, so it’s best to savor them while you can.”

‘You’re really something, Lady Trisha.’

A vein popped on Elente’s forehead.

It was well known that the Renouel Viscount family had been gaining power recently, but that was the family’s merit, not Trisha’s own strength.

It was natural for a noble lady to rely on her family’s influence, but that didn’t mean she could be rude.

Elente was pondering if there was anything she could use against her.

“Thank you, Lady Trisha. I’ll enjoy it.”

Aisellin smiled softly and took a plate with a small cookie from the dessert tray.

She appeared completely unbothered.

Aisellin had long been the most elegant flower in the Ebelstein social circle.

The most efficient way to deal with such arrogant remarks was to simply ignore them. Knowing this well, she showed no reaction.

Trisha, seemingly displeased with such a skillful response, pursed her lips for a moment.

The reason Trisha wanted to show off in front of Aisellin was not just because of her bad personality, but also because she needed a symbolic scene of herself overpowering Aisellin before the full-scale family power struggle began.

A person like Aisellin of Duplain, who couldn’t utter a word in response.

If she could occupy that position, she could maintain her lofty demeanor in front of other noble ladies as well.

Therefore, she wanted to frequently display Aisellin’s flustered and speechless state as much as possible.

In the noble society, the display of power was equivalent to authority.

To achieve that, she needed to provoke Aisellin as much as possible, crossing the line whenever necessary.

She had to be prepared to ruin the exemplary noble lady who never lost her grace and dignity.

A teenage girl, obsessed with honor, power, and good marriage proposals, would occasionally cross the line like that.

– Drip, drip

──And so, lukewarm tea was flowing down Aisellin’s head.

It happened in an instant.

—

—

“Oh my, I’m sorry. Lady Aiselin.”

“──.”

It happened so suddenly that even Ellente and Denise, who were sitting next to her, couldn’t react.

– Drip, drip, drip.

The tea that flowed down Aiselin’s delicate chin was dripping onto the table.

Before Aiselin, who hadn’t fully grasped what had happened, could react, Ellente slammed the table and stood up.

“Lady Trisha!”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to offer you some good tea from the eastern continent, but my hand slipped.”

Even Aiselin, who had always handled every situation appropriately, had a flustered expression.

If she gets angry, she will fall into Trisha’s pace. But if she endures it, it will also go according to Trisha’s intention.

What is the appropriate response? In this situation, where not only the servants of each family but also the passersby on the street were glancing over, it was difficult to respond hastily.

On the terrace of a tea house, right next to the central square of the noble district, where nobles and the wealthy often frequented.

Watching Aiselin bow her head quietly, Trisha whispered with a satisfied smile.

“Are you okay? What should we do about this…”

A girl who seemed so sorry that she didn’t know what to do with herself.

However, everyone gathered around knew. Trisha was trying to establish the hierarchy.

Just as Aiselin raised her bewildered eyes and was about to say something.

“What are you doing?”

A girl approached from beyond the terrace, accompanied by a servant.

She seemed to have encountered them while strolling through the square on some errand.

Her abundant blonde hair wrapped around her body, and her frilled dress, which clung tightly to her petite frame, looked expensive at a glance.

Her eyes, which were raised high, revealed that she was not a person with a good temperament. The gap between her cute figure and her demeanor was evident.

Trisha, momentarily flustered by the sudden intervention, smiled again when she recognized the face.

It was just the right person.

“Oh my, Lady Diela is here too. I’m sorry. I have been rude to Lady Aiselin.”

Diela Catherine Duplain.

She was the younger sister of the girl who was now drenched in tea.

Known as the young lion of the Duplain family, even after the family’s great decline, her spirit and charisma remained, causing many young ladies to be wary of her.

However, Trisha already knew well.

At the last salon meeting, Diela had already once lowered her tail to Trisha.

—

—

Even in a situation where she was openly insulted, she acknowledged the decline of her family and took a step back.

At that time, Trisha couldn’t say anything more due to the overwhelming spirit, but upon reflection, she could instinctively feel that the atmosphere had already shifted in her favor.

No matter how much Diella, the lion of Duplain, tried, she couldn’t stop the declining trend.

Even the arrogant Diella had no choice but to realize this.

Therefore, Trisha raised the corners of her mouth and said,

“I accidentally spilled tea on Lady Aiseline. I want to clean it up, but Lady Diella, could you help me?”

“…”

“I’m worried that if I clean it myself, the tea might stain the hem of my dress.”

The pleasure of trampling on the noble ladies of the beautiful and noble Duplain family all at once.

As if captivated by it, Trisha was about to raise her voice even higher.

Diella, glancing at Aiseline who was drenched in tea, strode towards Trisha.

“I’ve checked the situation in the Rodelen region, so let’s head back to Ebelstein, Pellin.”

“Is there nothing more to do?”

“There’s not much we can do until we receive the title… For now, just assessing the situation is enough. We probably need to persuade the Beltus family. It would be difficult for Sir Melverot to handle it alone.”

From noble mtl dot com

Saying so, Derek stood up and walked briskly towards the mansion entrance where the horses were tied.

“How are you going to persuade those noble scoundrels?”

“We’ll have to use every connection we have.”

“Well… Derek, you’ve built quite a few connections with various noble ladies while claiming to be a magic teacher. Come to think of it, you must have some influence in the Ebelstein social circle.”

“Well… How much influence could I have? I’m just teaching magic.”

“Hmm… I don’t know…”

Pellin followed Derek, mounted his horse, and snorted.

“I think differently…”

Pellin, who didn’t like or care about noble culture, could be somewhat certain. If people influenced by Derek started entering the Ebelstein social circle, there would surely be some changes.

Of course, it was impossible to predict what kind of influence Derek would have or what events he would cause.

Such things couldn’t be easily guessed.

– Smack!

– Crash! Clatter!

In the midst of an event far more shocking than Aiseline being drenched in tea.

Even Ellente, who rarely got flustered, and Denis, who usually remained calm, couldn’t help but widen their eyes and drop their jaws.

—

—

It happened in an instant, but the aftermath of the shock was immense. It was as if time had stopped in the area.

Diela, who had kicked the tea table and lunged forward, slapped Trisha across the face with her palm.

It wasn’t just a simple slap. The blow, imbued with magic, pushed Trisha back and threw her to the floor.

– Crash! Bang!

The chair Trisha was sitting on tumbled to the ground.

As she fell, the hem of her dress got covered in dust.

“Huh… Ugh…”

Trisha herself couldn’t grasp what had just happened. Suddenly, the world turned upside down, sparks flew, her vision went dark, and before she knew it, she was rolling on the floor.

Soon, a sharp pain surged up her cheek. The time lag created a sense of disorientation that further unsettled Trisha’s mind.

“Huh… Gulp…”

No more words came out.

Trisha looked up, clutching her cheek. There, Diela, still looking down at her with a cold gaze, was flicking her fingers.

She tried to speak, but no words formed.

Only choking sounds escaped her throat.

Everyone, from the young ladies sitting down to the distinguished guests and servants nearby, held their breath.

It was hard to comprehend what had just happened before their eyes.

In the midst of the shock, as if time had stopped, Trisha thought.

Even when she insulted the family and scratched at Diela herself, there was no change in expression.

Naturally, she thought Diela would acknowledge the decline of her family and bow her head this time as well. However, Trisha did not know about Diela’s reverse scale.

Diela had learned to endure insults to herself or the family’s name.

But despite such personal growth, there were times she wouldn’t tolerate it.

This was one of those times.

“…”

Winter had already come to an end, and it was almost time for the cherry blossoms to bloom.

However, the coldness in Diela’s eyes seemed to freeze the entire area.

Even without showing any emotional expression, the look in Diela’s eyes was one of clear murderous intent, like that of a predator.

Eventually, the emotion in Trisha’s eyes was primal fear, more than any other emotion.

At the end of the frost-like anger, the girl coldly uttered a single word.

“Stand.”

It seemed that the nobles had long forgotten about this moment.

—

—

At her peak, Diela was the most notorious mad dog of the Duplain family.