Journey (3)
"Well, anyway, I'm personally grateful to you too."
Raig, after spouting some idle chatter for a bit, spoke frankly in a much more relaxed mood.
"These days the atmosphere in the family is good. It feels like brother Valerian can focus on the territory's affairs now, and father doesn't show it much, but he seems satisfied."
"Is that so? It's hard to grasp Duke Beltus's true feelings."
"Honestly, it's the same for me too. Heh heh."
Raig sat with his legs crossed in a relaxed posture, rubbed his chin a few times, and let out a sigh.
"Yeah, I guess I should accept what needs to be accepted too."
"...."
"People can change. Especially kids at that age, even more so."
Raig, saying that with a face that looked as if he were staring blankly into the distance, seemed to be reminiscing about the past.
It wasn't hard to guess through what course of events he had come to harbor such resentment toward Delia, but going over those specific incidents in detail was another matter.
He disliked Delia, but through the recent spar, he had no choice but to acknowledge that she had achieved a certain degree of inner growth. By now, it seemed he had slightly revised his evaluation of having looked down on Delia's caliber.
"She was using 1-star magic, but the way she handled mana was unique. It was like... how should I put it... like drawing a picture.."
"You noticed the difference?"
"I saw it right in front of me, of course. In my opinion, Delia doesn't seem to have learned the discipline- and system-centered theories that we nobles use."
Raig was sharper than expected. In any case, he too was a genius of magic born with the Bloodline of the Duplein Ducal House.
That achievement still couldn't compare to his older brother Valerian, but his innate sense for mana was in no way lacking.
"So Delia uses magic in a somewhat different way?"
"Yes. In the Wild School lineage, the way mana is handled differs greatly from individual to individual. Probably.... Once she reaches a certain trajectory, she'll study on her own without me needing to teach her anything more. When one reaches that level, honestly, a so-called master's interference can become more of a hindrance."
"That in itself sounds extremely special."
Raig gently closed his eyes.
It seemed as if he were chewing over Delia's past, when she had been shut away in the annex, despairing over a life riddled with failure without a single remarkable thing.
And then Raig recited in a voice that was neither overly emotional nor dry.
"Everyone gets their day in the light eventually."
And so spring came.
If life were the four seasons, it felt like spring had been continuing for a while now.
At least for Delia, it was so.
Other family members had to deal with various problems of the territory and other macroscopic agendas, so who knew how it was for them...
But at least for Delia, who could devote herself solely to her own training, the whole world looked like a warm paradise.
Her magic skill felt like it was improving little by little every time she trained. As is usually the case with learning, once you start to truly feel your own growth, it becomes more enjoyable than any amusement.
The refinement classes were also manageable, contrary to what she had imagined. Things like piano performance and flower arrangement were personally rather fun, so in her spare time she practiced various things in her room even without anyone telling her to.
When she walked through the garden bathed in warm sunlight, the servants no longer broke into cold sweats at the sight of Delia.
Sometimes, when one or two bold retainers commented that the weather was really nice, Delia had come to be able to respond in a suitably pleasant mood.
The maid who worked in the annex also began to sincerely trust and follow Delia, and started taking good care of her attire and conduct.
Even head butler Delron would greet Delia with a gentle smile when he saw her, and Delia, looking at him, could now harbor the impression that he had aged a lot compared to when she was young.
She, who had once had no interest in the affairs of the world, had finally begun to see her surroundings.
That the low-ranking maid who always watched Delia's mood was actually a more capable and sharp person than expected.
How busy and capable maid Katarina was. How the servant who always got scolded whenever there was a chance had been bustling about from early morning to handle the mansion's work.
How delicious the soup cooked by the chef who had come out of working at the Imperial Palace was. How high-grade the spices sprinkled at the end were. How rich the flavor of the black tea sometimes served at tea time was. How refined the depth lingering at the end of that aroma was.
She picked up the brush again.
From time to time, whenever she had time, she would take a canvas and an easel and go out to the garden, painting things like the gardener working diligently or the view of the mansion at sunset.
Most people still couldn't understand Delia's style, which was full of empty space, but Delia didn't seem to care and just drew lots of pictures she liked.
When she dipped the brush into well-dissolved paint a few times and drew it across the canvas, it felt as if time had stopped.
There were even times when she lost track of time.
Once, she was painting the blue sky on the mountain behind the mansion, and when she came to her senses, the sun was already setting.
Time kept flowing like that, but the warm feeling as if spring were continuing never disappeared.
Since winter had been so long, wouldn't it be fine for spring to be this long too.
That was a thought Delia always kept in her heart.
"You've gotten used to manifesting mana faster than I expected. The progress is quicker than I thought. This training doesn't need to be done anymore now."
"I told you, if I do it, I do it, right?"
In Delia's world, countless flowers had bloomed, but still, the person she spent the most time with was Derrick.
Who could deny it? That boy was the spring that had come to Delia.
He taught her magic, found Delia's talent, showed her how to walk the right path, and steadfastly did what he had to do even in front of the family that looked down on her. And yet, as always, he just fulfilled his duty with an expressionless face.
Delia felt grateful to Derrick, but apart from that, a teenage girl was, by nature, very clumsy at expressing her feelings.
As always, in front of Derrick who praised her as she was, Delia narrowed her eyes like a prim little girl, then put her hand on her waist with a proud expression.
"Ahem!"
"....."
"Every time I'm this proud, you always look at me with a pitiful expression, don't you?"
"It's not pitiful... it's just that sometimes I envy that purity."
"You really dress up 'not knowing how the world works' in such a pretty way."
"How could I speak bluntly to the Young Lady of the Duplein Ducal House. You are someone born with a noble Bloodline."
He never denied it outright. This boy seemed to observe all etiquette, but he absolutely never spoke empty words.
Rather, that part made him somewhat trustworthy. In a world of nobles riddled with empty words and empty formalities, a person like Derrick, who observed etiquette but didn't speak empty words, was a talent more precious than gold.
How great a blessing it was to meet a master worth trusting and following.
From some point on, whenever Delia was walking quietly, she was always humming a tune.
She would look at the flowers by the roadside and savor their fragrant scent, or stretch her hand toward that high, blue sky.
When she had time, she would also paint portraits for the mansion's servants.
At first, the servants who posed as models did so with uncomfortable expressions, but at some point, they began wanting to receive paintings from Delia.
By the time one month had passed, then two months, Delia was already remembered among the servants as a benevolent and dignified Young Lady.
She had once been an innocent and naive girl, and at one time had wandered and shut herself away in the annex and behaved recklessly, but she quickly came to her senses and once again became a Young Lady befitting that Bloodline.
Delia's period of wandering was roughly packaged like that. If one continued to move forward faithfully in the present, a brief wandering would, in the logic of life, be spoken of as a one-time deviation.
Even Duchess Miriela, who had looked at Derrick with displeasure, seemed to have no choice but to acknowledge his achievements, and when they passed each other in the corridor, she would just gently close her eyes and continue on her way.
Seeing that, Delia felt as if there was nothing in the world left to fear.
"You know, Derrick."
In late spring, Delia, who had been blankly watching the fluttering wings of butterflies on the garden flowers, asked.
"You lived while wandering around as a mercenary, right?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then you must have lived in an environment completely different from a place like this ducal residence, something almost like the wild. And the fact that the magic you use is based on Wild School theory too."
"That's how it is. To begin with, most Wild School mages are like that. It's not very common to awaken to Wild School theory in such a noble environment. You are rather special, Young Lady."
Special.
At that word, a strange sense of fulfillment rose up, and Delia broke into a broad smile.
Derrick, who had been absorbed in reading a 3-star Magic Book borrowed from the library, asked Delia across the tea table.
"But why are you asking that?"
"Just because. I was curious about how you lived, Derrick."
Originally, Delia had had no interest in her surroundings, but recently, as her field of view began to widen, she also started to take an interest in Derrick.
"You probably know this too, but noble Young Ladies all seem to live in pretty similar ways. There are differences depending on authority or prestige, but mostly they probably live like me. But commoners aren't like that, right?"
"That's right. The way commoners live is quite diverse. The values they consider most important are all different, and they're freer than you'd think. Of course, most of them tremble in poverty rather than enjoying that freedom."
"Yeah. So I wondered what you'd be like, Derrick. I was just curious."
Derrick listened quietly to Delia's words, then spoke as if it were nothing.
"I just want to become a mage of a higher-level. That's the only goal I have right now."
"Really?"
"All I've done my whole life is struggle to survive at the bottom, and the only thing that could be called a special talent is handling magic well."
Derrick was speaking in a frank tone as if it were nothing special, but Delia was blinking her clear eyes and quietly listening to her master's words.
"I just want to live doing what I'm good at. That's all. There's no grand reason to it."
"I think that alone is already very grand. You can use magic at a level that's absurd for a commoner, you know."
"That's only by commoner standards. For a mage born with a noble Bloodline like you, Young Lady, it's a realm you'll reach someday."
The Derrick reflected in Delia's small eyes was a person whose caliber was far larger than she had thought.
"If you're going to dream, you should look further. It's not something I could openly say just anywhere, though."
That too was just like Derrick, she couldn't help but think.
Whenever Derrick talked about his ambitions like this, Delia would fall into a strange feeling, as if she were somewhat distant from him.
The environment he had lived in and the way he faced life were too different from Delia's.
Even so, following in his footsteps was an enjoyable thing.
Delia felt as if a signpost had appeared in her once-wandering life, and before she knew it, she was always smiling in satisfaction.
*
"You look to be in a very good mood today, Young Lady Delia."
"Do I? Actually, I almost perfectly mastered one 1-star magic yesterday. They say brother Valerian reached about this level around this time too, so doesn't that mean I'm really talented?"
"Of course. The magical achievements you've made over the past few months are really amazing. You'll definitely become a mage no less than Young Master Valerian, Young Lady Delia."
Early in the morning, the maid who was brushing Delia's hair smiled brightly.
Delia, also in high spirits, responded to the maid's words.
The maid's words were not empty praise. Delia's magic ability, whose rate of achievement kept increasing, was no longer at an ordinary level.
They said that if you perfectly mastered three or four 1-star magics before the coming-of-age ceremony, you were considered quite talented, and if you entered 2-star magic, you were practically treated as a prodigy. Even by noble standards, this growth was clearly not at an ordinary pace.
Having completely absorbed the tips and training methods Derrick taught her, it seemed it wouldn't be long before she learned one more new 1-star magic.
"Today, I have magic class from the morning. In the afternoon, I have to study geography, so I should practice as much as possible in the morning."
"They say the weather will be good this morning too, so I'll set out refreshments at the garden tea table. Shall we hold the lesson there?"
"Yeah!"
Delia answered energetically with a bright expression, then came out into the corridor with quick steps.
There was still a bit of time left before the morning lesson, but she had come out early because she was so excited.
At this time, her magic master would probably be shut up in his personal room, reading a Magic Book or something. He was someone who always trained magic whenever he had spare time.
If she went a little early and pressed him to start the lesson sooner, that boy would sigh deeply as if he couldn't help it, then be dragged out by Delia.
Since the weather was good in the morning, let's receive instruction in a new 1-star magic while enjoying the warm sunlight.
Thinking that, Delia headed out with a light step, humming a tune.
–Thud
Delia opened the door to Derrick's personal room without thinking and, in a voice full of excitement, raised her voice.
"Derrick! This morning is magic class! I've been waiting all week because it was nothing but refinement classes!"
"..."
When she opened the door and went in, as always, the boy in familiar mercenary attire was sitting at the table.
However, today, Valerian, the young lady's older brother, was visiting his room. Why had he, who was always busy taking care of the territory's affairs, come all the way here?
"Ah, ah. Orabeoni."
"Oh, Delia. Good morning."
Behind Valerian's gentle smile, there was a strange anxiety mixed in. It seemed he had been talking about something with Derrick.
At the appearance of an unexpected person, Delia hesitated for a moment, but she continued speaking in an even brighter voice.
"Orabeoni, I'm sorry. We had magic class scheduled this morning, so I didn't know you had made a separate appointment with Derrick."
"No. I didn't come because I had a separate appointment. I just came because I had something to ask him."
"Then should I come back after you're done?"
The one who stopped her was Derrick.
"It's fine, Young Lady Delia. We were talking about your magic class."
"Huh? Talking about magic class?"
When Delia tilted her head, Derrick said with his gaze lowered.
"To tell you the truth, there is nothing more I can teach you now."
Such was the principle of the four seasons. They say there is no eternal winter, but spring was the same.
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