Chapter 16 Translator: XZY Chapter 16: Master and Disciple (6) ***
Servants rushed up onto the platform, thick with rising dust. Now that the duel was over, it was time to clean up.
Among them, the person who most urgently needed help was, by anyone's standards, Diella.
With that small body, she had run around the platform for a long time, gotten injured while falling, and had drawn out her mana beyond its limits, leaving her in a battered state.
Watching her shed tears while coughing and sneezing, one was reminded not of her venomous side, but only of how desperate she was.
Looking down at Diella, who was tattered like a rag, Reigh was at a loss for words.
"Uh.. uh-heuk..."
A sense of wretchedness emanated from her as she sobbed and clutched her wound.
It had started as just a ceremonial magic duel between nobles, but even Reigh had not expected it to lead to this kind of conclusion.
"S-sorr..."
As he was about to say that, Reigh quickly came to his senses. Had he just tried to apologize? To that hooligan Diella, at whom even the heavens would shake their heads?
However, the Diella that Reigh had seen during the duel was too different from the one he knew so well.
Had she changed?
He didn't know exactly what had changed, but he could at least tell that Diella had sincerely tried to prove herself through this duel.
The result was not good, but sometimes, more meaning is given to the process.
That was why Reigh could neither ridicule nor blame Diella, who was lying on the ground crying.
A strange sense of sublimity flows from those who have challenged with all their strength.
To mock that carelessly was bound to be accompanied by a sense of guilt. Reigh stood there for a long time... with an expression as if he didn't know what to say.
Taak
"I will guide you to the inner chambers. You must receive treatment first."
Diella, who had been helped up by the maids, soon pushed them away.
And she stood up straight on her own two feet, then strode towards Reigh.
A look of indignation still remained in her eyes, which were still red and swollen.
However, a loss was a loss.
Diella quietly bowed her head to Reigh and walked past on her own two feet.
Reigh could only stare at that sight with wide eyes.
Tadak, tadak.
Next, the place Diella headed after coming down from the platform was in front of Derek, who had been quietly watching the duel from among the servants.
She went in front of Derek, who was standing still, and straightened her battered body. A drop of blood was flowing down her cheek, and her brilliant golden hair and pretty frilled dress were covered in dust.
The girl, despite having just cried her eyes out, tried to maintain her dignity as a noble. Whining and complaining in front of a commoner was not befitting of her status.
A young lady of a noble family must always be aloof and noble. Diella, too, had always been a girl like an aloof and noble cat. A proud and graceful stray cat always walks aloofly on the wall, even in the dust.
Therefore, even as she bit her trembling lower lip, the girl lowered her voice and spoke.
"I lost."
The emotional dam, built of aristocratic authoritarianism, was thoroughly blocking her overflowing heart.
Nevertheless, she had to press down with her hand the flow of that emotion, which was trying to leak out one stream, two streams at a time.
"Sorry."
The girl apologized briefly. The other party was a mere commoner.
She had received Derek's teachings and had stood on the platform to prove it, but she had been miserably defeated and had cried unsightly.
She just quietly offered an apology for that fact.
Derek, standing still, looked at her, then slowly said.
"It's alright."
"..."
"It's okay to lose."
Derek was also not the type to draw out his words.
That was why each and every word could become heavy.
"You lose a lot in life."
At those words, as if the emotional dam she had been holding back had finally broken, the girl choked up and shed tears.
In the midst of the servants who were trying to take her away to treat her wounds quickly, she cried and cried like that.
<> <> <>
Taak
Several servants followed Miriella as she walked towards the front of the garden where the platform was set up.
Miriella's face, as she strode forward with her fists clenched, was flushed with heat.
And that anger shot up to the top of her head as soon as she saw Diella, who was covered in wounds and crying her eyes out.
"Diella!"
Miriella ran up to Diella, who was being attended to by the servants and heading for treatment. She then lowered her posture and looked at Diella's wound. It was not a big wound, but worry welled up first, wondering if it would leave a scar.
Miriella, not minding the thick dust, hugged Diella first.
"Oh... Diella...! You must have had a hard time... It's okay... Just trust this mother now..."
"Mother..."
"We need to treat the wound first. Follow the servants and get treatment right away."
And so, Miriella let Diella go from her embrace, then turned her gaze sharply towards Derek.
Anger shimmered in that burning gaze.
Miriella then strode right up to Derek's nose and grabbed him by the collar.
"You bastard... do you even know what you've done?"
"..."
Derek quietly stood with his hands behind his back, his chillingly red eyes just looking up calmly.
"Do you think you've accomplished something great? 1-Star magic? That's something she can learn slowly, even if it's a little late. You taught the vile and ugly ways of the bottom to the young lady of the Duplein ducal family, who should be a noble lily. You wouldn't know the gravity of that."
"..."
Smack!
Miriella's anger, which had risen to its limit, sent a slap towards Derek.
Derek turned his head, which had been snapped to one side, back to the front. His cheek was swelling, but Miriella did not even show a hint of caring.
All the servants gathered nearby broke out in a cold sweat and swallowed dry gulps.
Miriella's anger towards Derek seemed to spread through the air.
"What do you, a lowborn from the bottom, know about noble culture? Do you even understand how brutally cold a place the social circles of Ebelstein are? That's a place where beings from above the clouds gather. You wouldn't understand how desperate it is to have to adapt in such a place, stained with the filth of the bottom."
"..."
"There is a world that commoners like you don't know. There is a value that must be protected through authority, by showing off one's skills through a magic duel with etiquette and dignity. There is a world like that, which someone with a background from the bottom like you can never understand."
Smack
Miriella, gritting her teeth, slapped Derek again.
Derek stood still with his hands quietly behind his back.
"I... I will do anything for Diella. Getting rid of an insect like you that has clung to my lovely Diella is no trouble at all. I will, by any means necessary, right now..."
Jeobeok, jeobeok.
It was around the time Miriella was fuming with anger.
The Grand Duke of Duplein, who had followed her and slowly come down towards the platform, appeared.
All the servants gathered at the scene bowed their heads and paid their respects.
The Grand Duke of Duplein, who walked through them with his hands quietly behind his back and a stern expression, was the master of this ducal domain.
He was a person whom ordinary commoners would have to bow their heads to just by meeting him.
In the midst of the silence that fell with his appearance, there was only one person here who could raise their voice.
"Dear! You saw the duel too, didn't you?! This is all... this is all the work of this frivolous lowborn! If you have a mouth, say something...!"
What happened next was more than enough to drive everyone at the scene into shock.
Smack!
A silence as if time had stopped enveloped the front of the platform.
Not only the servants, but even the vassals could not help but have shocked eyes.
Miriella, whose cheek had been snapped to the side, only then realized that she had been slapped.
Her trembling pupils revealed her confused inner self.
Only after feeling the tingling sensation rising on her cheek did the figure of her husband, who was looking down at her with a still-stern face, come into view.
"Do you not know who is acting the most frivolously in this place right now?"
"Dear... this... what is this..."
Miriella's lips trembled as she turned her head again and spoke. Everyone gathered nearby was breaking out in a cold sweat.
As a noble lady belonging to the ducal family of a nation, she had never been subjected to such a primitive blow. This was because there was no one who could do so.
However, strictly speaking, it was not that there was no one at all.
As soon as she realized that well-known fact, her mind could not help but be filled with confusion.
"D-dear... why... this person is a commoner, lowborn and insignificant from his very background. You know the nobility of Duplein well."
"Yes. You are right. This person is just an insignificant wandering mercenary from the slums. He is also a person who will only bring disgrace to the name of the Duplein family."
"Then.. then why..."
"Nevertheless, he is our daughter's master."
At those words, Miriella's eyes went wide. The Grand Duke of Duplein's stern face was the same as she always saw, but it seemed there had been some internal change.
"What parent in the world would treat their own child's master in this way?"
If the Grand Duke of Duplein, the master of the ducal domain, had decided so firmly, there was no one who could oppose his will anymore.
Her heart trembled from the shock of being slapped.
As the Grand Duke walked past Miriella, the strength in her legs gave out from the shock. The nearby servants quickly ran over and supported her.
The Grand Duke of Duplein did not even give her a glance, and with his hands behind his back, he strode to the front of Derek.
It was the sight of the Grand Duke of Duplein, not the one who was moving a quill pen in his office, but the one who had appeared with a host of servants and was looking down sternly. A sense of intimidation emanated from that appearance.
He spoke to Derek in a low, deep voice.
The words that followed were something that all the servants could not help but doubt their ears.
"Each person has their own way of loving their child. I ask that you humbly forgive her."
"..."
Even Derek, who always maintained his composure, could not help but close and open his eyes once, as if this was unexpected.
The situation itself, where the Grand Duke of a nation offered an apology in this way, was something no one could have predicted. This was because the other party was a mere commoner from the streets.
"It is nothing."
"Then I have something else to discuss, so follow me to the reception room."
And so, the Grand Duke crossed the scene filled with shock and quietly headed towards the mansion.
All the vassals gathered at the scene bowed their heads towards the Grand Duke, who was striding back into the mansion.
<> <> <>
When Derek entered the reception room, the Grand Duke of Duplein was checking a document spread out on a sofa inlaid with gold leaf. The way he was sitting with his legs crossed and his chin propped on his hand was the same as always.
He was a man so busy that he had to use even this short gap for work. Taking responsibility for this large ducal domain was not an easy task.
He glanced at Derek, who had opened the door and entered, then shifted his gaze to the chair opposite him. It was roughly a way of saying to sit over there.
Derek quietly offered his greetings and went to the chair and sat down.
Sarak, sarak.
For a while, only the sound of papers being turned over flowed.
Then, the Grand Duke suddenly asked, as if throwing a question.
"If you have something to say, say it."
"..."
The Grand Duke threw out the words as if to test Derek. He was saying to speak if he had something he wanted to say first.
However, Derek had nothing more to say. He was the type of person who proved things with results rather than drawing out his words.
"I have nothing in particular."
"Yes, good."
The Grand Puke, as if he was quite pleased with his temperament, did not show any particular sign of anger.
Soon, he tossed the document on the table, then stroked his chin and spoke.
"Let me say this in advance, I do not particularly like appointing commoners like you."
"I am aware."
"Nevertheless... I must acknowledge what I must acknowledge."
The Grand Duke of Duplein's dry eyes turned to Derek.
"You are competent."
The Grand Duke was not unnecessarily emotional, nor was he completely dry. It seemed to be his own way of leading people.
"A lord is one who appoints the competent and gives rewards worthy of their achievements."
"I have already been promised a reward."
"You mean the pittance that Aiseline promised?"
Only nobles, at most, could call 15 Idel gold coins a pittance. However, coincidentally, the man in front of him was the noble of nobles.
As Derek closed his eyes slowly, the Grand Duke of Duplein let out a hollow laugh.
And then, as always, he spoke in a powerful voice.
"You taught Diella 1-Star magic splendidly. But to live in the harsh society of nobles, that much achievement is not enough."
"That would be so. But are there not many excellent people in Duplein who can lead Lady Diella? Now that she has a feel for magic, she will grow more."
"What my daughter needs is not a magic instructor, but a master."
A sense of determination was in the Grand Duke of Duplein's voice.
"But you cannot fool my eyes. You harbor a great ambition, which is not even allowed to be dreamed of by a commoner."
"..."
The Grand Duke of Duplein's eyes were gleaming, as if trying to see through Derek.
He was a man who had lived his whole life evaluating and gauging people. He had instantly seen through the fact that Derek was dreaming of a realm beyond 3-Star, of 4-Star or higher.
"I am not unaware of how blasphemous that will be taken by the noble aristocrats of Ebelstein. However, since you have achieved something, I shall turn a blind eye."
"..."
"However, if you harbor such an ambition, you surely cannot stay in a noble family like this for long. I already know that you are ready to leave for Ebelstein right now. Perhaps you are of a constitution that is suited to be a wandering mercenary from birth."
"That is so."
"I am not unaware of your ambition, but still, you must teach Diella a little more."
As the level of magic became higher and higher, the meaning of Derek's talent would gradually change.
The Grand Duke of Duplein knew that well, so he knew well what to offer to hold on to him, who had a wandering temperament.
"They say that the highest realm allowed to a commoner is 3-Star. Do you wish to reach that realm?"
"...!"
"Of course, at this point, it would be a reckless goal. Still, you would want to be able to lay the foundation."
The Grand Duke, seeing Derek's reaction, let out a snort, then took out a small silver key from his pocket and tossed it on the table towards Derek.
"Do you know what that is?"
"I do not."
"It is the key to the underground library, which can only be accessed by the direct line of the Duplein family and high-level vassals."
The Grand Duke, with his chin propped, said quietly.
"There, 3-Star magic books, which are worth hundreds of gold coins, are lying around, enough to trip over."
This time, Derek's eyes could not help but gleam.
The Grand Duke of Duplein was a person who had seen through, more coldly than anyone else, what he had to do to keep Derek at the ducal estate.
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