Chapter 25 Translator: XZY Chapter 25: Belmeade (5) ***
The Globeltein Cultural Hall.
This large cultural hall, named after Sir Globeltein Ebelstein who founded this city, was a place where people of the social circle discussed aesthetics, held art auctions, and sometimes, small concerts.
As it was a place where influential figures from all walks of life gathered for social activities, it was one of the most thoroughly managed places in this noble district. It was also here that the Rosea Salon's aesthetic debates were held.
After the regularly held exhibition ended, the young ladies who had gathered to cultivate their education were leaving one by one. Each and every one of them was a big shot who was quite famous in their own territory, but even in a galaxy where stars gathered, there were always stars that shone exceptionally brighter.
"A magic duel is planned for the next meeting. There are widespread rumors that Lady Elente's magic skills have become even more outstanding recently, and hearing such stories makes me nervous."
Her followers clung to the side of Lady Aiseline, who was smiling beautifully while leading four or five servants. The lower-ranking nobles from the provinces were making a fuss, flattering her, wanting to catch her eye even a little.
Lady Aiseline treated them with an elegant smile, but inwardly, she would not think of them as meaningful connections. Lady Elente was inwardly certain as she watched the scene.
Elente tidied her reddish hair, then gathered her luxurious quill pen, sachet, and charming but antique-looking opera glasses and handed them to her servants.
After that, she had her maid tidy the hem of her dress, then went out into the hallway and followed beside Lady Aiseline.
When the two of them were together, all the lower-ranking nobles in the area would fall silent. They were afraid that carelessly intruding on their conversation would be considered a breach of etiquette.
"Lady Aiseline, you are so humble. You haven't lost a single time in the salon's magic duels this quarter, have you? Your skills are indeed worthy of being called the flower of the Duplein family."
"Oh my, Lady Elente, your praise makes my shoulders rise."
Although Lady Elente acknowledged Lady Aiseline emotionally, she still couldn't help but feel a strange sense of envy and jealousy when she looked at her.
Sometimes, an inexplicable sense of rejection arose for people who were flawless and perfect. The feeling of inferiority was usually like that.
Nevertheless, today, Lady Elente's spirit was more alive than usual.
What was the point of hiding it? Lady Aiseline had also been curious about the news of Derek, so there was no need to keep it a secret.
"I've decided to take on a new magic master recently. Master Felmier opposed it, but he's a person with a good record, so I pushed for it. When I was at the county estate, I didn't have the power to ignore the opinions of the vassals, but being the master of the mansion is a good thing."
"Oh my, is that so? For Lady Elente to push for something so actively. Your trust in that magic master must be considerable."
"To be precise, it's closer to Lady Aiseline's trust than my own."
"Pardon?"
When Aiseline asked back with an innocent face, Lady Elente said with a full smile.
"It's about the mercenary named Derek you mentioned before. He was once again taking on requests at a place called the Veldern Mercenary Corps on the tavern street, so I spoke to him separately and brought him here."
"Oh, Mr. Derek?! It seems he was very busy with mercenary work all this time!"
Lady Aiseline's face lit up upon hearing the name.
Even after he had left the Duplein estate, Aiseline had often spoken of him when she had tea privately with Diella.
Her younger sister, Diella, had told her not to worry too much even if he was not in sight, as Derek would probably be passing the time doing mercenary work anyway. In reality, Derek was a person who only knew about magic and money, and these two things alone.
"Well, that's right. He was going around experiencing real combat at all hours in the name of training, and studying magic and so on."
"As you know from meeting him yourself, he is a deep and trustworthy person. You have found a really good master. Congratulations, Lady Elente."
'...This isn't it...'
Seeing Aiseline's bright expression, Elente ended up making a somewhat dissatisfied face.
Wasn't she saying that she had brought in the rumored wandering magic master, whom even that Aiseline had failed to keep at her estate?
She had thought she would show a bit of a chagrined look, but Lady Aiseline was instead sincerely congratulating Elente.
In fact, Aiseline knew to some extent. The boy named Derek was a human born with large wings, so he was not a person who could be locked up in a cage.
She knew well that his decision to look after Lady Elente's magic was just him finding a place to stop by for a while as he wandered here and there.
Certainly, if a person with outstanding magical abilities like Lady Elente received Derek's guidance... she herself could not let her guard down.
Lately, the magic duel opponents who came up were people who were no match for her. Lady Aiseline herself was realizing that her sharp senses had dulled a lot.
If there was a well-intentioned competitor like Lady Elente, it would be a great help in polishing herself. Lady Aiseline wanted to send her sincere congratulations and cheer for Lady Elente.
However, a memory suddenly flashed through her mind.
—'Diella. I'm thinking of taking some time to ask Mr. Derek to look at my magic sometime... what do you think?'
—'...Aiseline Unnie. You absolutely don't need to do that. Aiseline Unnie, you have already reached a high level of magic on your own.'
—'Still, I feel like I might be able to achieve greater things if a skilled person looks at it. I'm thinking of sending someone to the mercenary corps to find out. It seems Mr. Derek doesn't come to the noble district often...'
—'Absolutely, absolutely not. Aiseline Unnie. If it's not absolutely necessary... there's no need for someone who is already doing well on their own to receive Derek's teachings.'
The sight of Diella dissuading her with a pale face was quite serious. Aiseline had thought she was showing a cute jealousy, afraid of losing her own master, Derek.
Looking at the heartwarming sight of her cute youngest sister, Aiseline had been smiling the most gentle smile in the world... but Diella had not stopped Aiseline with that intention.
He, a rough mercenary, would sometimes try to impart his teachings in ways that were unimaginable for dealing with a noble young lady.
Sometimes he would take her to the forest and make her fire magic until her mana was depleted, or suddenly make her run, saying that stamina was important... and he also knew all sorts of other bizarre training methods that the flowers of the noble houses would find hard to endure.
In the first place, slapping her as soon as they met and dragging her to the forest to beat her up already made him not a normal magic master. It was not something that noble young ladies raised as flowers in a greenhouse could easily withstand.
"..."
What more needed to be said? The master named Derek was a bitter medicine.
He was a magical person who could grant any wish if you wanted, but it was not without a price.
If she had known in advance, she might have had some time to prepare her heart, but it was unknown whether Lady Elente was aware of the rough mercenary's desperate teaching methods.
Once her thoughts reached that point, a look of worry suddenly bloomed on Lady Aiseline's face.
As she looked at Lady Elente with a worried face, resting her chin on her hand, that young lady, who was a bundle of jealousy and envy, lifted the corner of her mouth with a flick.
'Yes. If I think about it carefully, I'll know well what it means that I brought that master named Derek.'
Unfortunately, Elente misinterpreted Aiseline's worried expression.
She thought it was an expression filled with dissatisfaction about having Derek taken away. To think that she could see Lady Aiseline's chagrined expression in her lifetime... Lady Elente felt an unknown sense of fulfillment welling up in her chest.
"Excuse me..."
"Oh my, the time has already come to this. We were supposed to have our first lesson today, so I must hurry back to the mansion."
Lady Elente brushed back her hair and smiled elegantly, then walked forward with a confident stride.
Lady Aiseline could only watch her back with a face still full of worry.
The nearby nobles who were watching Lady Aiseline and Lady Elente also had puzzled faces.
No matter how precious a resource a magic master was, it was hard to imagine that just by changing masters, she could beat the noble Lady Aiseline in such a short period of time.
'I knew Lady Elente was very jealous, but to think she would rely on a mercenary from the streets just to win a practice duel...'
Lady Denise, the eldest daughter of the Ducal House of Beltus, also sighed deeply as she watched them from a distance.
It was futile.
She couldn't say it out loud, but the people on the scene would be thinking such thoughts inwardly.
<> <> <>
"That's what happened. I'm planning to focus on that request for a while."
"The County of Belmeade.... You're playing in some seriously big leagues, Derek."
"Still, I don't have to go all the way to the county estate. It's a job that can be handled conveniently within Ebelstein, so it's comfortable and good for me."
The tavern, Veldern's Tear, was quite full of customers again today.
As Derek sat at a corner bar table sipping on a tasty apple cider, Jayden approached him with a hearty laugh. Derek briefly told Jayden about what had happened with this request and expressed his intention not to take on any requests for a while.
It was a pity from Jayden's point of view, but considering the cases Derek usually handled, he didn't feel like complaining. In fact, he had been worried that he might hurt himself from working too much.
"And, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it properly."
"You're going to make her win in a duel against Lady Aiseline? From what you've said, it seems Lady Elente certainly has talent, but... Lady Aiseline is a person whose fame is widespread even outside the noble district, isn't she?"
"It's not that there's no way. I have about two things in mind..."
Derek said with a troubled face, his arms crossed.
"One would be to acquire 2-Star magic. Then the option of crushing her with firepower would become available, so beating Lady Aiseline wouldn't be a dream."
"At a glance, that doesn't seem like such an easy task."
"No, so I thought of a second method... but in this case, I think I'll need some help from the Captain, Ahjussi. That's why I came to tell you in advance. When I say I need help later, please help me out just once."
"My help?"
Jayden was a veteran mercenary who had made a name for himself in the 'Dawn War,' the great war fought against a large horde of magical beasts in the north. Although he was living like a loafer now, his skills were something even Derek had to acknowledge.
"And it would be better to be safe than sorry, so... it would be good if Felinne could come along too..."
"Me?"
Felinne, who was drinking hard liquor next to him, stared blankly at Derek with half-dazed eyes.
Seeing her drinking from broad daylight, it seemed she had no intention of working today.
"Derek. I told you, you'll regret it if you get ca-ca-caught up with those noble sc-sc-scum..."
"Why is she drinking so much from broad daylight?"
"She said she lost big in gambling. She was playing cards with the customers who came in this afternoon."
"..."
As Derek looked at Felinne with narrowed eyes, the girl rubbed her flushed face and spoke as if lamenting.
"Who would've expected an ace to show up there. Huh?"
It seemed she still hadn't kicked the habit of throwing money at gambling tables with fire in her eyes whenever one opened up. Derek sighed and patted Felinne's shoulder.
"Anyway, I'll give you a decent share, so please cooperate."
"I'd rather, ra-ra-ra... rather than take chump change to look after nobles..."
"I boldly asked for 20 Eidel gold coins for this request, and she readily agreed. I raised the price by five coins compared to the Duplein job... nobles really spend differently."
"...No, your price has gotten that high? Wha-what... using gold coins like water... using..."
Felinne, unable to finish her words, buried her head on the bar table and made a melting sound. It meant she was fine with it.
Jayden appropriately poured some cold water, placed it in front of Felinne with a thud, and said.
"Alright. Let's hear what you're planning to do."
"..."
After Derek laid out his thoughts, Jayden could only be surprised with his mouth agape.
<> <> <>
'Certainly, perhaps because he's a rough mercenary, the pace of the lesson is very fast.'
That afternoon, Derek, who visited Lady Elente's mansion, got straight to the point and started the lesson right away.
Unlike Felmier's lessons, which emphasized ceremonial aspects and always elegantly preached about the history of magic, Derek's lessons had all unnecessary theoretical parts cut out.
Derek had already declared before the lesson began.
He could not be taught aristocratic etiquette and the history of magic. What he taught was only practical, combat-oriented knowledge.
It was what Lady Elente wanted as well.
She wanted to cut out the unnecessary frills and quickly acquire only the knowledge needed to beat Lady Aiseline.
Teaching the fundamental parts was of course important, but what she needed right now was practical knowledge that would satisfy her competitive spirit.
And so, Derek stood in the private outdoor training ground next to the mansion and was raising his mana.
"First, we will do duel training like last time. We will repeat it 10 times in a similar fashion to basically work up a sweat and review the basic techniques needed for mana training. After that is all done, we will use the 1-Star spells one by one in order to check if all the fundamentals are in place."
"Ten duels right now?"
"It's just practice dueling anyway. There's no need for great etiquette, so let's first check the level of your basic practical abilities."
And so, Elente and Derek finished 10 consecutive duels.
After that, they reviewed the mana manifestation method he had just mentioned and had a session to re-examine the fundamentals by firing off 1-Star spells. By the time he came to his senses, the sun was setting.
Lady Elente was dripping with sweat as she sat down in a corner of the training ground.
Certainly, Derek's magic lessons were on a very different track from Felmier's. If more than half of Felmier's time was spent reciting theory, Derek spent the entire lesson hitting, getting hit, fighting, and repeating the use of magic.
By the time Derek's lesson was about halfway through, Elente's mana was depleted, and by the end, she had to grit her teeth and scrape together her mana to use magic.
When she manifested the ice spear for the last time, she was on the verge of losing consciousness. Even in that state, Derek stood with his hands politely behind his back and encouraged Elente that she could do it one more time.
"You are doing well! Lady Elente!"
"Heok... heok..."
"Let's manifest the ice spear one last time. This time, you will use it simultaneously with confusion-type magic."
"You-you said the last one was the last...!"
"This is really the last time. We will really finish after this one."
"Ugh... K-heuk...! Ugh-geuk...!"
Even while sitting on the training ground floor and panting, Elente gritted her teeth and somehow drew out her mana.
With the mana she had drawn out to her limit, she once again manifested an ice spear and slammed it into the ground, then looked at Derek with a proud expression as if to say, I can do it if I try.
"Heok... heok... I... can do it if I try..."
"Now, for the really, really last time, let's manifest a fire arrow. Now, rest for 15 seconds and one... two..."
"You said the last one was the really, really last time!"
After continuing such an argument, the sun began to set in earnest. Lady Elente, forgetting even her dignity, was soaked in sweat and lying on the training ground floor.
The servants watching her from a corner of the training ground swallowed a dry gulp of saliva.
The servants also had a sense of professional duty. It seemed it was too hard for them to watch their master rolling around, drenched in sweat like that.
It was evident that they wanted to rush out right now, comb her hair, spray her with perfume, and bring her a new dress.
However, Derek looked at them and shook his head. This was a private training ground in Lady Elente's mansion anyway, so there was no one watching except for the servants.
And so, Derek's magic lesson, which pushed Lady Elente to her limit, could only be concluded after it had gone on for more than 30 minutes longer.
"Ah-heuk.. Heo... Ha-euk..."
It was impossible to tell whether she was panting or groaning in pain, as Lady Elente lay on the training ground floor, looking up at the sky.
At some point, an inky darkness had settled at the far end of the reddish sky.
Stars were beginning to appear, and she couldn't tell how long she had been using magic. Lady Elente had never used magic continuously for this long before.
"You have worked hard. You may have dinner."
"..."
"...Are you alright?"
It was a bit much for him to say it himself, but still, Derek offered words of concern to Elente.
"If it's hard, giving up is also an option."
Lady Elente lay there panting, then finally managed to raise her body and said.
"Ahaha."
"..."
"With just this? Seeing you ask for my resolve several times, asking if I could really do anything, I wondered what on earth you were thinking, but it's just roughing up the body a bit."
Surprisingly, she had not lost her smile.
Although she was panting as she struggled to get up, her will was still burning.
"How much grueling effort do you think I put in to survive in the social circle of Ebelstein? Do I look like a person who needs to be worried about with just this? I've often stayed up for three days and nights to read books on culture. You don't need to ask such questions."
"...I see. My thoughts were short."
"Today, I was a bit tired from attending a social gathering, but from tomorrow, I can really engage in training properly. So it would be better to increase the intensity even more than this tomorrow."
"..."
Derek listened to Elente's words for a moment, then said without changing his expression.
"Tomorrow...? What are you talking about?"
"...Huh?"
"I told you it's dinner time now, didn't I?"
She didn't immediately understand what that meant.
Soon, as she understood the meaning of Derek's words, Elente's face began to turn pale.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 87 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/noble-lady-reformation-guide
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━