Chapter 24 Translator: XZY
Chapter 24: Belmeade (4) ***
"Let me get straight to the point. If I can beat Lady Aiseline, I can do anything."
The place was a large mansion in the heart of the noble district.
The nobles staying in the noble district of Ebelstein often had their own mansions, which was a concept of practicing in advance before becoming the mistress of a large noble estate.
In these mansions, they held a status similar to that of a full-fledged mistress.
It was important for noble young ladies to have a beautiful appearance and education, but they also had to know how to manage the mansion well as a mistress and lead the servants.
The mansion that the House of Belmeade had prepared for Lady Elente in the noble district was so luxurious that it made one wonder if it could be any more so.
Beltus, Belmeade, Duplein.
He had heard that among the nobles of Ebelstein, these three families were considered to be in a league of their own. There was a reason for everything.
The very fact that one could have such a large garden in a large city like this, where tens of thousands of people lived, was not ordinary.
On one side of Elente's mansion, there was a reception tea table prepared for visitors.
Derek had seen such well-equipped tea tables all over the Duplein ducal estate during his stay. It seemed that nobles enjoyed the act of drinking tea in a well-decorated garden.
"Lady Aiseline also has not yet reached the 2-Star realm. I want to reach 2-Star faster than her, at least... but if that's not possible, I want to at least gain an advantage in a magic duel."
"You mean Lady Aiseline?"
"Yes. As you, who have worked as a teacher at the Duplein ducal estate, would know well, she is a truly perfect lady. No matter how hard I try to find a flaw, I can't find one."
The only thing she could find, perhaps, was the family relationship where her youngest sister, Diella, was such a hooligan.
Such joint responsibility could not be ignored in noble society, but it was widely rumored that Diella had almost turned over a new leaf, and in terms of family, Elente was not in a position to be proud either.
Her older brother was a hooligan crazy about womanizing and gambling, and her younger brother was a monk, so if they were to bring up family, it was actually Lady Elente who had to shut her mouth.
What more needed to be said? She was the pillar supporting the County of Belmeade.
Her environment itself was different from Aiseline's, who could focus solely on refining her own accomplishments.
Nevertheless, it seemed that Elente herself wanted to beat Aiseline, even if it meant straining herself.
"You have a great competitive spirit. That must be why you were able to reach such a high level."
"You have a way with words. I also know well that my personality is not that good."
To tell the truth, Lady Aiseline had done nothing wrong.
She was just living her life diligently as she was supposed to, but a person who had attached themselves to her had arbitrarily developed an inferiority complex, was grinding their teeth, and was trying to beat her somehow.
"I might be able to call it a fair competitive spirit now, but you wouldn't know what kind of ugly things I have done before that."
"...It seems Lady Elente also had her own share of wandering."
"That's what it's like to be jealous of someone. Who would say anything if you used it as a driving force for your own growth, as you said? But a person's psychology doesn't work that way."
Lady Elente's eyes looked quite complicated, as if she was reminiscing about the past.
She must have had various incidents while adapting diligently after coming to the social circle of Ebelstein.
She did not list them all out in a childish way, but at least her experience in the social circle did not seem very pleasant.
"Instead of me doing better, I start trying to find the other person's flaws. What's the point of hiding it? I tried to slander Lady Aiseline, and I tried to find her flaws. And what do you think that prim and proper lady did in response?"
"..."
"She tried to understand and embrace my heart. Yes. I was completely defeated."
Miriella had said that the social circle of Ebelstein was like walking on thin ice.
If you showed even a little weakness, why would there not be those who would seize on it to slander you, and who would tarnish the other person to solidify their own people? As long as it was a place where humans gathered, such an ugly crowd was bound to exist.
Perhaps Lady Elente... had been one of that human crowd. She was even admitting it herself.
"What I'm about to tell you now is my biggest shame."
"If you don't want to say it, you don't have to."
"No, I have something to ask of you, so I need to reveal my hand a little."
Lady Elente took a sip of her tea and then put down the teacup with a pretty floral pattern.
And with a dark expression, she quietly continued her story.
"What are the ways to slander a person? When whispering about a noble young lady who is like a single flower, the methods are all set."
"What are they?"
"To criticize her for light conduct, to spread stories about an unsavory family history, to seize on something trivial and slander her for lacking education, and to drive her into a corner by saying her vanity or desire for show is too excessive."
"..."
"I am a person who has risen to a quite firm position in the social circle of Ebelstein. There are quite a few empty-headed people who list all sorts of flowery language to get in my good graces. It's no different for lower-ranking nobles. And when you receive the adulation of such people, there are times when you fall into the illusion that you can do everything in the world as you please."
Lady Elente's expression had become quite dark.
Derek could deduce enough from this point. She was, in short, a villain.
He thought he knew why she had used the expression of revealing her shame.
She was the very image that came to mind when one thought of nobles who gained pleasure from hitting people and dragging down those who were more noble than themselves.
However, the Lady Elente reflected in Derek's eyes now was not quite like that.
She seemed to be a person who knew how to be considerate of commoners, who paid respect to hardworking people, and who knew how to do her best in everything. Her current appearance seemed to be the final destination she had arrived at in her long and wandering journey.
He was curious about what Lady Elente was like during her stormy and stressful period, but he did not commit the discourtesy of showing such curiosity at this point.
"Lady Aiseline knew that I was the source of all those slanders and rumors, but she pretended not to know."
"Did such a thing happen?"
"Yes. At first, I thought she was pretending not to know because she was too scared and afraid of me. But that's not it. She was a person who was already emotionally strong, so she was a person who was not shaken by small quibbles or forced slanders. She did not lose that gentle nature even in the midst of such harm."
Lady Elente's vision became hazy.
"And so, at some point, a time came when I felt so pathetic."
He had thought she just disliked Lady Aiseline, but deep in her heart, she acknowledged that girl.
Nevertheless, the thought of wanting to break her pride and win against her somehow did not disappear.
That complicated ambivalence in the girl's short life was too difficult to understand.
Acknowledging the other person, and not being jealous. These were clearly separate issues.
Would this complicated heart be sorted out to some extent after beating Aiseline? With that thought, she could not abandon the desire to crush her, at least in a magic duel.
"Lady Aiseline often praised you. She would often mention your name even after you left the Duplein family."
"Did she?"
"Yes. She even said she was disappointed that you hadn't stopped by the mansion for a cup of tea at least once."
Derek could not help but feel a little awkward about that part.
This was because after leaving the Duplein estate, Derek had been engrossed only in magic training and carrying out requests all day.
The fact that he had a connection with a person like Lady Aiseline might be a huge thing for merchants or those who dreamed of becoming politicians, to the point of making their eyes spin.
However, since the boy was solely focused on mastering magic, he had not even gone near Aiseline's mansion while two seasons had changed.
It might be a foolish act to the point of making people in a world that valued connections grab the back of their necks, but paradoxically, that conviction was also what was maintaining Derek's reputation.
"You, who stayed in the Duplein family for several months, would know well."
"Certainly, I did watch Lady Aiseline use magic a few times at meetings or small duels at the ducal estate."
"Yes. You know quite well about the level of Lady Aiseline's magical skill, and you have also experienced a duel with me. And though we only exchanged a few blows, it was felt more than enough. You are a person who is quite a master in these magic duels."
"You praise me too much."
"...Before at least one of us, me or Lady Aiseline, learns 2-Star magic, the winner will be decided by the proficiency and application of 1-Star magic. I think you could tell me what parts I should focus on training to beat Lady Aiseline."
Now he thought he knew why Lady Elente had dragged Derek all the way to her mansion.
It was not a normal case to treat a mere commoner to expensive tea and show all due respect. Elente had something she wanted to hear from Derek in her own way.
Derek was lost in thought for a moment.
During his stay at the Duplein family, Aiseline, who had come to stay at the main house from time to time, had shown her magical achievements.
He had seen her brandishing her mana in front of the Grand Duke of Duplein, and her practicing duels with the vassals many times. He was well aware of her magical level.
"Certainly, Lady Aiseline's magical skill is at a truly amazing level."
In the Duplein family, the eldest son, Valerian, was recognized as the highest level for having learned 2-Star magic early on, but it did not seem that Lady Aiseline would fall far behind him.
It was just that she had not yet reached the 2-Star realm, but her mana utilization was already as mature as it could be.
If her younger sister, Diella, handled mana as if freely adding to a painting, then she used mana in a way that was the very model of the aristocratic Scholastic School of magic.
And the Scholastic School of magic was the mainstream school of the magical world. The reason the hierarchy of skill was clearly visible was because the magic of that school was so efficient.
The magic theory of the Scholastic School, which had already been researched in its own way, allowed one to use the most efficient magic that could be produced with one's own skill, as long as one learned it properly. There was a reason why the standard was the standard.
The magic of the Wild School, which involved some application, was inherently not very efficient. However, it often focused on unconventional and free magic utilization. In other words, Diella was the complete opposite style of her older sister.
Derek could easily guess that whether it was Diella or Aiseline, they would one day become masters of magic in their respective fields. The blood of Duplein was certainly not ordinary.
Considering those things, Derek could not offer very hopeful words.
But what did it matter if that was the truth?
There was a standard answer for such questions.
Lady Elente's magic was also already at an outstanding level, so it would be fine to just give her some lip service.
Aiseline's magical level was certainly amazing, but Lady Elente would also be able to win one day if she worked hard to polish her skills. Such a cookie-cutter answer was often the correct answer when dealing with nobles.
Derek was also about to conduct himself just to that extent.
"..."
Lady Elente's endlessly serious eyes were looking straight at the boy.
Derek now realized. There was a reason why she had bothered to recite her shame to Derek, a mere commoner.
As she was already receiving a lot of adoring gazes, she also knew well that if she heard such words from a noble young lady, only a ceremonial answer would come out.
Therefore, she needed to reveal in advance how serious she was. She had not grabbed Derek's collar to hear some obvious praise that could be heard anywhere.
Now that the situation had come to this, he could not preach the obvious, like it would work out if she worked hard. Derek quietly met her eyes, and then had no choice but to speak with a much lower voice.
"You can never win."
Derek stated it definitively.
At those words, Lady Elente's pupils trembled greatly once.
Derek was certain.
Soon, Lady Aiseline would reach the 2-Star realm.
<> <> <>
There were things that were not possible in life.
Accepting that plain fact was not as easy as it seemed. This was because people had a competitive spirit.
What was not possible was not possible. Sometimes, someone had to definitively state that fact.
If a sufficiently credible person said so, most would usually accept their limits.
Derek also knew her sincerity well, so he decided to take on that gloomy role.
It could not be denied that Lady Elente's current magical level was truly excellent, and her learning ability was also at a very outstanding level compared to other mages.
Still, it was far from the magical level of Lady Aiseline that Derek knew.
"..."
If he said it so definitively, the reaction was usually one of two.
The first was to have one's pride hurt, grind one's teeth, and get angry for no reason, saying, who are you to say such a thing.
It was a spiteful reaction, but most would react this way when they heard such words. It was not something he could not understand. Wasn't it a statement that scratched one's pride?
Therefore, if Elente got angry like that, Derek planned to listen quietly, leave the mansion, and never return. Since she had treated him to good tea, he could just count taking on this role as the price for that.
However, Lady Elente did not do so.
If so, it was highly likely that it would be the second reaction. That was, to be frustrated.
If Derek, who knew the magical level of both sides and seemed to have a good understanding of duels, was so certain... then there was no hope for her.
She would accept it like that and be greatly disheartened. If it was this way, Derek planned to quietly comfort her.
However, Lady Elente was not even frustrated.
She just spoke to Derek, with not a single twitch in her expression.
"Still, I want to win."
Only then did Derek realize that Lady Elente's firm expression was not made overnight.
He could tell at a glance. It was not the first time she had received the advice that it was 'impossible.'
"..."
"I plan to do everything I can. You, who even taught that Diella Katarina Duplein to be a noble mage, wouldn't be without any methodology, would you?"
Certainly, she seemed to be emotionally mature.
She had already noticed the subtle consideration in Derek's firm tone.
When Derek did not answer right away, Lady Elente finally stuck her head out and spoke. It seemed to be her habit to make eye contact with the person she was talking to, to an uncomfortable degree.
"If anything comes to mind, then teach me whatever you can."
"...It's not that I don't have anything to try, but there are about two things that weigh on my mind before that."
"What are they?"
Teaching Elente a magic duel was not a very difficult task.
Putting aside whether she could really beat Lady Aiseline, he was confident that he could raise her magic duel level a notch.
Of course, making Elente beat Aiseline was a very big challenge in itself, but... it was not that he had nothing in mind.
However, it was clear that Lady Elente did not know about Derek's teaching methods.
"Do you know how I taught Lady Diella?"
"The rumors don't go into that much detail. Didn't you teach her calmly, focusing on mana utilization?"
"...That's not wrong, either."
As soon as Derek met Lady Diella, he had slapped her, dragged her into the forest, and threatened to kill her by firing magic at her.
Hearing it in summary, one could not help but think, where in the world is there such a crazy person.
That degree of drastic prescription was actually possible because there was the tacit permission of the Grand Duke of Duplein, and he had only gone that far because Diella was also no ordinary person. He would not do such a thing to Lady Elente.
However, she had to know that Derek's methods were more violent and radical than she thought. When he got serious, he did not go easy on someone just because she was a noble young lady.
Could Lady Elente understand that part? He had to check that first...
"I'm prepared to do anything. If only I can break that Lady Aiseline's pride..."
"Are you really... prepared to do anything?"
"...It's a bit unsettling that you say it like that, but you would know well that my intentions are serious."
It seemed that she already had a conviction about that part.
Then he had to talk about the second point he had to address.
"As I said, I am a mercenary, Lady Elente."
"..."
What did it mean to learn magic from a mercenary? He had to ask that.
"...Certainly,
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