There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

People (1)

Sieren’s first murder occurred when she was about ten years old.

One day, she suddenly killed a servant who had brought her a snack.

At that young age, she stood still, covered in blood, quietly looking down at the young servant who had stopped breathing in a corner of the room.

– Bang!

When Melverot burst into the room, Sieren was just standing there, covered in blood.

There was no sign of fear or trembling from seeing what she had done, nor any indication of worrying about how to deal with the aftermath.

Her pale eyes, visible through the blood-splattered cheeks, just stared quietly at Melverot. The blood splattered between her white pajamas looked like part of a lace decoration.

Even when the servants who followed in were shocked and covered their mouths, and the squires rushed out to clean up the scene… Lady Sieren remained calm and indifferent.

The servants gathered at the scene were all horrified by the sight, but her father Melverot didn’t even flinch an eyebrow.

—

—

Butler Layton thought as he watched him.

Even after witnessing the murder his daughter committed, he showed no sign of distress… It was as if he had expected it all along.

Sieren’s indiscriminate murderous impulse began without any warning.

However, despite the series of shocking events, Melverot never once showed a hint of panic.

*

“Mr. Derek!! No more!! If you try to control Lady Sieren with violence!!!! I, I will!!! In the name of Duplain!!!! I won’t!! Stand still!!!”

Derek thought he couldn’t let Aislin continue her lines any longer.

Her terrible sense of dialogue, the awkward tone that popped up here and there, and the sudden burst of anger were all out of place.

It was probably because she had almost no experience raising her voice at someone.

It might have been too harsh to demand such emotions from a girl who had always lived as a graceful and elegant lady.

Derek raised his cane and spoke.

“Lady Aislin. I am a person who doesn’t care about the consequences. Lord Melverot ordered me to reform Lady Sieren by any means necessary, and I will use all means to achieve results. If Lady Aislin interferes, I will have no choice but to remove you by force.”

“I am the lady of the Duplain duchy. Don’t you dare… don’t you dare…? No, don’t you dare talk about using force in front of me! How dare you!!!!”

“…”

Derek felt a great confusion in grasping the emotional line.

Aislin’s acting was a black hole that swallowed all the emotional lines around her. If this continued any longer, a real disaster would occur, so Derek raised his magic power and heightened his momentum.

– Whooosh

Derek’s magic power swirled around the area, and the accumulated snowflakes began to form a mist.

Lady Sieren, who had been lying down, held her breath and swallowed dryly, but Aislin rushed out again, spreading her arms and blocking Derek.

“If you’re going to shoot… then shoot!! I won’t move from here!!”

Derek’s grand magic power converged at the tip of his cane.

And the 2-star magic, Fireball, began to take a massive form. Just by manifesting it, the surrounding snow began to melt, revealing the bare ground around Derek.

Lady Sieren was trembling and swallowing dryly. A direct hit from such a massive fireball would surely be fatal.

If she tried to escape, he would anticipate her movements and suppress her. If she stayed still, he would beat her to death.

Despite Derek’s cruel educational policy, she tried to stand up somehow. But her legs were too weak to move properly.

While Sieren was trembling in fear, Aislin stood with her arms spread, glaring at Derek.

Despite the overwhelming pressure of the magic, her fingertips trembling, she expressed her determination not to move.

The cold-blooded magician beyond her, as if the lady of the Duplain family meant nothing, gathered more magic power and drew out a fireball larger than a human body. This level of firepower was almost at the peak of 2-star magic.

“This is your last warning. Move aside.”

“If you harm me…. Mr. Derek, you won’t get away with it..!”

—

—

“I told you I would stop at nothing. If you ignore my final warning, I have no other choice.”

No matter how much, it was hard to believe that he would unleash such a large-scale spell on the young lady of the Duplain family.

However, he was a scoundrel who even tried to beat up the young lady of the Rochester family, Sierne. The fear that he might actually do such a thing began to creep into Lady Sierne’s heart.

– Whoosh!

And indeed, Derek fired a fireball. It was a sight hard to believe even with one’s own eyes.

Lady Aiselin, who stood with her arms outstretched in front of Lady Sierne, trembled all over with her eyes tightly shut. Even in the face of the incoming fireball, she stood her ground nobly without moving an inch.

Soon, the fireball exploded.

– Boom!!

A massive explosion echoed, and flames filled the entire field of vision.

The intense heat melted all the surrounding snow. Smoke rose, and the afterimage of the blazing fireball lingered.

“──.”

The fireball missed.

When Sierne opened her tightly shut eyes, the fireball had just grazed past Aiselin and embedded itself in the bare ground.

Aiselin, still with her arms outstretched, remained in a protective stance in front of Sierne. The trembling of her fingertips showed how terrified she was.

Yet, Aiselin did not move an inch.

Her lower lip bitten hard, she glared at Derek with a resolute look, but her body trembled uncontrollably.

Derek stared at her quietly, then eventually slung his staff over his back.

“I’ll let it go this time. But if you continue to interfere like this…”

In the swirling snow, his chilling red eyes glared at the two.

“You will pay the price.”

With that, Derek turned his cloak and walked towards the main building of the mansion.

His retreating figure looked like a grim reaper who had just postponed a death sentence.

The fear that dominated Lady Sierne’s body climbed up her spine.

– Crunch, crunch

– Thud

As Derek disappeared from sight, Aiselin’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the snow. She took several deep breaths.

After taking a moment to calm down, Aiselin quickly turned her head towards Lady Sierne.

Lady Sierne, unable to move due to her weakened legs, shuddered. Aiselin looked at her and managed a difficult smile.

“Lady Sierne. You were very startled, weren’t you? That insolent mercenary Derek is always like that. He thinks everything can be solved with violence…”

“I, I… I…. So…”

—

—

“It’s okay. It’s understandable to be confused. Are you hurt anywhere? Let me see your wounds.”

With great difficulty, Aiselin managed to get up and, dragging her tired body, lowered herself in front of Siern.

Even in her great confusion, Siern felt a certain warmth looking at Aiselin.

Aiselin possessed a gentle heart that embraced people, and her appearance somehow seemed noble and sacred.

Seeing her sincerely protecting and comforting herself, there were few who wouldn’t be swayed.

That’s why Derek had insisted on bringing Aiselin. If Derek played the role of the whip, they needed someone to play the role of the carrot.

In fact, even as Siern stepped back, she felt a strange comfort from Aiselin, who was approaching her with long strides.

“Come on, show me your wounds. If we treat them in advance, they won’t leave scars.”

“N-no, I don’t want to…”

As Aiselin reached out her hand, Siern slapped it away with a sharp sound.

However, even as she looked at the hand she had slapped away, Siern’s gaze was trembling with confusion.

“…It’s okay. You don’t have to be so tense.”

– Flash!

As Aiselin spoke again in a gentle tone, Siern quickly darted towards the spire and disappeared.

The confusion on her face was understandable. Too many things had happened in a short time.

Nevertheless, it was noteworthy that she didn’t harm Aiselin.

– Tap! Tap!

Watching Siern quickly escape by stepping on the protruding parts of the building, Aiselin let out a sigh.

Because of the cold northern air, a breath escaped from her small lips.

It was hard to judge whether Siern had opened her heart or not just by her reaction.

“Ambiguous…”

Aiselin muttered with a dejected expression.

*

– Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Derek had just finished washing up in the guest room and was drying his hair. Naturally, his attire was light.

As he was shaking his hair while wearing the bedroom gown handed to him by the servants, the door creaked open and Aiselin entered.

“Mr. Derek. About Lady Siern…”

– Bang!

And then the door closed again.

—

—

In truth, although Derek’s bare skin was mostly covered, even the slight exposure of his upper body was excessively stimulating for Aiseline.

The speed at which he stumbled back into the hallway, unable to finish his words, was comparable to that of a seasoned mercenary.

“D-D-Derek, I didn’t know you were undressed. I-I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright. I thought you were a servant since you knocked. If you had called out beforehand, I would have left.”

“I-I was just going to keep it brief since you must be tired.”

“Which noble lady would come all the way to a commoner’s room? Even if your family is facing difficulties, wouldn’t it be better to act according to your status?”

“I-I told you.”

Hearing a deep breath from the other side of the door, Derek quickly put on his tunic and leather pants.

“I’ve decided to accept the fact that I’m a fallen noble lady. I must carry myself with confidence and strength.”

The image of a fallen noble lady in Aiseline’s mind seemed closer to that of a vibrant woman overcoming hardships than to a gloomy figure wandering through a desolate alley.

If the person herself thought so brightly, there was no need to correct her.

After checking his appearance, Derek opened the door.

He saw Aiseline sitting against the wall in the hallway, her face buried in her knees.

It was a fact he could never have known while discussing philosophy or history over tea at the Rosea Salon, but Aiseline was much more naïve than Derek had imagined.

Since becoming entangled in family matters, this truth had become glaringly evident, making him think that she had been quite adept at playing the role of a noble lady all this time. After all, in the aristocratic social circles that valued decorum, one wouldn’t even get caught up in such trivial incidents.

“Are you dressed?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really dressed?”

“Yes.”

Derek answered without changing his tone.

Aiseline suddenly lifted her head, quickly entered the room, and took a seat at the table in the corner.

Clearing her throat, she once again wore a benevolent expression and spoke in an antiquated manner.

“I apologize for the spectacle.”

“It’s alright. You came to discuss Lady Siern, didn’t you?”

“Yes… We just parted ways after causing quite a scene…”

“How did Miss Siern react?”

“She seemed flustered… but it doesn’t seem like she’s completely closed off.”

From the beginning, Aiseline and Derek had been piecing together the situation.

Aiseline was the carrot, and Derek was the whip.

He was the one to scold, to get angry, to punish, to suppress, and to become the object of fear.

—

—

It is Aiselin who plays the role of embracing, understanding, listening, empathizing, and holding.

The expectation was that if the two of them worked well together to win over Sierne, she would soon open her heart to Aiselin.

From the beginning, Aiselin expressed her concerns to Derek, who had taken on the role of the villain, but in fact, Derek was not someone who paid much attention to such matters.

Whether he gained favor or animosity, it was just a matter of fixing the mindset. Derek was a results-oriented person, not someone who clung to human interactions.

Nevertheless, Aiselin occasionally glanced at Derek or asked if he was really okay, feeling somewhat guilty for making Derek take on the rough role. It seemed she wasn’t entirely comfortable with shifting the responsibility onto someone else.

Derek had gotten into the habit of waving it off and saying it was fine whenever that happened.

“Anyway, I don’t think there’s any need to approach too hastily. We can say our splendid teamwork has shone through.”

“…”

“I know… I’m not good at acting. Even though I took lessons from top actors in the Levelton troupe, it didn’t work…”

In the end, Aiselin confessed. To be honest, it was true that a crisis almost occurred due to Aiselin’s hopeless acting skills.

“It’s really strange, isn’t it? I can hide my true feelings and expressions while talking in social circles, but… why do I stutter and get stuck when I think I’m acting properly…”

“It’s not just you, Miss Aiselin. In fact, acting is inherently difficult and nerve-wracking.”

“Here I am, being comforted by Mr. Derek again… This isn’t why I came all the way to the north…”

Aiselin sighed deeply, feeling dejected, then shook her head and clenched her fist tightly again.

“This is not the time to be feeling down. Anyway, I agreed to get paid, so I have to do the corresponding work…!”

“Acting or whatever isn’t really important. You’re doing well enough.”

“It’s not good to praise me too much, Mr. Derek. I told you. I’ve decided to accept the status of a fallen noblewoman.”

“What’s the point of pointing out something you already know well?”

“Ugh…”

“And, although there were some awkward parts at the beginning, you did very well as it went on.”

“R-Really?”

When Aiselin glanced sideways at Derek, Derek spoke honestly as it was.

“Yes. The detailed feeling of your fingers trembling or your voice shaking before receiving the fireball was definitely realistic. It was extraordinary. Lady Sierne must have been completely fooled.”

“That… wasn’t acting…”

“…”

“I-I was really scared… No matter what, how can you not tremble when a fireball almost the size of a house is flying at you… I barely held back my tears, but showing fear seemed too undignified…”

Derek concluded that it was better not to mention it further. Whether he praised or criticized, the conversation didn’t seem to be heading in a good direction.

“Anyway… it’s a relief that Lady Sierne is opening her heart even a little. I looked into various things, and there were quite a few unsatisfactory parts.”

“Really?”

When Aiselin quickly looked up at the table, there were several documents and books that Derek seemed to have gone through.

—

—

Various work histories and information about Lady Sierne’s lifestyle patterns, mainly received from the servants who assisted her… And oddly enough, there were also historical records of the ‘Dawn War’ that took place in the North.

‘Why was she reading history books…?’

While Aiselin wore a puzzled expression, Derek quickly finished drying his hair and sat down opposite Aiselin.

“In conclusion, it seems that Lady Sierne actually killed numerous people. The rumors of her being a mass murderer were not unfounded.”

“…”

“Sir Melverot had told us. To swallow any doubts that arise while teaching Lady Sierne. But how can we fulfill our duties with just superficial information? We must find out everything we can.”

Seeing Derek’s serious expression, Aiselin felt a strange sense of unease.

When this man says he will do something seriously, he really achieves his goal by any means necessary. He had witnessed Derek overcoming countless tasks that were considered impossible.

“…I also… had a feeling that Sir Melverot was hiding something.”

“That’s the key. We don’t know what it is, but it’s likely something Sir Melverot doesn’t want to be discovered.”

“…Mr. Derek. Sir Melverot is a hero of the North and one of the few 6-star magicians on the entire continent. Would it be beneficial to uncover a secret that such a person wants to hide?”

“If we can become confidants who share secrets, it would be even better.”

Aiselin swallowed dryly.

Derek often showed his human side, but when it came to weighing his situation and interests, he could be colder than anyone.

If he could grasp the secret of the 6-star magician Melverot, it would be an enormous weapon.

If he could be on the same side as Melverot, there would be no greater ally for Derek’s journey as a magician.

Of course, one cannot negotiate with a transcendent strongman. They can simply crush you with their power.

That’s why he brought Aiselin. No matter how much her family had declined, they had to show at least minimal courtesy to the daughter of a duke’s family.

Realizing this, Aiselin broke out in a cold sweat.

Derek was thinking of using Lady Sierne to somehow control Sir Melverot.

To become a higher-level magician, he would stop at nothing.

That was the kind of man Derek was.

“Mr. Derek…”

“…”

“Do you have any… guesses?”

Derek only speaks with certainty.

He doesn’t make irresponsible statements based on half-baked guesses. If Derek hadn’t spoken yet, it meant he didn’t have clear evidence to support his opinion.

But since Aiselin was being direct, he couldn’t just ignore it as they were in the same boat.

Derek hesitated, cracking his knuckles, and finally answered.

“Miss Aiselin, what kind of person do you think Lady Sierne is?”

—

—

“Yes? Yes? So… although there are many sharp parts… anyway, the appearance is beautiful… if you enlighten her well, she seems like a person who could become a good lady… like a raw gem, don’t you think?”

“A person like a raw gem?”

“Yes, yes… that’s the kind of person she is.”

“A person, are you sure?”

“…Yes?”

Aiselin’s breath was swallowed in a gulp. She had to chew over Derek’s words again.

However, even after organizing her thoughts again, Derek’s intention was roughly revealed.

Derek’s gaze, sitting quietly and making eye contact, was sharp.

Pale red eyes revealed through the drooping white hair. It was the very appearance that Lady Siern was strangely afraid of.

This man had spent his entire life wandering the labyrinth, researching and killing countless monsters.

If the corpses were piled up, they would be as high as a mountain, and the stench of monster blood soaked into his body and soul would never wash away.

That known fact… seemed to carry some meaning.

Aiselin trembled at her fingertips and held her breath.