There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

Characters in the Story (5)

“Growth in a person explosively occurs only when they challenge themselves to overcome a wall beyond their limits. You, who have taught many people, should know that better, shouldn’t you?”

“…I agree, but isn’t it too much to ask someone who is just trying to break through the 4-star level to face a 5-star summoner?”

“Hahaha. When you were teaching those naive young ladies, you demanded tasks beyond their limits, but now that you’re the one being asked, you seem troubled. Isn’t this how you become a teacher who only talks big?”

Fine laughed heartily, looking like a mischievous child.

Her laughing while swinging her bare feet in the air was so different from when she was acting as Derek’s disciple during the day that it was hard to believe she was the same person.

Derek lowered his gaze with an incredulous expression, but Fine still had a smile on her face.

No matter how you look at it, asking for a physically demanding task and asking to face a 5-star mage head-on are not the same.

“You have such a strong desire for achievement that your limit threshold is too high. You’re like a tenacious guy who grits his teeth and gets through trials that would make ordinary mages roll on the ground and cry pathetically. So, this much should be considered a challenge to your limits, shouldn’t it?”

“If I slip, I’ll die.”

“Enjoy that sharp sense. Death is always closer than you think.”

Derek was a person who roamed the battlefield as a mercenary.

However, he refrained from performing stunts between life and death. That was not courage, but recklessness.

Many comrades, with their heads held high, walked the tightrope in the face of death and ultimately left this world.

Although it was a job that involved a certain degree of risk, he rarely took the initiative to embrace greater dangers.

However, the necromancer who dealt with death and vengeful spirits seemed to be quite displeased with Derek’s behavior… She pouted her lips and grumbled.

“You underestimate my judgment. It may be premature for you to defeat a 5-star mage, but you will never lose.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You may think you know yourself well, but I can see right through you. You define yourself as a talented mage, but your pure magical skills are not that important.”

The reason Pine decided to take Derek as her disciple was partly due to his exceptional magical talent, but there was a more definite reason.

“You have a fanatical ambition. Those born with such a temperament never give up easily just because it seems impossible. By the time you seriously mention something like a 7-star, you are already somewhat crazy. A madman, a lunatic, most of whom live like idiots and die in vain.”

Pine poured out curses at Derek without hesitation. However, it seemed that there was a different meaning implied in the curses of this girl who claimed to be Derek’s master.

“But it’s truly amusing. Those who rise to the rank of 6-star are mostly such lunatics.”

“…”

“In the end, it’s like spitting while lying down. Aren’t you curious about how this heavenly master reached the rank of 6-star?”

Derek leaned back on the sofa and stared at Pine for a moment.

The first 6-star necromancy magic that Pine learned was the ‘Mark of Reincarnation’. It was not a level that could be reached just by diligently training.

Derek sat on the opposite sofa, quietly watching Pine, who was laughing arrogantly and sinisterly, and then slowly opened his mouth.

“In the first life, before reincarnation even began, what kind of life did you live?”

“Of course, it’s a secret.”

“…”

“Trying to pry into a lady’s secret so easily. You haven’t been well-versed in social etiquette yet.”

Pine laughed heartily and then changed the subject.

“Well, your will itself is not important. I have already planted traps that will become the root of my necromancy in the Beltus family.”

“…”

“If you just wait quietly, the bait will come on its own. When the time comes, you just have to strike the head of the cruel and arrogant Duke of Beltus, who dared to challenge the Ravenclaw Barony. It’s quite easy, isn’t it?”

“Why do you go to such lengths?”

Occasionally, Derek would sharply pierce through with his questions.

Pine abruptly stopped laughing. She could guess the intention behind Derek’s sudden question.

“No matter how much you can escape into the cycle of reincarnation, directly touching one of the highest powers in the southwest of the continent is quite a risky act for you as well, isn’t it? It’s strange that you, who are trying not to reveal your identity, are acting to this extent.”

“A foolish disciple trying to fathom the deep and boundless intentions of his heavenly master. Everything has a meaning.”

“The matter is too significant to be glossed over with vague words.”

“Tough, aren’t you?”

Pine regained her smile and continued speaking in a candid voice.

“Yes. It’s not just about the pure purpose of raising your magical prowess, Derek. If you defeat Beltus, there will be some benefits for me too. There are some things I can gain from that family.”

“What are they?”

“I just told you, didn’t I? Probing a lady’s secrets is an action without delicacy.”

Though she had lived for hundreds of years and was closer to a monster than a lady, her appearance was always that of a young girl.

Her identity was always that of a girl, so it wasn’t hard to understand her behavior.

“I understand. But I can’t help but ask one last time.”

Derek asked calmly.

“When I reach a high level, you said you would have a favor to ask of me.”

“…”

“What is it?”

For the first time, Pine’s eyes narrowed at her disciple’s serious question, and she smiled contentedly.

Resting her chin on her hand and crossing her legs, she gave a seductive smile. What flickered in her eyes was the long, drawn-out life she had lived and the peace she would find at its end.

When she opened her eyes, she saw an ambitious wizard who seemed to want to grasp even the sky. His talent was not lacking to be called a genius.

Eventually, with a sinister look, Pine whispered.

“You’ll know when the time comes. You may find it sudden, but from my perspective, a disciple like you is quite a precious treasure.”

Derek furrowed his brows and nodded, but Pine didn’t seem particularly upset by his indifferent attitude.

As is often the case with 6-star wizards, she was a person hard to understand.

*

– Creak

Late at night, after finishing his business with Pine.

As they both stepped out into the hallway from the reception room, they immediately encountered a familiar face.

“Oh, oh my… Mr. Derek. And Lady Pine…”

It was Aiseline, who now seemed completely recovered, and her butler, Delbritton.

They seemed to be heading to the reception room where Derek was, holding a few documents, perhaps to report some matters from the training center.

When Derek nodded, Aiseline looked back and forth between Pine and Derek’s faces, sweating a bit, and greeted them.

“Good evening, Miss Aiseline. Are you still feeling well?”

“Yes, of course. Mr. Derek, what brings you and Lady Pine here at this hour…?”

When looking at Pine, her arrogant demeanor had disappeared, and she had quickly reverted to a simple country lady.

The innocent smile that replaced the sinister grin was so disarming that it was hard to believe it was the same person. The contrast was something I could never get used to, no matter how many times I saw it.

“Master Derek is giving me private magic lessons. As you know, he’s very busy during the day, so I visit him at night.”

“Is that so? Um…”

Aiseline swallowed dryly, as if making a decision, then gathered her courage and spoke again.

“Um…!”

“Do you have something to say? If it’s about the training center, we should go to the office first…”

“It’s not that…!”

Aiseline stammered, as if something was stuck in her throat. Behind her, the butler Delbritton, who was holding some documents, also had a strangely tense expression.

Finally, Aiseline steadied herself and spoke.

“I don’t know how you’ll take this…! And please… I hope it doesn’t make you too uncomfortable…!”

“…?”

“Lady Fine is also a precious member of the Tigris Barony… So, how would it look to others if a man and a woman meet alone every night… And, well, Derek is also engaged, isn’t he…? If the ladies at the training center misunderstand, they might hold a grudge…”

Even though Derek and his fiancée Felinne didn’t see each other as romantic partners at all, Aiseline knew that the problem was public perception. If a man with a fiancée behaved loosely every night, some ladies might see him as a frivolous person.

Even if their relationship was purely about teaching magic, the imaginations of young girls in their prime often ran wild like hungry beasts.

So Aiseline had mustered the courage to speak her mind. It was rare for the usually gentle and indifferent Aiseline to show such courage, and Derek couldn’t help but break into a sweat.

However, Fine’s perspective was a bit different.

With her keen insight into people’s inner thoughts, she sensed that Aiseline’s words were not just out of concern for Derek’s reputation.

‘Oh…?’

Fine’s eyes gleamed.

From her long years of experience, she knew that each reincarnation needed its own amusements to stave off boredom.

Watching Aiseline nervously speak her mind, Fine’s eyes sparkled mischievously, as if she had found a new toy.

Before Derek could respond, Fine stepped forward with a bright smile and spoke.

“Lady Aiseline, you have a vivid imagination!”

When Aiseline looked at Fine with a tense expression, Fine was still smiling innocently.

However, her next words were not as gentle as her demeanor.

“Officially, we are just in a teacher-student relationship, and everything else is just a product of imagination, isn’t it? If we let such things sway us and worry about appearances, how can we achieve great things as the rulers of our lands? We would only become petty people.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“And, there are some subtle inaccuracies in Lady Aiseline’s point.”

Fine, who always smiled innocently like a country girl, raised the corners of her mouth again and smiled.

However, that smile was very different from the refreshing smile she had shown to the public until now. It seemed as if a red light was flickering in her light purple eyes, and Aiselin couldn’t help but tremble at her fingertips for a moment.

“Those who look down on men with loose morals are all just pretending. At least, that’s what I think.”

“…What?”

“They say heroes are amorous, and it’s a long-standing phenomenon to be subtly attracted to bad guys with many women. Isn’t that right, Master Derek?”

What on earth is this strange person talking about?

However, Derek couldn’t figure out how to refute those words.

He didn’t know what kind of romance young girls harbored for noblemen, but Derek, who had read several romance novels including ＜Arrogant Lord Robain＞, knew.

The male protagonists in such stories, with broad shoulders and subtly sensual impressions, often had flamboyant affairs and behaved like ruffians, making him tilt his head in confusion.

No matter how he looked at it, they were far from being diligent and sincere types, so Derek often thought he couldn’t understand their tastes.

Derek, being a diligent person himself, found it not strange that he couldn’t form a sense of empathy.

“Of course, I’m not much different either.”

With a subtly seductive smile, Pine met Aiselin’s eyes.

It was meaningful. It required deep contemplation to understand the meaning of that smile.

Seeing Aiselin sweating profusely, Pine almost died laughing but managed to keep her expression in check.

She smiled brightly and looked at Derek.

“Well, see you next time, Master. Preferably, like today, in the deep, ambitious night.”

With that, Pine gracefully rested her chin on one hand, slightly bowed her head, and disappeared into the dark corridor between Delbritton and Aiselin.

Aiselin was dumbfounded as she watched her back. Her lips were trembling, completely drained of blood.

“…Miss Aiselin?”

“Y-Yes… It’s too late at night. It might have been too rude to come and ask for opinions on work matters at this hour… I-I don’t know.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not a task that requires much effort, so let’s quickly finish it…”

“N-No. It’s late at night, so please, rest.”

Aiselin, seemingly unable to think straight, sweated profusely and took a step back. She seemed unable to figure out how to calm her spinning head.

Thus, Aiselin also quickly disappeared into the dark corridor. Unlike Pine’s leisurely steps, her confused and staggering appearance seemed unusual.

“…”

Only silence remained in the corridor.

Delbritton and Derek, holding documents, were left to continue this awkward silence.

“…”

“…”

“Do you have something to say, Delbritton?”

“…..Yes.”

Delbritton’s gold-rimmed monocle glinted in the moonlight.

He was a butler known for his competence since his days working at the Rochester estate, and he continued to fulfill his duties impeccably after taking charge of the Ravenclaw mansion.

Therefore, even in this situation, he could choose his words carefully without panicking.

“Baron, as the senior retainer of this Ravenclaw estate, I always work with conviction. I have no intention of opposing your decisions or policies, and my duty is to fulfill my responsibilities to the best of my ability.”

“…”

“However, there is something I must say now. For the future of the baron and the stability of the estate, I must say this. Please, listen to my words with weight.”

It was inevitable that women would be attracted to a man with a title. Delbritton knew better than anyone that it was relatively common for noblemen to engage in various escapades.

Therefore, he seemed to know very well what he needed to say with conviction at this moment.

“….You must use contraception.”

“…”

Derek thought.

Even in this situation, he could speak the truth for his lord with a firm heart. He was indeed a trustworthy and genuine person.

….Aside from that, Derek had to press his temples as he started to get a headache.

*

After visiting Aiseline, Dennis was walking through the corridor back at the Beltus main house, looking visibly tense.

She had inspected the situation at the Ravenclaw barony as per the Grand Duke Beltus’s instructions, and she saw countless flaws in the estate.

If she devised means to check the Ravenclaw baron based on this information, there would be an overwhelming number of diverse and malicious methods.

No matter how capable Derek was, his power as a noble was still relatively weak.

If the Grand Duke Beltus decided to crush him, he would suffer to the point of evoking pity.

“The Grand Duke is looking for you, Miss Dennis.”

Her personal maid Bella came with a worried expression. Dennis nodded appropriately, checked her dress, and walked towards the reception room.

– ‘If necessary, you can hit me on the back of my head.’

The garden of the baron’s mansion.

The back of the man who said that with a blank expression was stuck in her heart like a thorn.

The Beltus family said to betray the man and contribute to the family.

And the man himself said it was okay to betray him.

With this, there was nothing to hold her back.

“….”

Dennis steeled her heart and climbed the stairs to the central hall.

There was an unusual fierceness in those eyes that were usually slack with a lazy impression.