Priest (1)
The next morning, when the young lady Diela dragged the maids and came toward the main house, a small uproar broke out among the servants. It was because she was someone who, if nothing special happened, would stay shut inside the annex and not come out.
By the time head maid Katarina came out to the central hall of the annex, a girl was walking through the vassals with the maids, wearing a sulky expression.
The dark blue frilled dress she usually wore looked cute rather than elegant, perhaps because of the wine-colored ribbon decoration attached near the chest.
The maids of the annex followed in quick steps, and the vassals passing by hurriedly lowered their heads while sweating nervously.
They all looked tense, because even grabbing the wrong fault could mean having to brace themselves for verbal abuse.
Since it had been far too long since she had come to the main house herself, and she did not know where Derrick was staying, the girl randomly grabbed a passing vassal.
"You there."
"Y, yes. Young lady Diela. G, good morning."
The servant, who had been carrying ropes to be used for repairing the garden early in the morning, stood at attention and sweated profusely.
Head maid Katarina sharply sucked in a breath and quickly went down the hall stairs. Low-ranking servants often did a lot of physical garden work early in the morning, so they were often tired or poorly groomed.
If she started hitting them because they smelled of sweat or looked like beggars, it would be troublesome, so Katarina intended to hurry and respond herself.
"Do you know where the mage from Ebelstein is staying?"
"A, a mage from Ebelstein would be ..... you mean the mercenary that young lady Aiselin brought with her."
"Yes. Answer me."
"S, sorry! I will go find out right away!"
The servant stood at attention, cold sweat pouring down.
He was bracing his lower abdomen, preparing for the punch or kick that might come flying at him with a scolding for not even knowing that.
But Diela did not particularly want to waste time on such things.
"Forget it. I will ask the head maid, so just go back to what you were doing."
"....?"
"Why that expression? Do you have a complaint?"
"N, no! T, t, then I will be going!"
The servant quickly gathered up the ropes and ran off, and as if changing shifts, the head maid who had run down hurried over and bowed her head.
While secretly being surprised that she had not beaten the servant, she first spoke as politely as possible.
"D, young lady Diela. If you had given notice beforehand, we would have been prepared. I am sorry for the disorderly situation."
"Forget it. Guide me to that mage from Ebelstein."
"Yes. He is staying in the guest room of the second-floor annex."
Thus the head maid, swallowing dry saliva, walked ahead politely by about three steps.
Glancing sideways at young lady Diela from time to time, she did not look particularly irritated. It looked quite different from her usual self who would shout at the slightest pretext.
'Oh, it seems she is in a good mood today. I must be careful not to upset her.'
No matter how much it was Diela, she did not beat even the head maid, who ranked within the top three among the mansion's servants, without reason. At least, the head maid would be able to somehow deal with the infamous butcher Diela.
Watching the head maid, who had taken on the burden, walk together with Diela, the passing servants and vassals all offered silent prayers. Her spirit of sacrifice was truly worthy of being called saintly.
Thus, after walking for a long time in silence with Diela, they finally arrived in front of the second-floor annex room used as a guest room.
When the head maid politely knocked, there came from inside the door a groaning sound like someone was dying.
–Creeeak
They waited only a moment. The door opened, and out came a human-shaped corpse, or perhaps a corpse-shaped human.
"What is it?"
Derrick had been in the middle of a pursuit last night, firing off mana recklessly, and after escorting young lady Diela to the annex, he returned to the main house and discussed future plans with Jayden.
And only after finishing his usual reading of Magic Books and mana training did he fall asleep. By the clock, he had slept less than three hours.
His face was heavy with fatigue, covered in deep shadows, and his white hair, clumped together in places, clearly showed that he had just woken up.
Seeing such Derrick, head maid Katarina felt apologetic, but at the same time she hoped that he would somehow resolve this disaster called Diela that had appeared early in the morning.
In any case, Derrick was currently the person who had received full authority from the Duke of Duplein to educate young lady Diela.
"Young lady Diela is looking for you, so I came to guide her."
"Young lady Diela?"
As soon as Derrick asked back, Diela, who had stepped forward in small steps, looked up at him and said.
"Teach me how to handle the manifested mana. I tried on my own, but it doesn't work well."
"…."
"You said you would teach me."
Katarina doubted her ears when she heard Diela's words. The servants who had worked at the mansion for a long time all felt sorry about Diela's magical achievements.
'Young lady Diela has manifested mana?'
This was something that should be reported to the Duke of Duplein immediately. The entire ducal family would probably be turned upside down.
Now she understood why she had come all the way to the main house early in the morning. Mages who had just manifested mana tended to feel their whole mind uplifted by the achievements that grew day by day.
Once they were captivated by that sense of achievement, they often threw themselves into magic training as if possessed. That swelling feeling in the chest was even more addictive than the buzz from drinking fine liquor. Until they hit the wall of growth, everyone was similar.
It made sense that the duke's daughter of the Duplein family had come herself early in the morning. The scholarly passion of mages who had awakened to magic was beyond imagination.
And it also seemed clear why she was not harming the servants. Having found something to be absorbed in, it was only natural.
Katarina looked at Derrick with sparkling eyes.
She felt that if it was this boy, he might save the servants from the hands of that hellish butcher.
And just as she was about to say something to the boy—
"Please come again in the afternoon."
–Bang!
The exhausted Derrick said that and closed the door.
"...."
"...."
In front of the closed door.
The head maid and Diela had to stand in silence for quite a while.
"What is this?! Are you kidding me?! You are turning me away at the door?! Who do you think you are?!"
Eventually, Diela started pounding on the door and raising her voice, but Derrick put in the earplugs he used while exploring and then buried himself back in bed.
Having already had two masters, Derrick knew. In a master-disciple relationship, things only ran smoothly if the initiative was with the master.
No matter if she was the duke's daughter of the greatest family on the continent, it was no different. After all, the Duke of Duplein had personally granted him full authority.
–Bang! Bang! Bang!
–Open the door! Open it right now!
Even amid the refreshing sound of the door being pounded, Derrick was already ready to fall into deep sleep.
If one lived as a mercenary long enough, one naturally acquired the skill of falling asleep amid noise.
Watching that scene, head maid Katarina could only rub her face.
Whether master or disciple, they were both the kind that went to extremes.
*
"Today, young lady Diela did not break a single plate during her meal."
"I, I was not hit by young lady Diela even once. She looked displeased, but ..."
"When she woke up in the morning, she was definitely handling mana with her own hands."
Valerian, the first son, who was sitting on the side table in one corner of the duke's office, wore a surprised expression.
Since he was resting his chin on his hand, his mouth could not be seen, but just from his slightly widened pupils, his state of mind was easy to tell.
He then looked toward the Duke of Duplein, who was sitting at the desk, and met his eyes.
The duke, who had been moving his quill, put it down for a moment and asked the maids who had come to report.
"Is that true?"
"Yes. I came to report after cross-checking several times. It seems young lady Diela has finally manifested mana."
"Did you hear that, father. Thank goodness. This is truly fortunate."
Valerian let out a sigh of relief. It was no different from saying that they had at least avoided the worst situation.
Of course, considering that she carried the blood of the Duplein family, it was strange that just manifesting mana was cause for celebration. But thinking about Diela's past behavior, even this alone was a great piece of good news.
"Father. I told you that Diela could do it."
"It does seem there has been progress. Let us put sending her to the monastery on hold, and it seems worth watching the situation."
The Duke of Duplein held his chin and fell into thought.
"However, to speak coldly, it is also true that her achievement is still lacking."
"Father... even so, please consider how much effort Diela has put in."
"That is why the monastery is off the table. However, granting her a separate estate and starting preparations for High Society is a different matter."
At least one 1-Star magic should be something one can use before it could be said that one could use magic at all. In the society of nobles, that was only natural. Even that was not something to boast about, but merely proof that one was not completely incompetent.
"Certainly, it is something to congratulate that she has manifested mana, but whether she has come to her senses is still unknown, father."
At that time, Raig, who had been sitting to the side, spoke bluntly. Valerian frowned when he heard that.
"What do you mean by that, Raig."
"Isn't it the truth, brother. When one first manifests mana, one gets excited and nothing else comes into view. But after calming down and recognizing the situation again, who knows when her true nature will return."
As a mage, she might have taken one step forward, but as a noble young lady, she might still be standing in place. That was what Raig was saying.
When Valerian looked at Raig's expression, it was as firm as always.
To put it bluntly, Raig truly hated Diela. Even if one excused her old, innocent days, it was strange to like someone who ran wild like a butcher and harmed her family.
Valerian did not find it hard to understand Raig either. It was not that one could blame Raig, who had become disappointed in Diela and no longer expected anything from her. Rather, Valerian and Aiselin, who embraced Diela with patience to the end, were the remarkable ones.
"People's nature does not change easily, father."
"Raig. Even so, since there has been progress, can you not trust Diela a little more?"
"Brother's way is too soft. Rather, at times like this, we should be more firm. Do not so easily scrap the proposal to send her to the monastery, father. That is how she will listen."
The Duke of Duplein picked up the quill again, drew a line under the document, and spoke.
"There is some merit to what Raig says. Still, since it is true that she has achieved something, it is not strange to take a slightly softer stance. For now, it would be best to watch a little longer."
Raig wore a dissatisfied expression, but Valerian looked much more at ease.
The Duke of Duplein tapped the desk lightly for a moment, then lowered his head and focused on the documents.
'That commoner mage. He is not ordinary.'
From the moment he had calmly asked questions without shrinking even in the middle of the duke's office, he had thought he was not ordinary.
However, there was a big gap between being not ordinary and actually producing results. The Duke of Duplein could not help but raise his evaluation of the boy named Derrick by one level in his heart.
Still, in the end, he was a commoner. There were limits to his background. He had reached quite a high realm for his age, but even so, it was still the realm of a commoner.
"Let us conclude the matter of Diela like that, and what is important right now is the meeting at the next festival day."
" ... The Duke Beltus family and the Count Belmiard family will also come, I suppose. I heard that Duke Beltus himself will attend, and that the Count Belmiard family will have young lady Ellente attend as a proxy for the Family Head."
If one were to name the three most prestigious families in the western part of the Empire where Ebelstein was located, everyone would give the same answer. Beltus, Duplein, and Belmiard.
The fact that the heads of such influential families would gather in one place was not a common occurrence. They would surely discuss things like the trade route business near Ebelstein and countermeasures for changes in the Empire's tax laws.
'They are sending young lady Ellente as a proxy to such a meeting? Not even a core vassal?'
The Duke of Duplein felt a strange sense of humiliation. It was not because the other family heads had nothing better to do that they attended the meeting in person. It was because the seat was that important.
However, Count Belmiard was a wise person. There was no way he did not know that this was a great discourtesy.
It was indeed strange.
The Duke of Duplein held his chin and fell into thought like that. Since he was the type who did not easily come out once he fell into deep thought, the two sons began organizing the documents early.
"Then I will be going now."
Thus, with a face full of dissatisfaction, Raig left the office.
It seemed he was not very pleased that Diela had escaped the crisis of being sent to the monastery.
*
Derrick slept soundly, woke up, ate the meal the maids had prepared, washed himself once, got some fresh air, and had a cup of tea.
When it became late afternoon and he headed toward the annex, a completely sulky Diela was hugging her knees in the corner of the bed.
"Are you sulking?"
"I am not sulking, I am angry."
"Even if you act like that, it cannot be helped. Everything has its order."
"I am not sulking, I am angry."
"If you get excited and run around after manifesting mana, you will be exhausted in an instant and collapse. I am telling you this from experience."
Derrick went to the table opposite Diela's bed and pulled out a wooden chair.
Then he placed it roughly next to the bed and sat down in front of it, brushing off the grass stuck to the hem of his pants.
"Regular rest is just as important as learning. Do not forget that whenever you do something, you must be in top condition."
"When I listen to Derrick, you remind me of those old-fashioned moral teachers who just read textbooks."
" ... Then shall I do it in a not-old-fashioned way?"
Remembering the night when she had been chased around in the forest in a not-old-fashioned way, Diela shuddered. She thought it would be fine even if it was not that spectacular.
"Forget it."
"Anyway, please come this way. It is about time you practice manifesting mana and build the basics of 1-Star magic. Do you not want to learn magic?"
Proud Diela did not like the fact that she had to move at the request of a mere commoner.
The girl glared like a cautious cat, then brushed her abundant blonde hair a few times and crossed the bed to sit down.
With a triangular mouth full of dissatisfaction, she looked as if she would start complaining at any moment, but when Derrick manifested mana in his hand, she immediately opened her beautiful eyes wide and stared at it.
The way the mana worked was quite different from how her family used it. The colors were diverse, and the writhing patterns were varied.
"If you want to learn Wild School magic, you must first break fixed ideas and discipline. It will be hard at first, but once you get used to it, you will be able to self-study even upper-level magic on your own."
"Did you learn everything on your own, Derrick?"
"No. I also had a master. He was from the Discipline School line, so I self-studied about half."
While showing how mana freely played above his hand, Derrick firmly impressed upon her that the first goal was to handle energy freely like this.
"I, it looks harder than I thought."
"It is fine. Anyway, the basic foundation of the Wild School is centered on self-study. The lack of a system becomes an advantage at times like this."
"Can I do it?"
"I am not saying this just to make you feel good, but to be honest, young lady Diela is somewhat talented."
At those words, Diela's eyes sparkled.
"M, me?"
"Your direction of effort was a bit wrong, but the magic knowledge you memorized and the many practices were not meaningless. From the start, you not only recognized and manifested mana, but you immediately imbued it with cold and made an ice pillar, did you not."
"Y, yes ..."
"Most people cannot do that right away. If you polish it a little, it will become 1-Star magic."
Talented.
At those words, as if something had been pent up, the girl quietly chewed on them. Considering her past, it was not strange. That short single word called talent had a strange power to make a person's heart thick and heavy.
"Having pride as long as it does not become arrogance is a good thing. So you may have pride."
"I have never been arrogant in my life."
"Do not lie."
"Why are you so sharp-tongued? Do you want to die?"
"Your speech is too rough. Please maintain some dignity."
Derrick scattered the mana gathered in his hand and ended the demonstration.
Then he quietly looked at Diela, who had been watching his demonstration. It meant for her to try herself.
It was not a movement one could imitate after seeing it once, but Diela tried hard to feel the mana extending from her own hand.
Repeating it over and over like that, she began to feel that she was gradually becoming familiar with the mana inherent within her. There was definitely progress.
Honestly, it is fun.
Learning something is an enjoyable thing. It was a sensation she had forgotten for quite a long time.
When she came to her senses and realized the corners of her mouth were raised, Diela hurriedly composed herself and put on a prim expression again.
"W, well, I think I've got the hang of it! Just like you said, Derrick, I might be a genius."
"...."
Derrick rested his chin on his hand and said.
"I said you are somewhat talented, I did not say you are a genius."
" ... You are really unpleasant."
*
After that, Diela learned magic from Derrick whenever she had time.
Watching how she would grumble at first but soon focus on magic, it really felt that she had not been such a wretched brute from the beginning.
Since it was not good to have lessons only in the annex every day, sometimes they held lessons in the rose garden next to the annex or in the garden near the main house under the warm sunlight.
When they had some time, they also went to the forest or the stream near the mansion, and in such places, he could show demonstrations of somewhat larger-scale magic.
Going back and forth like this, they often caught the eyes of passing vassals and servants.
The sight of young lady Diela following behind Derrick in the garden, trotting along and asking this and that one by one, sometimes looked like the 모습 she used to have long ago.
From some point on, the wailing also began to die down in the annex of the Duplein Ducal House.
From the servants' perspective, this was something to be thankful for beyond words. Before they knew it, Derrick had become something like the savior of the mansion's servants.
"Ha .. "
In the personal office of the second son of the Duplein Ducal House.
Raig, who had been hearing rumors about Diela, was sitting alone with his legs crossed, tapping the desk with his index finger.
Some favorable rumors about Diela were going around, but no matter how he thought about it, he could not believe that Diela would be reformed so easily.
He was someone who had suffered greatly at the hands of Diela in her most vicious days. Whenever she had the chance, she would snarl and slander, and she would harass and drive away the servants she cherished the most. Among them was someone who had been with Raig for over ten years.
Even if she were to turn over a new leaf now, the accumulated resentment would not disappear. That was what retribution was like.