The next morning, when Lady Diella led the servants to the main house, there was a great stir among the staff. This was because she usually remained secluded in the annex.
When Housekeeper Katarina entered the central foyer of the annex, a young girl leading the servants walked past the nobles with a frown.
The sky-blue frilled dress she wore as casual attire looked more sweet than elegant, perhaps due to the wine-colored ribbon on her chest.
The annex servants ran behind her, and the nobles passing by quickly bowed their heads, sweating profusely.
Everyone was tense, knowing that even the slightest mistake could result in a flurry of abuse.
It had been too long since the girl had visited the main house directly, and not knowing where Dereck was, she randomly stopped a noble passing by.
“You, there.”
“Yes, Lady Diella. Good morning.”
The servant, who had been carrying ropes since early morning to repair the garden, stood at attention, sweating heavily.
Housekeeper Katarina took a deep breath and hurried down the foyer stairs. The low-ranking servants, who did a lot of physical labor in the garden from early morning, were often tired or lacked proper hygiene.
Katarina had to step in imdiately, lest he slled of sweat or looked like a beggar—getting hit would be a problem.
“Do you know where the mage from Ebelstein is staying?”
“Ah, the mage from Ebelstein… you an the rcenary Lady Aiselin brought?”
“Yes. Answer .”
“Sorry! I’ll find out right away!”
The servant stood at attention, sweating buckets. He clenched his lower abdon in anticipation of a blow or kick that could co at any mont.
But Diella wasn’t much interested in wasting ti on such matters.
“Forget it. I’ll ask the housekeeper.”
“…?”
“What’s with that face? Is there a problem?”
“No! I’m going, I’m going!”
The servant quickly gathered the ropes and ran off, and the housekeeper, who had rushed down, approached and bowed. She was inwardly surprised that the servant hadn’t been hit but spoke with the utmost courtesy.
“Lady Diella, I apologize for the commotion. If you had inford us, we would have prepared properly.”
“Forget it. Just take
to where that mage from Ebelstein is.”
“Yes. He’s staying in the guest room on the second floor.”
With that, the housekeeper walked ahead three steps calmly, swallowing nervously.
Glancing sideways at Lady Diella now and then, she didn’t seem too upset. She was completely different from when she scolded over the smallest things.
‘Oh, she seems to be in a good mood today. I’d better be careful not to irritate her too much.’
No matter how difficult Diella was, she wouldn’t hit the housekeeper, one of the top three maids in the mansion. At least the housekeeper could manage the infamous Diella.
As the housekeeper led the way beside Diella, all the servants and followers who passed by kept silent. Her self-sacrifice truly deserved the title of “Holy Mother.”
Thus, Diella and the housekeeper walked quietly for a while, eventually reaching the guest room on the second floor.
When the housekeeper gently knocked on the door in a polite gesture, a groan was heard from inside, as if soone was dying.
–Creak
The wait was brief. The door opened, and out ca a figure that looked like a corpse—or maybe a corpse that resembled a human.
“What’s going on?”
Dereck had spent the previous night unleashing his magic during the chase, and after returning Lady Diella to the annex, he had gone back to the main house to discuss future plans with Jayden.
Only after his routine of studying spellbooks and training his powers did he finally sleep. According to the clock, he’d only had three hours of rest.
His face, full of exhaustion, shadows under his eyes, and his disheveled white hair made it clear he’d just woken up.
Housekeeper Katarina, seeing Dereck exhausted, felt pity but also silently prayed for a solution to the disaster nad Diella who had shown up that morning.
After all, Dereck now had the full confidence of Duke Duplain with educational authority over Lady Diella.
“Lady Diella is looking for you, so I ca to guide you.”
“Lady Diella?”
When Dereck asked, Diella stepped forward quickly, looked at him, and said,
“Teach
how to control the magic that’s materialized. I tried it myself, but it didn’t work.”
“…”
“You said you’d teach .”
Katarina doubted her ears upon hearing Diella’s words. The servants who had worked at the mansion for a long ti had all but given up on Diella’s magical progress.
‘Lady Diella has materialized magic?’
This was sothing that needed to be reported to Duke Duplain imdiately. The whole noble household would likely be in an uproar. It was understandable why Diella had co to the main house so early. Newly awakened mages were often ecstatic over their growing accomplishnts.
So captivated by that sense of achievent, many would pursue magical training as if bewitched. That overwhelming excitent was more addictive than the rumors of the finest wine—at least until they hit their growth limit.
It made sense why the duchess herself went out of her way to co so early. The thirst for knowledge among mages who had just opened their eyes to magic was beyond imagination.
And it seed clear now why Diella wasn’t lashing out at the servants.
Once she found sothing to focus on, it was expected.
Katarina looked at Dereck with sparkling eyes. Maybe this boy could save the staff from that demon’s grasp.
Just as she was about to say sothing to him—
“Co back in the afternoon.”
–Bang!
Dereck, exhausted, said it and shut the door. In front of the closed door.
The housekeeper and Diella stood frozen for a long while.
“What is this?! Are you kidding ?! You send
away at the door?! Who do you think you are?!”
Finally, Diella banged on the door, raising her voice, but Dereck simply put in his exploration earplugs and buried himself back in bed.
Dereck, with experience under two masters, knew this well. The relationship between master and apprentice ultimately needs to be led by the master to run smoothly. It didn’t matter if the apprentice was a noble lady from one of the empire’s greatest families—there was no difference. After all, hadn’t Duke Duplain given him full authority?
–Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Open the door! Open it now!”
Even amid the loud banging, Dereck was ready to sleep deeply. After a life as a rcenary, one naturally acquires the ability to sleep through noise.
Watching the scene, Housekeeper Katarina could only rub her face.
Both the master and the apprentice—stubborn to the core.
*
“Today, Lady Diella didn’t break a single plate during her al.”
“Ha, she didn’t hit
even once. But she seed to be in a bad mood…”
“This morning, she was definitely using magic with that hand.”
Valerian, the first prince, seated at one side of the duke’s office table, wore a surprised expression. Though his mouth was hidden by his hand resting on his chin, his slightly widened pupils made his thoughts easy to guess.
He looked toward Duke Duplain, who was seated at his desk, and their eyes t.
The duke, fiddling with his quill, set it down for a mont and asked the servants who had co to report.
“Is this true?”
“Yes. I verified it several tis before reporting. It seems Lady Diella has finally materialized her magic.”
“Did you hear that, Father? What a relief. A real relief.”
Valerian sighed with relief, as if the worst had been averted.
Of course, it was odd to celebrate the re materialization of magic, especially for soone born into the Duplain family. But given Diella’s recent behavior, this was a significant and positive developnt.
“Father, I told you Diella could do it.”
“There appears to be progress. We’ll postpone her transfer to the monastery and observe whether the situation rits monitoring.”
Duke Duplain stroked his chin, lost in thought.
“However, to be honest, there are still shortcomings in her achievent.”
“Father… but consider how much effort Diella has put in. Please take that into account.”
“Then let’s not talk about the monastery. However, granting her separate land to prepare for social debut is a different matter.”
At the very least, one must be able to cast a one-star spell to claim to know magic. In noble society, that was the standard. Even that wasn’t a point of pride, but rely proof of not being completely incompetent.
“Of course, manifesting magical power is sothing to celebrate, but whether she’s truly reford is still unknown, Father.”
At that mont, Leigh, sitting beside him, made a blunt remark. Valerian frowned upon hearing it.
“What do you an by that, Leigh?”
“Seriously, brother? When soone materializes magic for the first ti, they get so excited nothing else matters. But once that excitent fades and they realize their situation again, who knows when their true nature will return?”
She may have advanced as a mage, but as a noble lady, she might still be shallow. That’s what Leigh ant.
Valerian saw Leigh’s expression and, as always, remained composed.
Frankly, Leigh deeply disliked Diella. Even if one could forgive past emotions, it was hard to feel affection for soone who had caused so much trouble for the family like a delinquent.
Valerian understood Leigh’s feelings to so extent. It was remarkable that Valerian and Aiselin continued to patiently embrace Diella rather than blaming Leigh for giving up hope.
“People’s true nature doesn’t change easily, Father.”
“Leigh. But since there has been progress, can’t we trust Diella a bit more?”
“Brother, your approach is too soft. Especially at tis like this, we need to be more firm. Don’t be quick to dismiss sending her to the monastery, Father. That’s when she’ll truly listen.”
Duke Duplain picked up his quill again and drew a line on a docunt as he spoke.
“Leigh’s words have rit. However, since so progress has been made, a softer approach isn’t entirely wrong. It’s better to observe her longer.”
Leigh wore a dissatisfied expression, but Valerian’s face relaxed. Duke Duplain tapped the desk for a mont before lowering his head to focus on the docunt.
‘That plebeian mage. He truly is remarkable.’
The duke had been thinking this ever since the boy brazenly asked his question in the grand office. Still, being remarkable and producing results were different matters. The Duke had no choice but to raise his assessnt of the boy called Dereck a notch.
However, in the end, he was still a plebeian. There were inherent limits to that status. Though he had reached quite a high level for his age, it was still within the bounds of the lower class.
“Let’s wrap up Diella’s matter for now. The next priority is the upcoming holiday conference.”
“…Duke Beltus and Prince Belmierd will also attend. I heard Duke Beltus is coming in person, and Prince Belmierd will be represented by Lady Elente.”
If one ntioned the three most influential families in the western part of the Empire where Ebelstein was located, the sa answer would always follow: Beltus, Duplain, Belmierd.
It wasn’t common for the heads of such influential houses to gather in one place.
Clearly, they would discuss matters like trade routes near Ebelstein and changes to the Empire’s tax laws.
‘Sending Lady Elente to represent in such a eting? Not even a central retainer?’
Duke Duplain felt a strange sense of insult. It wasn’t that the other heads were too lazy to attend—it was because the eting was important.
However, Prince Belmierd was a wise man. He couldn’t be unaware of the rudeness this entailed. A truly odd incident.
Duke Duplain sat with his hands clasped, lost in thought. Known for his deep contemplation, his two sons had already begun organizing the docunts.
“I’ll be leaving now.”
With a dissatisfied expression, Leigh left the office.
He clearly wasn’t pleased that Diella had escaped her fate of being sent to the monastery.
*
Dereck had a deep sleep, woke up to eat the al prepared by the servants, bathed, breathed in the fresh air, and sipped tea.
By afternoon, he headed to the annex only to find Diella completely sulking, hugging her knees in the corner of her bed.
“Are you upset?”
“It’s not sarcasm—I’m angry.”
“Doesn’t matter how much you sulk. Everything has its order.”
“It’s not sulking—I’m angry.”
“Rushing in excitent after manifesting magic will only tire you out. I speak from experience.”
Dereck pulled a wooden chair in front of her bed. He calmly placed it beside her, sat down, and brushed off the grass from his pants.
“Rest is as important as study. Always be fully prepared when doing anything. Don’t forget that.”
“Hearing you reminds
of that boring ethics teacher reading from a textbook.”
“…Should I make it less boring?”
Rembering that very “unboring” night running through the forest, Diella shuddered. She decided it was better not to get too flashy.
“Forget it.”
“Co here. It’s ti to practice magic materialization and build the basics of one-star spells. Don’t you want to learn magic?”
Diella’s pride didn’t like being ordered around by a plebeian.
Like a cautious cat, she glared with wide eyes, then adjusted her golden hair several tis before crawling across the bed to sit.
Her lips forming a sulky triangle, she looked ready to pout at any mont, but when Dereck manifested magic in his hands, her eyes imdiately widened in amazent.
The way his magic moved was quite different from her family’s. The colors varied, and the movent patterns were diverse.
“To learn Wild School magic, you first need to free yourself from stereotypes and rules. It’ll be hard at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll be able to learn advanced spells on your own.”
“Dereck, did you learn on your own?”
“No. I had a teacher too. He was from the Disciplined School, so I learned half on my own.”
Dereck showed how his magic moved freely in his hands, demonstrating that controlling energy freely was the first goal.
“Wow, this looks harder than I thought.”
“It’s fine. The core of the Wild School is self-learning. The lack of a strict system is actually a strength at tis like this.”
“Can I try?”
“I’m not saying this to flatter you, but honestly and frankly, Lady Diella, you have talent.”
Upon hearing those words, Diella’s eyes sparkled.
“Really?”
“Though your efforts were misdirected, the magical knowledge you morized and the various exercises weren’t in vain. After all, you not only recognized and materialized magic power, but also imbued it with cold to create ice pillars, right?”
“Huh, yeah…”
“That’s not sothing ordinary people can do right away. With a bit of refinent, it could beco a one-star spell.”
The talent was there. Chewing over those words like nursing a deep resentnt, the girl quietly reflected. Looking back, it wasn’t strange. The simple word “talent” held power to stir the heart.
“Having self-esteem is good, as long as it doesn’t turn into arrogance. So it’s okay to be proud.”
“I’ve never been arrogant in my life.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Why do you speak so rudely? Do you want to die?”
“Your mouth is too foul. Show so dignity.”
Dereck dispersed the magic energy gathered in his hands and ended the demonstration. Then, staring at Diella who had been watching intently, he gestured for her to try it herself.
It wasn’t sothing that could be mimicked just by watching once, but Diella seriously tried to feel the magic from her own hands.
After repeating it several tis, she started to beco more comfortable with the magic inherent within her. There was clear progress. Honestly, it was fun.
Learning sothing was fun. It was a feeling she had long forgotten.
Realizing she was smiling, Diella quickly composed herself and put on a face of feigned indifference.
“Wow, I think I’ve mastered it! Like you said, Dereck, maybe I am a bit of a genius.”
“…”
Dereck, resting his chin on his hand, said:
“You have talent, but I never said you were a genius.”
“…You’re really not like the others.”
??
After that, Diella took every chance to learn magic from Dereck.
Though she grumbled at first, she quickly beca absorbed in magic, and it beca clear she hadn’t always been a demon from the start.
Every day, having lessons solely in the annex felt a bit limiting, so they sotis enjoyed the sun in the rose garden or the lawn near the main house.
If ti allowed, they wandered through the nearby forest and rivers, where grander spells could be demonstrated. As they ca and went, they often caught the eyes of passing nobles and servants.
The sight of young Lady Diella following Dereck around, peppering him with questions, often reminded people of her younger self.
Eventually, the shouts within the Duplain family began to fade.
For the servants, there was no greater relief. Before long, Dereck had beco the savior of the mansion staff.
“Hmm…”
In the private office of the Duplain family’s second son, Leigh, after hearing the rumors about Diella, sat alone with his legs crossed, drumming his fingers idly on the desk.
Though there were so favorable rumors about Diella, he couldn’t imagine she had changed so easily.
He had been one of the victims of Diella’s worst days. She would rant and spread malicious gossip at every opportunity, tornting and dismissing even her most beloved personal maid. One of them had served with Leigh for over a decade.
No matter what people said about new beginnings, accumulated hatred didn’t disappear so easily. That was the nature of karma.
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