Sha.
What an absurd emotion. When a person makes a mistake, unbearable sha and unbearable humiliation are bound to arise.
After hearing Dereck’s explanation, Denise had to endure the dizziness while covering her face.
From the beginning, Dereck had no hostility toward Denise.
The words “You can stab
in the back” were not a bold declaration aid at an enemy, but words spoken out of consideration for Denise’s position.
“Ah, no… if you think about it logically, I’m the most well-known lady of the Beltus family, and if soone is hostile toward Beltus, it’s only natural to think they’d also have negative feelings toward , right…?”
“How many tis have I told you? I hold no particular resentnt toward Lady Denise.”
“…”
“Do you rember what I always say?”
Denise, who had collapsed, looked at Dereck under the moonlight and spoke as if reciting.
“…That there are no bad girls in the world, it only depends on how you teach them, right?”
“In truth, there’s nothing to teach or not to teach. From the start, Lady Denise has nothing particularly bad about her. I understand if you can’t trust , but can’t you at least trust yourself?”
“No, it’s just that… logically… yes, logically this is… inconsistent…”
With that, Denise let out a hiccup and began reflecting on the man called Dereck.
He was ruthless toward those who showed hostility, malice, and tried to crush him.
If soone attacked, he struck back; if they drew a sword, he drew one too; if they tried to kill him, he killed them without hesitation.
But what about the opposite?
He was infinitely kind to those who showed no hostility. He wasn’t usually the one to take the initiative in doing good deeds, but he knew how to appreciate what he received.
He seed to treasure deeply in his heart the teachers he had t in his life and never forgot them. Didn’t he visit the grave of the old man from the slums when he had ti, exchange letters with Katia, and rejoice upon hearing news from Drest?
Didn’t he seem to have a good eye for people?
Dereck was soone who, if you approached him with goodwill, responded with goodwill—a completely logical man.
Even knowing that, Denise couldn’t judge the situation rationally.
It was only natural. It would be strange for anyone to remain rational in a situation like this.
The only reason he had drawn his sword against Grand Duke Beltus was because the Duke had drawn his first.
Denise covered her face and bowed her head deeply.
“I want to die…”
“To that extent…?”
“Yes, honestly, considering the situation, I thought that you, Dereck, were completely cornering , trapping , trying to punish …”
“?”
“Isn’t this the kind of situation for that? Beltus showed you clear hostility.”
Denise already knew it well.
Grand Duke Beltus had even tried to kidnap Baroness Pheline, and if necessary, was willing to take Baron Dereck’s life.
Being lenient toward soone like that was unthinkable, so Denise assud Dereck would also use every ans possible.
However, Dereck knelt on one knee, lowered his posture, and looked Denise in the eyes as he spoke.
“That’s Grand Duke Beltus. Not Lady Denise, correct?”
“I’m soone from Beltus.”
“And what of it?”
At those words, Denise’s eyes widened, unable to say anything.
“Grand Duke Beltus is Grand Duke Beltus. And Lady Denise is Lady Denise. What else could that an…?”
What kind of aning could such a simple, obvious statent carry when said that way?
Because it was Dereck—who deeply understood the arrogant Lord Robain and the person nad Denise—who spoke those words, Denise understood the thoughtfulness contained within them.
What could she say now? In her entire life, no one had ever separated Denise from the Beltus family.
That was why, the mont Beltus beca the enemy, Denise thought Dereck would also beco entirely her enemy.
But that very premise was wrong.
That man, who always looked at Denise indifferently under the moonlight, saw the Beltus family and Denise as completely separate entities.
Everything she achieved was “for Beltus.” Everything she did was “because of Beltus.”
That was why a person who saw Denise only as Denise was more precious than gold.
Why did she only realize that now?
Even when Dereck taught her magic, he never treated her as “the lady of Beltus.”
Only when Denise handled magic carelessly or dismissed it as useless did he get angry and teach her with full force.
In truth, when he felt the lesson was sufficiently covered, he simply left without another word.
To him, Denise was just Denise.
Denise, who had lived her entire life under the glory of her family, finally understood why she could never bring herself to push Dereck away harshly.
He was the only person in this world who saw her as separate from the Beltus family.
The girl, without realizing it, didn’t want to lose that person.
“Dereck…”
“…”
“If… if the influence of the Beltus family weakens a lot because of this incident… and I end up being treated like Lady Aiselin… will you still be my teacher…?”
Even Denise herself didn’t understand why she was asking that.
But she felt she had to ask it now.
“…Why ask such an unnecessary question?”
Dereck didn’t even consider it a real question.
Once a teacher-student bond is ford, that relationship continues. One only had to see how Dereck treated the teachers who had trained him to know what that bond ant to him.
At those words, a lump rose in Denise’s throat.
Even if the word “Beltus” disappeared from her na, she was convinced that this man would remain by her side until the end.
The reason was simple — they were teacher and student.
Just as many teachers had once taken Dereck’s weak arm and guided him, this man, too, was determined to protect the one he had once considered his student.
Diella had done it, Ellen had done it, Siern had done it.
Dereck had more than enough reasons to abandon them and turn his back, and yet, he never avoided his responsibility.
The old man from the slums, Katia, Drest — Dereck had been taught that way.
He acted according to what he had learned and taught others in the sa way.
In the end, in this world, everyone is soone’s teacher and soone’s student.
And Dereck lived naturally under that belief.
To doubt soone like that was shaful. Denise understood the nature of the sha that consud her.
Denise rubbed her face again and again, letting out sighs of relief.
He was a truly mysterious man.
Like a zelkova tree that always remains in the sa place, the only one confused and in crisis was Denise.
“You’ve been through a lot, Lady Denise. Don’t worry too much. All of this will soon co to an end.”
Seeing Dereck protect her that way, Denise felt her breathing quicken for no reason.
A man from the slums. Yet he had firm convictions, always embraced everyone, and never judged people by their family’s power.
He felt like a familiar character, so she tilted her head and repeated the thought several tis. Only then did she rember who the heroine Tracy was in The Arrogant Lord Robain.
At that mont, her breath caught in her throat.
In The Arrogant Lord Robain, a romance novel filled with Denise’s personal desires, the male protagonist and most important character, Lord Robain, was none other than a projection of Denise herself.
The unfortunate man who lost his precious connections because of his family’s power — that Robain, placed there to mock herself, loved soone like Tracy.
He was just a character in a story.
However, after spending so much ti imrsed in Lord Robain and wielding the pen, the character’s mindset and values were already deeply imprinted in Denise’s own mind.
The reason Lord Robain loved Tracy so deeply was a process that she herself had built and believed in.
That was why, when she looked at Dereck, she understood Lord Robain’s feelings.
The process of soone oppressed by their family’s power feeling affection for Tracy, who treated him sincerely as a person — Denise herself had described that process so convincingly.
And, unfortunately, her passion for that story beca the firewood that stoked the flas of Denise’s heart.
Through her eyes, Dereck seed as precious as a jewel.
While everyone in the world recited the na of Beltus, Dereck’s voice asking about Denise’s well-being felt strangely sweet.
Denise was a rational person.
Even with her heart fluttering, she judged her current situation objectively.
‘This is bad.’
In this crisis, with her family collapsing and monsters everywhere, she tried to convince herself that it was rely the “suspension bridge effect,” but nothing worked.
It felt like she was about to throw herself onto a path full of thorns. Of course it was.
Dereck’s relationships with won were so complicated that just watching him from afar was enough to give Denise a headache.
If simply watching the fire from the other shore was exhausting, jumping directly into that war was sothing that Denise — always lazy and calm — could never tolerate.
However, human emotions don’t always follow reason.
Having devoured all sorts of third-rate romance novels, Denise knew better than anyone how this kind of situation developed.
In short, Denise didn’t respect this man only as her ntor.
“Lady Denise. The situation is urgent right now…”
“D-Dereck… w-wait a mont…”
Flustered, Denise took a step back, but the tree trunk behind her blocked her retreat.
Trying sohow to hide her face, which was turning red for no reason, she covered her cheeks and lowered her head.
Everything was a disaster.
In the midst of rampaging monsters and demons appearing, being swayed by these emotions would only throw everything further into chaos. That’s why Denise tried to regulate her breathing — and just when she thought she should listen to Dereck’s plan—
Snap!
Whoosh!
Bang!
When Denise raised her head, Dereck was suddenly struck down by a flying spell.
Crash! Bang!
Combat Magic of the First Level — “Shockwave.”
Thrown by the impact, Dereck was slamd against a tree at the edge of the forest as dust rose into the air.
Though it happened in an instant, Dereck, who drew on his magical power with superhuman reflexes to soften the blow, appeared through the haze of dust.
He was kneeling on one knee, pulling out his staff and taking a combat stance. His reaction speed was so fast it seed inhuman.
“W-What…?”
Looking in the direction from which the magic had co, the rcenary leader Orel had arrived with his detachnt.
He had long served as commander of the Emperor’s direct guard. Though his abilities may have dulled slightly with age, his responsiveness in crises remained exceptional.
“Are you all right, Lady Denise?!”
He surrounded her with his rcenaries, forming a protective barrier. General Orel, who had quickly moved to shield Denise, drew his sword and pointed it toward Dereck.
Rising from amidst the dust, Orel’s eyes were already filled with hostility.
“O-Orel, leader… w-what are you doing…?”
“You’re safe. I’m glad to hear it.”
Orel, spinning his sword once, glared sharply at the beast erging from the bushes.
At a glance, it didn’t look like an easy opponent.
Though he appeared young, he was already a rcenary hardened by countless battles.
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