Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 100: Power and Love (5)

“Miss Ellen, until the head of the family gives further instructions, please remain in your room.”

The group of servants who had escorted Ellen showed heavy expressions.

Ellen remembered each of their names Monter, Briana, Revilin, Tion, Fior…

All of them had been with Ellen since childhood, and she had watched them rise to higher positions in the Belmierd estate from the closest distance.

Therefore, they did not seem very happy to have to confine Ellen.

“You don’t tell me a single word about the results of the investigation.”

Ellen had no intention of blaming them, but she still wanted to leave a remark.

The room, normally used to receive guests, was luxurious and spacious. However, it could not compare with Ellen’s personal chamber.

Her own room was under investigation, so it probably could not be used.

“We are sorry, Miss Ellen. We…”

The elderly man at the front of the group spoke hesitantly. He was Monter, the chief of the guards who managed the servants and who had been her personal guard in childhood.

He tried to say something but then closed his mouth again.

It seemed there were instructions among the investigators not to give Ellen any information hastily.

The other servants were clearly watching him, paying attention to his reaction.

“…We have to suspect you, Miss Ellen.”

In that uncomfortable atmosphere, Briana, the most capable scribe of the Belmierd family, raised her voice.

She was always direct and professional, but Ellen knew very well that she had a warm heart.

“We will inform you of the detailed results of the investigation in due time. However, for now, we cannot give you even the slightest hint. As you know, we must follow the instructions we have received.”

Briana’s cold and professional tone made it seem as though her heart was as cold as her words.

However, Ellen looked at her and spoke with warm eyes.

“Have you found any conclusive evidence?”

“…”

Briana clenched her teeth as if she was suffering and finally spat out the words.

“As I mentioned… we are in a position where we must suspect you, Miss Ellen. However, that does not mean that we have lost faith in you.”

Still showing deep respect, Briana spoke to Ellen.

“I believe this suspicion is a means to prove your innocence, Miss Ellen. Everyone here knows better than anyone that you are not someone who would involve herself in necromancy.”

“Briana…”

“Therefore, we must understand how this situation arose, who orchestrated it, and under what circumstances. Suspicion is necessary in this process. To truly prove your innocence, we must convince everyone that you had no reason whatsoever to be involved in such magic.”

All verification begins with suspicion.

Knowing this, Ellen understood the complex and subtle emotions of the servants looking at her.

Ellen took a deep breath and observed the expressions of each one of those who believed in her and followed her.

Then, biting her lower lip for a moment, she nodded.

“Leave me. Since you’ve granted me some time alone after so long, I will immerse myself in Professor Felo’s magic books.”

With a relaxed smile, she sat by the window and said.

“I trust all of you.”

*

‘Stay calm.’

Once the servants left, Ellen closed the book and walked toward the window.

She saw the attendants with anxious expressions walking through the garden bathed in the warm spring light. The Belmierd mansion was now in the midst of a swamp of anxiety.

The fact that Lady Ellen, the legitimate heir of the Belmierd family, was suspected of practicing necromancy.

If this fact began to spread outside the family, the situation would spiral out of control.

No matter what, this matter had to be resolved within the family.

Not even a year had passed since the madness of necromancy devoured the great star that had been the Duplain family.

In this social atmosphere, the moment one was tainted by necromancy, one’s life as a noble, much less as an heir, would be destroyed.

Ellen swallowed with difficulty and tried to compose herself once again.

In this situation without information, the more she appeared to falter, the worse everything would become.

However, the cold gaze of a man in the corridor kept floating in her memory.

“Lady Ellen. Just a little more strength. You can do it!”

“Just one more time…! Now is the moment. When you’re exhausted and can’t move anymore, force yourself once more… that’s the secret of growth!”

The man who had cheered her on with overflowing energy while teaching her magic, with those cold eyes that looked at her, was engraved in her heart like a carved sculpture.

The fact that Dereck had succumbed to Leonard’s persuasion meant that he was now hostile toward her.

“Dereck is thoughtful and quick to judge. Leonard should not have been able to persuade him so easily…”

But Ellen knew Leonard as well as Dereck.

Leonard was skilled at persuading people, sometimes with cunning whispers, sometimes with grand speeches, or if not, with offers difficult to refuse.

Dereck was not someone who would easily fall for such tricks, but Leonard might have used some sort of scheme.

He constantly spread rumors about Ellen, emphasized supposed moral flaws, and promised Dereck great rewards.

Especially since Dereck was more devoted to magical achievements than anyone, he might be convinced with guarantees of magical treasures or conditions that aided his studies.

And if Leonard had painted Ellen as a villain to ease Dereck’s conscience and then lured him with appropriate rewards…?

Leonard was a young man with great skill in understanding others’ desires, so it was not impossible. Perhaps he had seen through Dereck’s obsession with magical achievements.

“If Dereck was simply influenced by Leonard’s words, I could defend myself by meeting and speaking with him. The problem is… this is not a situation where I can see Dereck right now…”

Ellen took a deep breath and reaffirmed her resolve once more.

Her eyes, gripping the window frame tightly, burned with renewed determination.

Misunderstandings can be cleared.

No matter what tricks Leonard used to instill slander into Dereck, in the end, Dereck would understand that it was all a misunderstanding.

Do not lose composure in the face of a momentary confusion.

In this game of intrigues, the first to lose composure would be the one to fall.

Losing Dereck could be a painful move, but it could still be recovered.

Leonard’s tricks were nothing but false evidence to corner Ellen.

False evidence always has flaws, and if those flaws could be exposed, the situation would be reversed.

So the only thing she needed to know was what that evidence was.

Ellen calmed herself, repeating those words endlessly.

*

Dear Prince Valerian of the Duplain family,

I have been reflecting deeply since I received your last letter. Once again I have considered how dangerous the path we are following is, and what results may await us in the end.

But when I think of the changes our research will bring, I believe all these risks are worth it. If we come to fully understand the secrets of necromancy, we will be able to transcend the limits of life and death. With that power, we can change this empire—no, the entire continent.

The ancient texts of the White Zone that you sent me were truly invaluable.

Especially the spell “Echo of the Soul” was astounding. As a result of my experiments in my underground laboratory, I was able to momentarily animate the corpse of a small animal. It is still incomplete, but I am confident that soon we will achieve greater results.

At the full moon of next month you will naturally be able to visit the Duplain family during Lady Diella’s debutante ball.

I hope we can meet at the promised place and talk in more detail. I also want to share some new spells I have discovered.

Please, be careful. I feel that Prince Valerian has lately been too influenced by necromantic magic. Be very cautious so that our secret does not leak out.

From your eternal comrade,

Ellen

The Count Belmierd, who had read the letter from the underground laboratory to the end, sat at the desk in his office with a heavy expression.

He placed the letter on the table and looked at the faces of the vassals who participated in the investigation.

Among them, Counselor Revilton, who led the investigation, spoke with his eyes closed.

“Upon examining the handwriting, it was done with Beloff ink with a hydrangea scent used by Lady Ellen. It was also sealed with the secret seal of the Belmierd family.”

“…”

“This letter was not sent and simply remained in the drawer. Perhaps it was rewritten due to some corrections, or the situation may have changed.”

After him, Briana and the head maid also recited the results of the investigation with grave expressions.

“There was also a faint trace of Lady Ellen’s perfume. We investigated it directly with our hounds, so it is most likely true.”

“…”

The letter was about exchanging opinions on necromantic magic with Valerian, the eldest son of the Duplain family.

According to the known information, Valerian of the Duplain family gradually lost his sanity because of the necromantic relics of the White Zone and eventually went mad.

In other words, this was proof that she had researched necromancy together with that person.

Physical evidence and circumstances.

Both matched exactly.

Ironically, Ellen had attended the Duplain family’s party on the very day of the great disaster.

Even in a situation where many died or were injured, Ellen emerged unscathed… Moreover, despite such a grave incident, she did not hold the Duplain family responsible nor demand compensation.

Circumstantial evidence alone is not very powerful, but when several conditions overlap, they can acquire great weight.

Ellen’s visit to the Duplain family was purely to celebrate Diella’s social debut.

She did not hold the Duplain family responsible simply because she did not want to burden Aiselin.

And she survived unharmed because she acted quickly.

The truth is often that simple and insignificant. Ellen was broad-minded, mature, and compassionate, so she let it pass.

However, those accumulated circumstances made her actions appear suspicious.

Could it be that she was truly colluding with the Duplain family to research necromancy?

It was enough to plant that seed of doubt for all this evidence and circumstance to play their role.

Count Belmierd pressed his temples and let out a deep sigh.

Then, seated at his desk, he spoke to his vassals.

“I don’t want to doubt Ellen.”

“…”

“You all feel the same, don’t you?”

Count Belmierd, who loved his daughter more than anything, was being put to the test.

In his heart, he wanted to return her freedom and encourage her, saying Father believes in you, so don’t worry about anything.

But he was the lord of the Belmierd territory, a position that ruled over numerous vassals and subjects.

Rumors had already begun circulating within the mansion, and if not stopped, they could spread to outside cities or even beyond the territory.

If it was revealed that he had covered up the enormous stain of necromancy simply because she was his daughter, it would escalate beyond Ellen’s problem into an issue for the entire Belmierd territory.

A father before a count. A count before a father.

Trapped in that dilemma, Count Belmierd could only writhe in agony.

*

“Did you hear that Lady Ellen was involved in necromancy? Do you think it’s true?”

“Oh, come on. You know what kind of person Lady Ellen is. Could that be possible?”

Doubt is like a tiny spark that blooms among the branches. Usually, such doubts are not powerful and disappear quickly.

However, sometimes they persist, burn the branches, and end up growing.

Doubt, when not resolved definitively, lingers for a long time, exerting its influence just by remaining.

Rumors get distorted, exaggerated, and embellished. What breaks a person’s spirit is the rumor that has been adorned.

These baseless rumors, which are neither logical nor reasonable, corner people.

They break the heart and make it difficult to maintain composure. Even the wise lose clarity, and only the sense of injustice remains, rising like waves and causing one to lose calm.

What matters is time.

What corrodes a person is not a great blow of pain that arrives all at once.

It is the persistent pain that gnaws little by little at the edges of the heart.

Each small twist that slowly pushes someone into a corner often mixes into daily life.

“Oh, it’s Lady Ellen.”

“Shh, shh…! Don’t talk to her…!”

While being escorted by the servants to go eat, the maids cleaning in the garden sweated cold and fled.

Thus, a day passes, and then another.

“But what about Lady Ellen?”

“She’s still under house arrest.”

“To think that the one who once reigned in the Rose Hall of Ebelstein is now confined so alone in her room… The results of the investigation must have been quite serious…”

“Ho… Could it be that she really practiced necromancy…?”

“Shh. Watch your mouth.”

Late at night. Upon opening the window and reading a book, the secret conversations of the servants could be heard seeping into the room.

And so three days passed, then four.

“What if, by chance, Lady Ellen really practiced necromancy?”

“Haven’t you heard of the tragedy of the Duplain family? They will never… never let it go.”

“Then, what happens with the heir position of the Belmierd family?”

“Well… Since young master Linus rejected it, it would fall to young master Leonard, but young master Leonard insisted it would never happen, that he has no desire for power…”

“As expected… He’s someone detached…”

It was a conversation that reached Ellen’s ears, who was using detection magic to gather information from the adjoining room.

By the fifth day, the weight on her chest began to grow heavier.

“Lady Ellen. I brought you some clothes to change into.”

Briana’s cold gaze, becoming ever more professional.

“Lady Ellen. We need to hear your statement.”

Monter’s firm eyes, without a trace of apology. Each scene of daily life accumulated in her heart like poison.

The terrifying thing is that she didn’t even realize it. A person’s mind is cornered very slowly.

Like a kettle put to the fire, the temperature rises little by little, and before noticing, one finds oneself swimming in unbearable heat.

When she commanded the skies and lifted her nose with power, everyone looked up at her.

The servants saw her as someone above the clouds, the maids assisted her cautiously as if she were porcelain, and her family praised her as a flower.

But when the accumulated suspicions finally reached a critical point, something inside the heart had to break.

“Ah…”

How many days had passed?

Ellen, sitting in a dark room with a candelabra lit, suddenly regained consciousness. She could barely feel how time was passing.

A soft spring breeze entered through the half-open window. The moon in the sky shone, but it felt strangely cold.

Ellen stood up and quickly shook her head.

“I lost my mind for a moment. That’s not like me.”

In this time, Ellen had tried to clear the suspicions in her own way.

She had tried to coax the servants into telling her what the evidence was, and sent letters outside to inform the Duplain family.

She also asked nobles of the Rose Hall who might defend her, but found no one with enough heart to get involved in such a grave matter.

As a result, she found herself sitting in silence, staring at the candle in the middle of a private room where only the cold night wind entered.

She was not someone who lost consciousness easily. She had never lost focus even in the most boring philosophy classes.

It was the first time she suddenly lost it, so she washed her face and pulled her hair back.

“Yes. Do they intend to corner me this way? It’s unfortunate, but to rule means not being able to escape suspicion and evidence. Do they think I, who have reigned as heir of the Belmierd family for so long, will waver over such a petty trick?”

In the end, the Belmierd family could not easily get rid of Ellen.

Even with numerous pieces of evidence, there were still many servants who wanted to believe in her.

However, the dark room still remained silent. With the cold wind entering and shaking the candle, Ellen’s shadow also trembled.

She had not reached that position alone.

The word “loneliness” only existed in the dictionary. With so many people who believed in her and followed her, how could a small seed of doubt bring her down?

But she did not know.

What protects a person’s heart is not the respectful gaze of those who follow. Secular authority does not protect the heart.

When anxiety and suspicion heat slowly for a long time, even a fish in an aquarium eventually stops breathing.

The only difference is whether it takes a week or a month. The moment inevitably arrives.

As Ellen stood and looked at the mirror in the corner of the room, she shuddered.

Empty eyes. Brittle hair.

Wondering if it was really her, she quickly rubbed her eyes and took a comb from the drawer to fix her hair.

“Maintaining appearance is the most basic of basics… What has happened to me…?”

Ellen began to comb herself with trembling fingers.

But the brushing felt clumsy. The ends seemed tangled and it was not easy to pass the comb completely.

Only then did she realize. How long had it been since she last combed herself?

The maids who always followed her as if they were part of her body were the ones who fixed her hair. She could not even remember the last time she had done it by herself.

And then, the dark room returned to her sight.

There was no one.

She, who had ruled the world, who reigned as a king of Belmierd, who was famous as the lady of the Rose Hall, the flower of the inner chambers.

She was power itself.

But at her side, there was only empty darkness.

There is no one here. That fact does not change, no matter how many times she closes her eyes and opens them again.

In this narrow room, there is no one.

*

‘It seems to be the necromancy book from Rodentz Island.’

The necromancy book found in Ellen’s room was a dangerous object, so it seemed that the high servants had quickly dealt with it and sealed it with magic.

However, traces still remained in the basement. Standing alone in the basement steeped in the smell of blood, Dereck breathed deeply as he felt the lingering traces of that magic.

‘Yes. It was strange from the moment he suddenly converted to religion and went on pilgrimage.’

Dereck murmured to himself as he observed the basement, filled with a sticky air. It was known as Ellen’s necromancy research laboratory.

After reporting to the Ravenclaw Barony about the news of Belmierd, Dereck had returned as a guest. Seeing this chaotic environment, it was strange that outside guests were being received at all.

If the head of the family were in his right mind, there would be no reason to bring outsiders into the mansion in such a situation.

Nevertheless, Dereck could freely wander through the Belmierd family as a guest.

That seemed to have some significance in this situation.

‘…’

Dereck rested his chin on his hand for a moment, then shook his head and heavily climbed the stairs leading to the surface.

— There is information that low-ranking necromancers who escaped from Rodentz Island have hidden in Ebelstein. If we capture and interrogate them, we could obtain some clues about that 6-star necromancer.

Before coming to the Belmierd family, Trisha had made this request to Dereck.

Dereck had refused.

He was not someone very well-versed in necromancy.

However, there was something he did know.

The existence of the faceless 6-star necromancer, whom the necromancers of Rodentz Island revered as a prophet.

It was almost unknown to the world, but her followers had a common trait.

A deep desire for necromancy.

Step, step.

While climbing the stairs, Dereck became convinced.

It seemed that Leonard was one of the necromancers of Rodentz Island who had been hunted by the Renouel Viscounty. He seemed to be a survivor who escaped when the island was raided. The fact that traces of necromancy still remained at this moment fit too well.

In short, he had never gone on pilgrimage in the first place. If anything, his pilgrimage had been to Rodentz Island, the seat of necromancy.

Dereck let out a chuckle while climbing the stairs.

There was no proof. But it did not matter.

Proof could be manufactured.

Just as Leonard had done.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelCet