Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 105: Power and Love (10)

“I already heard about Sir Rodeia’s legendary feats on Rodentz Island at the last meeting. They told me she wielded the Holy Blood Sword and annihilated dozens of necromancers in a massive underground hideout in a single day.”

In front of Ellen, who had just finished her explanation, the expression of Count Belmierd, seated at his desk with arms crossed, grew even more grave.

“They say that each time she returned to the detachment covered in the blood of necromancers, she looked like a reaper risen from the underworld. She had spent her life chasing the necromancers of Rodentz Island, and it was said she could recognize the necromancy particular to the island just from its faint magical aura.”

There were various branches within necromancy, but at least when it came to the necromancers of Rodentz, they could never escape her keen eyes.

Count Belmierd closed his eyes softly.

If Leonard had truly left under the pretense of a pilgrimage in order to study necromancy, that too represented a tremendous disgrace for House Belmierd.

The situation had come to the point where daughter and son pointed fingers at each other, shouting that the other was a necromancer.

For Count Belmierd, who had to mediate between the two, his thoughts were inevitably complex—but in the end, he had to make a decision.

Even if they were his own blood, he had to cut them off when necessary.

That day, he had to cut either his daughter or his son. The weight of that truth pressed the Count’s heart down.

“Father.”

Ellen, who bore the hostility of the mansion’s servants and vassals, spoke to the Count, who lowered his gaze under the burden of responsibility.

“Father, you have lived as a lord, leading armies, ruling sky and earth, and guiding people since your youth.”

“…”

“I admired your life. I thought that an existence dedicated to power, to victories, and to the respect of others was noble and wonderful. The most glorious and ideal life I could imagine was one like yours.”

Were these words a flattery meant to win over the Count? No, they were not.

Count Belmierd knew Ellen better than anyone. No matter how cornered she was, she was not the type to use cheap compliments to curry favor.

“However, the life I imagined for you must have been very different from reality. You must have faced many trials and downfalls while maintaining the heights of Belmierd. Sometimes you were betrayed, lost companions you considered family, failed to achieve your goals, had things taken from you, were slandered, and fell by the envy of others.”

She spoke softly as she played with the hem of her dress.

In that hell where everyone in the mansion called her a witch, she seemed to have realized something new.

The dreamy girl who had blindly pursued the power she admired had matured, now reflecting on the rise and fall of life and her journey through it.

The Count’s eyes trembled as he looked at Ellen.

The child he thought was locked away in her room, going through a hard time, had met someone, broadened her view of the world, learned something, and grown from it.

This must be how one teaches another.

Ellen whispered with a calmer expression.

“That too is part of life.”

And before continuing, she gently closed her eyes.

Even in that moment, the world was full of people walking their own paths in this roller coaster that is life.

And as if she had made a decision, she slowly opened her eyes and spoke.

“Father, I don’t ask you to trust me immediately. But I wanted to tell you at least this, for all the tireless effort you’ve made for me.”

Leonard’s scream echoed in the basement.

A white-haired mercenary summoned a magic arrow to subdue Leonard.

Leonard quickly pulled a small vial from his chest and smashed it against the floor. With a crash, the vial shattered and smoke began to fill the narrow underground laboratory.

Dereck covered his nose with his sleeve and summoned wind magic to regain his vision.

When he could see again, the corpses Leonard had raised through necromancy moved grotesquely and lunged at Dereck.

“I am a foolish and lacking daughter, so I still have much to learn. The only fortunate thing is that I met someone I can truly call a worthy master, something that will never happen again in my life.”

Dereck’s unsheathed sword cut swiftly through the horde of corpses.

However, Leonard used the momentary restriction in Dereck’s movements to unleash a shockwave of first-level combat magic, break down the wooden door, and escape to the surface.

Dereck quickly neutralized the corpses and pursued him without hesitation. Leonard cursed as he looked back, seeing Dereck ascending the stairs.

A murderous gleam crossed his eyes. Even in the darkness, his hostility was evident.

A single glance was enough to send chills down the spine, for he had clearly become a hunter.

All the prey could do in the face of a predator was run with all his might.

“I am neither of noble birth nor perfectly just in everything, but… your life was noble, your conviction firm, and if you had a fixed goal, you never wavered.”

Leonard barely managed to escape from the basement and rolled across the floor of Ellen’s room.

The darkness vanished and his vision brightened. As he caught his breath in the sunlit room, Dereck too climbed out of the basement stairs.

Leonard tried to flee quickly from the room, but Dereck grabbed him by the nape and hurled him into the corner.

With a thud, Leonard rolled on the floor and groaned in pain.

Dereck, sword in hand, approached him, while Leonard trembled and raised his voice.

“Fine. I lost. You won. I’ll give you everything you want. Just don’t hand me over to that woman Rodeia, who looks like a reaper. If you help me escape this mansion right now, I’ll do anything. I’ll give you money, I’ll restore Ellen’s honor.”

He tried to persuade Dereck with a long speech, but Dereck didn’t listen and kicked him in the face.

With a muffled sound, something flew out of Leonard’s mouth along with fresh blood. When he looked at the object rolling on the floor, it was a white molar.

“I think a good teacher is someone who walks ahead. There will be times of confusion in life, many moments when life feels like a maze… but seeing someone walk with steady steps helps you find your own path more quickly.”

Leonard, clutching his swollen face, begged for his life, but Dereck replied.

“Didn’t I tell you from the beginning? I can’t kill you now. But I can leave you on the brink of death.”

Leonard, with a trembling voice, said,

“You can beat me all you want, you can leave me in tatters, but please don’t hand me over to Rodeia.”

The necromancers who had witnessed that woman’s feats on Rodentz Island thought the same way.

The woman who had lost her parents to necromancers had skinned and gutted those defilers on Rodentz, carrying out a great vengeance.

Those who had witnessed the massacre up close knew very well what it meant to fall into her hands. Perhaps it was better to die beaten by Dereck.

However, Dereck said,

“I have no intention of killing you, Leonard.”

Leonard saw Dereck’s indifferent face and gnashed his teeth, trying to push him away by force.

While Dereck hesitated for an instant, Leonard smashed through the window with his whole body and jumped outside.

Crash!

The sound of shattering glass from one of the rooms in the main building spread, reaching even the office where Count Belmierd and Ellen were conversing in private.

“…?”

“The person who serves as a touchstone in my journey through life is someone I truly trust and follow as a mentor.”

Something strange was happening in the mansion.

However, Ellen continued speaking with a serene expression and her eyes gently closed.

“As I said, I met an admirable and good mentor. Even if I wandered a bit, I learned how to find my way. Knowing who the true people are when you’re at the bottom—that’s what really matters.”

“…”

“Father. I’m not sure if this is the right time to say this… but please, don’t be too surprised.”

Bang! Boom!

Noises echoed from the mansion’s central garden.

It was the sound of Leonard trying to escape and of Dereck chasing him.

While Ellen spoke calmly with Count Belmierd, the chase between the two had already reached its peak.

Leonard fell to the ground and ran back toward the main hall.

Dereck was chasing him as well.

The servants in charge of managing the mansion were shocked and froze upon seeing the scene.

Leonard shouted,

“What are you doing?! Stop that intruder! He’s attacking me and trying to frame me!”

Despite his screams, the cleaning staff only trembled, unable to comprehend the situation.

Leonard’s steps stumbled as he advanced down the corridor. After receiving multiple beatings from Dereck, his vision wavered and blurred.

Even so, he bit down hard on his bloody lips and kept running through the hallway, kicking furniture and toppling shelves. He tried to slow the pursuit with desperate movements, but every obstacle was destroyed by Dereck’s magic.

He couldn’t overpower a veteran mercenary in physical strength. Nor could he surpass him with magic.

In the end, if Leonard wanted to fight him, he had to rely on trickery and luck. Without resorting to forbidden necromancy, Leonard couldn’t even touch Dereck.

Dereck’s hand, closing in step by step, reached Leonard’s back.

Leonard clenched his teeth and shoved that hand away, rolling across the floor and unleashing necromantic power once again.

Numerous vengeful spirits gathered around his body, taking form, and when he clenched his fist, they transformed into magic.

The spell he cast toward Dereck was “Life Drain.” Among forbidden spells, it was one of the vilest, as it directly drained the opponent’s vitality.

However, before the magic could fully manifest, Dereck grabbed him by the collar and began striking his face over and over.

Thud, thud!

The sound echoed through the entire hallway.

His face twisted horribly, unable even to let out a groan. Blood splattered across Dereck’s face, but his expression remained impassive.

Dereck was recognized as a skilled mage.

However, he used almost no real magic against Leonard.

Responding to an opponent’s magic with magic only made sense when both were on similar levels.

Leonard’s magical skills were no match for Dereck.

There was no need to even use magic to subdue him.

But Leonard didn’t give up. While chanting another necromantic spell, a skeletal hand emerged around Dereck’s feet and made him stumble.

Dereck quickly regained his stance, but Leonard slipped from his grasp and ran down the corridor again. Staggering, he managed to put a little more distance between them.

He could escape.

Dereck was a highly skilled mercenary, but he wasn’t impossible to shake off.

If he obstructed his path using necromantic magic, in which he felt most confident, and managed to leave the mansion, he might survive.

Once his safety was secured, the time for revenge would come.

House Belmierd would scold and excommunicate him, but as long as he kept his body alive, he could always find an opportunity to kill that ignorant mercenary.

With that thought, he clung to the thin thread of hope and ran again toward the garden.

Running through the garden lined with labyrinthine hedges, he shoved gardeners aside and pushed through them.

Boom!

Dereck entered in long strides, smashing through all the hedges in the garden, and found him.

Leonard, once again, surrounded himself with spirits and used basic necromancy to hinder Dereck’s movements.

Seeing Dereck slow down more and more, a smile spread across his face.

Clearly, Dereck was struggling due to his interference.

Allowing the escape from the basement had been his mistake from the start.

This mansion was where Leonard had played since childhood. He knew every escape route and hidden passage by heart.

If he made proper use of the environment and necromancy, getting rid of that slow mercenary was no big deal.

Before the servants or soldiers arrived, he had to escape the mansion quickly.

If he took a horse from the stables and galloped away, he could reach the plains before a real pursuit began.

That was when he looked back to gauge the distance between himself and Dereck.

Thud!

The magic in the surroundings fluctuated, and his movements became so fast they couldn’t be followed with the eye.

It was 3-star transformation magic: “Acceleration.”

Dereck, with his natural talent for magic, had been able to completely replicate the acceleration spell Siern had used, just by seeing it a few times.

Leonard couldn’t have known. When Dereck decided to move with speed, it was impossible to follow his movements.

Before he knew it, he was lifted by the neck, caught by Dereck’s arm.

Leonard clawed at the hand gripping his throat, choking out a sound.

But Dereck didn’t care.

In the middle of the garden, where the hedges had been smashed down and the ground lay in ruins,

Dereck held Leonard by the neck and spoke.

“Do you want to continue?”

As he said that, Dereck’s calm eyes looked at Leonard.

“Gu… ugh… gu…”

It was then that Leonard realized.

From the beginning, in the basement, Dereck had not lost him. He had let him escape.

If he had used acceleration magic from the start, there would have been no such chase.

But he gave Leonard hope that he could escape, made him believe he could outpace him if he gave it his all, and forced him to struggle desperately to break free.

Why had he gone to such trouble?

The reason was clear.

“It’s necromancy…! Young master Leonard used necromancy…!”

“Call the Count…! And the chief steward…!”

“Aaaah! Aaaah!!”

As chaos broke out within the mansion, Leonard bit down hard on his bloodied lip.

He felt as though everything was moving according to Dereck’s plan.

“It’s noisy outside the mansion, father.”

Ellen spoke softly.

While the Count and Ellen held a private conversation, what was happening outside?

Although Ellen could not know the details, she spoke with her usual calm.

She laughed gently, brushed a hand through her beautiful red hair, and smiled seductively.

Even in that moment, when she was the object of everyone’s hatred and scorn, she remained as composed as if nothing were happening.

Seeing her, Count Belmierd spoke.

“Yes, Ellen. Then, what is it you want to say for the last time?”

“…Please don’t misunderstand me, father. As I said, I, Ellen, was born an ordinary person with many shortcomings, I dreamed of power, I met an unbeatable rival and felt frustrated, I fell to the very bottom and lost all confidence and faith.”

Ellen’s gentle tone seemed to conceal a deeper meaning.

Count Belmierd, hearing his daughter’s confession, felt something was amiss.

“Even so, I believe all those processes had meaning. Because I met a good person.”

“…”

“Yes. In every trial, the one who stood by me was, in the end, Baron Ravenclaw. What more can I say? I have come to believe without a doubt that he is truly trustworthy, worthy of faith, and that he will be a great ally for life if I keep him by my side.”

Count Belmierd nodded and finally replied.

“I agree that he is a good man. Many people wish to have him as a mentor, but that lone wolf would never swear loyalty to another.”

“Yes, father. But I am not saying I want that man as my mentor.”

“…Then what do you mean?”

At the new question, Ellen fell silent.

As their eyes met for a moment, she lowered her gaze awkwardly.

Her strangely flushed face and her entwined fingers made her seem more like an ordinary girl than a noble lady.

The difference was unsettling.

What image came to mind when one thought of Ellen?

At the height of power, commanding her vassals, exuding such a noble aura that it was intimidating to approach her… She was like a rose blooming on a cliff.

But now, who was this unmistakable girl before him?

Seeing her like this… the expression of the bewildered Count Belmierd began to harden little by little.

Soon, drops of cold sweat began to run down his neck.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelCet