Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 111: The Beginning (2)

Fina was a 6-star necromancer, a figure Dereck already knew even before arriving in this world full of magic.

Even someone like him, who had little interest in typical game scenarios, could not avoid hearing about Fina. The waves and influence she would cause worldwide in the future were impossible to ignore.

There were only a handful of 6-star mages, and among them, she was a master of forbidden necromancy.

She dealt with vengeful spirits and corpses, stepping into the forbidden realm without hesitation, and was the queen among piles of bodies, smiling with sinister satisfaction in the midst of massacre and ecstasy.

She could not be killed.

Having already manifested the 6-star necromancy “Mark of Reincarnation,” even if she lost her body, she would be reborn as a descendant of another noble family, keeping her soul intact.

No one knew how many years she had lived, since she had repeated the cycle of beginning life anew equipped with all her memories, experiences, and magical talents.

‘Contacting Lady Rodelia doesn’t seem like a very good idea either.’

After asking Aiselin for understanding, Dereck was left alone in his office, lost in thought, with a more serious expression than usual.

He was a hero who had sworn to send a letter if he found any clue about the 6-star necromancer, promising to risk everything to kill her.

She was a reliable figure, yes… but in reality, she would not be of much help at this moment.

Even if he summoned her, he could not prove that Fina was the necromancer, and even if he could, killing her would not be a wise decision.

Rather, if he managed to confirm that Fina was the necromancer, but she used reincarnation magic to hide her identity again, he would not even be able to track her.

No, it was not even clear if he would be able to kill her in the first place.

Dereck leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over his face.

Anyway, if he left her alone, Fina would disappear on her own to hide, or she would be sealed by Drest or Melverot and buried underground in the capital.

There was no need to provoke her, but he could not allow a legendary necromancer to wander freely through the Ravenclaw Barony either. Considering what happened in the Duplain family, he could not take it lightly.

From the beginning, why would that legendary necromancer, who had already reached the peak of magic, come to a simple training center?

He could not understand it, but it was not hard to guess the reason.

‘Perhaps her main family is preparing her social debut. From her position of hiding her identity, she could not openly refuse.’

If the head of the Tigris family decided to send her, she would have no choice but to act according to instructions while concealing her identity.

That was how she ended up attending a training center she never intended to go to.

He did not know how to interpret this ironic situation, but the priority was to calmly establish a countermeasure.

‘Trying to solve it by force would be a stupid idea.’

She was an opponent against whom even Melverot, the ruler of the north, would have to risk his life.

Therefore, there was no choice but to confront it in another way.

The fortunate thing was that he knew a little about her situation.

Fina’s ultimate goal was to perfect advanced necromancy and resurrect the six-star mage Kalimford.

Until she achieved that goal, she would conceal her identity and infiltrate noble society, pretending to be a proper lady.

If she were cornered, she would reveal her true nature, but at least she would not want to provoke unnecessary friction.

After all, she was attending the Ravenclaw Training Center by her family’s orders, so she probably did not want to attend a place where such basic magic was taught.

Therefore, the conclusion was quite clear.

Regardless of physical strength, Dereck had far more social authority.

Dereck was the head of a noble house, and she was only a lively lady from a rural family.

Dereck was the director of the Ravenclaw Training Center, and she was only a student seeking to learn.

Dereck was a recognized instructor in Ebelstein’s social circle, and she was only a girl who had not even debuted in society.

So.

He would subdue her with social authority.

Dereck adopted a terrifying expression.

Clasping his fists together and resting his nose on them, he stared into the dimly lit room.

“I’ll find a pretext to expel her.”

At the very least, he had to protect the Ravenclaw Barony.

His determination burned strongly.

*

When the day of the inauguration of the Ravenclaw Training Center arrived, the barony’s servants began moving busily from early morning.

Just today, more than thirty distinguished guests would visit the barony.

Each of them had grown up as queens in their respective territories, so there could be no mistakes in their reception.

Moreover, they would not stay only one or two days; most would live in the large dormitory building located beside the mansion.

Many brought their own personal servants or assistants, but additional staff still needed to be assigned to each group.

As a result, the number of servants under Butler Delbriton’s command had exceeded fifty.

‘I thought I had joined a promising mansion as butler, but I didn’t expect it to grow so much and so fast…’

Butler Delbriton was polishing the golden chain of his monocle.

As the sun began to rise, he felt a strange emptiness while standing in the garden, accompanied by birdsong.

That place, where once there had only been a small mansion, now housed a large garden, a three-story dormitory for noble ladies, a classroom building where lessons would be held, a building intended to function as an auditorium and magic practice hall, an annex for the servants accompanying the distinguished guests, a stable, an open field, and many other facilities.

These were not structures that could have been built in just a few months, but Aiselin, who had rolled up her sleeves from the beginning, had pushed the project forward with overwhelming drive and had truly made it a reality.

‘Not even the administrator of Rochester’s territory was that efficient…’

Seeing Aiselin work while sleeping less than four hours a day, it was hard to say whether she was a noble lady or a royal bureaucrat.

With that respect in mind, he went out into the garden, and there was Miss Aiselin, sitting on a bench in a corner.

“Ah, Miss Aiselin.”

“Oh, chief butler. It’s still very early, but you’re already up.”

“Haven’t you slept?”

“Eh? Of course I did. On an important day like today, not sleeping was not an option. I slept a little more than two hours earlier. My room felt a bit stuffy, so I came out to get some fresh air.”

Saying this with a smile, Delbriton felt the respect he had for her beginning to transform into a kind of fear.

What defines a person’s strength? Outstanding physical condition? Overflowing mana? Imposing charisma? All could be factors.

However, the strength Aiselin possessed was impossible to categorize.

Delbriton, a veteran who had met countless people over the years, sensed an inexplicable aura in Aiselin, who sat quietly with her hands on her knees in that corner of the garden.

Was two hours of sleep enough for her?

The intellectual energy radiating from her bright eyes did not match someone who had spent the night without rest.

Even diligence, when it surpasses a certain limit, can provoke fear.

“In fact… I feel a bit of emptiness.”

“Eh? Emptiness…? But isn’t today the day when all your hard work bears fruit?”

“Well, yes, but…”

Aiselin nodded, then spoke with difficulty.

“When I woke up this morning, there were no documents to review, no account books to approve. There wasn’t even anything concrete to study. Basic finance, kingdom studies, magical theory… I’ve already read most of the books in the mansion. The ones on tea ceremony and continental language are in the main house, so I can’t see them now. I’ve already memorized the personal details of all the servants and students…”

“……”

“Since I’ve handled all the matters, there’s nothing else to review about the mansion. I’ve checked the semester’s start schedule several times… I went out to the vegetable garden to check the crops, but there were no pests, the nutrients seemed sufficient, the humidity wasn’t lacking, and the leaves were green… I went to check the servants’ work, but there was nothing to point out… All the documents were organized…”

“……”

“How strange… why is there nothing to do…? It’s so strange… why… why is there nothing to do…?”

Delbriton swallowed dryly, his face pale.

He understood why some of the mansion’s servants called her “the monster of diligence.”

“Oh, Delbriton. About the dishes left after yesterday’s tea party. Have they been washed yet? Has everything been cleaned?”

“We cannot allow a noble lady to wash dishes…”

“I see… Then, I noticed some dust in Lord Dereck’s private study…”

“The cleaning is the same. Miss Aiselin, please, be mindful of your status.”

“Work does not distinguish class.”

“…Work does distinguish class.”

“I am a fallen noble.”

“A fallen noble is still a noble lady.”

When Delbriton spoke firmly, Aiselin looked disappointed and shrank a little.

She knew she had workaholic tendencies, but seeing her like this made it clear that she was truly willing to take on all the household chores by herself.

Aiselin sighed deeply and nodded while still sitting on the bench.

“Alright… then I’ll rest without doing anything…”

“…”

“Should I at least write the letters to send to the main house… or review the status of the support funds…?”

Though it hadn’t been long since she said she would rest, she had already pulled out a quill and parchment and was reviewing the status of the support funds to be sent to Duplain.

Dereck had decided to give her part of the funds coming in as operating expenses from the training center, and she planned to use them as reconstruction funds for the Duplain family.

If the center’s income increased, the amount she sent to her family would naturally increase as well.

Rumors were spreading everywhere that the Duplain family was collapsing.

‘I wonder what will happen…’

Delbriton adjusted his monocle as he watched Aiselin move her quill.

“Now that I think about it, weren’t the noble ladies of the three great families supposed to come today for the inauguration ceremony?”

In the end, Miss Aiselin was someone who only felt at ease when she had work to do.

Therefore, she needed something only she could do.

“Yes, now that you mention it.”

“Weren’t those the ones I used to see at the Rose Hall? It would be best if you yourself received such distinguished guests. Lady Denise of the Beltus family, and… Lady Ellen of the Belmierd family.”

At those words, Aiselin’s quill, which had been moving so diligently, stopped abruptly.

“…”

“Miss Aiselin?”

Ellen of Belmierd was coming.

For some reason, Aiselin’s face began to darken, as if something deeply bothered her.

*

“Well, hello. Miss Aiselin. You left the Belmierd mansion so suddenly that we couldn’t even say a proper farewell.”

How long had it been since the former Rose Salon trio had gathered in one place?

They were the three who always met at Ebelstein’s Elfontain Salon.

Aiselin, Ellen, and Denise were now sitting in the tea room of the annex of Baron Ravenclaw’s house, conversing.

Luxurious carriages of young noblewomen entering the Ravenclaw Training Center for the first time were arriving one after another at the mansion’s main gate.

The main building was in such a state of chaos that the three had no choice but to rest in the annex.

Somehow, they were familiar faces.

Although Ebelstein’s social circle was like thin ice, a strange affection still lingered among the three of the Rose Salon.

However, their positions had shifted considerably.

Aiselin, who had always been the protagonist of the group and maintained the most imposing stance, was now the weakest.

Moreover, she fiddled with her hands on her lap, visibly uncomfortable, as if she had done something wrong.

Ellen, who used to observe the situation and adapt prudently, smiled but with a vein bulging on her forehead for some reason. She seemed angry.

Denise, reunited with both after a long time, still wore an annoyed expression, squinting and pushing her hair back with an elegant gesture.

‘What is this…?’

She instinctively sensed that something had changed between the other two, but at that moment it was hard to understand exactly what it was.

Especially, she clearly perceived that Ellen’s attitude was strangely abnormal, but she could not predict the cause.

Of course, if the whole truth were revealed, the first to collapse would be Denise.

However, unfortunately, everything was uncertain now. She only wanted to finish her task properly and go home to lie down in her bed.

But it didn’t take long before Denise began to glance back and forth between the two with a serious expression.

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