Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 146: Kohella (1)

“My ultimate goal is to restore the Duplain family to its former power. Of course, it won’t be easy and it will take quite some time, but it is not an unrealistic plan.”

Dereck gathered Aiselin, Diella, Leigh, and Trisha in one place and began explaining the plan he had prepared with so much effort.

Now that Dereck had reached the rank of 4-star mage, he was already starting to become widely known throughout the southwestern region of the continent, and even his name was beginning to reach the imperial family in the center of the Empire.

For that reason, the popularity of his training center would only continue to grow.

That was why he planned to abolish the previous system of the training center entirely and reorganize it under a new name, Ravenclaw Academy, and then move the entire structure directly to Duplain territory.

The facilities in Ravenclaw territory, which previously served as the training center, would be replaced with cultural facilities or social halls, so that nobles learning social etiquette or magic in the academy could use them as practice venues.

In short—he planned to push that entire massive complex directly into Duplain.

Once the facilities grew enough, they would start functioning without Dereck’s direct presence.

By only acting as supervisor and stamping approvals now and then, his personal time for magic training would remain intact.

“B-but… why go so far for Duplain territory…?”

Leigh, seated in the seat of honor in the reception hall, stroked his chin and asked.

Dereck silently observed Leigh, who was sweating nervously, and thought for a moment about what to answer.

Several reasons crossed his mind—that the complex had grown too big for him to manage alone, that he wanted to free up personal time, or that it was necessary for his own magical advancement but all of them were embarrassing to say directly.

So, trying to appear like a magnanimous man, he answered.

“I’ve been involved with the Duplain family for a long time, and above all, it is the place that gave me an opportunity and trusted me when I was no one. It is a matter of honor to fulfill that obligation.”

At those words, Leigh’s eyes widened.

When Dereck first came to the Duplain family saying he wanted to teach Diella, Leigh had also subconsciously felt a certain superiority of a noble toward that “simple mercenary of low birth.”

But now, Dereck was rolling up his sleeves completely to help Duplain right when they needed it most, as if the past didn’t matter.

Leigh almost burst into tears.

“D-damn… I see… Dereck… you… you are…!”

During the time Dereck had stayed with the Duplain family, Leigh had doubted him many times—but in the end, that noble intention of Dereck partially moved him.

Regardless of what Dereck’s true intentions were—what mattered was how Leigh interpreted them.

Dereck nodded and then looked toward where Trisha was lying in a corner like a corpse.

“I was also thinking of asking for a bit of support from the Renouel count’s house.”

“Uuugh… I can’t give you an answer that easily. Do you think the Renouel house helps anyone just because they ask?”

“Hey, Lady Trisha. Lord Dereck is also the lord of the barony of Ravenclaw, and even if you don’t have a master-disciple relationship or personal closeness, the proper thing would be to show respect and use a formal tone—after all, nominally he is the head of a noble house.”

“Wha…?”

At the sudden interruption, Trisha widened her eyes, but when she saw Aiselin’s gentle gaze, she quickly swallowed hard.

“I-if Lady Aiselin says so…”

“…”

“A-anyway, even if Baron Ravenclaw wants something, we cannot always give an affirmative answer. To ask as if it were obvious is taking our Renouel house far too lightly.”

“Lady Trisha, there’s no need to speak in such an aggressive tone…”

“Uugh… ugh…”

Trisha, normally arrogant and haughty, was left speechless when Aiselin gently pointed it out.

Dereck looked at both of them with indifferent eyes, while Aiselin just smiled serenely.

Aiselin was terrifying.

After Diella and Siern, now even Trisha seemed to have fallen under her influence.

Everything Aiselin touched ended up becoming docile.

Dereck thought it was a relief that this girl was on his side.

“Our mother, Countess Rodelia, is cold as steel and strict in separating personal from official matters. Although she values Baron Ravenclaw greatly and would like to have him under her command, support from our lineage is something that must be evaluated completely separately.”

Trisha let out a deep sigh, as if her head hurt, and spoke again with a sharp gaze.

“My mother distributes the family budget strictly following the house’s regulations, and when it comes to cooperating with external forces, no matter who it is, she judges everything from zero, point by point.”

“…”

“Unfortunately, convincing my mother, who is the decision-making authority of the Renouel house, will not be as easy as you imagine. And don’t expect me to help you. I don’t do anything that goes against my mother’s wishes.”

Saying that, Trisha showed a coquettish smile, as if saying don’t think everything will go your way.

She was there only because of Countess Rodelia’s order, to create some kind of connection with Dereck and maintain a favorable relationship.

The sensible thing would have been to bow her head a little at times like this—but Trisha had the personality of never letting anyone look down on the Renouel house.

Her enormous pride came precisely from the prestige of her lineage.

She was a young woman whose noble pride reached the heavens—in short, someone tiring to deal with.

“Baron Ravenclaw will have to work quite a bit. And we’ll have to see how things turn out.”

Don’t think you will control the Renouel house.

It won’t be that easy to get our help.

That was what Trisha declared to Dereck, smiling arrogantly.

*

“Of course we must help. The Ravenclaw Academy seems to have good potential as a project, and it is also a good opportunity to build closeness.”

“…”

“To be honest, I was a bit suspicious, but you brought something truly valuable. Trisha, you took a carriage all the way to the Duplain territory and achieved a good result. I can’t help but praise you.”

“…”

A young noblewoman raised like a flower in a greenhouse does not know a certain truth.

Rulers who tread the heat of the battlefield drool over good talent, and when they find one, they do whatever it takes to obtain it.

It was very similar to the obsession high nobles had with acquiring a good magic instructor.

Rodelia nodded much faster than anyone would expect.

A competent aide was as hard to find as a needle in the desert.

If she could recruit Dereck under her command, that small “support” was nothing.

“Tell the butler to begin negotiations regarding the details of the support. We have plenty of resources—the reward we obtained after the subjugation of Rodentz Island and the spoils of war. There is enough cash, and even if we spend quite a lot on supporting them, it won’t affect the family’s finances. Everything will return eventually.”

“I-is it okay to do that? The baron Ravenclaw’s house is still weak…”

“Trisha. One day you will also have to become someone who leads others, so let me tell you clearly.”

In the training grounds behind the mansion, Rodelia, who was swinging her sword, took off the sweat-soaked helmet and tossed it onto the ground, shaking off her hands. Then, with a short laugh, she said.

“A talent must be bought when it is at its cheapest.”

“T-that…”

“The young baron is at his cheapest right now. If you don’t have the eye to see that, you cannot be a ruler. So start developing your ability to judge people from now on.”

After saying that with complete frankness, Rodelia gave her vote of support to the unification plan Dereck was organizing.

“…”

Trisha stared, stunned, at Countess Rodelia as she returned to the training grounds.

She, who always checked even the last silver coin when paying for her sick uncle’s medical treatments or assigning wages to vassals, would never have expected her to agree so easily, so she could only stand there with her mouth open.

Thus, after Duplain, Belmierd, and Beltus, now the Renouel house also sided with Dereck.

If one considered the Beldern mercenaries of Ebelstein and the Rochester house of the north, his support faction was no longer something that could be taken lightly.

Once the Ravenclaw Academy officially opened and began to influence society, practically no noble of the southwestern continent would have enough authority to treat him lightly.

He might even end up shoulder to shoulder with the high nobles of the central continent or with the emperor’s direct vassals.

“…”

Trisha, with her arms crossed, swallowed hard and thought deeply.

With the situation as it was, there were no rivals left for Dereck among the great powers of the southwest. And with a little more time, he could come to hold a status higher than hers.

Just imagining it made cold sweat run down her back.

*

After that, everything proceeded without setbacks.

In the territory of the Duplain family, the authority of decisions fell entirely on the head of the family, Leigh.

Since he had already been persuaded, establishing the construction sites and beginning the work proceeded quickly.

The scale of the building was enormous—practically at the level of constructing a small entire town.

They were receiving economic support from everywhere, and even though the construction had barely started, countless young nobles were already sending inquiries about admission.

Especially the four disciples who had received direct teaching from Dereck were the ones suffering the most.

From the perspective of the young nobles of Ebelstein, the only way to get information about the Ravenclaw Academy was through those disciples.

And not even the four of them were accessible.

Diella was too fierce to hold a conversation with.

Siern appeared and disappeared like a ghost, so they could not even find her.

Therefore, the only option was to ask Ellen of the Rose Hall or Denise, since at least they were part of the social circle.

Of course, neither of them was going to say anything negative about the Ravenclaw house’s projects, so the rumors only spoke of smooth development of the academy.

Nothing was going wrong. Everything advanced without obstacles.

However, that did not mean there were no problems.

“Simply surpassing the management of a training center and constructing an academic facility of this size is practically the same as creating a new territory. The empire most likely will not sit idly by.”

This was far beyond the level of “building a few buildings in a barony territory and receiving students.”

Delbriton, the butler, spoke with a worried expression.

“…”

Dereck had returned to the Ravenclaw Barony after some time, and he was combing Siern’s hair as she sat on his lap.

The girl moved her magical power as if playing, but upon seeing the expression with which Dereck listened to the butler’s words, she let out a snort.

“If you’ve drawn the empire’s attention, you’re in for some trouble, Dereck.”

“Have you ever had any conflict with the empire before?”

“No. But I remember my father had headaches because of them. Especially, he hated the imperial magic advisers. I don’t know the exact reason, but they always bothered him.”

She braided her hair, white as snow, and still walked around barefoot.

Although she had learned quite a bit of noble etiquette at the training center, wearing shoes still seemed terribly uncomfortable for her.

Dereck continued gently combing Siern’s hair and spoke with an indifferent expression.

“The imperial magic advisers… I met someone called Roen last time, and honestly, he seemed pretty fussy.”

“He is. But since he was a direct vassal of Emperor Guttrel, even my father couldn’t treat him lightly. Although Roen also knew how to maintain proper conduct in front of him.”

Melverot, 6-star combat mage and lord of the Rochester territory, did not dare treat him poorly. That said enough about his power.

And the leader of those magic advisers—

“Kohella Deinalt Elvester.”

A 6-star transformation mage, chief adviser of the empire, and matriarch of the Elvester family.

The same family to which Dereck’s master, Katia Flameheart, belonged.

Kohella was the most influential figure of that lineage. An old fox consumed by her obsession with researching magic, one of the absolute top figures in the magical world.

On Dereck’s lap, Siern moved her legs and frowned.

“When I was little, I saw that old woman come to the Rochester territory.”

Kohella resided in the imperial palace, sought contact with all 6-star mages, and maintained constant relations with Melverot, Drest, and Kalimford. Any 6-star mage who retired before had at least met her once.

The only exception was Fina, the archmage of the field of death.

“She’s a nasty old woman…”

An elder who, while exchanging knowledge with 6-star combat mages, dreamed of reaching the realm of 7 stars.

High-tier mages always dream of reaching greater heights. In that desire, they were all the same.

But Kohella was different. Her hunger for knowledge resembled madness more than ambition.

She ignored taboos, ethics, morality. If she could advance, she would sacrifice anything.

Even though she was old and with life nearly spent, her desire never faded. That glint in her eyes was so raw it intimidated anyone who saw it.

Siern remembered that mage who had arrived at the Rochester territory in the middle of a blizzard. An ominous old woman she could never feel sympathy for.

“If the educational facility is of this scale, surely the magic advisers from the central continent will come to inspect.”

Delbriton spoke again with worried voice.

“So it is possible that soon you will have to meet the empire’s chief adviser. She might even come directly, since the rumors must have already reached her ears.”

Meeting Kohella.

Dereck rubbed his chin, sunk in deep thought.

No matter how he looked at it, nothing good could come from getting involved with that old woman.

“Ow!”

“Sorry.”

Maybe because he was distracted, the comb got tangled in Siern’s hair, pulling her head.

She held back tears, glared at Dereck, but finally sighed.

In another time she would have cast a spell to punish the culprit immediately, but she could not do that against Dereck.

If the Rochester house’s servants saw this, they would be baffled.

During her stay at the Ravenclaw mansion, Siern had become surprisingly docile.

Of course, only when it came to Dereck or Aiselin.

“The barony’s servants are better at these tasks than I am.”

“It’s just… you feel more comfortable to me.”

Siern said this while hugging her legs again.

Dereck observed her in silence and nodded. He knew perfectly why she behaved that way.

She was a girl whose blood drove her to spill countless lives. It was impossible for her to entrust her life to people who could die in an instant from just one of her spells.

Since she arrived at the Ravenclaw mansion, she had not had a blood frenzy episode, but she still feared herself.

Dereck murmured softly that he understood, and began carefully fixing the hair behind her head.

Siern, finally relaxed, trembled her neck slightly at the pleasant sensation.

She looked like a little wild animal shedding its fur.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelCet