Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 161: Who are you a disciple of? (1)

“When I met him at the Duplain house, I never imagined he was someone with this level of ambition…”

The mansion of Baron Ravenclaw was already filled with various educational facilities.

Most of them would eventually be moved to the academy being built in the Duplain territory, so the spaces within the mansion would later be repurposed for other uses, but at least for now, they were still diligently functioning as educational facilities.

The path that ran through those buildings toward the mansion.

It felt as though a residence had been planted in the middle of an academic complex, which was quite disconcerting.

The young Countess Freya, gazing at that scenery, let out an awkward bead of sweat and commented,

“D-don’t you get tired of living surrounded by all of this?”

“It wasn’t exactly my intention…”

Even for someone devoted to education, it was unusual to completely surround their own residence with educational facilities.

Anyone unaware of the circumstances might easily think he was someone obsessed with the education business.

The reality was that Aiselin, with her usual drive, had shifted budgets here and there until this result came about, but explaining that in detail would not be very elegant, so there was no choice but to leave it at that.

Dereck accepted those subtle looks, recomposed his expression, and led Freya and Katia into the mansion.

The butler Delbriton greeted them politely and guided them to the dining room, indicating an enormous table.

A pastry chef so talented that even Fina praised him until she was hoarse had prepared a wide variety of sweets, along with appetizers made from seasonal ingredients and an abundance of expensive, high-quality liquor.

They had been told not to overdo it so as not to make Katia uncomfortable, but they also could not afford to treat carelessly the most cherished teacher of the lord of the mansion, who had come in person.

With the servants’ pride at stake, the table ended up as a delicate balance it appeared understated, yet at the same time clearly meticulous.

Katia took a seat with a pleased expression, uncorked a bottle of rum, and said,

“Alright, Dereck. How about you tell me a little about your life? It’s been a long time since we last met.”

Seeing her drink strong liquor with such a relaxed voice, Dereck could not help but feel as though he had returned to his childhood, and his heart naturally eased.

***

“Four-star magic, and not just barely touching the level, but already quite well mastered. I knew you had extraordinary talent, but I never imagined you would grow this fast.”

“I’m still inexperienced. I’ve practiced manifesting four-star magic several times, but after using it just once I become completely exhausted and have to end the day’s training. At this rate, I can’t even come close to the five-star level.”

“Thinking about five stars already is premature, Dereck. You’ve reached a level of mastery that borders on the absurd.”

After a brief chat in the dining room, Katia wanted to see Dereck’s magical level, so they went out to the open area behind the mansion.

Freya also watched with curiosity, but when she saw Dereck deploy genuine four-star magic, her expression completely stiffened.

From that level onward, magic was known as war magic, as its scale and power surpassed all imagination.

Katia had long striven to reach that domain, yet she had not even managed to come close.

As the saying goes, the disciple surpasses the master.

Dereck had long since far surpassed Katia and was gazing toward a much higher place.

No teacher could witness such a scene without feeling deeply moved.

However, that was Katia’s perspective.

From Freya’s point of view, it was impossible to relax her expression.

‘Even though we learned from the same master, this difference is far too cruel…’

Recalling Katia’s educational policy made it impossible to take it with a smile.

She had always insisted that one must train to become the best and have the confidence to surpass anyone.

That was why, upon seeing Dereck, her senior in the master–disciple relationship, she had told herself she needed to stay strong, but this was not a level she could even aspire to.

‘With this, the master’s standard becomes far too high…’

Having Dereck as the point of comparison was simply merciless.

Freya, tears welling up in her eyes, was about to bring her fist to her mouth.

“Don’t tense up so much, Miss Freya. I’m not going to demand something as unrealistic as reaching the four-star level.”

“…”

At times, Freya felt that Katia could read her mind.

“I see… if it was Drest Wolftail… then it’s not so hard to understand.”

Back in the mansion, seated once again at the tea table, Katia rested her chin on her hand as she spoke.

In Dereck’s life, he had had four teachers up to now.

The person he cherished most was Katia, but the ones who had influenced him the most were Drest and Fina.

Both of their magical levels reached the highest point a human could aspire to.

Their teachings, of such an elevated level, had raised Dereck’s magic in the most efficient way possible, especially given the enormous potential he already possessed.

And several years had already passed since then, so Katia had no choice but to accept that unnaturally rapid growth.

That said, Dereck had told her about Drest, but never about Fina.

The existence of a six-star black mage was an absolute secret, and leaving written evidence of a relationship with someone like that would be nothing more than unnecessary exposure.

“Dereck, you’ve met great masters, and for that very reason, you’ve also become one yourself.”

“If I had to choose the most outstanding among them, it would undoubtedly be you, Master Katia.”

“Haha. There’s no need to flatter even me, Dereck. No matter how confident I am in my ability to teach magic, I know full well that I cannot compare to six-star mages who, by name alone, already fall into the realm of legend.”

Up to the three-star level, no one could match Katia’s pedagogical ability, but from the fourth star onward, it was literally another world.

Especially upon reaching five-star magic, the number of people capable of teaching such a thing across the entire continent could be counted on one hand.

Katia knew perfectly well that Dereck was already moving beyond her reach.

“Even so, the fact that you still call yourself my disciple gives me great strength. You’ve also tasted the waters of high society, so you know this well a good disciple is just as valuable as a good master.”

Leaning more comfortably against the backrest, Katia continued in a much more relaxed tone.

“That one of my two disciples is Miss Freya and the other is you, Dereck… it seems that even among the nobles, they don’t dare take my name lightly.”

“…”

At that point, Freya was watching the situation with some discomfort.

While Katia was a famous figure in eastern high society as the teacher of the young Countess Freya, it felt as though, over time, she was becoming even more well known as Dereck’s teacher.

“Although, at times I feel the weight of that reputation. If I behave carelessly, I’ll end up tarnishing your name as well.”

“You don’t need to worry so much about that. I myself come from mercenaries, so I’m not accustomed to the exaggerated formalities of nobles and often make mistakes. In that case, I would be the one who should worry about not tarnishing my teacher’s name.”

“Ahahaha, don’t worry about such trivialities. I’ve never been particularly interested in that kind of superficial prestige. However…”

For an instant, Katia’s gaze sharpened.

Accustomed as she was to looking at Dereck with warm, almost maternal eyes, that change felt all the more pronounced.

“The master from whom you received instruction after me really was only that legendary exploration mage, Drest?”

“…”

“You haven’t forgotten what you wrote in your letters, have you? I’ve heard that this Drest has a very strong wandering spirit and appears and disappears, rarely staying in one place for long. It’s already been quite some time since you reached the three-star level, so I find it hard to believe that he continued supervising your magic all the way until you reached four stars.”

An intuition honed through many long years.

As she observed the latent maturity in Dereck’s magic, Katia felt a strange sense of incongruity.

The four-star or higher war mages she had known back when she was the lady of the Flameheart house.

The efficient flow of mana they displayed was not very different from Dereck’s.

Overwhelming talent could lead to achievements beyond all logic, but that particular maturity was not something that could be attained through talent alone.

It was a domain impossible to reach without the guidance of someone who had already arrived at that level.

Where had she felt that subtle sense of strangeness before?

Katia closed her eyes for a moment.

For the elderly woman, it was a memory from a past far too distant.

From before she even became the magic teacher of the Elvester house.

From before she wandered the mercenary streets of Ebelstein.

From before she dominated noble society as the lady of the Flameheart house.

It was from when, after her debut as a young noble, she roamed the high society of the east in the flower of her youth.

A past so remote that she could barely recall it clearly now.

— Miss Katia is skilled at applying mana, but she is somewhat clumsy in its more orthodox usage.

In the cultural city of Calperon, in the noble district of eastern high society,

a young Katia, dressed in a beautiful gown, her hair neatly arranged and brimming with romanticism and a thirst for knowledge of the vast world, received that advice from someone.

Eyes of a pale lilac hue.

A languid appearance, as if she had already seen everything life had to offer.

She even looked younger than Katia, yet she observed the social scene with evident weariness, resting her chin on her hand and viewing the world from a distance.

Katlan.

The young noble Katlan of the viscount house Eloar.

That sinister girl was one day discovered to be deeply involved in black magic and was executed.

It was truly shocking news, but it had happened so long ago that almost no one remembered it anymore.

For the Eloar house, her existence was a stain, so they desperately strove to erase her history.

That unsettling young woman who, straying from the rigid style of formal schools, wielded mana with a freedom characteristic of four-star or higher mages.

Was it mere coincidence that someone who no longer existed in this world now came to her mind?

While Katia remained with her eyes closed, immersed in memories, Dereck was the first to speak.

“Master. From the beginning, I decided not to hide anything from you, but in this matter, I cannot say more.”

Dereck’s gaze was serious.

Since Katia had arrived, his spirits had been subtly lifted, and upon seeing that expression, Freya swallowed.

Dereck’s judgment was correct.

The fewer people who knew about the existence of a six-star black mage, the better.

Being connected to such a figure alone entailed enormous danger.

Dereck was already deeply involved, but he could not drag his most cherished teacher into that risk.

“…”

Katia also trusted Dereck.

If he refused to speak even to that extent, there had to be a reason.

Although Katia could have pressed him and perhaps made him talk, she chose not to.

That respect for Dereck’s decisions was precisely one of the reasons he trusted her.

“I see. Even so, let me say one thing out of concern.”

By then, Katia’s expression had softened.

“As I told you, a good disciple is something valuable. That you continue to call yourself my disciple gives me strength, but I worry that that other master of yours might feel jealous. Ufufu.”

It was a joke meant to lighten the atmosphere.

By saying it that way, Katia also made it clear that she would not probe further into Dereck’s secret.

Dereck smiled faintly as he replied.

“I don’t think that will happen.”

Fina might pretend to be upset, but even that would be nothing more than a joke.

Having lived through everything, she was not someone who clung obsessively to people.

Dereck was merely one of the many disciples who had passed fleetingly through her long life.

Yearning only for rest in an existence without an endpoint, there was no reason to cling to a passing disciple.

That was why Dereck smiled calmly.

***

‘It’s not like me to be this unsettled. I can feel my heart pounding.’

Fina entered the mansion of Baron Tigris, greeted the servants with a smile in her eyes, and trudged heavily inside.

Thanks to the commotion caused by Dereck, she had managed to obtain the corpse of a five-star mage while avoiding the gaze of the nobility.

For Fina, who was researching advanced corpse resurrection, this represented enormous progress.

Until now, she had tried to revive Kalimford using countless bodies, but all had failed for being containers too fragile.

Finding a body capable of housing a legendary six-star mage was practically impossible.

However, this was the corpse of a five-star mage, someone whose very existence could crush the majority of mages.

Obtaining the body of one of the few five-star mages on the continent was an extremely difficult feat.

Killing him would not have been a problem for Fina, but fleeing while carrying the corpse of someone of that level would inevitably attract the attention of the empire.

How much had she suffered to finally obtain a vessel suitable to withstand Kalimford’s spirit?

Now she could die.

Now she could finally sleep in eternal rest.

What irony that her heart began to beat right at the end of life.

Standing upright amid that paradox, Fina descended to the underground laboratory to check the results of the research to which she had devoted her entire life.

Plop, drip.

Fina’s laboratory was permeated by a stench of blood.

As she stepped into that underground space laden with the resentments of unjustly dead spirits, her precious archilich, Happy, floated in the air, its body covered in wounds.

They were scars inflicted directly by Countess Roselia, the natural enemy of black mages.

Wounds caused by the sacred blood sword did not heal easily, as they were antagonistic to black magic.

“…It’s been a long time since I came down to the laboratory. It’s well maintained. Good work, Happy.”

With a gaze full of affection, Fina gently stroked the head of that grotesque creature.

The Tigris territory was already completely under her control.

The inhabitants of the domain had fallen under her seductive gaze and were nothing more than her subordinates.

Although she had been settled in this small border territory for quite some time, that long era felt like an instant.

With a constant surge of ecstasy, Fina fixed her eyes on the old corpse positioned at the center of the laboratory.

The vessel destined to become Kalimford’s body.

The corpse of a five-star mage.

At last, the moment had come to fulfill her long-held, profound longing.

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