Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 22: Belmiard (2)

Among the influential families in the western part of the empire, the youngest, Belmiard—the Marquess of the Frontier—was a perfect man.

Ruling the entire southern coastal region of the Belcos Peninsula, he personally managed sixty percent of the trade routes into Ebelstain. The northern part of his territory also housed the continent’s largest magic academy: Drest Academy.

Not only that, he also oversaw the vast granaries that stretched north along the coast. It was often joked that the annual income of the Belmiard Marquisate could fill the ocean with gold coins.

Literally, he was a man swimming in a sea of gold. Yet even he, whose life had always climbed upward, lacked one thing: the blessing of his children.

His eldest son, Linus, fell into gambling and debauchery, wasting his days in vanity, while the youngest, Leonard, suddenly decided to devote himself to divine will and left on a pilgrimage, rarely appearing except on holidays and major family events. It was enough to drive anyone mad.

At least the second son, Ellen, was level-headed and dutiful, becoming the sole treasure of Marquess Belmiard, who was constantly troubled by his children.

*

“It’s time to practice your magic duel, Lady Ellen.”

“…Isn’t it a bit late?”

Lady Ellen, the favorite of Marquess Belmiard, had long since arrived in the noble district of Ebelstain to prepare for her social debut.

She was seated in the corridor of a grand vaulted building beside the plaza of the noble district. Known among Ebelstain’s nobility as the Cultural Corridor, it was a place where several salons and small clubs gathered to cultivate friendships and build connections.

Ellen, who only associated with the Rose Salon, had just finished a meeting and was using her brief free time to read letters with news from her domain.

“I heard there’s a tea party at Viscount Belorn’s residence. If you plan to attend, I can postpone the duel training.”

“No need. I have no desire to waste time on childish games like that.”

The girl, though still a year away from her coming-of-age ceremony, was already mature.

Marquess Belmiard had introduced her to various practical matters. She oversaw planting and harvesting at the granaries, reviewed livestock management, and even engaged in financial tasks like lease reviews, dispute resolution, and military duties such as managing the private army and weapons.

It was rumored she harbored ambitions to change the longstanding family motto and inherit the title to become head of the family. If true, she would be the only female marquess in the western empire.

“…”

Though she was still in the stage of gaining experience under the guidance of veteran retainers, she had already learned enough about domain administration. To her, these social circle games often seemed childish, the pastimes of naïve young ladies.

Still, she fulfilled her duties as a noble lady, but whenever she received marriage proposals, she couldn’t help but scoff.

Reading the letters of men puffed up with flowery language, trying to win the heart of a girl who hadn’t even debuted socially, she thought, “So this is what they call empty pomp.”

The girl aspired to be a ruler, not to submit to any man. As if to prove it, she rose from her seat, her red hair cascading down—an imposing presence.

“Today feels good. I might even cast a two-star spell.”

“Don’t be greedy. Mastering magic is something built firmly and steadily.”

As Lady Ellen muttered to herself while leaving the corridor, her elderly magic instructor followed behind, offering calm advice.

*

Upon entering the magical duel arena located northeast of the noble district, Lady Ellen felt a question arise and asked,

“But as far as I know, there isn’t a scheduled magical duel today… Who am I to practice with?”

“Today we specially arranged for a commoner to be your opponent, so you can practice offensive magic more seriously.”

“What?”

As Ellen, her dress trailing behind, entered the magical duel arena, she cast a glance at her elderly instructor.

The old master was a man named Felmier.

He had been trained directly by high-ranking followers of the Prince Belmierd’s family from the northern empire, an old mage from the Maxton domain. Though a three-star exploration mage, he was also quite skilled in combat and summoning magic. And he was someone deeply rooted in aristocratic ideals.

Ellen, too, was immersed in aristocratic society and couldn’t be said to lack a sense of privilege or elitism. However, there were some points of conflict with this old magic instructor named Felmir.

Like the current problem.

“The person in front of you in the arena today is just a commoner, so you can practice your magic as much as you want. A few injuries can be compensated with gold.”

“Felmier, did you come all the way from the cold north to Ebelstain to teach me to beat up commoners?”

“That is the meaning of a duel.”

“Weren’t you the one who taught me that I must always show courtesy, refinement, and elegance?”

“That applies to duels between nobles.”

Ellen stopped walking toward the arena and looked at her old master with a piercing gaze.

In an age where the level of magic among commoners was so low that it barely required supervision, even the best of commoners who received attacks for a few coins were at most one-star—more likely not even adept at basic magic.

Felmier remained upright, hands behind his back, unshaken by the girl’s gaze.

Felmier was no stranger to Ellen’s character.

He considered it shameful to use full strength against an inferior and barbaric to cast magic on an opponent who could barely defend themselves.

Unlike Felmier, who saw commoners as something between animals and humans, Ellen believed they should at least be treated as people.

“Still, I’ve summoned a commoner who can handle one-star magic. They won’t be able to resist much.”

“And you call that a reason…?”

“If you truly respect your opponent, give it your all. Isn’t that the etiquette of the dueling arena?”

Felmier was a tutor whose words flowed like a clear mountain stream. Ellen could only sigh deeply.

“Then today, let’s focus on mastering combat and confusion magic among one-star spells.”

“If it seems wrong, I’ll stop.”

“With that attitude, you’ll never improve.”

Ellen let her master’s words go in one ear and out the other as she made her way into the arena.

*

“My goodness, he’s still just a kid.”

Ellen couldn’t help but frown again.

The boy sitting on the other side of the training field, adjusting his boots, didn’t seem older than Ellen’s peers.

Commoners, even first-class mages, were usually older. Only nobles could typically master high-level magic at a young age.

It was obvious he was just someone who had barely managed to manifest a bit of magical power—or had gotten lucky.

He looked like a mercenary.

It seemed Felmier had submitted a request to the mercenary guild in the tavern district and brought someone.

“…”

Noticing Ellen’s arrival, the boy dusted off his boots and stood up, bowing politely.

His tidy robe, leather belt, the metallic part of his scabbard at his hip, and even the buckle on his belt and the buttons on his robe shone—he clearly wasn’t a street beggar.

His hair was white as snow, and his eyes, like Ellen’s, were red.

For some reason, his appearance felt strange. He was definitely just a boy Ellen’s age, but there was an inexplicable maturity to him.

‘…He’s not anyone important, right?’

“My name is Dereck.”

“Ellen.”

Ellen didn’t bother revealing her full name. He didn’t deserve such formality, and besides, it seemed he already knew it.

Yet oddly, the name Dereck sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before. It must have been a name she heard in passing, but it felt like a distant memory, hard to recall.

Ellen touched the end of her chin several times, lost in thought, but unearthing buried memories wasn’t easy.

There was always a reason why Ellen remembered a commoner’s name. There had to be a reason this name also sounded familiar.

She tilted her head a few times, pondering, but nothing special came to mind—just her wavy red hair tickling her neck now and then.

“How much magic can you use?”

“I can handle first-class magic to some extent.”

So he had learned high-level magic.

Considering the boy’s age, it was quite an accomplishment, but clearly, he was far behind Ellen, who was already approaching the threshold of second-class magic.

Ellen considered telling the boy to leave and looked to Felmir for approval. But Felmier, eyes firmly shut, shook his head. The stubborn old man always managed to make Ellen sigh.

“Do you know the basic rules of a magic duel?”

“Yes. I only know the basics, but I’ve seen and heard enough.”

“Good, that’s lucky. Endure as much as you can. I’ll make it quick.”

Power began to flow from Ellen’s fingertips. The influence of her magic caused her red hair to stir, and the adornments on her luxurious dress fluttered.

Among the nobility, she was known for her rapid magical progress, and as she grew, her magical power had manifested clearly. She truly was someone with exceptional talent.

*

Showing off in front of a common boy who roamed the underworld of mercenaries would only stain one’s dignity. The girl summoned her magic mechanically, without a trace of emotion on her face.

It would be better for both of them if this ended quickly. For Ellen, it wouldn’t leave a bad taste, and for the boy, it would mean easy gold.

That’s when Ellen began to release more magic.

“Hold out as much as you can… What do you mean by that?”

“What?”

“It would help if you could specify the level of resistance required.”

Ellen looked at Dereck in disbelief at his words.

Even when a one-star mage was amassing magic right in front of him, the boy showed no signs of tension.

“…What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I’m a mercenary. As you know, mercenaries take pride in fulfilling their client’s objectives.”

Looking into the boy’s eyes, which remained as serious as ever, Ellen wondered what he was trying to say.

“I came here in response to a request to assist with magical abilities. If that’s the case, how much resistance should I offer to best aid in Ellen’s magic training?”

Ellen hadn’t realized it, but Dereck had refined this principle through countless mercenary jobs. He was a seasoned mercenary, after all.

A mercenary’s prime directive was to fulfill the client’s objective. Whether it was slaying monsters, confronting bandits, or escorting caravans, every action and decision revolved around the client’s wish.

If the client’s wish was to improve magical ability and had paid a fair price, Dereck would act to fulfill that goal. That’s why he looked at Ellen with such sincerity.

He could have casually said taking a few hits and losing was enough, but if the heart of the request truly lay in mastering magic, Dereck’s approach would shift completely.

And that sincerity was what made clients seek out Dereck among many other mercenaries. Not just anyone could make a name for themselves in the cutthroat world of mercenaries.

But that was a tale for the lowest rung of the mercenary ladder. There was no reason or need for a noble lady soaring among the clouds to understand such things.

“Ha.”

Ellen scoffed and replied indifferently:

“Didn’t I already tell you? Hold out with all your strength.”

“Understood.”

—Whoosh!

Ignoring Dereck’s pointless question, Ellen began to unleash a large spell from her hands.

Even among one-star spells, the caliber varied by user. And the magical aura flowing from Ellen’s hands clearly had a different quality than that of an average one-star spell.

“Oh, wind that sweeps the earth…”

In an instant, Ellen continued her incantation, summoning the one-star spell ‘Shockwave.’

Though most combat spells took elemental form, this one was purely kinetic, designed to hurl the opponent away.

*

In most combat situations, mages who needed to keep their distance primarily used this spell. In duels like this, it was often employed to knock the opponent out of bounds and decide the match quickly.

Without proper preparation, one wouldn’t even realize what had happened before being thrown beyond the fence.

In a dignified magic duel, where courtesy was paramount, such a violent spell was not allowed—but Ellen’s only goal was to send the commoner flying, give him a gold coin, and send him home.

Thus, the spell fired from Ellen’s hands shot toward Dereck.

Dereck’s red eyes widened instantly. Ellen felt a strange dissonance at that moment.

—Swoosh!

With a light sidestep, Dereck dodged the shockwave.

Because the shockwave had no visible form, one had to swiftly sense the magic and guess its range. This was natural for those skilled in magic use—and required agility to avoid.

At that moment, Ellen narrowed her eyes and quickly reevaluated Dereck.

‘He’s not just any commoner, is he…?’

Rapidly accumulating more magic, she created one-star ice spears.

The one-star ice spears Diella had just learned were small and few, but Ellen’s—now advanced—were larger than a person’s torso, and they easily numbered over a dozen.

‘But…! I don’t want to waste energy unnecessarily, so I should finish this quickly…!’

If many ice spears were launched with no blind spots, there would be no escape.

One or two might be handled with cleverness, but against a multitude, a mercenary’s agility meant nothing.

Then Ellen shifted her gaze toward Dereck to direct the spears—

—Clang! Clang! Crash!

Before she knew it, all the floating ice spears around Ellen had been shattered.

—Crack!

Time seemed to slow for a moment.

The shattered ice fragments vanished gradually. The flickering sparkles reflected in Ellen’s wide eyes.

What Ellen saw was Dereck, his fist raised and clenched tightly. She had just witnessed the aftermath of his control over magic flow.

Had he, in that brief instant, fired as many magic arrows as there were ice spears and destroyed them all?

The issue was that none of these processes had been visible. No chanting, no awkward delays while controlling magic.

The magic flowed seamlessly, making it impossible for the opponent to detect.

From the precise impact of multiple magic arrows on each ice spear, one could sense a different caliber of skill in magic use.

Hadn’t he claimed to be a one-star mage?

Even if one was a one-star mage, could such mastery be achieved with extreme training?

The boy opened his tightly clenched fist, then seemed to loosen his wrist, shaking it lightly.

Ellen’s eyes narrowed further.

Then, with great force, she leapt backward, summoning her magic once more. Her expression was now entirely serious.

The girl, sharp with magical intuition, had discerned it in just two exchanges.

He wasn’t someone who could be taken lightly.

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