Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 79: People (6)

“Lady Aiselin, I told you. I’ll use any means necessary to achieve my goal.”

“…”

“What is this? Why did we come all the way to the North? Weren’t we here to cooperate and work well together? But now, you’re deceiving me, hindering the plan, and wasting time. If you keep doing such unreasonable things, I’ll have no choice but to take a hard stance.”

He was a reaper.

With snow-white hair and crimson eyes peeking through, he looked like a monster who had come to claim someone’s life.

Even demons that sensed the scent of blood on his body—let alone ordinary humans—were sometimes paralyzed by fear.

Those who do not hesitate to take lives emit an indescribable terror.

Dereck was one of those people.

Bang!

Aiselin, who had jumped to her feet, quickly placed Siern behind her and took a defensive stance.

Dereck was now someone harboring murderous intent toward Siern.

Even if they tried to reason with him later, for now it was necessary to keep Siern away from him.

It was already clear that Siern and Aiselin were conspiring together.

Dereck wasn’t someone who got angry easily, but that didn’t mean he didn’t punish.

“No… don’t come any closer, Lord Dereck.”

Dereck raised both arms and said:

“Please, don’t be so cautious with me. How could a mere commoner like myself harm the young lady of House Duplain?”

“…I know. Lord Dereck wouldn’t hurt me. But… just this once, please consider Lady Siern’s situation.”

“I’ve told you several times already. My position won’t change.”

Siern’s whole body began to tremble. It was a violent shiver, enough to make her teeth chatter.

Dereck had spent his life slaying demons. His very presence was pure terror to low-level demons.

Just sensing his murderous intent activated survival instincts.

In fact, Siern felt an overwhelming urge to smash the window and flee into the vast snowy field.

“Since we’ve come to this, I’ll have to enforce my will, even if I must use force. If Miss Aiselin won’t step aside, she may get hurt… or even lose her life.”

“I-I am… the young lady of the Duplain duchy. Even if our house is in decline, if you harm me… Lord Dereck, you won’t be safe either… So please… stop…”

Aiselin’s almost pleading expression was etched into Siern’s mind. She truly wanted to save Siern. Even if it meant confronting that terrifying being, she didn’t want Siern to meet the same fate as Diela.

Aiselin’s will, blazing like molten lava, shone in her eyes. But their opponent was a demon who looked as though he had come straight from hell.

“Then Miss Aiselin will also have to be dragged into this.”

“W-What? If you do that…”

“Miss Aiselin. Haven’t you heard Lord Melverot’s words? The North is infested with demons, and many people are attacked, with numerous victims. It’s a place with little human traffic, so only the heavens would know what happens here.”

“Dereck…! W-What are you saying…?”

“The snow that falls on this frozen field seems to cover the sins of any murderer alike. And the one who’s benefited the most from that is Lady Siern, isn’t it? The very one you’ve been protecting, Miss Aiselin?”

Siern’s eyes trembled violently. So did Aiselin’s.

“It’s time to pay for those sins. Miss Aiselin, please don’t defend that vile murderer. Otherwise, the silence of the snowy field won’t take just one life, but two.”

With that, Dereck pulled out a magic staff from behind his back.

Dereck, who wielded a 4-star grade magical weapon, could not be matched, even if Aiselin and Siern joined forces against him.

Since defeating that madman wasn’t an option, the most efficient one was to run. Siern had extremely well-developed animal instincts.

Bang! Crash!

Even before Dereck finished speaking, the spell was already complete.

The magic from Siern’s hand shattered the window, and the curtains flapped as the cold winter wind blew in.

Whoosh!

Siern ran quickly and jumped onto the window frame with fear-filled movements.

Her frilled nightgown and blue hair fluttered in the wind. It was the moment she tried to flee into the snowy field.

Looking back, there stood Aiselin and Dereck.

Siern couldn’t know what Dereck would do to Aiselin, who had betrayed him. However, that wasn’t her concern. Her own survival was what mattered.

Aiselin herself had said it. There was no need to worry about her or trust her. Any harm Dereck might do to her was none of Siern’s business.

As Siern clenched her teeth and prepared to jump out the window, she locked eyes with Aiselin.

Aiselin’s lips moved.

Run. Quickly.

As soon as she understood what she meant, Siern instinctively activated acceleration magic. Just as she was about to run alone into the snowy field, she darted back into the room and grabbed Aiselin’s arm.

Thud!

Siern was a master of transformation magic. She knew how to temporarily reduce the weight of objects, adjust inertia, or accelerate them.

The moment she grabbed Aiselin, she launched them both into the snowy field.

Thud! Thud!

Thud!

She’d think about the consequences later. For now, what mattered was escaping Dereck’s reach.

Drawing a long arc in the night sky, the two girls barely landed in the snowfield in front of the mansion.

Thud, thud!

“Eek!”

With a small cry, Aiselin barely managed to roll on the snow-covered ground.

Siern also rolled several times through the snow before regaining her balance. In the distance, they could see the tower from which they had escaped.

For such a short escape, they had covered a fair distance.

Her magic energy was almost depleted after using transformation magic while carrying Aiselin, but there was no time for regrets.

“We have to run! Now! That man uses strange magic to detect where I go every time I use acceleration magic.”

Indeed, Dereck, who had appeared at the shattered window, was looking directly at Siern.

Upon seeing those red eyes, it was hard to tell who the real killer was.

If a killer is someone harboring the intent to kill, then regardless of what anyone said, that man was one too.

Even if she didn’t care what happened to herself, the thought that Aiselin—who was innocent—might get dragged in and die left a bitter taste.

Siern took Aiselin’s wrist and ran across the snowy field. They had to lose him before he closed the distance further.

However, Aiselin couldn’t keep up. Looking more closely, she was wearing indoor slippers.

“…You…”

“Go ahead, Lady Siern. If Lord Dereck catches up to us, I’ll try to sincerely persuade him again.”

“What kind of stupidity is that!? Didn’t you see that man!? Do you really think he can be persuaded!? Why do you always think about others even after being struck again and again!? You’re so frustrating…!”

“I can’t keep up with you anyway, Lady Siern.”

Siern was used to running barefoot across the snowy field while casting various transformation spells, but Aiselin wasn’t.

In fact, Aiselin’s feet were swollen and red from the cold and injuries.

Siern’s expression twisted. There were only two options—leave her behind or stay.

Aiselin asked her to run. She kept saying those frustrating things about trying to understand that uncontrollable monster.

It was impossible to understand what made this girl trust Dereck so much.

Staying here would be a useless death.

However, Siern’s steps wouldn’t move easily. The thought of leaving Aiselin behind was hard to accept.

It was truly strange.

Even though she had said again and again that she didn’t trust Aiselin, the girl’s unwavering expression, full of sincere trust, kept coming to her mind.

Even in that faltering state, the noble appearance of the girl, holding firm to her resolve, inspired admiration.

And then, a possibility arose. All those who had called Siern a monster, trembling in fear at the thought that she might kill them at any moment…

Those who pointed at her and abandoned her—perhaps they were fundamentally different from this girl.

This time, it might really be different. Maybe this elegant and dignified girl would embrace her like the warm sun.

Even with those thoughts, what filled her mind were the corpses of wolves drenched in blood.

When she came to her senses, she was in the middle of the snowy field, having killed beasts and monsters, staring at the sky without any emotional disturbance.

Sometimes, humans also became the target of that murderous instinct.

Just kill. That was all. The impulse to murder, arising without reason, chose no victims.

That’s why Dereck was right.

It was beneficial to the world for a being like Siern to disappear. That Dereck always said the right things.

“…”

Siern slowly crouched down and spoke to Aiselin, who was sitting, gasping for breath.

“If I can just escape into the snowy field, they won’t catch me easily. I used to wander outside the mansion when I was bored, so the servants won’t care much.”

“…Huff… Huff…”

“So I’ll run. You… sell me out to that man. Tell him I tried to kill you, and say that it’s right for a human like Siern to disappear from the world. If you beg for forgiveness like that… maybe he’ll at least spare you. If you trust him that much, do it.”

“…”

Siern released Aiselin’s wrist, which she had been holding tightly.

“That man is right. I could end up killing you. Don’t protect someone like me. Don’t do something so stupid, just act for your own sake.”

“…No… Huff… Huff…”

Even though Siern had left everything behind and said that, Aiselin clenched her teeth and shook her head.

She was a pitiful figure, covered in snow and mud, but her determined expression was infinitely noble.

With great effort, Aiselin stood up and took Siern’s hands once more.

Her hands were freezing from the extreme cold, but to Siern, they felt warm.

“There’s no one in this world who deserves to die. Lady Siern. Even if all the creatures in the world define you as a monster, never forget that you’re human.”

“…”

“Things like instincts don’t matter. There are many people who live rationally, going against their instincts. You can definitely change. I’ll help you. So please, don’t give up and don’t abandon your humanity. We’re human.”

Siern looked at Aiselin with trembling eyes. Even as an uncontrollable monster chased them, Aiselin cried out desperately, refusing to deny Siern’s humanity.

“You can do it, Lady Siern. Trust me, I… I can definitely help you.”

Everyone else defined her as a monster, but Aiselin saw her human side to the very end.

Siern Alaina Rochester is human.

While she repeated that fact, believing in her, and giving her trust—

Siern simply nodded.

Thud!

Splat! Splat!

And then, blood splattered.

“They made it all the way to the edge of the snowy field on their own.”

It happened in an instant.

For a moment, a surge of magical energy was felt, and Lady Aiselin’s eyes trembled violently.

Then blood splattered, and a blade emerged. The scent of blood.

Siern had smelled that cruel scent countless times.

Even the blood of a noble saint like Aiselin seemed to have a floral fragrance. Was it safflower, or perhaps balsam? It was a scent she had smelled on a flower she had once been gifted.

At that moment, just as that noble girl was about to open her mouth to utter her final words…

Once again, the magical energy intensified, and the girl lost consciousness and was thrown into the middle of the snowy field.

Crackle! Snap!

Drip, drip.

A red liquid flowed down Dereck’s blade.

“What… what… what… what is this…?”

The scene unfolding before Siern’s eyes as she fell backward was unbelievable.

The boy standing in the blizzard was the very embodiment of a massacre demon who had torn apart countless monsters.

Before him lay Aiselin, buried in the snow, unmoving.

The red blood dyed the snow around her.

Just seeing the amount of blood spread out activated the instinct to immediately take her to a healer.

However, Dereck simply shook his sword without showing any emotion.

With those terrifying eyes, he silently looked at Siern. The meaning in his gaze was clear.

“You… you… you…”

“The snowy field is perfect. It buries all deaths equally.”

“She… she defended you until the end. She believed in your human heart… until the very last moment…”

“Did she?”

Dereck’s voice remained cold.

He silently observed the spreading blood, then looked back at Siern and spoke.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s dead.”

The mercenary in the blizzard. Dereck’s dry voice settled over the snowy field.

“…”

“Is there a problem?”

“You… you… don’t feel anything seeing her corpse…?”

“…She was quite a useful person.”

A moment of silence passed.

For a long time, Aiselin’s firm eyes lingered in Siern’s mind.

Just as that memory ended, an unimaginable surge of magical energy erupted from Siern’s body.

Boooom!

The blizzard began to swirl violently, covering the entire area.

In Siern’s eyes, a blazing fire was spinning.

The origin of that turbulent emotion was unknown, but at least one goal was clearly engraved in her mind.

Kill.

Kill Dereck here and now.

That scream, filled with fury, echoed across the snowy field.

Dereck responded with a calm expression, raising his staff.

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