Chapter 74

Chapter 74
## Chapter 74

The first time Siern killed someone was when she was around ten years old.

One day, she suddenly killed a maid who had brought her a snack.

At that young age, she remained motionless, covered in blood, silently staring at the young servant lying lifeless in a corner of the room.

**Bang!**

When Lord Melverot burst into the room, Siern was simply standing there, drenched in blood.

She showed no signs of fear or trembling over what she had done, nor any concern regarding how to face the consequences.

Her pale eyes, visible through her blood-spattered cheeks, looked at him in silence. The stains on her white pajamas looked like part of the decorative lace.

Even when the servants who arrived later covered their mouths in horror, and the squires rushed to clean the scene… Siern remained calm and indifferent.

The servants were terrified by the scene, but her father, Lord Melverot, did not even frown.

Layton the butler observed him and thought:

*Even witnessing the murder committed by his daughter, he showed not a trace of distress… as if he had expected it from the beginning.*

Siern’s indiscriminate murderous impulse had begun without warning.

And yet, despite the series of shocking events, Melverot never showed the slightest sign of panic.

***

“Sir Dereck!! Stop it!! If you try to control Lady Siern with violence!! I, I…!! In the name of Duplain!! I will not stand by with my arms crossed!!”

Dereck thought he could not allow Aiselin to continue with that performance.

Her poor sense of dialogue, the awkward tone that appeared here and there, and those sudden outbursts of anger were completely misguided.

It was probably because she had almost no experience raising her voice at anyone.

Perhaps it was too much to demand such emotions from a girl who had always lived as an elegant and refined lady.

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Dereck raised his staff and spoke.

“Miss Aiselin. I am someone who does not worry about consequences. Lord Melverot ordered me to reform Lady Siern by any means necessary, and I will use every tool at my disposal to achieve it. If Lady Aiselin interferes, I will have no choice but to remove her by force.”

“I am the lady of the Duchy of Duplain. Don’t you dare… don’t you dare…! No! Don’t you dare talk about using force in front of me! How dare you?!”

“…”

Dereck felt great confusion trying to follow the thread of the emotions.

Aiselin’s acting was like a black hole absorbing every emotion around it. If this continued, a true disaster would occur, so Dereck increased his magic power and heightened the pressure.

**Whoooosh!**

Dereck’s mana swirled around him, and the accumulated snowflakes began to form a mist.

Siern, lying on the ground, held her breath and swallowed nervously, but Aiselin took a step forward again, extending her arms to block Dereck.

“If you’re going to shoot… then shoot! I won’t move from here!”

Dereck’s magic power concentrated at the tip of his staff.

And the two-star combat magic, **Fireball**, began to take shape. With just its manifestation, the snow around him began to melt, revealing the ground.

Siern trembled and swallowed hard. A direct hit from a fireball like that would be fatal.

If she tried to escape, Dereck anticipated her movements and stopped her. If she stayed still, he would beat her to death.

Despite Dereck’s cruel teaching policy, Siern tried to stand up as best she could. But her legs were too weak to move.

While Siern trembled with fear, Aiselin remained standing with her arms outstretched, looking toward Dereck.

Despite the overwhelming magic pressure, with her fingertips trembling, she expressed her determination not to yield.

The cold-blooded mage before her, as if the lady of the Duplain family meant nothing, accumulated even more magic power and generated a fireball larger than a human body. That level of flame approached the maximum of two-star magic.

“This is your final warning. Step aside.”

“If you hurt me… Sir Dereck, you won’t get away with it…!”

“I already told you I would stop at nothing. If you ignore my final warning, I will be left with no other choice.”

As exaggerated as it might seem, it was hard to believe he had cast a spell of that magnitude upon the young lady of the Duchy of Duplain.

But he was a scoundrel who had even tried to strike the lady of the Rochester family, Siern. The fear that he might actually do it began to take hold of Siern’s heart.

**Zas!**

And, indeed, Dereck launched the fireball. It was a scene difficult to believe even seeing it with one’s own eyes.

Aiselin, with her arms outstretched in front of Siern, trembled from head to toe with her eyes closed. Even before the imminent fireball, she did not move an inch.

Shortly after, the fireball exploded.

**Boom!!**

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A massive explosion echoed and the flames filled the entire field of vision.

The intense heat melted all the surrounding snow. Smoke rose, and the image of the fire remained etched in the mind like a burn.

“…”

The fireball did not hit the target.

When Siern opened her eyes wide, the spell had only grazed Aiselin and had impacted the ground.

Aiselin, still in a protective position in front of Siern, remained with her arms outstretched. The trembling of her fingers revealed the fear she felt.

And yet, Aiselin did not move an inch.

Biting her lower lip, she stared at Dereck with determination, but her body trembled uncontrollably.

Dereck observed her in silence and finally slung his staff across his back.

“I’ll let it pass this time. But if you interfere again…”

In the midst of the swirling falling snow, his frigid red eyes bored into both of them.

“You will pay for it.”

With that said, Dereck turned his cloak and walked toward the main building of the mansion.

His silhouette moving away looked like that of a reaper who had postponed a death sentence.

The fear that had taken over Siern’s body ran down her spine.

*Crunch, crunch.*

*Thud.*

When Dereck disappeared from sight, Aiselin’s legs gave way and she fell onto the snow. She took several deep breaths.

After a moment to calm down, Aiselin quickly turned her head toward Siern.

Siern, unable to move due to the weakness in her legs, was trembling. Aiselin looked at her and managed to flash a forced smile.

“Miss Siern. You were very scared, weren’t you? That insolent mercenary Dereck is always like that. He thinks everything can be solved with violence…”

“I… I… then…”

“It’s okay. It’s understandable that you’re confused. Are you hurt? Let me see your wounds.”

With great effort, Aiselin managed to stand up and, dragging her tired body, crouched in front of Siern.

Even in her confusion, Siern felt a certain warmth seeing her.

Aiselin had a kind heart that knew how to welcome others, and her appearance gave off something noble and sacred.

Seeing her protect and console with sincerity was something that could move anyone. That was why Dereck had insisted on bringing Aiselin. If he played the role of the whip, someone had to play the role of the consoler.

In fact, even as Siern recoiled, she felt a strange relief seeing Aiselin approaching with large strides.

“Come on, show me your wounds. If we treat them quickly, they won’t leave a scar.”

“N-no, I don’t want to…”

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When Aiselin reached out her hand, Siern brushed it away with a dry sound.

However, even as she looked at the hand she had rejected, Siern’s gaze trembled with confusion.

“…It’s okay. You don’t have to be so tense.”

**Flash!**

When Aiselin spoke again in a soft tone, Siern quickly ran toward the tower and disappeared.

The confusion on her face was understandable. Too many things had happened in a very short time.

Even so, it was remarkable that she did not hurt Aiselin.

*Tap, tap.*

Seeing Siern escape quickly by climbing the cornices of the building, Aiselin sighed.

Due to the northern cold, a sigh escaped her lips. It was difficult to discern whether Siern had opened up or not, based solely on her reaction.

“Ambiguous…”

Aiselin murmured with a dejected expression.

***

*Knock, knock, knock.*

“Come in.”

Dereck had just finished bathing in the guest room and was drying his hair. Naturally, he was dressed in light clothing.

While he shook out his hair with the robe the servants had delivered, the door opened and Aiselin entered.

“Sir Dereck, about Lady Siern…”

**Bang!**

And then she closed the door again.

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In reality, although the amount of Dereck’s exposed skin was minimal, even that slight glimpse of his torso was excessively stimulating for Aiselin.

The speed with which she backed into the hallway without finishing her sentence was comparable to that of a veteran mercenary.

“D-D-Dereck, I didn’t know you weren’t dressed. I’m very sorry.”

“It’s fine. I thought you were a servant because you knocked. If you had spoken first, I would have come out.”

“I was only going to be brief, since you must be tired…”

“What noble lady enters the room of a commoner? Even if your family is going through difficulties, you must behave according to your status.”

“I told you.”

Hearing a deep breath on the other side of the door, Dereck quickly put on a robe and leather pants.

“I have decided to accept that I am a fallen noble. I must stand firm and with confidence.”

The image Aiselin had of a fallen noblewoman was more like that of a woman full of vitality who overcame adversity than someone wandering through dark alleys.

If she saw it that way, there was no reason to correct her.

After checking his appearance, Dereck opened the door.

He saw Aiselin sitting against the hallway wall, her face buried between her knees.

It was something he could never have imagined while they discussed philosophy or history at Rose Hall.

Since getting involved in her family’s affairs, this truth had become evident: Aiselin was much more naive than he had thought.

Apparently, she had been quite skilled at playing the role of a noble lady until now. After all, in aristocratic circles, one did not get involved in such trivial incidents.

“Are you dressed?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really dressed?”

“Yes.”

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Dereck answered without changing his tone.

Aiselin raised her head abruptly, quickly entered the room, and sat at a table in the corner.

She cleared her throat, regained her polite expression, and spoke in an archaic manner.

“Forgive the spectacle.”

“No problem. You came to talk about Lady Siern, right?”

“Yes… We simply parted ways after a scandal…”

“How did Lady Siern react?”

“She seemed bewildered… but I don’t think she has completely closed her heart.”

From the beginning, Aiselin and Dereck had already foreseen this.

Aiselin would be the right person to embrace, understand, listen, empathize, and console.

Dereck would be in charge of scolding, getting angry, punishing, repressing, and instilling fear.

It was expected that, if both played their roles well, Siern would eventually open up to Aiselin.

From the beginning, Aiselin had expressed her doubts about the propriety of Dereck assuming the role of the villain.

But Dereck did not care about that.

Gaining affection or hostility was simply a matter of correcting mindsets. He was a man focused on results, not on human relationships.

Even so, Aiselin looked at him out of the corner of her eye or asked if he was okay, as if she felt guilty. Each time, Dereck simply replied that he was fine.

“In any case, I don’t think we should rush too much. We could say our excellent teamwork is paying off.”

“…”

“I know… I’m not good at acting. Even after taking classes with the best actors of the Levelton company, it didn’t work…”

Aiselin finally confessed. And it was true that a crisis nearly broke out due to her poor performance.

“It’s strange, isn’t it? I can hide my emotions in casual talk, but… when I try to act naturally, I stutter…”

“Not just you, Lady Aiselin. Acting is difficult and stressful by nature.”

“And here I am, being consoled again by Sir Dereck… I didn’t come to the north for this…”

Aiselin sighed deeply, then shook her head and clenched her fist.

“It’s no time to get discouraged. After all, I’m being paid, so I have to do my part…”

“It doesn’t matter if you act or not. You’re doing quite well.”

“Don’t praise me so much, Sir Dereck. I already told you that I have accepted my status as a fallen noble.”

What is the point of pointing out something you already know?

“Ugh…”

“And even though there were some clumsy moments at first, you did very well afterward.”

“R-really?”

When Aiselin looked at him, Dereck was direct.

“Yes. The trembling of your fingers, your insecure voice just before receiving the fireball… it was realistic. Extraordinary. Lady Siern must have been completely fooled.”

“That… wasn’t acting…”

“…”

“I was really scared… How can you not tremble when a fireball the size of a house is heading toward you?… I could barely hold back the tears, but… showing fear seemed undignified to me…”

Dereck decided it was better not to say anything else. Praising or criticizing would do no good.

“Anyway… it’s a relief that Lady Siern has opened up a bit. I’ve been investigating and I’ve found some concerning things.”

“Really?”

When Aiselin raised her head, she saw several documents and books on the table that Dereck had reviewed.

There were service records, Siern’s routines collected by the servants…

And, curiously, there were also historical records of the “Dawn War” that took place in the north.

*Why is he reading history books…?*

While Aiselin frowned with doubt, Dereck finished drying his hair and sat across from her.

“In summary, it seems Lady Siern really has killed a lot of people. The rumors about her were not groundless.”

“…”

“Lord Melverot told us to set aside any doubts while instructing Siern. But how could we fulfill our mission with such superficial information? We have to find out everything.”

Seeing Dereck’s serious expression, Aiselin felt a chill.

When that man committed to something, he achieved it at any cost. She had seen him complete tasks that seemed impossible.

“…I also… felt that Lord Melverot was hiding something.”

“That is the key. We don’t know what it is, but it’s clear it’s something Lord Melverot doesn’t want to be revealed.”

“…Sir Dereck. Lord Melverot is a hero of the north, one of the few six-star mages on the continent… Is it really wise to discover something he wants to keep hidden…?”

“If we manage to become confidants who share secrets, so much the better.”

Aiselin swallowed hard.

Dereck usually showed his human side, but when it came to evaluating his position and interests, he could be colder than anyone.

If he managed to discover the secret of the six-star mage Melverot, he would obtain an invaluable weapon.

And if he ended up on the same side as Melverot, there would be no better ally for Dereck’s path as a mage.

Of course, one cannot negotiate with a transcendent being. They can crush you simply with their power.

That was why he had brought Aiselin.

No matter how low her family had fallen, at least a minimum of courtesy had to be shown toward the daughter of a ducal family.

Realizing this, a cold sweat ran down Aiselin’s back. Dereck planned to use Lady Siern to somehow control Lord Melverot.

And to become a high-level mage, he would stop at nothing. That was how Dereck was.

“Sir Dereck…”

“…”

“Do you have any… suspicions?”

Dereck only spoke when he was sure.

He did not make irresponsible comments based on unfounded assumptions. If he hadn’t said anything until now, it was because he didn’t yet have clear evidence to support his judgment.

But, since Aiselin had been so direct, he couldn’t simply ignore her, as they were in the same situation. Dereck hesitated for a moment, cracked his knuckles, and finally answered.

“Miss Aiselin, what kind of person do you think Lady Siern is?”

“Eh? Eh? Well… although she has some flaws… she’s actually very pretty… if she receives the proper education, she seems like someone who could become a fine lady… like a diamond in the rough, don’t you think?”

“A person like a diamond in the rough?”

“Yes, yes… that kind of person.”

“Hmm, are you sure?”

“…What do you mean?”

Aiselin swallowed instantly. She had to reconsider what Dereck had just said.

However, even after reorganizing her thoughts, Dereck’s intention became more or less clear.

The gaze of Dereck, sitting calmly and maintaining eye contact, was piercing.

His pale red eyes peeked through his white, drooping hair. It was exactly the same look that had awakened a strange fear in Siern.

This man had spent his entire life wandering through labyrinths, investigating and killing countless monsters.

If you piled up the corpses he left behind, they would form a mountain, and the blood of those creatures soaked his body and soul in a way that could never be erased.

That known fact… seemed to have meaning.

Aiselin’s fingertips began to tremble and she held her breath.