Chapter 8

Chapter 8
## Chapter 8

—“What does it truly mean to teach someone, Master?”

While absorbed in the study of magic, Dereck asked Katia that question.
They were inside the carriage, returning from a monster extermination mission near the border.

Dereck had some wounds, and Katia was treating them, applying the appropriate care.

—Why do you ask that all of a sudden?

—“…I’m just curious.”

Having explored the world of mercenaries since he was young, Dereck often saw fighters serving their masters under the pretext of a master-disciple relationship.

It seemed illogical to him how even those with harsh and cruel temperaments could act with such reverence toward their masters.

This piqued a great curiosity in him.

—“I’ve seen people who wouldn’t hesitate to stab someone in the back or yell at strangers completely suppress their nature in front of their masters. Hmm… Perhaps it’s because you are somewhat kind, Master Katia, but is everyone like that?”

—It would be a mistake to assume that everything that happens in the harsh world of mercenaries applies here. Not all master-disciple relationships are like that.

Katia spoke in a low voice while bandaging Dereck’s arm.

—“And you, Dereck, are relatively easy to teach. You have an exceptional talent for magic, you assimilate knowledge quickly, and you are always willing to cooperate.”

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—“Isn’t it natural to cooperate when one is trying to learn something?”

—«That would be ideal, yes. But the world doesn’t always work according to ideals, does it? Sometimes there are those who despise their masters, grinding their teeth, ready to lash out at any provocation.»

Dereck rubbed his chin pensively.

If a disciple is someone who bares their teeth at their master, can they really be called a disciple? Is it even necessary to teach such people?

However, as Katia said, the world does not always follow the ideal path.

—“If you had to teach such a rebellious and ungrateful student, what would you do, Master?”

—“I would try to understand them until the end, embrace them, and guide them.”

—“…That sounds too idealistic.”

—“…Yes, you’re right. But, ultimately, the essence of teaching lies in guiding the student along a better path, embracing them and accompanying them.”

Her tone was informal.

—“If communication through understanding and compassion is not possible, then we must look for a different starting point, but we must not forget 그 essence.”

—“A different starting point? What would that be?”

Katia continued bandaging in silence, her gaze lowered.

—“Instilling fear.”

Dereck closed his mouth in silence.

—“There are occasions when one must start from there.”

***

—“Treat others with consideration and respect.”

Dereck’s cold voice echoed in the silent room.

In Lady Diella’s messy room, stained with dirty water, Dereck spoke again amidst the silence.

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“Stand up.”

Lady Diella, her eyes trembling, stared fixedly at Dereck and, following his order, stood up.

And slowly, approaching Dereck, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face.

*Slap!*

Dereck’s head turned to the side.

Diella, panting, spoke with a voice burning with fury.

“You… who do you think you are…? You…”

*Slap!*

Before Diella could finish, Dereck’s hand moved again.

This time, Diella turned her head to the other side. Her pupils dilated to the maximum.

Looking at Dereck, his expression remained unchanged. His red eyes stared fixedly at Diella.

She had grown up like a flower in a greenhouse, and he like the wild grass by the side of the road.

In that instant, they felt the abyss that stood between them; an emotion they seemed to experience for the first time overwhelmed them.

That emotion was fear: fear of the unknown.

“As I have already said, when dealing with others, one must be considerate and respectful.”

“Shut your mouth!”

Diella, with her small hands, managed to grab Dereck’s robe by the collar.

No matter how hard she tried, it was useless. No matter how much the girl repeated her malicious words, Dereck did not even flinch.

What is happening here? Why is no one stopping it?

Hearing the commotion, the butler Delron quickly made his way through the servants and ran inside.

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The elderly butler, alarmed, reprimanded the confused servants and immediately stepped between Dereck and Diella.

He knew Dereck. He was the one who had come with the group of mercenaries, seeking a master along with Lady Aiselin.

“Let’s stop here. To continue would be extremely dangerous.”

Dangerous.

That word seemed more like a warning for Dereck than for Diella.

For a commoner to dare touch the Duke’s daughter was a serious crime, punished by mutilation without hesitation.

“If this ends here, you might be left crippled for life, but at least you would survive.” That is what Butler Delron meant to say.

However, Dereck, with indifference, pulled a document with the Duke’s seal from his coat and threw it onto the tea table.

The content was not complicated.

“His Grace, Grand Duke Duplain, has granted me full authority over Lady Diella’s education. Whatever methods I choose, remember that they have his approval.”

“What are you saying?”

It was a document that even the butler had not seen. He was stunned. That meant it had not been sent officially through the butler; the Grand Duke had written it directly.

Butler Delron doubted its authenticity. For a commoner to attack a noble was not just a moral issue of violence. It was a challenge to the authority of the nobility.

If actions like this were permitted, it would be a great dishonor to the entire nobility. Nobles had to maintain their superiority at all times.

How could Grand Duke Duplain, at the pinnacle of power, allow such a thing?

When Butler Delron looked at Dereck with that question in mind, Dereck responded as if reading his thoughts.

“Prince Leigh asked you to investigate something, didn’t he?”

“…!”

The Duke’s second son, Leigh, had lost all hope in Diella’s rehabilitation.

He had changed plans and was thinking of sending her to a monastery on the border. It was part of the plan he had ordered the butler to investigate.

Grand Duke Duplain had rejected the proposal, but he felt overwhelmed. The fact that such a suggestion was presented to him so boldly meant that the situation was unsustainable.

Not only the servants of the pavilion, but even the servants of the main house were exhausted by her tantrums. As the head of the family, he could not turn a blind eye forever.

Therefore, this decision was a drastic measure that a father, loving his daughter, had to take with determination.

If this extreme measure failed, the illness would be considered incurable.

“Lady Diella, you don’t have many opportunities left.”

At that implicit warning, Delron’s expression hardened.

Most importantly, Dereck’s actions were hard to believe.

A boy, a mercenary turned mage. Although he had become wild, like a being born of nature, no commoner possessed such audacity.

Even counting on the Grand Duke’s certificate backing him, it was rare for anyone to dare slap a noble lady.

Grand Duke Duplain had a great capacity for judging a person’s potential.

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At that moment, Delron did not know if he had foreseen it or not.

***

“Brother! Brother! Please calm down for a moment, brother.”

*Creak!*

That night, once the situation had settled down, Dereck was organizing his belongings in the guest room the butler had provided.

A man, filled with rage, burst into the room where Dereck was staying.

“Are you the mercenary Aiselin brought? Yes, you’re the one I saw outside the audience chamber today.”

“Brother! No, calm down before you act! Brother!”

Valerian Leonard Duplain, the eldest son of the Duplain family. A handsome man, with long blond hair and a tall figure, his face livid, grabbed the collar of Dereck’s robe.

He had been designated heir to the Duplain family, known for his kind and affectionate character.

However, there was no trace of kindness on his face as he stared at Dereck, gripping him by the shirt collar.

“You dare… you dare…?”

“Brother!”

Leigh, trying to pull him away, seemed desperate.

Dereck, still held by the collar, listened and then responded calmly.

“This matter has His Grace’s permission.”

He stated the obvious fact with great respect. At this, Valerian caught his breath for an instant, then closed his eyes tightly and released Dereck’s collar.

“…Ah.”

Then Valerian sighed deeply, rubbed his face as if washing it without water, and said:

“Follow me. Leigh, let’s go train.”

“No, if I don’t follow you, who knows what will happen…”

“I am not going to argue about this anymore.”

With that, Valerian looked at Dereck, signaling for him to follow, and walked out the open door.

Leigh watched Valerian leave, took a deep breath, and patted Dereck on the shoulder.

“Yeah. I heard what happened earlier. I’m on your side. Diella needs a good slap to make her react. Does she really think being noble will protect her from everything?”

“…No.”

“Anyway, she’s hopeless. Well, she’ll be sent to the monastery soon, so just hold on a bit longer. Valerian… he’s too kind, but he’s a good guy. He won’t hurt you, so don’t worry… Anyway, I’ll say goodbye now.”

Leigh, with his robust build and square jaw, sighed deeply and followed him through the open door.

“My God… What’s the point of clinging to a lost cause…? Brother, seriously.”

Leigh’s angry expression as he left didn’t seem very cheerful either. It gave the impression of having completely lost hope in Diella.

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The room Valerian led Dereck to was on the first floor of the mansion’s main building.

At first glance, it looked like a place that had been neglected for a long time. However, despite that, not a speck of dust could be seen, as if it were meticulously cleaned regularly.

*Whish!*

With a magical gesture from Valerian, the chandeliers scattered around the room lit up, revealing a glimpse of the interior.

It was a small and pretty room.

On one side was a bed decorated with pretty bows and ribbons, and on the other, a bookshelf neatly arranged with small and charming dolls. A closet full of beautiful lace dresses and another bookshelf with various books: it was a room in a classic but childish style. Too spacious for a single girl, but given her position, it was not unusual.

—This was Diella’s room when she stayed in the main house —Valerian said in a low voice.

Now she lived semi-isolated in her own pavilion, but apparently, Diella was different when she was here.

In a corner of the room, several canvases and painting materials were arranged. While Dereck observed them, Valerian offered an explanation.

“Diella loved to paint. Especially landscapes. It started as part of her social education, but she became very interested and always came to show me her works with joy.”

“…”

“I often remember how she would run to me asking me to look at her paintings.”

As he walked among the canvases, Dereck’s gaze landed on one covered with an immaculate white cloth.

Noticing his gaze, Valerian revealed it. A carefully painted sunset began to emerge.

The painting showed a young girl leaning on her maid’s back, contemplating a magnificent sunset.

However, the edges of the canvas were empty.

“This is the last painting she worked on. As you can see, it is incomplete.”

“Incomplete?”

“Diella always liked to paint, but she rarely finished her works. She would leave the margins blank and only paint the parts she liked.”

Looking again, it was evident that the landscape was only partially covered, with empty spaces here and there.

While they observed the paintings, Valerian remained seated on the edge of a table in the corner of the room.

Then he pressed his forehead, sighed, and said:

“…I apologize for letting my emotions get the better of me earlier. I am truly sorry.”

His expression denoted remorse. It was not easy for a noble of his rank to apologize to a commoner.

“I have always promised to be rational, but I acted impulsively at a crucial moment. Especially when family is involved. In that sense, I am still far from being a competent leader.”

“…May I ask why you showed me this room?”

“…I wanted to reassure you. She is not a girl who deserves to be insulted and mistreated in that way.”

Valerian spoke with a grave voice, explaining calmly.

“But at some point, she became obsessed with her lineage, belittling those she considered inferior. I don’t know why… what triggered this change. She started to change little by little, and recently she has become the person you know.”

“…”

“I simply… I don’t understand it. Why did she become such a fanatic about her lineage? What made Diella become so bitter? She struggled to learn magic and was imperfect in many ways, but… she always lived with joy. She used to paint what she liked and was a lovely girl who always enjoyed lively conversations with her family.”

Valerian stood up from the table where he was sitting, straightened the formal clothes worn by nobles, and bowed his head. Dereck could not help but feel stunned.

Although the power struggle was far from occurring due to the Duke’s good health, he was still the next head of the noble Duplain family.

His social position did not allow him to bow indifferently before a commoner. Beyond pride, it went against noble etiquette.

“I have spoken with my father. If things continue like this, Diella will be sent to the monastery.”

“That would be a problem.”

“If only she could master a first-level spell, perhaps I could convince my father. At least, she could prepare for her social debut. So, please… I beg you… give Diella one more chance.”

Valerian raised his head with a serious expression. He understood the urgency, but from Dereck’s perspective, that was an instant headache.

According to the servants, when something didn’t go her way, she hit people, broke things out of frustration, insulted her servants, and flaunted her status.

Valerian’s story was hard to believe; she was a spoiled child, a failure, someone with a ruined character. Rehabilitating her into a refined lady and teaching her magic was like asking for a miracle.

The record of having hired 20 tutors in 8 months suddenly made sense.

“…”

Even so, Dereck decided to take another look at Diella’s room to organize his thoughts.

The canvases were full of varied landscapes. The blankets were carefully folded. Delicate bows and ribbons.

While he silently examined the bookshelf, he saw many volumes used for homeschooling.

Books on embroidery, flower arranging, and horse riding. Even the expensive magic books were only a small part of them. It seemed that, as the daughter of a noble family, she had her own magic education program.

“…Hmm.”

Dereck rubbed his chin and slowly examined the bookshelf. They were all magic books about etiquette. Of course. It was the House of Duplain.

He took one and flipped through it; the signs of careful reading were evident. There were annotations and reflections on practice written everywhere.

It was evident. Diella had not given up from the beginning. Although her efforts were exhausting, the results never came. The magnitude of the effort mattered, but the direction it took was just as important.

Seeing the shelf full of etiquette books based on theory, Dereck couldn’t help but think the same.

“Let’s try.”

Dereck returned the book he had taken out to the shelf and said it to Valerian. Then, once more, he put on his cloak and hat and left the room.

His steps did not lead him toward his bedroom, but toward the mansion’s pavilion, surrounded by rosebushes. The darkness of midnight greeted him as he silently crossed the garden.