There Are No Bad Young Ladies in the World

＜ How the Sun Rises (1) ＞

A long darkness had fallen over the Duplain family.

It is a seemingly endless succession of nights.

Rayg, the next head of the collapsing family, sat in the dark family office, occasionally letting out a deep sigh.

The night is long.

When will the sunlight ever reach this dark corner… It was an uncertain time.

*

“A new 4-star mage has emerged.”

“Is it the eldest son of the Grodel family in the south? From what I heard, his growth was quite sluggish.”

“No, it’s from the Ravenclaw barony in the southwest of the continent.”

The royal magic advisor, Kohella, who was skimming through the books left by the great mage Adelbert, put down the book for a moment and frowned.

The personal research room of the chief magic advisor of the Gremfort Imperial Palace, known as the heart of the continent.

When one of his most loyal subordinates, Roen, reported this, the corners of Kohella’s wrinkled mouth drooped.

“It’s a family name I’m not familiar with.”

“He is a person who was recently granted a title by Sir Melverot himself. He is a lord who ruled the Rodellen region in the southwest of the continent, and I understand that it has not been long since he had his coming-of-age ceremony.”

“…Derek Lydorf Ravenclaw?”

“Yes. You remember correctly.”

Kohella, who was well-versed in the noble affairs of the continent, remembered the name of the person who had recently been granted a title.

However, he did not remember every single person with weak power, but he could at least recall Derek’s name because he was under the protection of Melverot, a 6-star combat mage.

The northern ruler, who rarely stepped forward to protect someone, had actively granted him a title, so he remembered the name.

From what he had learned, Derek was a magic teacher for Melverot’s cherished daughter, Siern, so he hadn’t paid much attention.

It was common for renowned nobles to try to tightly grasp useful magic teachers by offering various carrots.

However, it was a bit surprising that even Melberoth, known as the lone wolf, was eager to support the magic teacher for the sake of his child’s education.

“Hmm…”

Kohella pondered for a moment, resting her chin on her hand. She felt like she had heard his name somewhere before.

With her good memory, it didn’t take long for her to identify the source of that déjà vu.

He was the one who protected the nobles when the Duplain family was entangled in necromancy. His contributions played a significant role in him being awarded a title.

Moreover, his name was mentioned again, possibly because he was involved in the major incident at the Beltus mansion.

‘There are too many coincidences to call it a mere chance.’

It had only been a few years since he came of age, yet he had become a 4-star mage. The implications of that fact were significant.

As far as Kohella knew, there were only two people on this continent who had achieved such rapid magical accomplishments: Melberoth and Drest.

It was an extraordinary achievement, no matter who looked at it.

‘If the imperial family awards him a medal of merit and announces it, it will cause quite a stir. I hope to meet him before that happens.’

A 4-star mage was equivalent to a quasi-lord.

When a mage reached that level, the imperial family would personally assess their numbers and send each one a medal of merit to congratulate and acknowledge their magical achievements.

Of course, the medal of merit carried various meanings.

It implied that from now on, they were under the strict supervision of the imperial family, and they should not act rashly.

“Even though the political situation among the nobles in the southwestern part of the continent is chaotic, the emergence of another quasi-lord mage is significant. I should visit the vicinity of Ebelstein soon and look into what happened at the Beltus mansion.”

Kohella chuckled.

This old archmage was obsessed with magic. His desire was so intense that he twisted even the so-called taboos and moral codes under his pursuit of magic, to an extent that ordinary people couldn’t even fathom.

Feeling like she had found a kindred spirit after a long time, she let out an even more sinister smile.

*

In the Ebelstein noble district, centered around the Rosea Salon, news of significant political changes was spreading.

There were two major pieces of news.

The first was the faltering Beltus family, and the second was the rise of two emerging families.

The three traditionally influential families in the southwestern continent were Duplain, Beltus, and Belmiard.

However, while the Duplain and Beltus families were staggering due to necromancy magic, the Renouel Count family, led by the hero of Rodentz Island, was rising in power.

And the next name being mentioned was the Ravenclaw Baron family.

The baron family from the remote Rodellen region, which produced a 4-star mage, a quasi-lord level mage, was not originally influential enough to affect the political landscape… but the fact that the head of the family, Baron Derek, was a commoner from the slums was shocking.

– “Did you hear? It seems the title of the Ravenclaw Baron family will be elevated even higher.”

– “I heard that His Majesty Gutrel himself mentioned the name… It’s certainly surprising.”

In the academic debate room of Elfontaine Hall, where the Rosea Salon meeting was in full swing, two noble ladies were whispering to each other.

The youngest of the Duplain family, Diela Catherine Duplain, sat in a corner with a sullen expression, resting her chin on her hand, quietly listening to their gossip.

The fame of the magic teacher Derek had actually been well established for quite some time.

The Ravenclaw Academy he founded was also thriving, and the noble ladies who learned magic from him were achieving remarkable accomplishments that were visibly noticeable.

Because Derek had risen from the very bottom with nothing but his magical achievements, the magic theories he taught were also easy to understand and efficient.

As such, his rise to the rank of a 4-star mage and becoming a figure significant enough to attract the attention of the royal family inevitably led to an even higher evaluation.

– “I heard the Ravenclaw Academy is currently on break… but when spring comes and the weather warms up, they’ll probably accept new students again, right?”

– “I’ve already spoken to my mother about it. While there’s much to learn from the Rosea Salon meetings, I think it’s better to also attend the academy’s classes to truly improve my fundamental magic skills.”

No matter what anyone says, the center of the southwestern continent’s social scene is the Ebelstein noble district, and the most renowned academic society within it is the Rosea Salon.

Nevertheless, among the noble ladies of the salon, there were already a few who wanted to enroll in Derek’s academy.

Trends are something that emerge in an instant, and if you fall behind even a little, you are bound to be left behind.

Since opening the training center, Derek had taken in many disciples, but among them, there were only four who could be considered his direct disciples. By now, those four direct disciples were regarded as Derek’s greatest achievements.

Diella of Duplain.

Ellente of Belmiard.

Denise of Beltus.

Siern of Rochester.

Each one was such an outstanding individual that it was easy to foresee that Derek, with his deep master-disciple relationship with them, would wield significant influence in the southwestern nobility in the future.

In short, it was a sign that authority was beginning to emerge in Derek’s actions.

The ones most sensitive to this were the young ladies of the Ebelstein noble district.

“Um, um… Lady Diella.”

Perhaps it was due to that influence, but there were indeed some absurd changes happening around Diella.

“I, I’m sorry about last time… Lady Diella…”

“…”

When Diella looked at her with a growling expression, one of the young ladies who had once quarreled with Diella came and bowed her head awkwardly.

Diella could only make a puzzled expression for a moment.

In fact, there were so many young ladies who had quarreled with Diella that she couldn’t remember each one. It was even hard to recall why she had fallen out with this particular young lady.

Supreme and self-centered. There is no better phrase to describe Diella.

In the Ebelstein noble district, the only people who could control this young lioness were Aiseline and Derek.

Both of them were busy, so there was no one who could control this rampaging tyrant.

From trivial power struggles to seat competitions at salon gatherings, to childish bullying… Diella had never once lost to the relentless gazes of the noble young ladies who challenged her. As a result, she made quite a few enemies.

However, one day, when she came to her senses, the most arrogant and domineering young lady in front of Diella was bowing her head.

“I, I think I misunderstood Lady Diela during that time…”

From noble mtl dot com

“…What are you plotting?”

“N-no, I’m not plotting anything. I just… I gathered the courage because I want to clear up the misunderstanding and… maintain a good relationship from now on…”

Even just staring at Diela gives the feeling of a growl.

She is fierce, uncontrollable, and seems ready to bare her teeth and devour at any moment.

She was a mad dog who would pour tea without hesitation and slap someone across the face if she was displeased.

Even while trembling at the sight, the lady with her head bowed remained still in her place.

Seeing that sight, Diela slowly began to understand. There must be a reason why the noble ladies of Ebelstein, who are more interested in power dynamics than anyone else, bow their heads like this.

‘She must want to establish a connection with Derek.’

Derek is a person who devotes himself to teaching magic to each student at the academy, but he holds his four direct disciples in special regard.

He goes beyond merely passing on magic, imparting all sorts of wisdom as a mentor and life companion… It seemed that enduring some humiliation was worth it to become his direct disciple.

“…”

Of course, it was obvious that the beast-like Diela would not show a favorable response to such transparent actions.

Diela smiled faintly, but a cross-shaped vein bulged on her forehead.

She placed her hands on the shoulders of the lady who had her head bowed and whispered in her ear.

“Do you want to die?”

“…”

“Did you think I would laugh and say ‘okay’ if you did something so obvious? What, do you think I’ll connect you with Derek?”

The truly unfortunate point is that Diela is not a generous person who would introduce Derek to other ladies.

In the first place, she was already frustrated from not being able to see him properly due to being busy, and such provocations only made her more irritable.

“You’ve got the wrong address by a long shot. But seeing your humble attitude, I’ll tell you politely. Would you please get lost?”

She let out a hollow laugh and trudged out of the salon meeting place.

Diela smirked as she crossed the corridor of the Elfontaine Hall.

Anyway, it felt like more and more people wanted to connect with Derek as time went on.

The most certain way would be to somehow get close to his four direct disciples, but at least Diela had no intention of acting as a gatekeeper.

She had no interest in doing good for others.

*

They say that flowers do not last ten days, and indeed, no one knew what life would bring.

In the past few years, the political situation in the southwestern continent had been quite turbulent.

Even Duplain, who once sought to dominate the world, stumbled, and now even Beltus was in an uncertain future.

Of course, it had been quite some time since the Duplain family suffered a great misfortune, so their power had significantly weakened compared to before, and they seemed to be entering a period of decline, but they were stabilizing to some extent.

They say that even a rich family lasts for at least three generations.

After roughly disposing of their assets and gathering help from collateral relatives, they felt they could endure better than expected.

Still, the size of the mansion and the retainers had been reduced to less than half, and the territory had been nibbled away by peripheral nobles, making their former grandeur laughable.

Raig, who inherited the position of head of the family, tried his best, but it was not enough to reverse the trend of gradual decline.

Thus, Duplain would slowly sink and eventually disappear into the annals of history.

Most nobles predicted as much.

Until Aisellin rolled up her sleeves.

“Hello, brother. I made some money.”

“…….”

After inheriting the position of head of the Duplain family and beginning to lead high-ranking retainers in earnest, Raig was staring blankly at Aisellin, who was placing leather pouches full of gold coins on the table.

“This is my share of the operating profits from the Raven Crow Training Center, and this is part of my personal training fees. I was paid in high-purity Altram gold coins, but I’ll need to exchange them to use them in Ebelstein.”

“….”

“We can cover all the retainers’ food expenses for next month… and we can completely repay the mansion restoration costs that we borrowed with bonds this month. We paid back the cash we borrowed from relatives the month before last… so it would be good to replenish the soldiers’ equipment and retrieve the collateralized artworks.”

Aisellin always worked hard at the Raven Crow Training Center.

When she first started earning small amounts of money to help restore the family, Raig was almost moved to tears.

Raig, who was wasting away in lethargy and emptiness, came to his senses as he watched Aisellin, who was trying to revive the Duplain family by saving every single silver coin.

– ‘It’s not a large amount, but I want to do more for Duplain. I believe that one day, Brother Raig will end his wandering and work hard for the family again.’

Aisellin, who smiled and did her duty, seemed to be the strongest person in the Duplain family.

Watching Aisellin, who spent even small amounts for the family… Raig gradually began to fulfill his duties as the head of the family.

He managed the retainers, sought help externally, and gradually worked to restore the prestige of Duplain.

He was always grateful to his beautiful sister, who helped him stand up, and he tried to repay her efforts.

However…

– Thud

At some point, the amount… started to become a bit strange…

“This month, we also received some payment for the magical items sold at the Raven Crow Training Center. Thankfully, Mr. Derek shared a portion of the profits with us.”

“…How much is all this…?”

“Well… I haven’t counted it all yet, but it should cover the mansion’s operating expenses for this month.”

“…It’s already more than enough. We don’t need this much.”

“Is that so? Then should we expand the stables? It seems we also need to hire a few more gardeners…”

During the heyday of the Duplain family, Raig boasted rugged muscles, but after some hardships, he had become quite haggard.

As he quietly stared at Aiseline with such an appearance, she, on the other hand, seemed to have better skin and a brighter impression compared to when Duplain was thriving… It was as if she was in the prime of her life.

He knew Aiseline was a capable younger sister, but he never imagined it would be to this extent.

To exaggerate a bit, she was supporting the Duplain family.

“The… Ravenclaw Barony seems to be experiencing an unexpected boom.”

“Yes, indeed. Thanks to that, I am also in a situation where I can pursue my own ambitions. I can’t express how happy I am to be able to help the Duplain family in this way.”

It wasn’t just at the level of giving help, she was practically supporting it.

Raig briefly wiped his face and was pondering what to say. Despite being a duke, it was quite awkward to rely on the barony’s rise for his livelihood.

– Creak

“Oh my, Aiseline sister. It’s been a while since you returned to the main house.”

“Diela! You’re still as beautiful and cute as ever! I can’t tell you how sad I am not to see your face often!”

“Yes, yes…”

Diela, who had returned from social activities in the Ebelstein noble district, appeared in the head’s office.

She always had a dissatisfied expression and was full of nerves while walking around the Rozea Salon, but… in front of Aiseline, she would lower her eyes like a meek lamb.

For those who knew Diela’s usual fierce beast-like appearance, it was a sight that would make their eyes widen in surprise.

Aiseline approached Diela with a lively smile and hugged her whole head of rich blonde hair.

Rubbing her face against Aiseline’s chest, Diela lowered her gaze shyly.

“I heard the news. There was a significant clash between the Ravenclaw Barony and Beltus.”

“Yes. Mr. Derrick took the lead and resolved it well, but he was seriously injured and is currently recuperating.”

“Is he, is he seriously injured?”

“I was very worried too, but after he returned to the barony and we checked his condition, it seems the worst is over. He will finish his recuperation during the winter and join the training center operations again in the spring.”

Diela was immediately filled with worry upon hearing the news.

Derrick was the kind of man who would risk his life if it meant achieving magical success.

Diela knew this well, and she couldn’t help but stomp her feet in anxiety.

“I understand your concern. But there’s no need to be overly burdened. He said he would visit the Duplain estate once his wounds have healed.”

“D-Derrick is coming?”

“Yes. He mentioned he wanted to discuss something with Brother Raig… something related to magical achievements…”

Raig also looked puzzled at those words.

He didn’t have much of a connection with Derrick.

However, since Aisellin was currently at the Ravenclaw training center and the Duplain family owed a great deal to the barony’s growth, they couldn’t treat him carelessly.

Raig rested his chin on his hand and fell into deep thought.

And Raig wasn’t the only one lost in thought.

‘Derrick… Derrick is coming…?’

Diela unconsciously grabbed her head and shook it, feeling restless.

The thought of meeting Derrick after such a long time made her unsure of how to present herself.

They had met a few times before and shared some stories, but Derrick always had a way of making people nervous.

His status and position had changed significantly since the first time Diela met him.

He even had a dazzling array of disciples like Ellentena, Drinis, and Siern. Each one of them was extraordinary.

To stand shoulder to shoulder with them, she felt she had to show something as well.