Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 22

The Border Count of Belmiere, the youngest among the western empire's influential figures, was a man who seemed perfect in every way.

Ruling over the entire coastal region south of the Velkos Peninsula, he single-handedly managed sixty percent of the trade routes leading to Evelstain, while the northern part of his territory housed the continent's largest magic academy—the Drest Academy.

Not only that, but he also governed the vast granary region stretching along the northern coast. It was often joked that if all the annual taxes from the Belmiere County were converted to gold coins, they could fill an ocean.

He was literally swimming in a sea of gold. Yet despite his life being one continuous success, there was one thing lacking—the blessing of children.

His eldest son, Ryner, was too busy indulging in gambling and debauchery to care about anything else, while the youngest, Leonard, had suddenly declared he would devote himself to divine will and left on a pilgrimage, never to be seen except during major family events. It was enough to drive anyone mad.

The only saving grace was his second child, Elente, who had her head screwed on straight and remained dutiful to her responsibilities. She was essentially the Count of Belmiere's sole treasure amidst his constant headaches over his children.

"It's time for your magic sparring practice, Lady Elente."

"...Has it already been that long?"

Lady Elente, the apple of Count Belmiere's eye, had arrived in Evelstain's noble district some time ago to begin her preliminary social training.

She was seated in the corridor of a large domed building beside the noble district's plaza—a place nobles called the Cultural Promenade, where various salons and small clubs gathered to foster friendships and build connections.

After finishing a gathering with the Rosea Salon, the only social circle she was part of, Elente had taken advantage of a brief break to skim through written reports from her territory.

"I heard there's a tea party being held by the Velerun Viscount family. If you plan to attend, we can postpone the sparring session."

"No need. I have no interest in wasting time on such childish games."

Though still over a year away from her coming-of-age ceremony, the girl was already mature beyond her years.

Count Belmiere had already given her hands-on experience in various practical matters—supervising crop cultivation and harvests in the granary region, reviewing livestock management reports, handling financial affairs like land taxes and rents, dispute mediation, and even military tasks like managing private soldiers and weapons.

Rumors circulated that he might even amend the family's long-standing traditions to pass his inheritance to her, making her the family head. If true, she would become the first female count in the western empire.

"..."

Though still in the early stages of learning under the guidance of elderly retainers, Elente often found the noble social scene to be nothing more than childish play compared to the real administrative work she was already handling.

Still, given societal expectations, she fulfilled her duties as a noble lady. Yet whenever she received marriage proposals, she couldn't help but scoff at the flowery words men used to flatter and inflate themselves.

She aspired to be a ruler, not to be subjugated to any man. As if to prove this, the red-haired girl stood up with an imposing air, letting her crimson locks cascade down.

"I'm feeling good today. I might even be able to use 2nd Grade Magic."

"Greed serves no one well. Magic mastery must be built steadily and solidly."

As Elente muttered to herself while leaving the corridor, her elderly magic mentor calmly advised her.

Upon entering the magic dueling grounds in the northeastern part of the noble district, Elente suddenly grew curious.

"But... I don't recall any scheduled sparring sessions today. Who am I supposed to practice with?"

"Today, to practice offensive magic more seriously, we've specially recruited a commoner as your opponent."

"What?"

Elente, who had been walking into the dueling grounds while adjusting her dress, shot a sharp glance at her elderly mentor.

The old man was a gentleman named Pellmier.

A high-ranking retainer personally scouted by Count Belmiere from the northern empire, he was an elderly mage from the Maxton Viscount family. Though primarily a 3-Star Detection Magic specialist, he was also quite knowledgeable in combat and summoning magic. And he was, to the bone, an aristocrat through and through.

Elente herself was no stranger to noble society's privileges and elitism, but she still clashed with Pellmier on certain matters.

Like now.

"The person standing opposite you today is just a commoner, so feel free to practice your magic as much as you like. If they get a little hurt, we can always compensate them with a few gold coins."

"Did you come all the way from the freezing north to Evelstain just to teach me how to beat up people, Master Pellmier?"

"That is the nature of sparring."

"Didn't you always teach me to display propriety, elegance, and grace?"

"That applies to duels between nobles."

Elente paused mid-step and glared up at her mentor with narrowed eyes.

In this era, the magical proficiency of commoners was pitiful at best.

At most, a commoner willing to take a beating for a few coins would only be at the beginner level of 1-Star Magic—if they even knew magic at all.

Pellmier remained unfazed by the girl's sharp gaze, standing firm with his hands clasped behind his back.

He knew Elente's temperament well.

She considered going all out against an inferior opponent disgraceful and saw unleashing magic on someone who could barely resist as barbaric.

Unlike Pellmier, who viewed commoners as somewhere between beasts and humans, Elente at least believed they deserved basic human dignity.

"Still, we've recruited a commoner who can use 1st Grade Magic. They won't be completely defenseless."

"Is that supposed to make it better...?"

"If you truly respect your opponent, you should give it your all. Isn't that the etiquette of the dueling grounds?"

For a man so stubborn, he certainly had a silver tongue. Elente could only sigh deeply.

"Then today, we'll focus on mastering combat and confusion magic among the 1st Grade spells."

"If it feels off, I'm stopping immediately."

"With that attitude, you'll never improve."

Elente ignored her mentor's words as she strode toward the dueling grounds.

'Good grief, he's just a kid.'

Elente couldn't help but frown again.

The boy sitting on the opposite side of the dueling grounds, adjusting his boots, looked no older than Elente herself.

Most commoner 1-Star mages were much older.

Mastering grade-level magic at a young age was nearly impossible for commoners. This boy was likely just some lucky brat who happened to manifest a bit of magical power.

Judging by his appearance, he was probably a mercenary.

Pellmier must have put out a request through one of the mercenary groups on Tavern Street.

"..."

Noticing Elente's arrival, the boy stood up and bowed respectfully.

His clean tunic, leather belt, and polished sword scabbard suggested he wasn't some street vagrant.

His hair was snow-white, and his eyes, like Elente's, were red.

For some reason, he felt oddly out of place. Though clearly around Elente's age, an inexplicable maturity radiated from him.

'...Maybe he's not just some nobody?'

"My name is Derek."

"Elente."

She didn't bother giving her full name. He wasn't worth the formality, and he'd probably heard it anyway.

Yet the name"Derek"felt strangely familiar, as if she'd heard it mentioned in passing long ago.

Elente tapped her chin a few times, lost in thought, but dredging up old memories wasn't easy.

If she remembered a commoner's name, there was usually a reason. There must be some significance to why this one felt familiar.

After a few moments of puzzled contemplation, nothing came to mind. Her wavy red hair merely tickled the back of her neck.

"How much magic can you use?"

"I can handle some 1st Grade Magic."

So he did know grade-level magic.

For a boy his age, that was impressive—but given that Elente was already nearing 2nd Grade proficiency, the gap between them was obvious.

Elente considered sending him away and glanced at Pellmier for his reaction. But Pellmier merely shook his head with closed eyes. That stubborn old man always knew how to make her sigh.

"Do you know the basic etiquette of magic duels?"

"Yes. Only the fundamentals, but I've seen and heard enough to get by."

"Good. Resist as much as you can. I'll make this quick."

Magical energy began gathering at Elente's fingertips. The force of her mana made her crimson hair float slightly, and the frills of her luxurious dress fluttered.

Among nobles, Elente was exceptionally gifted in magic—her power had manifested naturally when she was just a child. She was truly a prodigy.

There was no need to show off against some mercenary brat. With an expressionless face, she mechanically channeled her mana.

Ending this quickly would leave a better taste for both of them—Elente wouldn't have to demean herself, and the boy could walk away with easy coin.

Just as Elente was gathering more mana—

"Resist as much as I can... To what extent?"

"Huh?"

"It would help if you specified how much resistance you'd like me to show."

Elente stared at Derek in disbelief.

Despite standing before a fully trained 1st Grade Mage gathering mana, the boy showed no sign of nervousness.

"What kind of... nonsense is that?"

"I'm a mercenary. As you know, mercenaries take pride in fulfilling their clients'requests to the letter."

Elente searched his eyes for any hint of jest, but he was dead serious.

"I was hired to assist in magical training. If that's the request, then how much resistance would best help Lady Elente improve?"

Unbeknownst to Elente, Derek's mercenary career had ingrained this principle in him. No matter what, he was a seasoned professional.

A mercenary's foremost duty was achieving the client's goal—whether slaying monsters, confronting enemies, or escorting caravans. Every action revolved around the employer's objective.

If the client wanted to improve their magic, and paid accordingly, Derek would commit fully to that purpose. Hence, he stared at Elente with unwavering focus.

She had told him to take a few hits and lose, but if the core of the request was truly magical improvement, Derek's approach would naturally differ.

This professionalism was why employers specifically sought him out in the cutthroat mercenary world. Reputation wasn't earned lightly in that underworld.

But all of that was irrelevant to a noble lady who lived above the clouds.

"Tch."

Elente scoffed and waved him off.

"I already told you. Resist with everything you've got."

"Understood."

- Whoosh!

Dismissing Derek's pointless question, Elente unleashed a surge of mana from her palm.

Even among 1st Grade spells, quality varied by the caster. Proving this, the magical energy flowing from Elente's hand was far superior to standard 1st Grade Magic.

- Fwoom!

"Winds that sweep the earth..."

Elente instantly began an incantation, conjuring the 1st Grade Magic"Shockwave."

Most combat spells took elemental forms, but this one simply generated pure force to blast opponents away.

Mages often used it to create distance in battle, and in duels, it was a quick way to knock opponents out of bounds.

Without proper countermeasures, one wouldn't even realize what happened before being flung over the walls.

Such brutish magic was usually forbidden in dignified duels, but Elente just wanted to send this commoner flying and toss him a coin on his way out.

As the spell surged toward Derek, his crimson eyes widened slightly. Elente felt an odd discomfort in that moment.

- Swish!

Derek sidestepped lightly, evading the shockwave entirely.

Shockwaves had no visible form—one had to sense the mana's range and trajectory to dodge. It required both developed magical perception and agility.

In that instant, Elente narrowed her eyes and reassessed him.

'Maybe he's not just some nobody...?'

She quickly gathered more mana, manifesting the 1st Grade Magic"Ice Spear."

Diela's ice spears had been small and few in number, but Elente's—already mastered—were larger than a person's torso and numbered over a dozen.

'Still...! I don't want to waste energy, so let's end this quickly...!'

Firing countless ice spears from all angles would leave no room to dodge.

Even if he could evade one or two instinctively, overwhelming numbers would render his agility useless.

Just as Elente prepared to launch them—

- Crack! Bang! Crrrash!

By the time she processed it, every ice spear surrounding her had been shattered.

- Tinkling...

Time seemed to slow for Elente.

Glittering shards of ice drifted downward around her in slow motion. Her widened eyes reflected their shimmering fragments.

All she saw was Derek lowering his clenched fist, having just released his grip.

She barely caught the moment he seized the flow of mana.

In that brief window, he must have conjured as many mana arrows as there were ice spears and destroyed them all.

The problem was—she hadn't seen any of it. No incantation, no sluggish bottlenecks in mana flow.

His magic moved as naturally as flowing water, making it impossible to perceive.

Each arrow had struck its target with pinpoint precision, showcasing a level of mana control far beyond ordinary.

Had he introduced himself as a 1st Grade Mage?

Even among 1st Grade Mages, was this what peak training looked like?

The boy flexed his fingers and shook out his wrist as if loosening tension.

Elente's eyes narrowed further.

She leaped back, gathering mana once more. Her expression had turned deadly serious.

With her sharp magical senses, she had grasped the truth in just two exchanges.

This was no opponent to be taken lightly.