Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 53

'Diela must be sparring by now.'

The lavish mansion specially prepared for Aiselin. Countless flowers swayed in the wind between statues bearing elegant lily crests.

- Rustle

Sitting in the garden reading, Aiselin suddenly worried about her sister and shook her head.

Though the magic duel with Denise would take place at Diela's mansion, news of its outcome would inevitably spread through Rosea Salon's gossip channels.

'Please let nothing serious happen... I just hope there won't be any unnecessary rumors...'

Ranking people was the public's habit.

Meaningless as it might be, people always compared and evaluated who was better or lacking.

Beyond right or wrong, it was simply inevitable - something one had to endure when attracting public attention. Aiselin knew this all too well.

Since shortly after entering Evelstain's social circles, Aiselin had gradually drawn attention. Now she'd effectively become Rosea Salon's face.

When receiving attention from countless noble ladies and becoming gossip's subject, being evaluated and compared became as natural as breathing. And those compared were inevitably prestigious, outstanding figures.

Considering who could even be compared to someone like Aiselin, ultimately only the young ladies of the Three Great Noble Families - Elente and Denise.

While Elente was transparent inside and out, Denise was the complete opposite.

'She always maintains that antique noble lady demeanor, but her true nature seems lazier than expected...'

Aiselin's insight was accurate.

Occasionally glimpsed during sparring sessions or academic debates, Denise's underlying nature sometimes showed through.

Her eyes often looked bored - clearly fundamentally disinterested in most matters.

Even her ritual displays of interest were just necessary performances.

Most noble ladies didn't perceive Denise's true depths, but sharp-eyed Aiselin had noticed hints during numerous gatherings and made allowances.

Whatever happened, she just wanted to handle it quickly and move on. When burdens grew too heavy, she'd shake them off completely. Her exquisite social navigation aimed solely at living comfortably long-term.

No one had considered what might happen if she truly applied herself.

"..."

Aiselin and Elente always defeated Denise in magic duels.

Since Denise lacked obsession with victory, once magical exchanges reached a certain level, she'd deliberately lose to conclude matches.

Neither relatively close acquaintances like Aiselin and Elente nor any Rosea Salon lady had seen Denise fight seriously.

Meaning no one in Rosea Salon truly knew her full capabilities.

This strangely unsettled Aiselin.

1-Star Combat Magic:"Shockwave""Ice Spear""Magic Arrow""Rapid Freeze""Thorn Thicket"

Watching five spells being incanted simultaneously forced Denise to marvel.

Furious Diela didn't even use hand signs, intending to completely shatter Denise's defensive magic with full force.

Serious injuries could escalate into inter-house conflicts.

She'd handle that when it came. Roughly thinking so, Diela hammered down spells like a storm.

Despite the tiger-like ferocity, Denise just snorted and raised her left hand to construct a magic circle.

'Duplein mages all have such strong personalities.'

Denise had already gathered considerable intelligence on the Three Great Noble Families.

Compared to Aiselin's methodical magic, Diela's was free-spirited.

Though using standard 1-Star spells, their manifestations twisted unpredictably under Diela's will, making them tricky to counter.

But imposing order on chaos was Denise's specialty.

When Denise's eyes flashed wide, clear patterns emerged from the spell barrage.

However free the magic application, personal habits and traits inevitably showed through.

- Kwaaang!

She easily dodged the descending ice spears and rising ice pillars.

Avoiding Diela's spells wasn't particularly difficult. But that didn't mean defeating Diela would be easy.

- Kwang! Kwang! Kwaang!

Overwhelming firepower created gaps hard to bridge.

Denise excelled at delicate magic manipulation but lacked comparable offensive prowess.

She simply sensed magic to evade, counter, and exploit openings.

Like a swordsman honed to perfection.

'She's not giving any openings to attack. Doesn't seem consciously aware of my strategies... just instinctively perceiving them?'

If Denise rationally analyzed opponents, Diela fought like a natural disaster - wild and instinctive.

In academic debates, reason and logic determined victory, but magic duels prioritized momentum and intuition.

This arena naturally favored Diela.

'Sigh...'

A capable strategist never plays on the opponent's terms. Had she intended to win, she wouldn't have created this situation.

But since she'd planned to lose from the start, things had progressed this way.

Now she just needed to find a path to victory.

Amid the magical storm, Denise's vision momentarily darkened then cleared.

She bent her thoughts, treating every minute detail as information to meticulously observe the little beast's movements.

Time slowed. Even sound vanished momentarily.

Her heart pounded, brain accelerating. She noted everything down to individual threads on Diela's frilly dress hem, constructing logic for victory.

Those seconds as Diela's spells flew.

The figure amid ice spears and magic arrows.

Petite stature, delicate frame. Voluminous golden hair, jade-like skin, blue eyes like Denise's, a habit of dragging her right foot, steadying breath when manifesting magic, clenching her left fist when creating ice spears.

-'Lady Denise.'

-'Magic sensing improves through repeated practice. But instantly perceiving an opponent's habits and essence isn't learned - it's innate.'

Her shimmering eyes tracked the magic's trajectory.

The slightly oversized frilly dress caused subtle discomfort in her left arm's movement. The black rose brooch in her hair sometimes obscured vision, making her shake her head. When magical winds blew storm-like, she'd clutch her skirt tightly.

From fingertips to toes, every aspect of Diela became information in Denise's eyes.

-'Lady Denise, that observational gift is uniquely yours. In an era where mercenaries risk lives in labyrinths to sharpen their senses...'

-'Don't underestimate the value of that ability.'

Her instructor Derek's oft-repeated words gradually made Denise's gaze more serious.

While Beltus retainers focused on the family's prestige, he alone had recognized Denise's essence and nurtured her talent.

Though always wearing a bored expression, she'd secretly treasured his advice.

- Whoosh!

As Diela's spells struck and dust rose... no defensive magic activated.

- Kugugung! Kugung! Kung!

Instead, magic surged from Denise within the obscuring dust.

The instantaneous magical shockwave cleared the dust instantly.

Silver-gray hair fluttering, Denise manifested 2-Star Detection Magic:"Surveillance."

The sensory refinement honed through countless exchanges with Derek.

Denise's magic circle instantly expanded to dominate the entire arena.

- Whooosh!

A spectacle like scattered stars unfolded.

Servants and even Diela stared wide-eyed in shock.

As one of Rosea Salon's most respected trio, Denise's magical prowess was expected to be considerable.

But no one anticipated 2-Star mastery.

Even the renowned Lady Aiselin had struggled to reach 2-Star magic, earning widespread acclaim.

Yet Denise had simply kept it hidden, already nearly matching Aiselin.

"W-what is this..."

Diela gasped at Denise's dust-revealed state.

Denise wasn't unharmed.

Her skirt was torn, covered in dust, the ribbon tying her hair lying loose on the ground.

Her face was smudged, more shockingly with blood trickling from her temple.

Noble ladies'sparring always involved high-level defensive magic to prevent injuries.

But Denise showed no signs of active protection.

Diela's glowing eyes detected magic aura around Denise - sizable defensive magic from jewelry-engraved circles that wouldn't deactivate easily.

Only one possibility remained.

'She disabled her own defensive magic...!'

Amid the dust storm, she'd removed her enchanted jewelry to deactivate protection.

The reason was obvious - sparring victories were determined by defensive magic activation.

Since triggering the opponent's defense meant victory, she'd temporarily disabled hers when unseen. Once visibility returned, she could casually reactivate it.

Beyond exploiting rules, it mocked the rules themselves.

No one had ever avoided defeat this way. Naturally - noble ladies'precious bodies couldn't risk injury.

Honor's importance in noble sparring made such cheating meaningless.

But Denise, unbound by conventions, had done it anyway, risking serious injury.

Because this duel involved more than honor - Derek's future hung in the balance.

"─The fly is caught in the web."

Constructing a massive magic circle while bleeding, Denise smirked grimly.

So what if it was cheap and dirty? Only the outcome mattered.

If Diela thought it unfair, she could disable her own defenses too.

If pushed, Diela might actually do so, escalating this from proper sparring to bloody brawling.

Servants would desperately intervene then. Not a bad outcome, but Denise didn't want to risk further danger.

Hence manifesting 2-Star"Surveillance."

Though ineffective against Derek, against a peer like Diela it was completely different.

Once caught in Denise's circle, this became her world until her magic depleted.

A spiderweb laced with venom - once trapped, escape was impossible.

Proving this, Diela's movements noticeably slowed.

"Wh-what is this..."

A sensation as if her whole body was pierced by some energy.

Every fingertip twitch, every toe tremor seemed to play within Denise's consciousness.

Startled, Diela manifested an ice spear, but a magic arrow already struck where it formed.

The arrow arriving before the spear's completion meant one thing.

Denise had predicted all Diela's actions seconds in advance.

"Huff..."

Whatever she did, counters were already prepared.

Denise's hyper-focused eyes resembled a hunter easily capturing naive prey.

"Hah... hoo..."

The web's owner rose from her crouched incantation stance. Fully loosened silver-gray hair cascaded over her shoulders.

Her gaze resembled that eerie creature stalking toward its trapped victim.

Diela quickly assessed - within this circle, she couldn't create variables outside Denise's expectations.

She needed to escape and use her Wild School's unconventional magic to neutralize Denise's advantage.

But when she checked the circle's range:

"...This is ridiculous."

─Unfortunately, Denise's circle enveloped the entire mansion.

Though Denise had learned 2-Star"Surveillance"long ago, its range had been mere meters.

But relentless training with Derek had expanded her limits beyond imagination.

'Mages taught by Derek all surpass their limits.'

She knew this rumor circulated in salons.

And Diela had severely underestimated that Denise was also his student.

"Th-this can't be..."

However genius Diela's talents, she remained unrefined ore.

Her opponent was among Rosea Salon's most prestigious trio, taught by the finest instructor Diela knew.

Though Denise claimed she could never match Aiselin, magically she already rivaled her.

When Diela understood this gap, the outcome was already decided.

- Bang!

"Kyaaah!"

A magic arrow perfectly exploiting Diela's mental gap triggered her defensive magic.

Diela couldn't even react.

- Whoosh!

Instantaneous defensive magic enveloped Diela, her pupils finally dilating in realization.

Diela had lost.

"...Imp-possible..."

"How could such... achievement..."

Watching servants also broke into cold sweat. They'd expected Lady Denise's high level, but not this extent.

In the hollow silence, dusting herself off, Denise spoke:

"It was a good match."

The antique noble lady had returned, smiling.

Silence lingered.

As comprehension dawned, Diela bit her lower lip.

Tears gradually welled in her luminous eyes.

Such was the way of competitive worlds.

<The Arrogant Lord Robain>

Derek quietly stared at the book's haughtily protruding title before closing it and returning it to the drawer.

As he pensively rested his chin, maid Bella approached.

"Lady Denise asked..."

She was tidying the room while Denise visited Diela's mansion.

Having accompanied Denise since childhood, Bella knew her better than anyone.

When Derek looked, she flinched but mustered courage to ask:

"Can she become a good mage?"

Worry laced her words.

Having lived with Denise, Bella genuinely concerned over her shortcomings.

Derek rested his chin before answering lightly:

"Most likely."

Lineage mattered most in magic.

This was why so many instructors coveted noble house positions.

Producing outstanding students elevated their own reputations.

But Rosea Salon's Three Great Nobles all possessed bloodline advantages.

To reach higher, that alone wasn't enough.

So Derek studied Bella before saying:

"In Rosea Salon, only Lady Aiselin could rival Lady Denise's growth."

Having served all three houses, Derek's assessment carried weight.

Though worried about Denise's flaws, Derek disagreed.

Deficiencies were the fuel that ignited willpower.

Compared to Aiselin's smooth path, Denise's conditions were better.

Having endured long winters, once ignited, she'd burn hotter than volcanic lava.

"..."

Though Derek would teach many students, his"first disciple"was already clear.

He intuited:

Denise would likely become the one to skyrocket his reputation.