Noble Lady Reformation Guide - Chapter 78

"Lady Aiselin, I did warn you. I don't hesitate to use violent means when necessary to achieve my goals."

"..."

"What is this? Why did we come all the way to the north? Didn't we come to cooperate and work together? Yet you deceive me, disrupt the plan, and waste time. If you keep committing such unreasonable acts, I'll have no choice but to take drastic measures."

A reaper.

With eerily white hair and crimson eyes peering through it, he looked like a monster come to claim lives.

The scent of blood clinging to him terrified magical beasts, and even ordinary humans sometimes found themselves gripped by fear.

Those who kill without hesitation evoke an inexplicable terror.

Derek was such a man.

- Bang!

Aiselin leapt up from her seat, quickly positioning herself protectively in front of Sirine as she took a defensive stance.

Derek currently harbored murderous intent toward Sirine.

No matter how she might persuade him later, she needed to separate Sirine from Derek immediately.

Even the fact that Aiselin and Sirine had been secretly communicating had been exposed.

Derek wasn't quick to anger, but that didn't mean he wouldn't punish wrongdoing.

"D-don't come any closer, Derek."

Derek raised both hands as he spoke.

"Don't be so wary of me. How could a mere commoner like me lay hands on a noble lady of the Duplein family?"

"...I know. You wouldn't harm someone like me. But... please consider Lady Sirine's circumstances just once."

"Haven't I told you repeatedly? My principles won't change."

Sirine's entire body began trembling violently, her teeth chattering from the intensity.

Derek was a man who'd spent his life killing magical beasts. To low-level beasts, his very existence was terror incarnate.

Just sensing his murderous intent was enough to trigger primal survival instincts.

Indeed, Sirine desperately wanted to smash through the window and flee into the vast snowfield.

"Since it's come to this, I must enforce my will by force if necessary. If you refuse to step aside, Lady Aiselin, you might get hurt or even killed in the crossfire."

"I-I'm... a noble lady of the Duplein Ducal family. Even if our house is faltering, if you harm me recklessly... you won't escape consequences either... So please... stop..."

Sirine watched as Aiselin pleaded almost desperately.

She genuinely wanted to save Sirine. Even raising her hand against this terrifying presence, she didn't want Sirine to suffer the same fate as Diela.

Aiselin's molten resolve burned fiercely in her eyes.

But her opponent was like a demon crawled up from hell.

"Then Lady Aiselin will have to be caught in the crossfire."

"Wh-what? If you do something like that..."

"Lady Aiselin. You've heard Lord Melberot's words. The north sees frequent magical beast appearances and many human attacks, resulting in numerous casualties. With few travelers here, only the heavens know what truly happens."

"Derek...! Wh-what are you implying...!"

"The snow falling on these fields seems to cover all sins of murder equally. The one who's benefited most from this is the very Lady Sirine you're shielding behind you, isn't it?"

Sirine's pupils trembled violently. Aiselin's did the same.

"Now it's time to pay for those sins. Lady Aiselin, please don't defend that vicious murderer. Otherwise, the snowfield's silence will claim not one life, but two."

As Derek drew his staff from behind his back,

wielding a 4-Star magic weapon, neither Aiselin nor Sirine stood a chance against him together.

There was essentially no way to defeat this madman - fleeing was the most efficient option.

Sirine's animal instincts were extremely sharp in this regard.

- Crash! Shatter!

Before Derek even finished speaking, Sirine's spell was already complete.

Her magic shattered the window, curtains fluttering as icy winter wind rushed in.

- Whooosh!

Moving with fear-driven agility, Sirine dashed to the windowsill.

Her frilly nightgown and blue hair fluttered wildly in the wind as she prepared to leap into the snowfield.

Looking back, she saw Aiselin and Derek.

She couldn't guess what Derek might do to Aiselin who'd betrayed him.

But that wasn't her concern. Her own survival mattered most.

Aiselin herself had said it - no need to trust or rely on her. Whatever happened to Aiselin wasn't Sirine's problem.

As Sirine gritted her teeth to leap out the window, her eyes met Aiselin's.

Aiselin's lips moved.

Go now.

The moment she understood, Sirine instinctively activated Acceleration Magic. Just as she was about to flee alone into the vast snowfield, she suddenly turned back inside and grabbed Aiselin's arm.

- Thud!

Sirine was a master of transformation magic - skilled at temporarily reducing objects'weight, adjusting inertia, or increasing speed.

Holding Aiselin, she instantly dashed beyond the snowfield.

- Crack! Crunch!

- Thud!

She'd worry about consequences later. Escaping Derek's grasp was paramount.

Drawing a long arc through the night sky, the two girls barely landed outside the mansion's snowfield.

- Thud! Crash!

"Ahhh!"

Aiselin let out a small scream as she tumbled across the snow, barely managing to break her fall.

Sirine rolled several times before regaining her balance.

In the distance, the spire they'd fled from was visible.

They'd come quite far for a brief escape. Having used transformation magic while carrying Aiselin had nearly drained her mana, but there was no time for regrets.

"We have to run! Now! That man uses mysterious magic to detect wherever I go with Acceleration Magic!"

Indeed, Derek appeared at the broken window, staring directly at Sirine.

Seeing those crimson eyes, it was hard to tell who was the real murderer. If harboring intent to kill made one a murderer, then Derek undoubtedly qualified.

She could accept her own fate, but Aiselin - innocent and dragged into this - dying would leave a bitter taste.

Sirine grabbed Aiselin's wrist and ran across the snowfield. She had to lose him before he closed the distance.

But Aiselin couldn't keep up with Sirine's speed. Looking closer, she was still wearing indoor slippers.

"...You..."

"Go ahead, Lady Sirine. If Derek follows, I'll try to persuade him seriously again."

"What nonsense is that! Didn't you see that man? Do you think persuasion will work?! Getting beaten like that yet still thinking of others? Why are you so frustrating...!"

"I can't keep up anyway, Lady Sirine."

Sirine was accustomed to running barefoot through snowfields using transformation magic, but Aiselin wasn't.

Indeed, Aiselin's feet were already red and swollen from cold and injury. Sirine's expression twisted.

Two choices remained: leave her or stay.

Aiselin urged her to flee, spouting naive words about somehow making that uncontrollable monster understand.

What made this girl trust Derek so completely was beyond comprehension.

Staying meant certain death.

Yet Sirine's feet refused to move.

Leaving Aiselin here... didn't sit right with her. A truly strange feeling.

Despite repeatedly claiming not to trust Aiselin, her unwavering faith and upright demeanor kept surfacing in Sirine's mind.

Even amidst her family's decline, this girl maintained her principles - a noble image Sirine couldn't help but admire.

And a possibility arose.

Perhaps this girl was fundamentally different from all those who'd feared Sirine as a monster, pointing fingers before leaving.

This time might truly be different. This graceful, dignified girl might embrace her like warm sunlight.

Yet her mind also filled with bloodied wolf corpses.

Coming to her senses in snowfield centers after slaughtering beasts and magical creatures, emotionlessly gazing at the sky.

Sometimes humans too became targets of that killing instinct.

Just killing. That's all. The rising urge to slaughter didn't discriminate.

Thus, Derek was right.

The world would be better without Sirine. That man always spoke uncomfortable truths.

"..."

Sirine quietly lowered her stance and spoke to Aiselin, who was gasping for breath.

"If I can reach the snowfield, I can usually evade capture. The servants won't pay much attention since I often wander outside."

"...Huff... huff..."

"So I'll escape. You... sell me out to that man. Say I tried to kill you, that someone like me should disappear from this world. If you beg forgiveness that way... he might spare you. If you trust him that much, do it."

"..."

Sirine released Aiselin's wrist.

"That man's right. I might kill you someday. Don't defend me. Don't be stupid - just look after yourself."

"...No... huff... huff..."

Though Sirine had resigned herself, Aiselin gritted her teeth and shook her head.

Covered in snow and mud, her resolute expression remained sublime.

Struggling to rise, Aiselin grasped Sirine's hands again.

Though chilled by the cold, Sirine found them strangely warm.

"No one deserves to die, Lady Sirine. Even if the whole world calls you a monster, never forget you're human."

"..."

"Instincts mean nothing. How many people resist instincts to live rightly? You can change. I'll help. So don't give up, don't abandon your humanity. We're human beings."

Lady Sirine trembled as she looked at Aiselin.

Even with an uncontrollable monster pursuing them, she stubbornly affirmed Sirine's humanity.

"You can do it, Lady Sirine. Believe in me, I'll... definitely help you."

Though the world labeled her a monster, Aiselin steadfastly saw her human side.

Sieren Aleina Rocheste was human.

Repeating this, believing in her, showing trust...

Sirine... could only nod.

- Splurt!

- Slice! Slash!

Then, blood sprayed.

"How convenient of you to flee right to the snowfield's edge."

It happened in an instant.

A surge of magical energy, then Aiselin's eyes widened violently.

Blood sprayed as a blade emerged.

The scent of blood. One Sirine had smelled countless times.

Yet from a noble saint like Aiselin, even blood carried floral notes - saffron or perhaps balsam. Like flowers once gifted to her.

As the noble girl parted her lips for final words,

magic surged again, and she collapsed unconscious into the snowfield.

- Crunch! Thud!

- Drip. Drip.

Red liquid dripped from Derek's blade.

"Wh-what... what... how..."

The scene burned into Sirine's eyes was unbelievable.

The boy standing in the blizzard was the Slaughterer himself, who'd torn apart countless magical beasts.

Before him lay Aiselin, motionless in the snow.

──Crimson blood stained the snow around her.

The spreading red clearly indicated she needed immediate medical attention.

Yet Derek showed no emotion, merely shaking his blade clean.

His terrifying gaze fell on Sirine, wordlessly conveying his intent.

"You... you... you..."

"Snowfields are wonderful. They bury all deaths equally."

"Sh-she... defended you until the end. Believed in your humanity... trusted you completely..."

"Did she?"

Derek's voice remained cold.

He watched the expanding bloodstain before turning back to Sirine.

"Meaningless now. She's dead."

The mercenary in the blizzard.

Derek's emotionless voice echoed across the snowfield.

"..........................."

"Any problem?"

"You.... you... feel nothing seeing her corpse...?"

"...She was quite useful."

Silence fell.

For a long moment... Aiselin's resolute eyes lingered in Sirine's mind.

As the memory faded, unimaginably vast magical energy erupted from Sirine.

- Kwaaaaah!

The blizzard raged, engulfing the area.

Fire blazed in Sirine's eyes.

The emotion's source was unclear, but one goal burned in her mind.

Kill.

Kill Derek here and now.

That furious cry filled the snowfield as Derek calmly raised his staff in response.