Denise (4)
"After asking around the Duplein Ducal House, it seems that Young Lady Aiselin is planning to come to Laspa Great Cave in person. They say the servants are already busy preparing to depart."
The next morning, Bella, who had gone to the main house to gather supplies, brought the news back. From Denise's perspective, it was bad news.
"…"
"What should we do, Young Lady Denise?"
"Is there even a question? If Young Lady Aiselin is moving personally, who could possibly stop her."
Young Lady Denise's expression became complicated. She was a girl full of confidence, but if Young Lady Aiselin was really coming in person, she couldn't imagine that the boy would refuse. Rather, there was a strong chance that he would think quite positively of it.
Lost in thought inside the luxurious tent, Denise eventually let out a deep sigh.
"It seems I have to admit that I've failed. No matter what I do, that blockheaded man isn't going to teach me magic."
"I suppose so... winning someone's heart isn't such an easy thing."
Denise was someone with strong confidence in her own abilities and strong pride, but when it came to things she was lacking in, she also had a clean way of admitting it.
She knew well that if she stubbornly tried to force the impossible, only greater repercussions would await. If she pushed any further and only earned resentment, it would have the opposite effect.
"Right, something I could've just lain around doing at the main house, yet I came all the way to this far-off Laspa Great Cave and suffered for nothing. Bella, let the main house know. Tell them I'll be going back soon."
"Yes, yes... I'll inform the head butler. What about the supplies here? Shall we leave them all behind?"
"Moving them will be work too, so just hand them all over to that magic master called Derrick."
With a sigh, Denise looked thoroughly dispirited. At first glance, it seemed like she had brushed it off, but Bella, who had spent a long time with her, could tell.
The stronger a person's confidence in themselves, the more dispirited they become when they are broken once.
Bella often found Denise's sky-piercing confidence irritating, but when Denise occasionally became uncharacteristically downcast, her heart would ache for no reason.
No matter what, they had been together since childhood. Because she knew Denise so well, whenever Denise showed a side that wasn't like her, Bella's own mood would sink as well.
"Let's at least go say goodbye since we're leaving. You never know how our paths might cross again later. Think of it as an investment for the future."
Just as Denise let out a hollow breath and was about to head back with lifeless eyes, Bella rested her chin on her hand and fell into thought for a moment, then spoke as if something puzzled her. She was the kind of person who sometimes pointed out things Denise hadn't considered.
"Young Lady Aiselin is certainly outstanding in every way, but I wonder how she would be as a disciple."
"Hm?"
"Think about it. Young Lady Aiselin is so talented that she mastered 2-star magic at that age, but how many masters in the world could actually teach someone like that? No, does she even need a master in the first place?"
Bella wanted to offer Denise a new perspective. As her personal servant, she was not just someone who attended to her, but more like a companion.
"If I were that person's master, I think I'd feel burdened first. Of course, becoming Young Lady Aiselin's master isn't an opportunity that comes to just anyone, but at least that mage called Derrick doesn't seem like the kind of person who would be swayed by family background."
"... "
"A master who teaches magic would want to go to someone who needs teaching. Even more so if they're someone with strong convictions."
Derrick was someone with clear convictions.
He would do anything for the mastery of magic, and he had a tendency not to be bound by status or background when carrying out his own judgment. She had already figured that out from observing him over the past few days.
Would he take Aiselin as a disciple just because she was the Young Lady of the prosperous Duplein Ducal House?
He wasn't that kind of one-dimensional person. If so, that meant Denise still had a chance.
To persuade Derrick, Denise had guaranteed great wealth, promised exceptional treatment, and even extolled the greatness of the Beltus family. She tried to convince him what a bright future awaited him if he became the Beltus family's magic master.
However, if she really wanted to persuade that mage called Derrick... she should have known to approach from a completely different angle.
How much special treatment Derrick would receive wasn't actually that important.
Denise was excellent at thinking from many angles, but the reason she hadn't thought about it from that perspective was simple. She had lived her entire life as a noble.
That was why her thinking couldn't reach the parts that Bella, a commoner and a servant, could think of. Bella was treating that man called Derrick not as a commoner, but as a proper mage.
"For that mage called Derrick, there must be a standard more important than treatment or family background. Among the standards for choosing a disciple, there must be something more important than how he himself is treated."
Most commoners would smile and wag their tails if you guaranteed them wealth and honor.
However, that mage with the mysterious atmosphere called Derrick couldn't be won over by such things.
"As you know, he isn't someone who's stingy about teaching to that extent. He even said he would review the Duplein family's request as positively as possible."
"So what are you trying to say, Bella?"
"If you want to take that mage as your master, isn't Young Lady Denise's own value more important than what kind of treatment you offer him?"
Bella's eyes became even more serious.
"Whether you're someone worth teaching... that's what matters."
No matter how excellent the teaching is, if it has no meaning to the one receiving it, no one would want to become their master.
Therefore, what Denise had to prove to Derrick wasn't splendid treatment or family background.
It was how meaningful it would be to teach her.
Denise sat absentmindedly on the bed for a moment. Looking at the situation again from Bella's perspective, it felt like the parts that had been bothering her were gradually being sorted out.
Over the past few days, every time Denise visited, Derrick would stop his training and listen to her.
Even while saying it was rude or an interruption, he would observe her reactions, listen to all the conditions she proposed, and even if it ended in a similar conclusion every day, he would consistently express his refusal.
He was someone being taught by a 6-star Search-type mage. As he said, if he had really wanted not to meet Denise, he could have easily avoided her.
And yet, there had been a reason why he kept meeting her, listening to her proposals, and repeatedly refusing her politely.
It wasn't just that he was showing courtesy to a noble Young Lady from a prestigious family. Even with tired eyes, he was quietly watching Denise.
"He was testing me, measuring my vessel."
Only then did Denise seem to read a little of the true intention hidden in the man's polite refusals.
He had been waiting for Denise to reveal her sincerity and her bottom line.
Only then did Denise realize. The one being evaluated was herself.
From the start, that mage called Derrick was not someone who could be won over or not.
After sorting out her thoughts like that, it felt like her eyes were opening to a new perspective. And only then did she become certain.
"... You're definitely right, Bella, but... it's not that meaningful... "
Denise already knew. Even if she laid all her cards on the table, Derrick wouldn't be persuaded.
She was, by nature, someone who couldn't persuade Derrick.
*
"Hello."
Deep inside the cave, you couldn't see the sun rise or set.
Since day and night weren't distinguishable either, Derrick didn't know exactly how long he had been training while only feeling the flow of mana.
Still, since Denise would occasionally visit and tell him how much time had passed, he could guess that about a day had gone by each time she came.
So when Denise came again today without fail, Derrick was just about to greet her politely.
They had already faced each other quite a few times, so there was no reason to be particularly nervous anymore. However, today, Denise's demeanor was clearly different.
She hadn't brought any servants or guards, and she didn't even treat Derrick in her usual gracious, elegant manner.
The refined polite speech she used to maintain her dignity was gone, and she just came in nonchalantly and said hello to Derrick.
Derrick furrowed his brow for a moment, then lowered his head and said without any particular reaction.
"You've come again today."
"Yeah. I'm going to give up now."
Denise was no longer putting on unnecessary pretenses. Over the many times she had come, she had learned that no matter how much she put on an act, Derrick saw through it all.
There was no need to say much. She quietly walked over and sat down on the opposite side of the rock where Derrick was sitting, finally showing her bare face.
"You're really something. I come every day like this, and you don't even bat an eye."
"You have treated a mere commoner mage far too generously. If you return to the main house, please request someone befitting the Young Lady of the Beltus family."
"Forget it. You know it too, but I didn't really come just to learn magic. I just heard you were a well-regarded magic master these days, so I thought I'd recruit you in advance."
Seeing her speak so frankly, Derrick completely understood. She had truly given up on wearing an awkward mask.
"It's not like me to be this eager just to win someone over, and from the looks of it, you're going to teach Young Lady Aiselin anyway, so I figured I should quit too."
"Well. I did say I would review it positively, but that doesn't mean I ever promised that I would definitely teach Young Lady Aiselin."
"Oh my, look at you leaving room like that. You're a bad man, you know."
"..."
"….."
When Derrick looked at her with an expression that seemed to say what nonsense she was talking about, Denise, who had been quietly meeting his gaze, let out a big sigh. It felt like she could finally see what kind of person Derrick was.
No matter what tricks she tried, this man would never fall for them. At this very moment, Denise became certain of it.
"They say Young Lady Aiselin is coming to Laspa Great Cave in person today."
"…."
"Since things have turned out like this, I might as well say it. You're right. I don't really like magic."
Young Lady Denise said, slumping as she let out a sigh.
Her tone was as if nothing mattered anymore.
"I used to like it, but after doing it for a while, I started to hate it. So I don't have that much ambition for magic achievement. To someone like you who's completely immersed in magic, I probably look like a shallow amateur just skimming the surface."
"I didn't think that far... "
"You thought so in your heart. Well, then it wouldn't be strange that you don't take me as a disciple."
The more Denise looked at Derrick, who was so deeply immersed in magic, the more her confidence gradually faded.
No matter how you looked at it, Derrick's desire for magic was the real thing. Surely, someone with a strong desire for achievement like Aiselin would suit being his disciple perfectly.
Because from some point on, Denise hadn't really been greedy about achieving things in magic.
"Why did you come to dislike magic?"
"…."
Young Lady Denise, who was sitting on the opposite rock, fell silent for a moment.
It was the first time Derrick had asked such a personal question. When she had been making such a fuss, he hadn't even looked at her, but only after she put everything down did he finally show interest. He really was an unpredictable man.
"Isn't magic fun?"
"Not really. In the past... I guess it was kind of fun... "
Denise let out a deep sigh and thought.
Certainly, when she was young, there were times when she studied magic all day long.
As the beloved Young Lady of the Beltus family, she had received a lot of attention from the elders, and from a young age she had manifested mana and spent her days immersed in it.
When she closed her eyes, it felt as if her past self was being engraved in the darkness behind her eyelids.
Though now she lived lazily with a "do it moderately" mindset, surely there had been a time when she was active in everything every day. It was a distant past because she was so young, but back then she was certainly pure.
However, the moment when passion cools and disappears comes suddenly.
"To be precise, it wasn't that magic itself was fun, but that I liked how my family applauded me whenever I achieved something."
The girl shut herself in her room and devoured various Magic Books, and whenever she had time, she swung mana around and trained endlessly.
If you asked whether that process was fun, not really. Rather, it was exhausting and tiring.
But every now and then, when she stood before her family and showed her achievements, they applauded and rejoiced.
They all smiled broadly, saying she was a proper mage worthy of being the Young Lady of the Beltus family. When they smiled, Young Lady Denise smiled too.
'Good job' 'Well done' 'You did well' 'You're doing great' 'You're good'.
Amid such praise, the naive girl was deceiving herself into thinking that magic was fun.
When she thought that far, Young Lady Denise couldn't help but widen her eyes.
Perhaps the reason she had shown such uncharacteristic enthusiasm while watching Derrick, who couldn't be won over, was that she felt some kind of envy toward him, being purely immersed in magic.
It felt like she had finally realized for herself why she had shown such uncharacteristic enthusiasm. A bitter taste spread on her tongue.
"…"
"After cutting my bones and training magic every day, one day, all of a sudden, among the piles of books, that thought just popped into my head. 'Why am I doing this?'"
"That's all. There wasn't some grand, dramatic trigger or a tear-jerking tragic backstory. It's just... like most people, one day it just suddenly happened to me."
Not only Denise, but Derrick also knew.
A change in the values that run through your life doesn't only happen through dramatic and massive events.
A room filled only with silence. On a desk piled with books, amid the darkness where the sound of insects creeps in through the window, a single line of thought suddenly squeezes its way in.
And then, when you look around, there's just a young girl sitting there, who had been training magic all day, carving herself away.
When you look at the scattered Magic Books and magic tools, and at yourself trying hard while even cutting down on sleep, you wonder why you never once asked that question.
Why am I doing this? It was such an obvious question.
Denise had no interest in magic. If she had to say, she liked discussing writing or actually writing more.
Even though she had achieved a certain level now, from the beginning it wasn't like she had an outstanding aptitude for magic. Repeated training was nothing more than whipping herself.
Even so, she tried hard just because she liked being praised.
Whenever Young Lady Denise advanced to a higher realm, Duke Beltus would always say that it felt like the name of the Beltus family was rising higher, and he would be pleased. The elders of the family were the same.
However, one night while reading a Magic Book, the girl suddenly felt a sense of incongruity.
The moment she realized that their emphasis wasn't on the girl Denise's achievements, but on the value of the family name, an unannounced wave of emptiness came rushing in.
It was like running for a long time and then tripping over a stone and falling. Everything seemed to stop.
It even felt like collapsing to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
What should she call that feeling? Calling it frustration felt too grand, and calling it emptiness felt too light. She didn't bother to define that drifting feeling in between.
It wasn't a shock big enough to cry over, but it also wasn't something trivial enough to ignore.
She just realized it. The girl's life was a carriage with square wheels.
It was somehow moving toward its destination, but there would inevitably come a moment when it would get tired and collapse. Even if it wasn't now, structurally, that moment would definitely come someday.
So the girl suddenly got up from her desk and lay down on the bed.
As she slowly sank into the soft blanket, it felt like something that had been pressing down on her like a shackle had finally let her go.
And so time passed as the girl sank into the soft bed.
The seasons passed, flowers bloomed and fell, and the sun rose and set. She didn't like sunlight coming into the dark room, so she drew thick curtains, handled things moderately, and lived her life as it flowed by.
Then, on days when she had to go to Rosea Salon out of obligation, she would see the lively appearance of enthusiastic Young Ladies like Aiselin and Ellente.
In a corner of the spectator seats, resting her chin on her hand, with indifferent eyes, she would occasionally mutter to herself. Everyone really is living diligently.
They rejoiced at achievements, ground their teeth in anger at defeat, and went back and forth between superiority and inferiority, intoxication and self-reproach, joy and sorrow like hot and cold baths. The salon was full of people sailing the waves of life in their own way.
The girl, as always, rested her chin on her hand and watched them with indifferent eyes, thinking similar thoughts.
Everyone's having a hard time.
"Thinking about it, I think I was envious of you."
"…."
"People like you are probably the ones who become Great Mages."
Having shaken off everything she could, the girl stood up.
There was no need to say much. The achievements of this boy called Derrick were entirely his own.
He didn't have a splendid family backing him, didn't receive a single grain of support from anyone, and didn't receive expectations from people who wanted to tightly grasp secular power. He wasn't someone from some family, he was just Derrick himself.
However, Denise didn't go on and on about such well-fed words. For some people, such outstanding family background and full support were more desperately needed than anything else.
She wasn't thoughtless enough to spout such hypocritical words in front of a slum boy who must have grown up in harsher conditions than anyone.
So she simply quietly acknowledged the boy's achievements and got up from her seat.
"Then, let's meet again if our paths cross someday."
Waving her hand roughly, Denise staggered toward the cave entrance. She looked just as unmotivated as ever.
As Derrick quietly watched Denise's dispirited steps, he suddenly spoke.
"Leaving everything else aside, let's make one thing clear. Magic is a deeper and more interesting discipline than Young Lady Denise thinks."
"…."
"It's not like I learned magic because I liked it from the start. I was just in a corner of the slums, trying to find a way to survive, and I grabbed any mage I could see and clenched my teeth to receive teaching. Like everyone else, I just kept learning it and ended up getting absorbed."
Derrick spoke without deliberately meeting Denise's eyes.
Denise could easily imagine the life of that boy mage. Whatever it was, the path he had walked was closer to a field of thorns than a flower path.
"Don't hate magic too much."
"You're really consistent."
Denise said, letting out a hollow laugh.
*
When Denise came out to the cave entrance, a large number of servants from the Duplein family had arrived.
They were escorting one luxurious carriage. It was obvious who was riding in it.
When Young Lady Denise straightened her appearance and passed by the carriage, Young Lady Aiselin was looking down at her with wide eyes from inside.
As she hurriedly tried to get down from the carriage to show courtesy, Young Lady Denise waved her hand to stop her.
As always, with a dispirited look, she showed only the minimum courtesy and passed by Aiselin's carriage, coming out toward the plains.
There was no one in the world who could refuse the sincerity of that Young Lady Aiselin, who had come all the way to the cave in person with the utmost courtesy. In the end, the only person who could persuade that blunt magic master was Aiselin.
Sitting in the carriage returning to the main house, she slumped and looked up at the wide-open sky.
"The sun is too bright. Ugh... "
"In the end, this didn't go as planned. I'll report to the Duke that we tried but it didn't work."
"Well, what can you do. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Father won't be that stingy over something like this. Just because you're pretty and smart doesn't mean everything goes well, right?"
"…."
Denise quite liked Bella holding back a twisted expression whenever Denise shamelessly praised herself.
It made her feel strangely fond.
She laughed inwardly, then rested her chin on the window again and looked up at the sky.
"Let's go back to the main family and say it failed."
She felt a strange mixture of relief and heaviness at the same time.
The next day, news so huge that it turned Rosea Salon upside down spread.
Young Lady Aiselin of the Duplein family had personally brought servants and gone all the way to the outskirts of Ebelstein, but that magic master called Derrick had politely declined to teach her.
For anyone who claimed to be a magic master, Young Lady Aiselin was someone they would want to take as a disciple even if they had to cling to her skirt.
So people couldn't help but be noisy from early morning, wondering whether someone who could refuse her could really exist in this world. To think even Young Lady Aiselin was refused, that was an absurdly valuable talent.
Saying that her vessel was too big for him to teach. How could he contain a person like a whale that should play in the great sea within a mere stream?
And so, his words of politely refusing while preserving both courtesy and the other party's dignity circulated around the salons for quite a while.
'Wow... he's even more crazy about magic than I imagined... '
Hearing that news early in the morning, Young Lady Denise blinked her eyes.
She knew he was unpredictable and impossible to grasp. But to reject not just anyone, but Young Lady Aiselin... even after hearing it clearly, Denise had to doubt her own ears.
'He even refused after she said she'd wait until his training was over... just how obsessed with magic is he?'
She was walking through the corridors of the Beltus main house on her way to breakfast when it happened.
She had planned to return to Ebelstein right after breakfast, but she ran into Duke Beltus, who was coming out of his office with many servants.
The two weren't exactly close in terms of family affection.
Even so, Denise smiled as warmly as she could and greeted him.
"Father. Good morning. The weather today is... "
"Oh, Denise. My lovely daughter."
Duke Beltus walked over briskly with a face full of pleasure and patted Denise's shoulder.
He always observed the formalities as family, but he was rarely this affectionate. Denise asked back, hiding her rising confusion.
"F, Father?"
"Early this morning, a letter arrived. They say that the magic master from Laspa Great Cave sent a letter asking the Beltus family about various conditions. That must mean he rejected the Duplein side and is listening to our proposal."
"Y, yes? Th, that... Derrick?"
"Yes. As expected, Denise, you're the most capable when it comes to matters of High Society. Your way of handling things is different from those retainers who just skim the surface. As expected, my beloved daughter is the most reliable. Hahaha!"
Duke Beltus was laughing loudly, clearly in a very good mood.
It seemed he was truly happy that he had recruited Derrick before the Duplein family and the Belmiard family.
"As expected, Denise, you're the best! How on earth did you persuade someone that stubborn... I'm curious about your secret!"
'He chose me? Instead of Aiselin?'
Denise herself could only be dumbfounded. The person most curious about what was going on was Denise herself.
She had inwardly admitted that Derrick was not someone she could recruit.
However, Derrick had withdrawn all proposals and chosen her.
'.... Why??? '
He was someone who never moved according to public expectations.
Even Denise herself couldn't grasp what in the world had just happened.
She could only roll her eyes around in confusion.
She had to start admitting it.
From the start, trying to measure that man called Derrick had been a futile act.