Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Translator: XZY
Chapter 61: Watercolor (3)
***
Diella, who loved to run and play since she was a child, would often play by throwing a ball alone in the mansion's central garden whenever she had a chance.
When Valerian, who was working in his personal office, saw Diella playing through the window, he would sometimes go down to the garden and ask how she was doing.
The girl, who would chase after the bouncing ball that rolled out of the garden, would often hesitate or step back when she encountered the eldest son in a corner of the garden, feeling burdened.
To a girl of that age, an eldest son with a large age gap would be more intimidating or uncomfortable than comforting. This was especially true in a noble family's environment where there were many things to observe out of formality.
Valerian was not unaware of this, so he understood the cold demeanor of his youngest sister who did not open her heart to him.
Valerian was just a difficult older brother to Diella.
Therefore, even when Diella was cooped up in the annex and committed violent acts, he could not even offer a single word.
It was only recently, with her social debut approaching, that Diella was able to exchange some conversation with Valerian.
Bowing her head and asking how he was when they occasionally met in the corridor, or making casual conversation about the taste of the food during mealtime... even that could be called a great improvement.
The starting point of all these changes was since a magic teacher named Derek had visited the Duplein mansion.
He had changed Diella. For that connection, Valerian felt grateful once more.
— ‘...Diella?’
Once, he had discovered Diella from afar, who was contemplating with an easel set up in a corner of the garden.
Valerian, who had made up his mind to talk to his adolescent youngest sister first, approached from behind and called Diella, and Diella hiccuped.
In between, the brush slipped, and the painting Diella was drawing was greatly marred by one stroke.
— ‘I-I'm sorry, Diella.’
— ‘N-no. It’s alright, Orabeoni.’
When he got closer and looked at the easel, Diella was drawing the mercenary-born magic teacher who had taught her magic.
The portrait somehow had a slightly beautified feeling compared to the real person, but Diella did not seem to be aware of it.
— ‘This is...’
— ‘Yes, I was drawing my former teacher. I heard the news that he would be visiting when the ball is held for my debutante. I was thinking of giving it as a gift then...’
When Valerian quietly observed Diella’s expression, she was lowering her gaze, hiding her embarrassment as if she felt awkward.
It seemed she was quite embarrassed that her family had discovered the person she wanted to give this painting to.
Unfortunately, because of the slipped brushstroke just a moment ago, a stroke of dark blue paint had been drawn over the man’s clothes in the painting.
Valerian made a regretful expression, as it seemed the painstakingly drawn watercolor had been ruined because of him.
— ‘I'm sorry, Diella. Because I startled you... what should we do with this precious painting...’
— ‘N-no. It’s alright, Orabeoni. This much is not a problem.’
Like that, Diella skillfully continued her brushstrokes and layered various colors of paint over the mistaken stroke.
A few brushstrokes were repeated, and after thinking deeply, she adjusted the colors here and there.
Then, the mistaken stroke had naturally blended into the shading of the painting at some point.
Valerian was in awe of that improvisation. He had been well aware of Diella’s artistic talent, but seeing it in person, it was an even more outstanding talent than he had thought.
— ‘A wrongly drawn stroke can be painted over with other colors, and the colors can be adjusted while changing them.’
— ‘Still, doesn't the feeling change from what you originally intended? I think the colors you had in mind were brighter than this.’
— ‘It’s alright. When I think about it again, if I draw it too bright and brilliant, the image doesn’t match the person well... and then it looks like I drew it with a very excited heart, so it’s a b-bit like that... for, for some reason, it feels like I’m the only one who’s excited...’
— ‘...’
— ‘And, if I paint over it like this, the direction changes, and if I bring out the feeling in its own way, a new painting comes out.... That’s all the charm of watercolor. That’s why I like watercolor.’
Valerian did not know much about art. However, this tiny girl seemed to have already established her own world of art.
— ‘Ahem, I like it. I think the forearm is drawn a bit too thin... but this much should be fine.’
The tiny artist, who was quietly looking at the painting with her arms crossed, finally gave a satisfied smile. It seemed she was excited at the thought of giving the painting to Derek.
A gallant, white-haired man was standing in the canvas in a mercenary’s attire. He was the person who had the greatest influence on Diella’s life.
This girl reigned like a tyrant and made all the surrounding servants watch her every move, but only when dealing with the man in the canvas did she take on a girlish appearance befitting her age.
Watching that sight quietly, one could feel that the small child who used to run out of the garden chasing after a rolling ball had already become a respectable young lady.
Respecting someone, or holding affection for them, or wanting to keep them by one’s side... as one felt such numerous emotions, one would become an adult at some point.
Valerian let out a gentle smile and looked inside the canvas.
The red pupils of the man in the painting seemed to be blazing like a flame.
<><><>
Derek’s red pupils blazed like a flame.
Taang— !
Valerian blocked Derek’s sharp longsword by swinging his staff.
Before long, with the sword and staff clashing, they entered a lull, competing in strength.
Derek knew what the staff held in Valerian’s hand was. It was a unique weapon, one of the few in the entire continent, said to be the noblest among the relics of the White Region.
Although it seemed he did not know the value of this staff at the time of its discovery, Derek had sufficiently memorized such famous equipment.
It was a treasure hidden in a labyrinth by the 5-Star Necromancy-type mage, Rosin.
It was an object made to pass down his necromancy magic knowledge to future generations, an object that had the power to bewitch people.
All mages were starved for the desire to grow.
This staff incited the desire to become stronger in the ears of such mages.
If Valerian was the one who had first discovered this staff and brought it to the mansion, he would not have been free from that temptation.
Hwaak— !
An ominous dark red mana began to gather around the staff.
Derek clicked his tongue and leaped back. It was a judgment that he needed to put some distance for now.
“Did the Young Lord kill His Grace the Grand Duke Duplein?”
“Yes. I killed him. If you kill a high-level mage and worship the god of corpses and offer that soul, you can be bestowed a part of that power.”
“...”
“So I stabbed his heart with a ceremonial dagger. It happened in an instant. In the middle of reporting on this year’s tax plan, I approached my father who was signing the documents with a quill pen and finished it in one go.”
The Grand Duke Duplein was a mage who had reached the realm of 5-Star.
However, it would have been difficult for him to predict that he would be pierced through the heart by his most trusted eldest son in the middle of this Duplein mansion.
As always, it was a matter of walking up to the Grand Duke who was busy reviewing documents in his office and plunging a knife into him. The process would have ended in an instant, to the point of being futile.
Trust was that heavy a weapon. If handed to the wrong person, one would lose their life in an instant.
“I did it all. Foolishly.”
Valerian said with his eyes gently closed.
The memories of the past days were still vivid in his eyes.
The deepest part of the labyrinth where numerous people were hurt and bleeding.
The day he first laid eyes on the one staff he had found within it.
The ominous sensation that flowed down his spine when he first held the staff in his hand. A strange sense of listlessness as if his heart was churning.
Even after returning to the mansion, he would sometimes feel a cool sensation on the back of his neck when he fell asleep.
That ominous sensation, which he had dismissed as nothing, suddenly devoured Valerian’s mind all at once one day.
Like a disease with an incubation period, it suddenly devoured Valerian’s consciousness, and the skeleton of a Necromancy-type mage who had died long ago wrapped its arms around his shoulders and whispered in his ear.
Power. What is the value it holds?
How fleeting is death?
What is the way to use a person’s life valuably?
Is commanding soulless corpses truly something to be considered a taboo?
The lingering thoughts left by Rosin whispered endlessly in Valerian’s ear.
It constantly incited him on what he must sacrifice to become a great mage.
In his distant vision, he glimpsed the far-off world of that taboo.
──And when he came to his senses, the figure of the Grand Duke Duplein, fallen on his office desk, was in his eyes.
Among the various scroll documents awaiting approval, a pool made of the old patriarch’s blood was widening its territory.
The old patriarch, whose life was still attached... looked up at his son with trembling pupils.
And quietly moved his mouth and said something. Although Valerian heard clearly what he had said in his last moments, he could not properly understand it.
However, when his reason had completely returned, only a cold corpse was lying limply in front of him.
It was his father’s corpse.
— ‘Th-this... wh-what....’
He covered his face with his trembling fingertips. Dark red blood was soaked on those fingertips.
Not even a scream came out. A gurgling sound barely passed through his throat, but it did not take the form of language.
It was before he had even fully accepted what had happened.
Kung— !
At that moment, someone opened the office door and came in.
There were not many people who could enter the Grand Duke’s office without even knocking. When he raised his head to see who it was, it was an old female mage in a splendid imperial attire.
— ‘...’
The Imperial Family’s Chief Magic Advisor, the 6-Star Transmutation-type mage, Kohella.
She was a person who had come to appraise the staff at the request of the Grand Duke Duplein. However, what she saw when she entered the office with her two assistants was a gruesome murder scene.
It was the sight of Valerian, covered in blood and trembling while holding the staff, and the Grand Duke Duplein, lying limp and no longer breathing.
Her eyes widened for a moment, but as she quickly grasped the situation, her eyes narrowed again.
She closed the door, quickly locked it, and strode over.
And she lowered her posture to Young Lord Valerian, who was sitting on the floor, and spoke.
— ‘Do not be alarmed, Young Lord Valerian. This Kohella seems to know what has happened.’
— ‘Th-this... this... I mean, I...’
— ‘It is alright. Magic equipment with lingering thoughts sometimes causes such incidents. Now that things have come to this, I can reveal it. I do not hold much hostility towards the fields of magic that are oppressed for being a taboo. Rather, I am of the position that they should be actively researched.’
The sight of Kohella, who continued to speak in a calm tone even in this situation, looked like a monster wearing the skin of an old woman.
The words she uttered were also unusual. For the Imperial Family’s Chief Magic Advisor to affirm a taboo was a statement that all the officials of the Imperial Family would have widened their eyes and doubted their ears if they had heard.
— ‘Therefore, do not worry too much. Young Lord Valerian has committed a mistake, unable to overcome the lingering thought, but it can still be picked up.’
— ‘Wh-wh-what... are you say....ing....’
— ‘I will protect the Grand Duke’s corpse from being damaged with my Transmutation-type magic. In the meantime, you will prepare to manifest the 5-Star Necromancy-type magic ‘Resurrection’.’
If he killed the Grand Duke and offered his corpse in worship, his realm as a Necromancy-type mage would rise even further.
Of course, he would not be able to become a mage as powerful as the Grand Duke, but at least he would be able to wield power equivalent to a 4-Star. Then, if he pushed himself a little more and sacrificed more mages, he might be able to save the Grand Duke.
The 5-Star Necromancy-type magic ‘Resurrection’ was a spell that could revive one human who had not been dead for long, using many corpses as a sacrifice.
However, the higher the realm of the one to be revived, the more sacrifices were needed. To undo the death of the Grand Duke Duplein, an absurd number of high-level mages had to be sacrificed.
He needed to raise his own realm, and he also needed corpses to be mobilized for the Grand Duke’s resurrection. And not just ordinary people, but the corpses of high-level mages.
A massive massacre must surely be involved. It was not a concept that could be done with a sane mind.
Valerian looked up at Kohella’s eyes with trembling eyes.
In the old mage’s eyes, a twisted academic passion and curiosity were bundled together. It was an opportunity to demonstrate a magic that reached 5-Star, even among the tabooed Necromancy-type magics.
That infinite curiosity, which had entered the realm of madness, was proof that this mage was already not a normal person.
Nevertheless, Valerian, who was already pushed to his limit, could not shake his head at that whisper.
— ‘Young Lord Valerian, please steel your heart.’
Suddenly, the smell of blood rising from the corpse imprinted reality. Valerian trembled all over while feeling nauseous.
After throwing up once, he tried to get up again, using the office desk for support with his trembling hands.
The staff held in his hand seemed to be whispering something to him. Although he could not understand its exact content, he felt he knew the intention that it was trying to swallow him up again.
This power that he could not control would go on a further rampage.
In that torrent of madness, Valerian constantly ruminated.
He had to pick up the pieces of his mistake.
Even while his entire mind was being swept away, that goal, which he muttered blindly, was engraved in his instincts and was never forgotten.
His reason was being eaten away in the turbid stream of Necromancy-type mana that was covering his surroundings.
Kohella, who saw the vast aura of necromancy coming from the staff, shot starlight from her eyes.
In that confusion, Valerian ruminated on those words over and over again.
“I have to pick up the pieces of my mistake.”
Kwang— !
The dark red mana gathered in the huge main hall was directed at Derek all at once.
Derek quickly threw his body under the table where the banquet was set.
Hwaak— !
As he rolled once on the floor and came out on the other side, an arm made of grotesque flesh suddenly sprouted from the wall and grabbed Derek’s head.
The moment strength was about to be applied with the intent to crush Derek’s head, Derek’s sword slash quickly cut off that wrist.
Seogeok— !
No sooner had the severed arm rolled on the floor than several arms continued to climb up the wall.
It seemed that this entire mansion had been eaten away by the power of Necromancy-type magic.
Derek’s judgment was swift. He quickly manifested a fireball and blew away the entire outer wall of the main hall.
Kwang! Kwagagang— !
Hwiiing— !
It was raining outside.
As one of the outer walls of the main hall was blown away and the stained glass broke and collapsed, the rain that had been lashing outside began to pour into the main hall.
Swaaaaaa— !
The banquet that had been set up with great care and the precious clothes of the distinguished guests were getting wet in the rain, but it was not the time to worry about such things.
It was the moment Derek was about to fix his posture and focus on Valerian.
Valerian had already closed in right in front of Derek.
Hwaak! Kwang— !
Valerian kicked Derek.
Derek was sent flying and crashed into the remains of the outer wall that were still standing.
Kung! Kugugung— !
A cloud of dust rose once, but the lashing wind and rain quickly restored his vision.
Derek was catching his breath, leaning his back against the remains of the collapsed outer wall.
The rain pouring in from beyond the outer wall drenched his body.
The water droplets that fell from the ends of his hair fell to the floor without purpose.
In between, he wiped his face with both hands as if washing it, and then, he swept his bangs up once.
Derek’s features, revealed under his swept-up bangs, had become even clearer.
‘Yes...’
Although Derek was already running towards a high realm, due to his commoner background and his position as a teacher, he had rarely revealed his full power. It was because there was almost no opportunity for that.
‘His realm is quite high. He’s not an opponent to be taken lightly.’
He was not a person with a screw loose enough to be complacent in front of an enemy who was already handling power equivalent to a 4-Star.
As a bolt of lightning struck once, Derek widened his eyes and glared at Valerian.
The sight of that man, soaked to the bone in the rain and glaring at him, was like a wolf preparing to leap.
The moment Valerian narrowed his brow, Derek’s form disappeared from his sight.
Ssaek— !
He had to react with his hearing, not his sight.
Valerian drew the sword at his waist and swung it out to the left. A dagger held in a reverse grip by Derek was already flying there.
Kang— !
A staff in one hand, a sword in the other. Valerian was even wearing sturdy armor.
However, Derek was wearing light attire and was only holding a few blades. In the first place, no one came to a ball fully prepared for battle.
Nevertheless, there was a strange sense of pressure in Derek’s attacks.
Whether his physical strength was strong, or his mana itself was vast... the strength that Derek held was not of such an easy-to-understand kind.
Kwadeudeuk, kwak— !
Derek did not press on, but rolled on the floor once, picked up a stone, and threw it at Valerian’s head.
The moment Valerian tilted his head to avoid it, a knife and fork from the banquet table came flying.
As he deflected them by drawing out his mana, Derek took that opportunity to dig into his space again.
He was within range.
Valerian quickly tried to manifest the 2-Star Necromancy-type magic ‘Soul Absorption,’ but Derek’s form had become smoke and disappeared again. It was Illusion-type magic.
Valerian’s mana, with nowhere to go, only cut through the empty air.
Hwik— !
The moment Valerian turned his gaze to find the location of the main body, Derek was pulling a tablecloth from the back and yanking it out.
The banquet on the table poured onto the floor, and all the tableware broke.
The outer wall was broken, and the wind and rain were lashing. As Derek threw the tablecloth, the tablecloth, spread out and fluttering in the wind, came flying and obscured Valerian’s vision.
The moment Valerian quickly swung his sword to get rid of the tablecloth, a mana arrow that had flown in from a blind spot in his vision hit Valerian’s armor.
Taang— !
“Keuk...!”
Valerian’s balance was thrown back. He had to take a step back, and Derek was not a person to miss that opportunity.
Derek, who had lowered his posture and come in under the fluttering tablecloth, was gathering his mana again.
Was it an illusion, or was it real? The moment he tried to distinguish it, Valerian’s feet were stuck to the floor and would not come off.
It was the 2-Star Combat-type magic ‘Shadow Bind’. Derek had already reached a realm where he could even multi-cast 2-Star magic.
Hwaaak— !
His feet were bound the moment the attack came in. It meant that the attack was not an illusion.
Valerian raised his arm, which was protected by a gauntlet, and defended against the attack.
It was the moment the sword held in Derek’s hand hit Valerian’s armor. However, Derek’s form turned into smoke again and disappeared.
‘Even binding my feet was a trick...?’
Valerian’s eyes, who was in a defensive posture, widened. Derek was already behind Valerian.
Hwik—
Derek was a master of dueling.
The psychological warfare that Derek, who had been fighting tooth and nail since his days at the bottom, waged was half a beat faster than for a young master of a noble family who had only ever engaged in formal battles.
The moment Valerian quickly turned his head and tried to find Derek’s location, his nape had already been caught.
An enormous amount of electricity was manifested from Derek’s hand.
Pajijik— !
It was a tremendous shock that would not have been strange if it had blown away his consciousness in an instant. Valerian’s vision flickered once, as if the whole world was blinking.
Cheolkeong— !
He was on the verge of his knees giving out and collapsing.
Valerian regained his consciousness with near-superhuman concentration, then swung the sword in one of his hands towards Derek.
Derek leaped back greatly and put some distance between them.
Chwaaak— !
Swaaaaaa—
The distance was created again.
Valerian, who was panting and breathing heavily, and Derek, whose whole body was full of scratches, were facing each other again.
Both of them were glaring at each other while being hit by the rain that was lashing in from the broken outer wall.
“Heok... heok...”
The realm of magic that Valerian, who had swallowed the power of necromancy magic whole, could handle right now was higher.
He had thought that he could subdue Derek, who was at the mid-2-Star level, or at best, barely reaching 3-Star, in an instant.
However, that was Valerian’s misjudgment.
If it had been a simple magic duel, it would be natural for the one with the higher magic realm to win.
However, the strength that Derek held was not only the strength of his magical realm.
He was a mercenary before he was a human born with extraordinary magical talent.
The combat experience accumulated over many years had honed his sense to be able to appropriately apply magic not just as a means of formality and showing off, but as a means of combat support.
Combined with the ever-changing mana application unique to the Wild School, Derek’s movements could not even be guessed in a one-on-one duel situation.
Moreover, Derek had not even used 3-Star magic yet.
‘...’
He was trying to press down a higher-level mage with just his unripened level, without even revealing all of his potential.
Valerian could not believe that fact.
This was the age of nobles.
It was an age where those who held magical talent belonged to high society and discussed dignity and formality.
There were no cases where a person who had climbed up from the sunless bottom with grit also possessed talent. It was because that was the natural order of the age.
However, the world was vast and wide, and the era was long and long.
After countless years passed and passed again, sometimes, a person like that would reveal himself to the world.
Swaaaaaa—
Derek’s red pupils flashed in the rain.
Valerian had an intuition.
If he was careless, he would die in one blow.
Valerian gently closed his eyes and opened them, then tightened his grip on the sword hilt.
<><><>
Swaaaaaaa—
The Duplein mansion, seen beyond the rain, had its outer wall collapsed.
Diella’s eyes, who had been quietly looking at the carriage window, widened. It was the same for the coachman who was driving the horses and the servant who was attending to Diella.
The sound of music did not echo in the mansion where a ball should have been in full swing, and only demonic beasts in the shape of corpses were loitering near the garden.
The coachman shouted something and tried to turn the horses. The neighing horses raised their front legs and turned their bodies, and the maid began to tremble and break out in a cold sweat.
In the midst of that chaos, Diella’s gaze was still blankly fixed on the half-destroyed Duplein mansion.
Only a sense of emptiness, as if all the sounds in the world had been turned off, was lingering in her ears.
Before long, Diella, who had snapped back to her senses, shouted at the coachman again. It was an order to head to the mansion immediately.
The coachman who heard those words made a horrified expression.
Kung! Kung! Kung— !
A sound as if something was echoing was heard.
“Ueuk, euk....”
The place where Aiseline opened her eyes was the innermost room among the section where the guest rooms were gathered. It was a place that could be called safe, at least in this chaotic situation.
She had been in the middle of losing consciousness after being suddenly attacked by the head maid. While everything was confusing, Aiseline managed to get up.
It did not take long to realize that the situation in the mansion was unusual. A ball should have been in full swing, but strangely, no presence of people could be felt.
“Wh-what... why am I... here.... My body seems... to be fine...”
Kwang— !
Kwang! Kwang! Kwang— !
Without even giving Aiseline a chance to sort out the situation, the door began to pound and echo continuously.
Aiseline was startled and swallowed a dry gulp of saliva, quickly looking for a place to hide in the room. However, in a small room used as a guest waiting room, there was almost no space to hide.
The moment Aiseline somehow got up and tried to do something, an aura of mana was felt, and the doorknob broke and opened.
Kugung, kwang— !
“Heek!”
It was the moment Aiseline quickly gathered her mana and tried to counter the person who had broken the doorknob and entered.
However, the person who had broken the doorknob and entered was a girl she knew well.
“Ah... L-Lady Elente?”
It was a girl with her red hair undone and let down. Lady Elente of the Belmeade family checked the situation in the room, then quickly came inside and closed the door again.
“I’ve finally found a survivor.”
Even in this chaotic situation, that calm appearance was anything but ordinary.