Foolish Brother

Ryan’s discreet investigations concluded as dinnertime arrived.

After the meal, he praised the day’s food in front of Heidi, then rewarded the kitchen staff with magical cooling devices.

This was a trick he’d learned recently, deliberately making the cooling devices a symbol of hard work and effort.

While it motivated others, it also prevented him from appearing to show too much favoritism toward the kitchen.

‘His Highness Ryan truly is benevolent.’

When Charlton learned of this, he was filled with renewed admiration, though a pang of sadness also struck him.

Ultimately, he channeled it into a goal: to diligently help Ryan improve his reputation at the Star Family Academy

The next day, the Star Emperor specifically sent someone with various styles of school uniforms.

The Star Emperor also sent a tailor, but the uniform sizes looked perfectly suited.

This further convinced Ryan that the old man had been premeditating this for a while.

Regarding the school uniform matter… originally, Ryan had planned to just wear his regular clothes.

However, after yesterday’s events, he now understood that these uniforms, besides being a symbol of status, also served to encourage nobles and even commoners.

Although the Empire’s nobility was corrupt, not just anyone could enter the Imperial Academy.

At the same time, the Imperial Academy also had a system of special admissions.

However, in recent years, only a small number of lower nobles had received such an honor; commoners had not a single one.

But no special admission didn’t mean no opportunity.

With opportunity, people would strive to achieve it.

Ryan had many ways to avoid wearing a uniform, but those methods, which involved countless elaborate plans and even leveraging many students at the Imperial Academy.

After meeting, he would surely become the most popular person at the Imperial Academy, but he didn’t want to overshadow their efforts.

Even though those people weren’t his subordinates, and some might even be enemies, Ryan had no desire to gratuitously discourage these young individuals who represented the future of the Empire.

Most importantly, Charlton and others were hoping he would make friends, and he couldn’t possibly mess things up right from the start.

“And the reason I mentioned ‘various styles of school uniforms’ is because…
I’m not sure if you intend to enroll as a knight or a mage?”

The academy representative who accompanied them asked respectfully.

The Royal Academy was a comprehensive school, admitting both mages and knights.

In the Rowland Empire, the term “knight” actually had three meanings.

The first referred to the knight class within the nobility, which was a rank lower than baron.

Some who preferred clear distinctions would call them “sirs.”

This title theoretically carried no hereditary rights, but in practice, because knights had fiefs and lived comfortably, their children had an advantage over commoners from a young age.

Therefore, if nothing untoward happened, most children of knights would become knights themselves, effectively inheriting the position.

The “lower nobles” they typically referred to were these effectively hereditary knight families, or weaker baronial houses.

The second meaning of “knight” referred to a well-trained knight.

The emphasis here was on “well-trained.” Ordinary soldiers usually lacked the sufficient funds to maintain a horse, relying entirely on their own means to become cavalry.

However, this wasn’t always the case.

For example, large knight orders would provide regular soldiers with warhorses and armor, training them to be cavalry.

The distinction was that their equipment and mounts belonged to the knight order and could not be used or taken privately.

Then there were the northern steppe barbarians, who naturally herded horses and sheep. 

They had little armor, fought while casually riding a horse, and you couldn’t call them infantry.

Thus, the seemingly distinguished name “knight” emerged, becoming the self-designation for nobles who could afford to become cavalry and were at least of knightly origin.

Over time, this title also became a symbol of honor.

After all, some noble descendants were useless cowards who couldn’t even lift a sword.

For example, if someone could not only call himself a Sir Knight but also “Knight Count,” it would be known that he wasn’t one of those parasitic nobles, and he would be held in even higher esteem.

Therefore, the nobles of the Azure Lion family were actually the ones who most loved using this form of self-address.

“Mage Count,” “Mage Baron”—the same principle applied.

“Knight” here was akin to a noble profession.

The Royal Academy was inquiring about the second meaning.

However, whether knight or mage, their status was already sufficiently distinguished; the two merely differed in function and development direction.

There was no hierarchy between them.

Where a true hierarchy existed was…

“Or perhaps,”

“a Knight-class identity?”

This touched upon the third meaning of “knight”: a classification of ability levels.

Ordinary soldiers were the lowest rank, followed by Knight Squires and Magic Apprentices, then Knights and Mages, and subsequently Magic Knights, Grand Knights, Grand Mages…

Awakened Ones were an anomaly; if one had to categorize them, their status was equivalent to that of a Magic Knight.

Levels lower than ordinary soldiers might exist in folk classifications, but nobles didn’t care for them, and Ryan didn’t see the point in classifying levels that were only slightly stronger than an average adult.

Overall, this third classification also carried some symbolic meaning of status.

A person with the title of “knight” might not necessarily possess knight-level strength.

Awakened Ones and Magic Knights were by default considered superior to ordinary Knights and Mages, but they weren’t necessarily more formidable in combat than the latter two.

This classification primarily considered average and peak potential.

However, as the Empire’s highest academic institution, the Royal Academy naturally placed great importance on practical ability.

If an Awakened One did not possess at least the strength to surpass a Knight Squire or Magic Apprentice, they should train first before enrolling.

If they wished to deliberate, they could consult their liege; it was irrelevant to the school.

If a Magic Knight did not clearly demonstrate the advantages of dual cultivation, they would await retirement, their statuses as Knight and Mage merging into one.

However, ordinary Knights and Mages were not considered weak.

Therefore, Ryan’s choice was:

“Magic Knight, plus Awakened One.”

The academy official was very polite and didn’t seem surprised, immediately retrieving the uniforms, which had been prepared in advance but were thought to be unneeded, from the novel.

In truth, all the uniforms looked quite similar in appearance.

The difference lay only in details such as the color of the emblem on the uniform—students and staff within the academy could discern a person’s identity and strength based on the uniform’s features.

Ryan wasn’t caught off guard; the old man already knew his capabilities, he just thought Ryan would act discreetly.

But Ryan had thought it through.

Clearly demonstrating his strength would better serve his promotional efforts, as people generally didn’t want to follow an incompetent superior.

After Ryan’s uniform was ready, the tailor took Flora to a vacant room nearby to take her measurements.

As a student of a family academy, her attire certainly couldn’t be overlooked.

However, custom-fitted clothes wouldn’t be ready so quickly, so Flora would temporarily have to wear a generic-sized maid’s school uniform.

Yet, when Flora emerged from the room, Ryan was slightly taken aback.

‘Did that old man even investigate this?’

But he immediately dismissed this conjecture.

Or rather, it was quite normal for the old man to investigate people around him.

But he wouldn’t be so meticulous as to investigate to this extent.

Even if he did, he wouldn’t leave any traces.

The one who would do this, deliberately making him aware, and clearly provoking him.

Undoubtedly, it was that brat, Arno.