On the morning of July 13th,
Needless to say, a rooster set on fire becomes a terrifying creature. The little fellow was the fire-spitting combat rooster of the flock, and with the burning straw rope trailing behind it, it became a streaking meteor of flame. First it set the chicken coop ablaze, then it flew up into a decorative roadside tree, where thick smoke began billowing from the branches. From there it darted into a maidservant's room and ignited the curtains and bedsheets. Finally, amid the screams of the maids, the rooster burst into the storeroom before flying out from the smoking building to collapse on the kitchen floor, barely alive…
Lorist scrambled out of bed in a hurry and found that the servants had already extinguished the remaining flames. He let out a breath of relief, then grabbed Andebel and gave the brat a thorough spanking on the spot, swelling his backside by a full size. Then, amidst Andebel's wailing, Princess Sylvia spent half an hour nagging Lorist for being too harsh, which killed whatever appetite he had left for breakfast. He picked at his food half-heartedly and retreated to his study.
It was clear that he needed to find a strict tutor for Andebel before the boy grew completely unmanageable under Sylvia's doting. Still, it wasn't as if Sylvia spoiled her son without any limits the way Irina did. Eight-year-old Andebel was merely a bit mischievous, and his troublemaking stemmed from an overabundance of curiosity — he was otherwise a good child. The real reason Lorist had given him such a beating was that he had been in the middle of his morning exercise with Fenagali when the fire alarm interrupted him at the most critical moment, and all his pent-up frustration had been vented on Andebel.
Jenolio pushed the door open and set a freshly brewed pot of Maxcose in front of Lorist.
Lorist asked listlessly, "Anything on the schedule today?"
"Your Highness, at nine o'clock, Dean Claude, the Great Swordmaster from
How quickly time had flown. In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed since Dawn Academy relocated from
"Where does Dean Claude want to open the branch campus?" Lorist asked.
Jenolio slapped his own forehead. His Highness had stuffed the documents somewhere again — who knew where. He hurried to remind him, "Your Highness, didn't you receive the application documents submitted by Dawn Academy last time? Dawn Academy itself isn't sure which direction to choose. One option is to establish a commercial studies branch campus in Vannades City in the Draymk Province, and the other is to open a knight training campus in Windbury Royal City in the Winston Province."
Lorist immediately understood. No wonder Dean Claude had come to see him — this was purely because Duke Kemis and Duke
Duke Kemis, appointed by Lorist as the lord of Vannades City, had done an outstanding job over the years. He had not only turned Vannades City into the headquarters of the Snow Salt Merchant Guild, but had also developed it into the largest commercial metropolis in the Kingdom of Andinaque, where nearly all of the kingdom's merchant guilds had gathered. So he had set his sights on Dawn Academy, working hard to persuade Dean Claude to agree to establish a commercial studies branch campus in Vannades City — to cultivate large numbers of talented people the merchant guilds needed to satisfy their ever-expanding operations. Standing alongside Duke Kemis were a wave of newly wealthy individuals and honorary nobles, none of whom wanted to compete with the Norton Family every year in the Northland for those precious Dawn Academy graduate placements.
By the same token, Duke Filim hoped Dean Claude would spin off the knight training program into a dedicated knight campus in Windbury Royal City. This was equally the wish of the kingdom's military-merit nobles. Compared to Dawn Academy's orthodox knight training program, the knight training provided by these military-merit noble families for their children had certain shortcomings. First, the physical attributes and battle aura affinities of their children sometimes conflicted with the family's inherited battle aura techniques, making Dawn Academy's more comprehensive curriculum a better fit. Second, providing thorough knight training for multiple children in the family was enormously expensive — it was far simpler to hand them over to Dawn Academy.
However, both Vannades City and Windbury Royal City fell within Lorist's territories. For Dawn Academy to establish branch campuses there, they needed Lorist's approval before any land could be allocated.
"I remember the application document was in a blue folder — I think I stuffed it onto that table over there. Go look for it," Lorist said, rubbing his temples. He recalled that when he had seen the application documents a few days prior, he had been busy reviewing the agreements just finalized with the temples and had absentmindedly tossed them onto the pile of documents over there.
After quite a search, Jenolio finally found the Dawn Academy application documents. Taking the file, Lorist asked, "Besides meeting with Dean Claude this morning, is there anything else?"
Jenolio replied, "Your Highness, no other audiences are scheduled. However, His Majesty the King sent a messenger with a letter yesterday, urging you to depart early for the Imperial Capital to attend his coronation ceremony. You'll need to write a reply to the messenger. Additionally, Duke Kemis also sent you a letter asking when you plan to set out — he hopes to travel to the Imperial Capital together with you. Furthermore, Duke Filim and Duke Shahin both sent greeting letters, stating that they will be traveling together to the Imperial Capital on July eighteenth for the grand ceremony, and they expressed their welcome for you to join them..."
"What's the rush getting there so early?" Lorist muttered. "The King's coronation ceremony is on August tenth. Arriving three or four days ahead is plenty of time. Fine, I'll write to His Majesty right now and tell him I'm too busy to go that early, but I'll be in the Imperial Capital before August fifth. As for that fellow Kemis, write to him on my behalf and tell him I'll be taking a ship — just have him wait at White Gold Beach..."
"But Your Highness, you need to give me an exact departure date at least..." Jenolio complained.
"Alright," Lorist began counting on his fingers. "From North Sea City to Qilin Port should be seven days, I'll say eight. Then one day's stop at Qilin Port, and two more days to reach the Imperial Capital. That makes eleven days total. Add one more day to pick up that fellow Kemis, and that's twelve days. Oh, and from Anger Bear City here to North Sea City takes three days — so fifteen days altogether. Jenolio, we need to reach the Imperial Capital before August fifth, so counting back, we set out on July twenty-fifth. Send that schedule to Duke Kemis."
(Note: The Galentea Continent's calendar has thirty-five days per month.)
"Which madam will Your Highness be taking along?" Jenolio asked.
Lorist knew he wasn't referring to Princess Cylvie, but rather the four concubine wives. As the matriarch of the Norton Family, Princess Cylvie would naturally attend His Majesty the King's coronation ceremony.
Lorist thought for a moment and said, "Bring them all. The children too, for that matter. After the ceremony, we can summer at the Sea-Gazing Manor on Shilovas Island — there are beaches there that they'll love."
"Very well, Your Highness," Jenolio said. As Lorist's attendant, he would relay Lorist's decision to Steward Bowery, who would in turn inform Princess Cylvie and the four concubine wives. Though today was only July thirteenth — still some ten days before their departure — the Grand Duke of Northland was traveling with his entire household and a large entourage, so some luggage needed to be prepared well in advance to avoid a chaotic last-minute scramble that could lead to mistakes.
At nine o'clock, Rector Kluide arrived promptly for his audience with Lorist. The two had not seen each other in years, and both were filled with emotion. For Rector Kluide, he had practically watched Lorist grow step by step from an ordinary student at Dawn Academy into a great legendary figure. The academy's former
Snapping out of his reverie, Rector Kluide finally resolved to stop comparing his martial cultivation with Lorist, who was clearly operating on a different level entirely. Back when Lorist was still at the Black Iron rank, he had fought Kluide — a three-star Gold — to a standstill in a sword duel, which prompted the shrewd and cunning Rector Levins to place a heavy bet on Lorist. Levins used Lorist's swordsmanship to set a trap that ensnared all the other Silver Instructors from the rival academies in Morant City, venting a long-standing grudge while simultaneously creating Lorist's legendary reputation as invincible at both the Black Iron and Silver levels.
Once host and guest were seated, Jenolio served fragrant tea. Rector Kluide dispensed with pleasantries and got straight to the point. Dawn Academy did indeed have plans to open a branch campus, but for now they were only prepared to open one. This meant that Duke Kemis and Duke Filim were locked in a fierce rivalry, with Rector Kluide caught helplessly in the middle. It wasn't that he didn't want to open two branches — he simply didn't have enough teaching staff to do so without neglecting the academy's specialized programs in the Northland. If that happened, the Norton Family would be the first to object.
Lorist expressed great understanding. He also grasped the true purpose of Rector Kluide's visit: to pass the buck to Lorist. And it was a buck that Lorist would have to shoulder whether he liked it or not — only by using his authority to decide which branch campus Dawn Academy would establish could the deadlock between Duke Kemis and Duke Filim be broken. Neither of them would dare offend Lorist, so once he made his decision, they would have no choice but to swallow their objections quietly.
what they leave behind is a mess. What the Empire needs most right now are junior civil officials who understand public welfare and commerce — not knights who charge headlong into battle. So if we open a Commerce Academy branch, even if none of the graduates get recruited by anyone, they can still enter the Empire's bureaucratic system as reasonably well-compensated junior civil officials."
Instructor Kluide nodded. "Very well, then it's decided. We'll open the Commerce Academy branch in Vandanas first. I'll decline Duke Filim's request as you've suggested."
Lorist paused for a moment, then asked, "Why does Duke Filim want to establish a knight branch of Dawn Academy in Windbury?"
Rector Kluide's answer was simple: the Filim family's Pegasus Legion had suffered tremendous losses during the bloody battle at Mana Hill Plains three years ago, particularly among its junior officers. Duke Filim wanted to open a knight branch campus right in Windbury so that he could conveniently provide short-term knight training to the Pegasus Legion's newly promoted veterans and junior officers, restoring the legion's combat effectiveness.
"Then how about this: have Duke Filim select his personnel and send them to the Northland in batches for short-term training. There's no need to establish an entire knight branch campus in Windbury." Lorist offered the suggestion.
However, Rector Kluide still looked troubled. "Your Highness, while your suggestion is sound, it would be very difficult for us to carry out. If we weren't opening the Commerce Academy branch, we could redirect our staff to run a knight branch and provide short-term knight training to the junior officers of the Filim family's Pegasus Legion. But once the Commerce Academy branch is established, the academy won't have enough instructors or energy to conduct any large-scale training for the Filim family's forces."
Lorist burst out laughing. "What's so hard about that? Here's what we'll do — I just gave the family's knights a long leave, so you can hire those former Dawn Academy students as temporary instructors for a short period. I'm sure those alumni would be more than happy to oblige. You'll only have three months though, because in October our family forces will be mustering again for a training march to the Wildlands."
Rector Kluide was overjoyed. He hurriedly rose to his feet and bowed deeply. "Thank you, Your Highness. All of our problems are now solved."
……