Chapter 571
571fury
70. This side(4)
'Gdun', Count of Onwuter and head of the Isivan family, was born and raised as a young man in the dynamic coastal city of 'Betzes'..
He was a typical southern aristocrat, so he was bright about profit and loss calculations and used to accepting new things. Even after taking on the great responsibility of a great lord following his father's illness and his older brother's death, his enterprising attitude remained..
Even to him, the royal capital was a very capricious city..
Fashions changed as quickly as the seasons, so nothing was popular for more than three months..
In the case of the Royal College, which was crowded with young nobles, this tendency was even more severe, and it was easy to fall behind the trends even if one was not careful. Even he, with his high title, abundant wealth, and keen sense, often felt a sense of crisis..
Of course, it's all a thing of the past now..
It has already been one year and eleven months since he studied at the Royal College. If a seventeen-year-old young lord still had trouble keeping up with trends, it would be proof that he was an idiot and not worthy of his age or title..
And the topic that seemed to be showing signs of becoming popular recently was something that was downright funny to him..
“It’s the swordsmanship of the empire… … . Heh, I'm getting sick of it.”
As the young ruler of Onwuter snorted, the surrounding students showed curiosity..
“I'm bored, he's a swordsman from the empire.?”
“What is that? It's not my first time seeing a swordsman..”
Young or younger nobles made eye contact with each other..
Contrary to what he said in a laughable tone, most of them had no experience meeting a swordsman from the empire in person..
“uh… … But Mr. Grdun. As far as I know, this is the first time that an imperial swordsman is teaching a class at the Royal College.?”
It goes without saying, but great nobles of that level had no habit of hanging out with commoners. The eight and a half students gathered at the villa of Count Isiban's family were all in the same 'level' as him..
Of course, even among dogs, classes were divided. The students who spoke comfortably were the successors of the great lord and would one day rise to the same level as him, while those of relatively lower status had to be polite..
“Oh, come to think of it, you can see quite a few Gelan tribes in His Excellency's territory, Betzes.?”
“If so, maybe?”
Despite the questions from the low-ranking students, the young count remained silent and smiled. The leader seemed to be putting into practice the teaching that one should enjoy listening more than speaking..
The people gathered at the villa of Count Ishban were all nobles from the southern part of the kingdom, and the owner of the mansion, Geudun, was the head of the group..
Of course, when you think of a family representing the South, the Duke of Eyland would come to mind..
However, they, Zahakar and Baluin, rarely interfered in land affairs. He hardly followed the instructions coming from the royal capital..
Chewing down the King's solemn summons - no, an invitation to the Royal University - without any plausible excuse was truly a reaction befitting the royal family of Eyland..
After Zahakar and Baluin, the most powerful family in the south was the Mullin family of Marva. But they also did not send any of their children..
The current head of the family, Count Clarissa, was in her mid-20s and had very few relatives, so there was no one she could send to the Royal College..
Milgrester, a famous southern family comparable to Mullin, sent their head to the royal capital..
However, the head of the Milgrester family, Count Aeneas, commonly referred to as ‘Naga on Horseback’, had a rather difficult relationship with the royal family. In addition, even among the southern nobility, where the Geunwang faction was the mainstream, Gyeongwonsi was in a difficult situation..
Due to these circumstances, the students from the South implicitly made Gdun their leader..
“Please don't do that and just say something. Have you ever met an imperial swordsman??”
Only when 'Erisi', a young lady from Lidburn, showed her curiosity did Gdun reluctantly open his mouth..
If anyone was curious about her being one of the most beautiful women among the female nobles from the southern part of the kingdom, her attitude was that she, the rightful ruler of Onwuter, was worthy of speaking out..
“Of course, Miss Erishi. Actually, it's not just that I've met them, but I've even had several swordsmen with me for a while and had them do various things..”
“yes? Is it true??”
Seeing the students, including Erishi, widening their eyes, Grudeun shrugged his shoulders as if it was no big deal..
“Contrary to common misunderstanding, the swordsmen of the empire are not comparable to the proud knights of the kingdom. You have to be good at it to be a knight-errant, but most people are no better than mercenaries..”
“If you say you're a mercenary,”
“This means that selling talent and loyalty for a few pennies is common..”
As Gdun spoke decisively, the fat young man sitting across from him, ‘Osbrim’, retorted..
“Well, it seems like the leap is a bit harsh? So, then, the emperor's henchmen like 'Aurora's Spear' Fabio and 'Sword White' Tuacelo are also mercenaries.?”
“First of all, Osbrim. Let me start by saying that a prominent few do not represent the entire group..”
He continued speaking in a relaxed manner..
“And in the case of Geombaek, he is originally a descendant of a noble lineage, right? The fact that he inherited the Cavalni style was a continuation of the family tradition, so it should be considered an exception. On the other hand, Fabio was a lowly slave soldier, and in reality he was just a hired guard. It means you're essentially a mercenary..”
If the nobles of the empire had heard this, they would have burst out laughing, saying what nonsense this was, but this was a mansion in the middle of the royal capital. There was no one here who could raise his voice for Fabio, the emperor's guardian..
However, Osbrim still had a sullen expression on his face, as if he couldn't really agree. The reason Osbrim can show such a cocky attitude is because he was the second-highest-ranking student among southern students, after Gduun..
2Gedun looked back at Erishi, laughing inwardly at the son of man's complaints..
“Unlike Mid-Wooter, which causes competition among ethnic groups, My territory, On-Wooter, is very open-minded. As long as you have ability and loyalty, you can be recognized no matter where you come from. The swordsmen who visited my family also knew this fact well..”
Osbrim, the next High Lord of Midwooter, distorted his red, chubby face, but the attention of the noble students, including Erishi, had already been focused on Gudun..
“When I tested it, it turned out that my skills weren't that bad. So I chose about six or seven people and used them for a while. I used it as a sparring partner for my family's blood relatives and vassals..”
“oh. Then, has the Count competed with them??”
“of course.”
Seeing the students' admiration, the young count smiled and waved his hand..
“But it didn't help much. Even though the technique is useful, it is shallow and inferior to the swordsmanship of household appliances..”
“Ah, indeed.”
Erici clapped her hands as if she had forgotten..
“The Count has been learning the Isiban family's historic swordsmanship since he was a toddler.?”
“Ah, indeed. Among younger knights, let alone your peers, there are not many who can beat you..”
“Of course, you wouldn't be satisfied with the swordsmen of the empire..”
Gudun smiled happily as he saw the noble students nodding their heads to each other..
At that time, a young nobleman suddenly asked a question..
“Then, Your Excellency, what school did the swordsmen you had come from??”
“It was diverse. The Horhiu type of monks were the most numerous, followed by the previously mentioned Kabalni type of Tuacelo. Oh, there was also a swordsman like Koval..”
Let's wait for the wonder to continue again. The young nobleman who asked the question, Jillian, the heir of the Hanmihan family in northern Onwoote, made a fuss..
“……Horhiu, Koval! Did you know this, sir??”
What the boy, who was almost like a vassal of Gdun, held up was the object that became the main topic of discussion at this meeting - a promotional leaflet for a new lecture..
“……What do you mean??”
“You didn't know! Let's read it first..”
The Royal University was spread out across various buildings and facilities in the royal capital, centered around the 'House of Wisdom', which was the main building of the school. Among them, the Avenue of Glory inside the castle was considered the campus of the Royal University..
Thanks to this, whenever there was a need to spread the word to students about something related to their studies or anything else, flyers would be posted not only in various lecture halls and students' homes, but also throughout Yeonggwang Street..
The paper Jillian handed to Gdoun was exactly like that. It was a flyer to promote a new course, a swordsmanship class held by a swordsman from the empire..
-General and practical imperial combat techniques.
-5Class: maximum 150 students, twice a week, basic tuition.
- Students who wish to take the course must attend <Military College Lion’s Hall> on the 4th, 5th, and 6th of this month and respond to the level evaluation..
Gdun glanced at the concise text on the leaflet and raised his eyebrows..
“……‘Will you respond to the level assessment? You are arrogant about the topic of guest teachers. But what does this mean??”
“That's not all, sir. Below, please read the information about the gellanome..”
Leaving behind the excited eyes of the young vassal and the curious gazes of the rest of the students, Gudun read the leaflet again..
-Guest teacher Ludo.
- Citizen of the Mittergerand Empire, trained in Asuberg and served as an irregular combatant in the southern continental frontier and western Geben..
-Served as a trainer for His Excellency Count Jovian, a loyal kinsman of the royal family..
-Ohit Ryue instructor's license. Proficiency in the other four schools (Horhiu, Sigmil, Ogose, and Koval).
“……under.”
“He is an extremely arrogant person.?”
As Gdoun nodded silently, Jillian returned the flyer and showed it to other southern students..
“According to the Baton guy who was newly appointed to the steering committee, he was under 30 years old. I wrote about that topic by expanding my career here and there..”
“After listening to it, I realized he was a really arrogant guy..”
“And here, ‘serving as an irregular combatant’? This doesn't mean I acted like a mercenary.?”
“How dare a Gelan mercenary set foot in the sacred royal capital and even the Royal College?.”
“Sir, what on earth is the steering committee thinking??”
As other students complained, Jillian continued to talk excitedly..
“I guess we'll have to take care of it. Since your Excellency is well-versed in Horhiu and Coval, wouldn't it be possible to 'verify' whether this lengthy history is true??”
Other students added to the young nobleman's suggestion..
“Verification at best?”
“How about killing them altogether? We have to show that a mercenary from the empire can't become a teacher at the royal university..”
As the students chatted excitedly, Gdun just folded his arms. The Count, who had been silent as if he was in trouble, suddenly turned to look at the boy sitting on one side of the table..
“Godwin, do you have anything to say? If you were an imperial swordsman, you would have seen them often in South Harbor..”
Godwin, a young nobleman who looked to be around thirteen or eight years old at most, shook his head with an expressionless face..
“I don't know. I'm not interested.”
“hmm.”
The insincere answer was annoying, but he didn't say anything in the end. Although the other person was young, he was a great lord who ruled a region just like himself. I needed to be treated.
Gdun looked calmly at the other students..
“……From what I heard, Princess Eadina has high hopes for that Gellan guy..”
“……The princess?”
When the king's eldest daughter, Eadina, was mentioned, Gillian and the other students who had been talking about everything simultaneously fell silent as if they were being manipulated..
“Even the childish northerners seem to be interested. We should just kill someone like that without any hesitation.?”
“But if we leave that guy alone, our honor will be ruined..”
“Didn't you hear? The northerners - the 'brilliant' Viscount Arthur and his gang are interested.?”
“then.”
“First, let's ask the princess's intentions, and then see how the others do. And I saw an opportunity…….”
He trailed off..
‘Let me show you my skills. It's been a while, in front of everyone. A licensed swordsman would be a good opponent..’
The students looked puzzled at the faint smile on his face, but he never opened his mouth..
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