Daily Life

Sean stood beside the table, watching Jim and Ben focus on their game. Their pieces were locked in a jagged stalemate across the board, each attacking and defending in turn, neither able to gain the upper hand. Suddenly, Ben made an exquisite move, as elusive and ingenious as an antelope hanging from a horn. Jim immediately frowned deeply, propping his chin with his left hand while his index finger kept rubbing against it.

"Good move! Which game is this?" Sean asked with a smile, patting Ben on the shoulder.

Ben turned and smiled at Sean. "The third game. The score's one to one. But I don't think Jim can pull this one back. Two to one, how about it?" The first half was directed at Sean, but the latter half was aimed at Jim, accompanied by a smug grin.

Jim glared at Ben resentfully without saying a word, but that look alone made it clear that he would not concede easily.

Sean and Ben both knew that Jim hated losing, and his sportsmanship was poor as well. After several more moves, the game still ended in Jim's irreversible defeat despite his unwillingness to accept it. Seeing Ben's smug expression, Jim gritted his teeth and said disdainfully, "If you've got the skill, beat me at swordsmanship."

The moment Sean heard Jim's agitated words, he knew things were bad. Sure enough, Ben's previously smug face darkened with disappointment. Sean knew Ben's difficulties. It was not just Ben's family; nearly all Merchant Nobles in the Empire were the same. Merchant Nobles merely possessed noble birth and the qualification to send their children to the Noble Academy, allowing them to gain a higher starting point.

But to truly become a landed noble, their descendants still had to strive on the battlefield and earn enough Military Merit before receiving land grants from the Empire. And a descendant with outstanding knightly talent, even without an inherited Knight Breathing Secret Method, could still have a chance to advance to Rookie Knight through the Military Basic Secret Method taught by the Noble Academy.

After all, a Rookie Knight in the army could quickly rise to become a mid-ranking officer in the Imperial Army, greatly reducing their chances of dying on the battlefield. Merchant Nobles might have a higher starting point than commoners, but true success did not come overnight. Every descendant with knightly talent received the full support of their Merchant Noble family, and the outstanding ones could even become the heir of the entire family.

A century ago, the Empire began allowing merchants who had earned Military Merit to purchase titles with money—or, more accurately, to exchange money for noble birth. It also marked the budding emergence of capitalist nobles within this feudal aristocratic world.

Sean put on a stern expression and called Jim's name in a low voice. Seeing Ben's dejected expression, Jim also realized that he had gone too far. His face immediately turned awkward, and he did not know how to comfort his friend.

Seeing Jim's expression, Sean dropped his stern look and said gently to Ben, "Ben, don't take it to heart. You know what Jim's like. Just look at his face right now. Isn't it funny..." Only then did Ben notice Jim's awkward, tongue-tied expression. After the corner of his mouth twitched, he said to Sean, "I'm fine, really. I don't blame Jim either. He's right. I really don't have knightly talent..." As he spoke, his expression became dejected.

"Ben, don't be silly. No one can accurately judge another person's talent. You're only fourteen this year, two months younger than me. As long as you work hard enough, I believe you'll achieve something." Sean spoke with certainty, then winked at Jim and asked, "You agree with me too, right, Jim...?"

"Yes, yes. Ben, I was wrong just now. I apologize. But Cousin is telling the truth. We can work hard together! We'll accomplish something together in the future," Jim hurriedly echoed Sean.

Ben looked from Sean to Jim. Moved by their words, he said, "Thank you, Sean, and thank you, Jim. I really haven't been working hard enough." Ben had been chubby since birth. Although he trained diligently, he was still far from truly pushing himself.

"Ben, Jim, shall we go to the training ground and practice swordsmanship?" Sean asked. After looking at them, he added, "Sparring with each other will help improve our swordsmanship. Jim and I can also give you some guidance, Ben."

Jim immediately agreed happily with Sean's suggestion. Ben considered it for a moment, then nodded with a grateful expression. The three of them left the dormitory together and headed for the swordsmanship training ground.

Because of the Empire's tradition of granting titles for Military Merit, the training ground had become one of the academy's most important places. Every year, the academy spent a large sum maintaining its facilities. Aside from student tuition covering part of the expenses, the academy's funding mainly came from taxes collected in the Imperial Public Domain of the region where the academy was located. Within the Empire's territory of nearly one million square kilometers, less than one-third of the land had lords.

And that one-third included all noble territories, including the Royal Domain. All other land without noble lords existed as the Imperial Public Domain.

This was related to the Empire's political system. The Empire had originally been reformed from the Noble Alliance, whose initial purpose had been to unite noble lords against the threat of the Northern Grasslands while protecting the interests of the alliance's noble members. It stipulated that alliance nobles could not attack or annex one another. Any violator would face sanctions from the entire Noble Alliance.

Thus, to strengthen their own power, the nobles agreed that only those who participated in Imperial wars and earned a certain amount of merit could receive a portion of the Imperial Public Domain as noble territory according to the scale of their achievements.

After a series of reforms, the alliance was renamed the Saint Fabio Empire, and this agreement formally became the Empire's First Noble Act. It had been preserved and followed ever since. Even the Imperial Emperor could not arbitrarily expand the area of directly governed territory.

As the Northern War shifted from defense to offense, the Empire occupied vast tracts of land in the Northern District. Some territories were granted to nobles who had earned merit in the war, but much of the land remained lordless Imperial Public Domain.

As time passed, the Southern District and the Southern Wilderness Region were successively incorporated into the Empire's territory. Since they had not been acquired through Imperial wars, nearly all of the Southern District and Southern Wilderness Region became Imperial Public Domain, greatly expanding its area.

Whether it had been the former Noble Alliance or the present Empire, the true ruler behind everything had always been the Imperial High Noble Council.

After it was renamed the Empire, the Empire was ostensibly governed jointly by the Imperial Emperor and the Imperial Cabinet. The Imperial High Noble Council remained behind the scenes, and its members consisted of all nobles within the Empire who held the rank of count or above. Naturally, the Imperial Emperor was also among them. As the council's chairman, he was responsible for convening its members to discuss and study all major affairs within the Empire.

After all, the Royal Family was essentially nothing more than the largest noble house in the Empire. The Royal Family and the great nobles cooperated with and restrained one another, forming a political balance that prevented any side from growing powerful enough to annex the others.

The Imperial Cabinet had no fixed number of members, though it generally had no more than ten. Cabinet members also had to be members of the Imperial High Noble Council. They could be appointed after being recommended by the Imperial Emperor and approved by more than half the council, or directly appointed jointly by three-quarters of the council's members. Only then did the appointment comply with the Empire's legal procedures.

At the same time, the Imperial High Noble Council was responsible for supervising and judging all acts and failures of governance by the Imperial Emperor and the Cabinet. Under special circumstances, the council could even directly elect a new Imperial Emperor, though the candidate could only be chosen from within the Royal Family.

During the Empire's long defensive war against the Northern Grasslands, heroes continually emerged from the battlefield. To reward and placate these heroes who had survived fighting for the Empire, the Imperial Public Domain became the Empire's strongest foundation. Each year, anywhere from several dozen to only a few people, after review by the Imperial High Noble Council, were granted noble territories and became Imperial Noble lords, allowing their families to endure.

Lords possessed absolute authority over their own territories, while the Imperial Public Domain was administered by the civil service system led by the Imperial Cabinet. For example, the lord of Linshui City came from a count's family in the north. After reaching adulthood, he entered the Imperial Civil Service System as an official, and only became the lord of a city after twenty years of effort.

Senior officials were subject to a system that barred them from serving as chief officials in the region where their birth family was located. They generally served terms of three years and were jointly appointed by the Imperial Emperor and the Cabinet. Once in office, they had to accept the supervision and review of the local Noble Council. Together with the local garrison, this formed a three-way balance of power.

The Empire's fiscal income mainly came from Noble Tribute, Agricultural Tax, and Commercial Tax. Tenant Farmers living in noble territories generally had to pay their lords thirty percent Agricultural Tax. They also received their lords' protection, though they lost control over their freedom and even their lives.

Nobles handed one-tenth of their annual land income to the Empire as tribute, though the exact amount depended on local circumstances. Freemen living in the Imperial Public Domain had to pay fifty percent Agricultural Tax, while Commercial Tax was far more complicated. Still, taxes on commoners engaged in trade were generally quite high. Although taxes were collected by officials of the Imperial Civil Service System, the Noble Council was the one that determined tax rates. The nobles of this world were no fools. Otherwise, all the Tenant Farmers would have run off to become Freemen.

Before long, the three arrived at the training ground, which was divided into swordsmanship and archery practice areas. Sean and the others headed to the swordsmanship area, where small groups of students were training hard. There were more than thirty of them scattered around the field.

Sean and the others took Wooden Swords and found an empty corner. Following their usual routine, they each began practicing swordsmanship. Sean practiced Military Swordsmanship and Family Swordsmanship once each. When he stopped, he saw Ben ten meters away, practicing Military Swordsmanship.

Sean noticed that Ben's Military Swordsmanship was already quite skilled, but his lack of strength made every movement seem powerless. Sean quietly estimated that Ben's strength was around 0.7 to 0.8. He could not help frowning as he walked toward Ben, stopping three meters away.

Ben also noticed Sean approaching, but he did not stop swinging his Wooden Sword and continued training earnestly. Jim, who had been on the other side, also came over to Sean. After the two exchanged a few simple words, they called out to Ben.

"Ben, your swordsmanship is already very polished. You're just a little lacking in strength. If I were you, I'd train my strength separately," Sean said seriously. Jim also showed an approving expression after hearing this.

This world had Knight Secret Methods for improving physical attributes, but it was not particularly advanced when it came to purely physical training.

Ben looked somewhat lost after hearing Sean's words, then fell into thought. Sean organized his words slightly before continuing, "Ben, you can use dumbbells to train your upper-body strength. Train for one to two hours every day, and if you keep at it over time, you'll increase the strength in your arms." After saying that, Sean described the shape and effects of dumbbells to Ben and Jim.

When Ben and Jim listened with bright eyes, Sean continued, "You can also improve your stamina through jogging. Jog ten kilometers every day. It won't just increase your endurance—it can help you lose weight too!" Sean winked at Ben after saying that.

He then described several other pieces of equipment and methods for supplementary physical training.

Ben and Jim grew eager after listening. Jim immediately suggested, "Cousin, this Sunday, let's find a blacksmith in the city to make some training equipment. From then on, we can work hard together and help each other." Ben nodded repeatedly in excitement after hearing Jim's words.

The three then worked out the specific details of their training plan together. Once everything had been settled,

Jim suggested that he and Sean spar in swordsmanship. Sean knew that Jim's knightly talent was no worse than his own, and that among his physical attributes, only Jim's agility was slightly lower than Sean's.