The Founding of the Knight Academy (4)

Would the Imperial Knight Academy agree to the request of a Baron from the Northlands?

Ryan did not know, but the Imperial Knight Academy certainly had no right to disregard the nobles of all six Northlands provinces.

So this time, he was not acting alone. He had also invited nobles from several western provinces.

"Your Majesty the Emperor, once the Imperial First Legion is separated from the army, its future officers will all come from the Knight Academy."

That was what Ryan said openly. Privately, however, the letters he wrote to several great nobles were far more blunt.

"The Empire's army is stationed along the frontier, and the Northlands are forever full of threats. I believe we need to know exactly what kind of combat strength this army of the Empire possesses."

Ryan's invitation won the approval of several great nobles from Hot Spring Province, Purple Mountain Province, and Twilight Province.

But the reasons behind it were not so simple.

The great nobles of Hot Spring Province were Count Ferguson and the Marquis of Hot Springs. The Imperial First Legion was stationed there, and Grand Duke Russell's authority overshadowed all of Hot Spring Province. On land that was only beginning to recover from devastation, the two great nobles found themselves constrained by Grand Duke Russell in many matters.

Grand Duke Russell was reclaiming farmland and raising troops in the Northlands, with Hot Spring Province being the most important location. But all of this required land and wealth. Wealth could come from the Empire, but the land had to be provided in a very real sense by the nobles living upon it.

Yet the rules Grand Duke Russell laid down were flawless.

The land he selected was all "wasteland"—territory not belonging to any noble's domain. Strictly speaking, that land belonged to