In the Thunder Duchy, the movement for commoners to adopt surnames began in Keen Territory. After the newly appointed Baron Louis Keen took the scepter from his mother, Anna Keen, his first decree was to fully implement surname adoption for commoners.
Naturally, this was a benefit Anna had deliberately saved for her son. With her prestige, she could have carried this out alongside the Northwest Republic long ago. Yet she had deliberately waited for more than a year, hinting at it again and again without ever putting it into practice, thoroughly whetting her subjects' appetites.
In the end, she left the matter for her son to handle, allowing him to win the affection and support of his subjects the moment he took office.
In truth, Crick had taught her this back then. Knowing that his days were numbered, Crick had given her a thorough cram session, pouring all the methods of governance and scheming tricks he knew into his younger sister's head, even specially compiling a textbook.
That textbook had naturally now been passed down to Louis as well. Although Anna had already taught him nearly everything in it, the book itself was what mattered most. Back then, Crick had passed the book to Anna; now Anna passed it to Louis. It had become, for all appearances, a secret inheritance of the Keen Family.
While the subjects cheered over the decree allowing commoners to take surnames, Louis sat in the study of the lord's manor, reading.
What he was reading was the Keen Family Guide to Government Affairs left behind by Crick.
Though he had already heard and learned most of what was in the book from his mother, reading the book personally written by his uncle still felt different.
It was like the same words—"You must study hard." When