After putting prayer development on hold for the time being, Horace devoted more energy to another undertaking-the Literacy School.
After years of tireless effort (and systematic plundering of Caria's nobility), he had finally succeeded in opening a school offering basic education to commoners.
The first school was established in Lakeside Town, right beside the Order of the Great Rune Knights' training grounds.
The schoolhouse was converted from a confiscated noble's villa-Messmer and the knights had rounded up its former owner and his entire household for tax evasion.
The villa's extensive book collection became the school's first teaching materials.
But one school was nowhere near enough.
The Kingdom of Caria was neither particularly large nor particularly small.
Every region needed schools, teaching materials, and teachers.
Where would the books come from? Even though Horace had already developed printing, books on many subjects were still scarce.
So Horace turned his attention to the remaining nobles.
Families with generations of history and extensive private libraries became the targets of special "attention."
The process was simple:
Step one: tax audits.
Under the new legal framework Horace had introduced, tax declarations required extremely detailed information. The nobles, however, were accustomed to the vague practices of the past, and most of their accounts could not withstand close scrutiny.
Step two: enforce the rules.
Tax evasion? Pay the outstanding taxes, plus a fine of three times that amount.
Refusal to cooperate? Enforce compliance by force and confiscate their property.
Step three: "encourage donations."
During confiscation, a large collection of valuable books would be "discovered by chance" in the noble's possession. Horace would offer a "kind reminder": if they were willing to donate the books to the education department, their punishment could be reduced at his discretion.
Most nobles obediently donated their books.
A stubborn few insisted on