Raven looked at Valter, who was giving a lecture at the level of a Confucian scholar, with an irritated expression and slapped away the hand on his shoulder.

Since Valter wouldn’t stop blabbering once he started talking nonsense, leaving quickly was the best plan.

“I’m leaving now. I need to prepare for the entrance exam or whatever you said.”

“It would be good to ask Sione for books you can refer to. Since she was once part of the Royal Knights like me, she might teach you much better than I do when it comes to writing.”

“That’s indeed useful advice.”

Raven left the training ground and headed straight to where Sione was, as Valter suggested.

Recently, Sione had taken on the role of the royal tutor, discussing something with Rosa. She was surprised to see Raven approaching almost at a run.

“What’s going on, Raven? Is something urgent?”

“I want to take the knight’s exam. Valter told me to ask you about the written test.”

“The knight’s exam? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

Raven explained the same story to the bewildered Sione as he had to Valter.

After hearing all the circumstances, she mumbled to herself as if lost in thought.

“A Lady Bella’s knight… Not a bad idea. Since you’re in a position where you should be closest to her wherever you go. Also, because you are someone I trust.”
“Is the entrance exam quite challenging? I don’t think things like the physical evaluation would be that difficult, but I’m not sure what Valter meant by the basic qualification test.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. It’s just a test to see if you have the basic knowledge suitable for the Royal Knights. Even if you memorize the books I provide, you should pass the written test easily.”

“The entrance exam is that simple? Somehow, I can’t imagine it.”

In a serious tone, Sione looked down at Raven, who was contemplating.

In fact, she thought that someone like Raven could easily pass the written test.

Raven had started learning to read shortly after arriving at the Rose Palace, and he had rapidly grown, already possessing knowledge comparable to an adult.

It would have been impossible for an ordinary human.

However, he was of the Venian race, known for their extremely rare survival rate among the offspring of demons.

Having closely observed him as he underwent dazzling growth, comparable to Bella’s, Sione believed that with Raven’s level of talent, entering the Royal Knights would be relatively easy.

Afterwards, Sione went to the library with Raven, where she selected books that could be helpful for the exam and handed them to him.

He walked confidently, without any hesitation, even though the pile of books was as tall as him.

Observing his silent progress, Sione turned around when Raven disappeared completely at the end of the corridor.

It was to report this matter to Bella.

“Raven wants to become my knight. Is that true?”

“Yes. Although having a Squire take on the role of a guardian is a kind of loophole, it shouldn’t matter much. Raven will be serving as a Squire under the Knight Commander Valter himself. It’s a position that’s not typically considered a regular Squire.”

It might be easy to assume that a Squire was more of a handyman serving a knight, but in the case of a Knight Commander, it was an exception.

This was because a Squire received treatment according to the status of the knight they served.

Especially, when a Squire who served as a Knight Commander became a full-fledged knight, it was a tradition in the knight society for them to assume the position of the Deputy Commander.

Becoming Valter’s Squire was, in essence, an opportunity for a rise in status.

“It seems like the Royal Knights have a quite open atmosphere. Although there’s some demon blood in him, Raven isn’t a vampire. He’s closer to being human.”
“Since Lord brought him directly to the kingdom, Raven is practically a citizen of the kingdom. But even if that weren’t the case, it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to take the entrance exam. Vladin doesn’t wish for the Chepeshu Kingdom to become a country only for vampires.”

Sione stared into the air as if reminiscing about the past.

Hearing stories related to her father wasn’t a common occurrence, so I blinked my eyes, focusing on her narrative.

“Until the time of the First Lord, our kingdom was a closed nation. During the era when there was a magic order instead of a knight order, there was a strong perspective that only pure-blood vampires were considered vampires. They even frowned upon other demons traveling through the kingdom.”

“If I recall correctly, the Royal Magic Order was once led by Elga, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. When Lord Vladin declared the dissolution of the Royal Magic Order, most of the nobles there transitioned to the Council of Elders. They gave up military power and changed their course to politics. Thanks to that, the Council of Elders now has many individuals with somewhat outdated mindsets.”

As the conversation extended more than expected, Sione had a maid bring tea.

After arranging a tea table, she dismissed everyone from the room and began to reveal an astonishing story.

“In truth, Lord had wanted to abolish the Council of Elders for a long time, specifically some of the families that had maintained their privileges for a long time.”

“Why? Did they do something wrong?”

“While the Chepeshu Kingdom is dominantly controlled by Lord’s powerful force, in the end, it’s a nation of demons. Some noble families, using their power, committed indiscriminate atrocities.”

The types of atrocities that Sione mentioned were endless.

They ranged from murdering weaker individuals to noble families engaging in duels to plundering the property of commoners living diligently.

“Unlike humans, demons live by the absolute rule of power. The reason vampires pledge allegiance to the one who becomes Lord is because it’s the law of demons to follow the strongest among them.”

“…Dad must have a really tough time. It’s not like he can individually persuade demons to live like humans and follow the law.”

“Currently, thanks to Lord Vladin, other demons and mixed-blood individuals can live together peacefully in the kingdom. Lord Vladin’s contribution is significant. When I was young, it wasn’t uncommon for a person or two to die on the streets every now and then.”

Her subsequent explanation was roughly like this.

During the era of the First Lord, the Royal Magic Order, created with good intentions, gradually degenerated into a group with unchecked power.

Even when Elga became the head, their wrongdoings seemed to diminish somewhat, but it was insufficient to stop the wickedness of noble families.
Becoming the new Lord, my dad chose a direction to gradually weaken their power while stabilizing the kingdom, and as a result, he successfully gathered troublesome noble families within the Council of Elders’ den.

Now that the prey has been gathered in one place, it silently awaits an opportune moment to draw the sword.

“Perhaps the investigation conducted by the Fernan family on the Turner family wasn’t merely a simple matter. Galio Turner, the current chairman of the Council of Elders, has been a dangerous figure for a long time.”