Chapter 14
Continental Year 761, January 29th (Friday).
It was the second day of the history class. Solinor was filled with anticipation from the early morning.
‘Will the teacher bring the documents I requested? Since they’re necessary for the lesson, it shouldn’t be difficult to obtain them, right?’
As a former king, Solinor was used to having such documents readily available whenever he wanted, which led him to this mistaken assumption.
Silbrenoa was not a democratic nation, so documents concerning state administration were confidential and could only be accessed by senior officials of the relevant departments.
Currently, Silbrenoa’s upper society was somewhat dual-structured. On one side were the nobles descended from Solinor’s adventuring companions—founding members of the kingdom—and influential local aristocrats. T
hey wielded power through wealth derived from their territories and the military force from their private armies, holding various privileges based on lineage.
They, along with the royal family, formed the core of the ruling class.
However, due to the kingdom’s brief history, the number of such nobles was insufficient for full governance.
Additionally, noble titles and administrative roles were distinctly separate; many high-status nobles were not involved in administration.
The other group consisted of individuals who were granted quasi-noble status based on their knowledge, administrative abilities, or military skills, regardless of their origins. Patrick and Anton were part of this group.
Quasi-nobles could not pass their status to their children, so many sought connections with established nobles to secure permanent social advancement.
Patrick, Anton’s long-time friend, was a senior official working in the government’s budget department.
He had the authority to access some of the documents Muriela wanted.
However, taking such documents out without a valid reason was suspicious, and being caught could lead to serious repercussions.
Yet, for some reason, Patrick decided to take that risk, swayed by the unusually serious expression in Anton’s eyes.
Thus, Princess Muriela now held reports that could be labeled as educational materials but read as classified documents.
“Wow! Thank you so much, Teacher!”
Muriela, with her small, toy-like feet, wanted to jump up in joy, but Solinor was desperately trying to hold back.
Ever since inhabiting his granddaughter’s body, he had noticed how this young body responded strongly to emotions.
It reminded him of his youth, and he wondered if Muriela had inherited that trait from him.
“Princess Muriela, I am glad to be of help. Do you understand what each number here represents?”
“Yes! I’ve seen things like this before!”
“Pardon? Where might that be?”
Solinor, too excited, let slip an awkward statement.
“Oh, I mean, when I learned to count numbers long ago, I saw many numbers!”
Anton tilted his head in confusion at the odd response. But since Muriela was still a child, he decided to let it go.
“Then, today, we’ll sequentially go over the changes Silbrenoa has undergone since its founding using these documents.”
Throughout the class, Solinor felt like he was being swept away by waves of astonishment.
‘How could so much change in just a decade or so? The power of time is truly incredible.’
During his reign, Solinor remembered Solineum as the only city in the kingdom with a population exceeding 50,000.
Yet, in the teacher’s account, Solineum had surpassed 200,000 people, and there were even three regional hub cities with populations of 100,000 each.
‘Wow, this is truly remarkable.’
The kingdom’s economy was just as impressive. Solinor had already noticed the grand and luxurious transformation of the palace, far beyond what he remembered, but the scale of growth was astonishing—nearly 20 times what he had known.
As he rode the waves of pleasant surprise, Solinor’s sense of foreboding grew when Anton’s voice began to take on a more serious tone.
‘Huh? Why does my history teacher sound angry? Did I do something wrong? But that doesn’t seem right either.’
In truth, Anton had been frequently checking to ensure no one was watching the entire lesson.
Each time a page turned, the contents increasingly made it difficult to speak positively about the king to the princess.
While explaining the situation as tactfully as possible without directly criticizing the king, Anton’s expression began to tighten.
“…And by 748, the provision of basic education to all citizens was discontinued.”
“Huh? Why? Isn’t that a really good thing?”
Solinor couldn’t understand. As someone who had been born a commoner and always regretted his lack of education, he had considered the basic education system an excellent policy.
It was a policy he had heavily invested in during his reign, allocating a significant portion of the national budget.
It would have been understandable if they had never implemented it from the start, but abruptly halting something that had been functioning well without any significant reason was truly strange.
“Princess, do you think so as well? I, too, believe that providing quality education to the people is one of the best ways to strengthen the nation. The late king must have thought the same, which is why he implemented it actively despite the limited economic resources at the time.”
‘Hmm. He knows his stuff. This teacher has some insight.’
Solinor felt quite pleased with Anton’s unintended flattery. Yet, his curiosity remained unsatisfied.
“So, why was this abolished? According to the economic indicators, it doesn’t seem like there was a major budget shortage during this period. Isn’t this just a huge mistake?”
“Well, as it was the will of someone of high status, how could I dare to judge its rightness or wrongness?”
In short, Anton’s response was essentially, ‘How would I know what that fool Eldric was thinking?’ Solinor understood this perfectly.
Even though they hadn’t known each other for long, the teacher and student were remarkably in sync.
“No matter how I see it, this seems utterly absurd. Why would that fool Eldric do something like this?”
When the insult slipped out of Muriela’s delicate lips with the king’s name, Anton was taken aback and thought:
‘The princess has great potential, but she’s still so young and inexperienced…! I must assist her carefully so that she can grow safely. And when the time comes, I will support her wholeheartedly to achieve her grand ambitions.’
“Pr-Princess! Please, watch your words.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I got too excited.”
However, contrary to Anton’s belief that it was due to her youth, Solinor was naturally this way.
He was the type to sing anywhere when in a good mood and curse when angry—an ordinary person in many ways.
But he was also special, as he acted decisively when necessary and always took responsibility for his actions.
Having a noble character did not mean being an indifferent sage.
***
After the class concluded, Anton debated whether he should take the ‘educational materials’ back with him or leave them with the princess.
The truth was, both Muriela and Anton weren’t under significant scrutiny from the royal court. Thus, the risk seemed relatively the same.
No one had been monitoring the class, and when Anton entered the palace, the guards only checked for dangerous items.
But could he fully trust the princess’s attendants or other royals she interacted with? Even if they didn’t have ill intentions, they might notice the unfamiliar papers out of curiosity and try to see what they were.
‘That could cause big trouble.’
As Anton’s thoughts leaned toward retrieving the documents—
“Teacher! Today’s lesson was so much fun! I’ll make sure to review what I learned and read through this so I can prepare for the next lesson! See you next time!”
Muriela’s cheerful voice unexpectedly pierced his ears. No, it power-slammed his internal scale of decision.
During Anton’s time as a university professor, students like her were destined for graduate school without question.
‘How could I even think of holding back after meeting such an exceptional student?’
Changed in resolve, Anton spent a long time explaining the importance of keeping the documents secure and made sure Muriela understood that no one else should see them.
***
Only after seeing off the teacher did Solinor realize an important fact.
‘Ah, I forgot to ask about Aiorin again. Next time! Next time, I must not forget to ask.’
It was yet another instance that validated why Solinor often thought of himself as somewhat scatterbrained when it came to his young elf wife.
Both husband and wife were equally clumsy, making them a well-matched pair in many ways.
—
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