Ch.111Vested Interests (3)

The atmosphere at the university these days can’t be described as good, even as a courtesy.

Of course, departments with many nobles never had a good atmosphere since many aristocrats were forced to attend university. But the current bad atmosphere isn’t due to lack of academic enthusiasm like before—it stems from everyone being wary of each other.

In short, the once chaotic atmosphere has transformed into one where everyone feels like they’re walking on thin ice. The cutting wind that hits those walking on that ice is just an added bonus.

“Hey, I heard your family’s region is famous for fish. Have you eaten a lot of it? I find the fishy smell makes it difficult to eat.”

“…Yes, of course. Fish spoils easily so we can’t bring it all the way to Dijon, but at our estate, we can enjoy freshly caught fish in its most delicious state. And you… wasn’t your land barren, forcing you to herd cattle and sheep as nomads? Well, that must be convenient since you can move them while they’re still alive. I’d love to taste fresh meat, so please bring some when you come to study at our territory.”

“…You little bas—”

This kind of scene has become commonplace at the university. When a noble from a mountainous region insults a coastal noble by calling them “fishy-smelling coastal bumpkins,” the coastal noble retaliates by calling them “poor shepherd butchers.”

The fight among nobles for a slightly larger share of resources has greatly affected their children at the university, and this is the result.

The noble students at the university rarely gather with peers of the same status, so they don’t know how to moderate their attacks against others. Their parents would exercise restraint to avoid troublesome situations, at least with those who aren’t distant relatives, but unfortunately, these young nobles don’t know such methods.

Social circles? Such a concept has never been established. When over 90% of nobles are territorial lords who shut themselves in their domains without caring about others, living as loners, how could such troublesome things develop? If they need to communicate with someone, they simply contact that person directly. There’s no need to create unnecessary tea parties to meet people they don’t need to see.

“Come now… there are many eyes and ears watching. Both of you, calm down.”

“Tch… Yes, I understand.”

Since commoners cannot intervene in nobles’ quarrels, neutral noble bystanders step in to stop the fighting.

Thanks to them, these crude psychological battles haven’t escalated into major bloodshed, but even that has its limits. Seeing how yesterday some nobles who couldn’t bear the insults engaged in duels that drew blood, things can’t continue like this.

“Um… excuse me… I need to pass through…”

“Who dares to—?!”

At that moment, a woman timidly tries to squeeze through the group of nobles blocking the way. One noble, already heated from the previous argument, nearly explodes in anger at what he assumes is a commoner pushing him, but instantly closes his mouth.

The person who pushed him was Ellen, perhaps the most famous person at the university—someone who not only received a surname from the king but also conveys the king’s intentions regarding various university policies.

“Ah… thank you.”

Upon recognizing Ellen, the nobles freeze and part like Moses dividing the sea, instantly creating a path. Ellen, witnessing this phenomenon, smiles awkwardly and expresses her gratitude. Though it’s been several months since receiving a surname from His Majesty, she still hasn’t grown accustomed to this treatment.

*Rustle*

“There… done.”

“—?”

After pushing through the parted crowd, Ellen stands firmly in front of the bulletin board, unfurls a scroll from inside her robe, and posts it.

The nobles, who had expected Ellen to simply pass by, look at the poster she’s put up with puzzled expressions.

“…Huh.”

“What? Duels are…?”

And after reading the poster, all the nobles are shocked.

It’s no wonder. Ellen’s poster bore the royal seal and contained a notice prohibiting any further private duels.

The poster stated that private duels within Dijon were forbidden, all factions except those formed for friendship purposes were to be disbanded, and everyone here should focus solely on their studies as students. While the poster was filled with such principles, the nobles viewing it didn’t see it that way.

In an era where settling matters of injustice through duels is natural, prohibiting duels is simply inconceivable. How could they abolish a tradition exclusive to those of noble blood that has continued for hundreds of years?

That’s not all. Disbanding factions? While prohibiting duels at least has the pretext of preventing bloodshed, this order has no justification whatsoever. No matter how high the king’s authority, such an order is tyranny.

“Haha… well, I’ll be going now…”

“…”

If an ordinary servant had posted that notice, they would have been immediately surrounded by nobles and forced to plead ignorance to all manner of questions.

But it was Ellen, who had been granted a surname by the king, who posted it. Understanding what this meant, the nobles didn’t dare approach her, instead circling around nervously.

……….

[“Yes, yes… I’ll go post it right away…!”]

[“No, it’s already getting dark. Go tomorrow.”]

Really… the more I think about it, what an interesting woman.

It didn’t seem right to ask LeClaire to do something as simple as posting notices, and entrusting it to an ordinary servant seemed too important, so I asked Ellen, who happened to be staying at the palace dormitory.

Despite the late hour, seeing her flustered and insisting on posting it immediately reminded me of a dog that jumps into a river to retrieve its master’s disc, even when it falls in deep water. Good grief…

“Thanks to that, I can assign tasks to her without worry.”

Her emotions are easy to read, and she follows my orders immediately without any hesitation—truly an ideal person for delegating tasks. Of course, I couldn’t assign her complex tasks, but for simple matters, she’s easier to handle than LeClaire.

…I clearly intended to use Ellen as a professor at first, but somehow as time passed, I’ve been using her more like my attendant. Well, it should be fine since I’m not really treating her as an attendant handling all my affairs, just delegating some university-related matters.

“Hmm… prohibiting duels and factions except those for social purposes… there will be much dissent.”

“It’s fine. We don’t need to worry about those at the university.”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

LeClaire, who only learned about this today, expresses both slight dissatisfaction and concern with a blank expression, but nods at my firm response.

There are no nobles at the university. This might sound strange, but Burgon Duchy’s nobility law designates only those with titles as nobles, and the Lotharing Kingdom, which inherited Burgon, kept this law intact.

In other words, even if your parents or grandparents were nobles, if you yourself don’t hold a title, you’re technically no different from a commoner. Of course, having a family name makes a practical difference.

Anyway, this means we don’t need to consider the feelings of those at the university when creating or implementing policies. We just need to negotiate with their guardians.

“I’ve sent letters to the students’ guardians. They won’t refuse my decision anyway. It would be insane for them to complain when I’m offering to manage the mess they failed to control.”

“Hmm… I didn’t receive one…”

“That’s because you can speak with me directly, isn’t it? Why use stiff letters when we can just talk face to face?”

“Hahaha, that’s true.”

As someone who has sent his grandson to the university, LeClaire had been very anxious about the recent incidents.

With his son having been granted a territory and being one of the king’s closest confidants, LeClaire had complete faith that his family would be taken care of. He had no desire to get involved in other nobles’ squabbles over resources, but his grandson had mentioned that various factions kept trying to recruit him.

Constantly refusing was awkward and could offend others, so this atmosphere was certainly not good. If His Majesty eliminated such trends before things became too extreme, he could only welcome it with open arms.

“Ahem… However, Your Majesty, while the guardians may have to face reality and follow your intentions, I find it difficult to believe their children will do the same.”

LeClaire, who had been happily conversing with Claude, becomes slightly embarrassed by his behavior, clears his throat, and immediately returns to business mode, pointing out the problems with banning duels and factions.

Would those who would be mindful of such edicts have spilled blood at the university in the first place?

“It doesn’t matter. If they disobey my edict, doesn’t that give me justification to pressure their guardians?”

That was my intention in issuing this edict in the first place.

Either demonstrate competence to me, or quietly accept what you’re given. I can’t just overlook them squabbling among themselves over what’s mine. At minimum, I need to secure a promise that they won’t participate in such behavior again.

If someone still fails to come to their senses and acts even more aggressively… hmm, I’ll think about that when the time comes.