episode_0176

“You have accomplished great things.”

“It definitely achieved results beyond expectations.”

Rupert returned after finishing his activities, including his lecture in Sylvania.

-Make Sylvania a cultural powerhouse!

He had a hard time giving speeches that instilled pride in the Sylvania people several times in that short period of time, to the point that anyone who saw him might mistake him for a native born and raised in Sylvania rather than an imperial citizen.

But I was able to talk to Esteban with a smile now because all that hard work was not in vain but resulted in meaningful results.

‘I would like to send our Sylvania’s talented students to the Imperial Academy this year.’

It was a proposal made directly to Rupert by Eldran, Adrian’s father and the king of Sylvania.

In response, Rupert promised to sell animation films and animation projectors, which were the latest products that had not yet been sold in other countries.

In some ways, it was simply a friendly agreement, but what was significant was that the country in which it was made was Sylvania.

Rupert, who had achieved the incredible feat of improving relations with Sylvania, had to be summoned to the Emperor immediately after returning home and showered with praise.

‘I would like to appoint him as an honorary duke right now!’

In fact, relations with Sylvania have not been good since long ago, but the recent war that the current emperor started in order to weaken the power of the nobles was the main reason why it became particularly bad.

“After the war, all the countries that had even the slightest contact with the Empire turned their backs, so even His Majesty the Emperor must have felt a great burden.”

“That’s true. But while I was away, something happened at home. Do you know anything about it?”

“Yes? I haven’t heard any special stories about Somerset.”

“Is that so?”

Rupert recalled the strange atmosphere he had felt when he returned to the mansion after his return home.

‘Ada never thinks of anything!’

When I went to see Ada to give her the gift I bought in Sylvania, she was sweating in the middle of winter and didn’t answer any questions I didn’t ask.

‘Yes, thank you for your hard work. Yes? His Highness the Crown Prince has urgent business to attend to…’

When I gave a souvenir to Marquis Bradley and asked him about Edric’s whereabouts, he seemed flustered and evasive, which seemed suspicious.

But Rupert just ignored it because there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.

There were too many other things to worry about right now.

“Are those many pieces of paper the art department admissions applications?”

“This is really a headache.”

As a professor at the Imperial Academy, Rupert was also involved in the selection of new students.

And the number of applicants to the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts this year was over 100 times higher than last year, leaving Rupert buried in application forms.

‘Art professor? The most leisurely job during the year is when new students are recruited.’

The most popular departments at the academy were usually the Department of Military Science, the Department of Magic, and the Department of Public Administration.

Of course, since being admitted to the academy itself is considered a sign of outstanding talent, the competition in other departments was also fierce.

In the case of the three departments above, it was common to hear that professors had a hard time selecting students while staying at the academy during the freshman recruitment period.

On the other hand, in the case of the Department of Fine Arts, which was the least popular department, it was said that this was the most relaxed time because the selection process was practically over in less than a day.

But that is now a thing of the past.

‘I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to learn under Professor Rupert!’

‘There’s no reason why we shouldn’t become the next Somerset.’

‘Just being able to become friends with Professor Rupert is a tremendous opportunity!’

As soon as the academy’s freshman recruitment period began, countless people applied regardless of their social status just to get into the Department of Fine Arts.

First of all, in the case of commoners, it was understandable that one of the most coveted professions among commoners in the Empire was a worker at the Somerset workshop or a writer at Manapia.

‘I heard that the employees of Somerset Workshop receive several tens of silver coins as salary per month?’

‘That’s not all? Sometimes, on special occasions like anniversaries, they give out gifts to employees, and I heard that they are limited edition goods.’

‘It is rumored that the writer of Baekgyeong, who was serialized in Manapia, bought a boat at a young age!’

Some of it was true, and some was exaggerated rumors, but to people, it just seemed like a stroke of luck, like winning the lottery.

It wasn’t much different for the nobles.

‘The Somerset family is now a marquess. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with being friendly, but you have to be friendly no matter what!’

‘I heard that there are close relationships with the Imperial Family, Bluewell, and Matap.’

‘His Highness the Crown Prince cherishes Somerset so much that his power will surely increase in the future.’

There had been a constant stream of noble families wanting to interact with Somerset for a long time, but since the head of the family, the Marquis of Bradley, and Rupert, had not shown much interest in such matters, there were no proper opportunities to form relationships.

So, there were many nobles who tried to make some connections by having their children enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts.

‘The current art students are literally hitting the jackpot.’

‘That’s not it. Haven’t you heard that rumor?’

‘What is it?’

Of course, there was talk that students who entered the department before its status changed were lucky.

If you look at it, half of them were lucky, and half of them were rather unhappy.

‘Why can’t you raise my son’s grades?’

In the case of nobles who entered existing art departments, they often relied on their family’s wealth rather than their abilities.

The art department, which did not have a large budget like other departments, nor did it have an abundance of support from alumni, had no other source of income than donations from nobles.

So, it is a tradition, not a tradition, that students’ grades are determined by the amount of donations rather than their abilities.

Even after Rupert took office as a professor, some noble students believed in this tradition and slacked off in their studies and assignments.

‘Huh! Even so, it’s obvious that they’ll give grades based on donations anyway.’

The aristocratic students who had initially been humiliated by Rupert’s initiative were subsequently divided into two groups.

Anyway, it was a good opportunity to learn painting directly from Rupert, so they were divided into those who said they should work hard and those who were hardliners who had pride and could never bend.

The hardliners continued to not follow Rupert’s guidance as much as possible, and instead acted violently, such as bullying the hard-working commoners.

Yet, what they believed in was their family’s wealth.

Even after failing the midterms, they were still proudly boasting that they had won first and second place in the class, but when they received their report cards, they were shocked.

F. That is, it was the art department that was in an uproar as parents stormed into the academy after seeing report cards with grades that meant failing.

‘The reason your child’s grades are bad is because he or she doesn’t work hard enough.’

‘Professor Rupert, if your grades are not corrected, the donation you promised this time may be canceled.’

‘It’s okay. I’ll pay for it anyway.’

When the nobles threatened to stop donating unless he fixed his grades, Rupert smiled and said that he would replace him, but they had no choice.

For Rupert, who was now one of the fastest-growing men in the Empire, the Academy’s endowment was no longer a burden.

Only then did the hard-line aristocratic students realize that what they had believed was useless and belatedly began to cry out, but it was already too late.

‘The professor’s family has been promoted to the rank of a writer!’

Rupert’s stock was rising sharply by the day, and inversely, the faces of the hard-line aristocratic students were getting paler by the day.

There were even some who dropped out because they were so scared that they were targeted by Rupert, even though he didn’t really care.

“Oh, by the way, are you preparing well?”

“Are you ready? Oh, that’s what you’re talking about.”

Rupert, who was reviewing the applicants’ documents in Esteban’s office, which had now become as familiar as his own studio, suddenly asked a question.

“Thank you again, thank you so much.”

“Don’t feel too burdened. From the beginning, I planned to give the remaining seats to Esteban and Dumas.”

At Rupert’s answer, Esteban quickly wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes with his sleeve.

“I have done so until now, but from now on, I will really put in my utmost effort for Somerset.”

What Esteban was preparing for was none other than the awarding of titles to himself and Dumas.

Five baronetcies granted to the House of Somerset upon their elevation to the rank of marquis.

One of them was given to Knight Mullers, who had protected the family for a long time, and Knight Own, who had not yet received it due to his lack of seniority, was also scheduled to receive one someday.

And of the remaining three, two were submitted by Rupert and accepted by the Marquis of Bradley.

The targets were none other than Esteban and Dumas.

‘Are you really going to award me the title of baronet?’

At first, when Esteban heard the news from Rupert, he couldn’t believe it.

There were two ways for a commoner to become a noble in the empire.

Becoming a knight or soldier and achieving great success in war.

Or, when magicians, alchemists, or scholars of the Magic Tower achieved a historically significant achievement, such as a discovery of the century, they would be promoted to the rank of noble.

Other than that, no matter how hard you tried, there was no way to become a noble, but there were exceptions, such as now, when a family was granted the right through succession.

However, the baronetcy awarded to a noble family that had ascended to the throne usually had a specific purpose.

Especially in the case of merchants, due to the deep-rooted contempt of the nobles, they were never given the title of baronet no matter how much profit they might have made.

Rupert ignored it and presented Esteban with a baronetcy for his support over the years.

‘I will definitely repay this favor, my lord.’

That is why, even though Esteban became the head of the Seven Great Merchants, he was always ignored by the nobles and was told to do business, and at the same time, he was able to overcome his deep-rooted inferiority complex.

Once again, I am determined to dedicate my life to Rupert and Somerset.