Reward and Punishment

"They have a valid point, James" Victor II said after watching the discussion take place, silently

— until now. James was duke Turner's first name.

"Your majesty" Duke Turner faltered. His face had gone pale.

"There have been concerns that the Royal Guard has declined in quality as of

late. With this current incident in mind, it may be time for a rehabilitation of the

Royal Guard.The members of Duke Anderson's faction nodded approvingly.

Duke Arbor's faction wore similar expressions at the king's word

"Your right to appoint knights into the Royal Guard is hereby revoked,

James.You shall resign from your position as commander.Bahram shall be

demoted for his involvement as the on-site supervisor This will leave the

position of commander and deputy commander open;thus

Bard Taylor shall assume the position of commander"King Victor declared the details of the punishment.

While it was difficult to

revoke privileges bestowed by a previous king without justification, it was a

different story in the face of such failure. The kidnapping of his daughter was

unforgivable, of course... but the case itself had turned out rather fortuitous.

Tch..." Duke Turner couldn't help from scowling. He had toiled away, building

his family's reputation, only to see it crumble away in an instant. It wouldn't

have been unusual for him to throw a fit, but as a great lord with a long militaristic history, Duke Turner concealed his emotions behind a smile and

immediately thanked the king.

"As you wish, Your Majesty." He noticed Duke Anderson 's smiling smugly to

the side and felt a dark emotion swell up within him Even then, Duke Turner's own smile did not wane.

They wouldn't be laughing for long. He'd surely recover from this... And when

he did, he'd pay them back twofold the humiliation he had to suffer — and he'd

never forgive the culprit behind this incident.

Duke Turner vowed this to himself, deep within his heart.

He suspected the mastermind behind this case was from either one of the

opposing factions, but it was hard to imagine that the devoutly loyal Duke

Arbor would kidnap the princess. The more likely answer was Duke

Anderson.

But even if that were true, Andersob wouldn't show his true colors easilythough.there was no decisive evidence. Their only source of useful information — the

assassin man — was dead. He also had his suspicions about the boy named Kyle,

who just happened to be at the scene of the crime, but Duke Anderson hadn't

shown any signs of concern over him. Turner's conclusion was that the boy

might actually be unrelated to the case.

It wouldn't hurt to take some cautionary steps, though.

"Your Majesty, what do you intend on doing with the orphan named Kyle?"

Duke Turner asked, focusing on Duke Anderson's reaction.

"Hmm. He may be a valuable primary witness to the incident, but Eira owes

her life to him. No matter his status as an orphan, he deserves to be shown

gratitude. I am thinking of giving him some reward."

"Couldn't that be a dangerous move? There's no guarantee he isn't associated

with an outside power."

"Oh? I heard your son was more than thorough with his investigation. Don't

tell me you intend on torturing him further for a confession when you don't

even have clear evidence?" Victor II asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I am not suggesting to enact torture on Her Highness' savior, of course. But

the fact is — there is no proof of his innocence, either." The king frowned at

Duke Turner's roundabout way of conversing.

"What do you suggest, then?""Your Majesty, I humbly believe it would be best to keep him under

surveillance for a while."

"Hmm. The same thought crossed my mind. Indebted as I am to him over

Eira's incident, I suppose it is necessary, though reluctant as I am

Harry ".

The king looked over at Duke Arbor's faction.

Yes, Your Majesty?" An elderly man said, stepping forward from the back of

the group. He stood straight-backed and had a gentle face at first glance, but

the other members cleared a path for him in an almost nervous manner.

His name was Harry Arbor. Although he was the head of the Fontaine

dukedom a generation ago, he still held a fair amount of influential power

as the king'sadvisor.

"I am thinking of enrolling the aforementioned orphan into the Royal

Academy. I'd like to leave the procedures to you." The throne room stirred at

Victor II's words.

The Royal Academy of Erugenia — as both a research institution and education institution represented pinnacle of academia with in the Kingdom of Erugenia.

While there were several schools and tutors for the wealthy in provincial cities,

the Royal Academy of Erugenia was the only government-owned academic

organization. Located just next to the royal castle, its grounds covered an

immense area that included both elementary and middle school educations.

From middle school and upwards, it focused more on specialized areas of

research rather than academic education. Each year, the Academy turned out

impressive numbers of experts in areas such as martial arts, magical arts, and

the sciences. For nobility, graduating from the Royal Academy of Erugenia was a

sign of great status, leading to success in both name and practice. Although

there was an entrance examination, social standing and wealth played a big role

in admission, making most of the students children of high-ranking nobles. Its

doors never opened to commoners.

In other words, enrollment was limited to only a small fraction of nobles.

The thought of an orphan of an unknown background attending such an an

influential and prestigious academy would naturally shock the nobles in the

room, but Harry simply stroked his long beard in understanding.

"I see. You wish for the Academy to keep an eye on the boy?"

"Indeed. Admit him within the next few days. I'm leaving it all to you."

"As you wish. My grandson had just started teaching the first years in

elementary school — I'll admit him into her class." Harry placed a hand against

his chest and bowed deeply.