Rhapsody (4) [Triple Chapter 1/3]

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(Part 1)

Contrary to Count Julian Moore's initial apprehensions, the day began more favorably than anticipated. In the morning, Vivian arrived at the residence. She meticulously selected a few of her dresses. She left a note for her father, assuring him that everything was proceeding smoothly and as she planned.

Whatever that plan may be, he was convinced of his daughter's capabilities and realized it would be a matter of time before she left her mark on the world. But before that, she needed to leave her mark on the Academy.

As he assembled his security detail and moved toward the Academy, he noticed many acquaintances running into him along the way. All, of course, in their own carriage and among their own knights, until they all entered the academy and once again reunited face to face.

Old friends, old rivals, current business partners and competitors, and a great deal of those who wanted to make connections with him.

The name Moore was elevated so much throughout the years only because of the clever investments made by the family. In truth, these investments grew so large to the point where the Moores can be considered to have an economy of their own beneath the nation's economy. The Moores saved the country once from a financial crisis with their financial guarantees in the form of delayed sight bills that were sealed with the family head seal.

In other words, a sort of special money bills, but the Moores would call them the Fire Vouchers.

Since money bills weren't as popular in this era as one would assume, it was because the turbulent times made people feel drawn more towards Gold and Silver. During a time when transferring large sums of money involved the risk of robbery, paper bills served as a secure method of exchange. Among the organizations that could issue their own currency, the Moore Conglomerate stood out as the most reliable and trustworthy. Its international stature and colossal size enabled it to take on this responsibility effectively.

This established the Moore family as the true wallet of the entire Empire and even some of its associates. That is why Lord Julian had to go through a lot of people who came to meet him every time he was out and about, it is also the reason why some factions wanted to limit his movements or even control him as the Head of House Moore.

An example of that is what happened a few generations ago, at the time when House Moore housed both Knights and Mages. A great schism befell the Kingdom and the Great Families went to kill each other and so the Royal Family put a restraint on every family in the form of a condition that would keep the families from growing strong enough to think about going to war. The Moores were given a monopoly over industries of the Empire in exchange for forfeiting all the mining and harvest rights to House Grayson, and they were also banned from hiring or training Magic users, which led them to be a family that relied on firearms and had a gun range in their mansion.

But it wasn't just the Moores who were subjected to such strict laws since, for example, the Blacks were banned from traveling out of Elgard's home region of Harland, Morven Highlands, and Shamrock Isle; and the Graysons were banned from entering industry.

But today wasn't a day he cared for any of that. He made sure that his coachman would race anyone else to the Academy so that he can get some time for himself before witnessing what surprises today would hold for him.

An hour later, Lord Julian was seated in the VIP area along with the top brass of Elgard as well as ambassadors and guests from across the Northern continent.

The Ceremonial Hall of the First Royal Academy of Elgard is nothing short of a grand arena. While it is built indoors, it was composed of four elevated seating areas from all four directions and a large square space in the middle. This space was almost half the size of a basketball court and it was very customizable depending on what it was intended to be used for.

Aside from the general organization of the large hall, all the seats were made of the finest wood from the eastern colonies of Longdi, decorated with the white ivory from the southern colonies of Sauran, while the fabrics were all gathered from various minor colonies.

The court had a long platform in the center and three seats on a stage not far from the platform. This was the setup for the Martial Performance.

A few minutes later, a large number of students started to flow into the hall and filled most of the seats. The officials and the VIP guests arrived one by one later on. The Ceremonial Hall got too crowded too quickly since this year was a very special year to many.

Count Julian started greeting the other VIPs as they came in which included the Provost of the Academy, Count Albert Morgan, as well as Count Alexander De Clare who serves as the King's treasurer, Count Henry Marshall who serves as the general commander of the His Majesty's Army, and High Mentor Cassius of the Grand Elgardish Temple of Saints. There were also various other nobles but mostly viscounts and barons.

But the real stars of the show tonight, aside from the graduating students, are the judges of the performances. The Judges are usually a Teacher along with two guests invited from outside the academy. For the Martial Performance, the teacher is Sir Cornelius Ashford alongside Lord Henry Marshall and Sir Gerald Fitzwilliams, a renowned Knight of the Royal Family. For the Magic Performance, the Teacher is Anthony Morgan along with Lord Benedict Morgan, the previous head of the family the Chief Court Wizard of the King, and Sir Samuel Gane, the youngest court wizard in Elgard. Finally, the music performance had madame Sophie Dubois, Sir Hans von Steinberg, the best composer in Buren, and Sir Theodore Nightingale, the most illustrated musician and composer in Elgard.

With these big fat cats gathered in one spot, only one spot was left empty at the centermost and forefront of all seats.

The King's.

That seat was not bound to be filled as His Majesty was traveling to the summit of the League of Nations held in St. Athena. For that, one man appeared in the stead of the King and it was none other than the lord chamberlain, Count Nivell Musgrave. He was the one to give the green light for the Graduation Ceremony to begin.

"Fellow lords and ladies of all ages and backgrounds, I, Albert Solomon Morgan, welcome you to the 176th Graduation Ceremony of our Great Elgard's First Royal Academy. As the 11th Provost, I witnessed 14 graduation ceremonies, 10 of them during the reign of His Majesty King August III, some of which were Princes of the House of Harland, while others were the great men and women of Great Elgards noble houses. It fills my heart with joy that this year's students have achieved a new record as the highest success rate in 120 years which only foretells an era of prosperity for our great nation."

Hearing about the high success rate from the Provost made many of the students clap so hard and cheer with joy as it means many of them have passed this year without worry about demotion to the second royal academy.

"Settle down, young ones. This good news is one thing, but what you younglings do with your life after this is another. What I hope from you and what Great Elgard hopes is to become the best men and women you can ever be and one day lead this entire world. And so, show us your excellence in the most important aspects of civilization. Show us your strength, your magic, and your culture. This way we show the world who we are and what we will do. Let the Martial Performance begin!"

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