Cycle of Destiny

Harry and Veronica have known each other since childhood, and their friendship stems from the mutual support their parents provided.

The two men's fathers had very similar backgrounds; both came from ordinary families but were also very talented in physical strength.

Because of poverty, he never received any proper guidance or powerful techniques. However, due to his hard work and talent, he became a level seven warrior around the age of twenty, making him an outstanding figure among young warriors.

They all received sponsorship from local nobles and came to the capital with a yearning for fame and glory to participate in the empire's martial arts tournament held every five years.

Unsurprisingly, they all placed and subsequently received the noble title of baron.

The Imperial Tournament is structured as follows: participants must be under thirty years old and must pay a hefty registration fee.

Those who place in the top ten of the tournament will receive a formal knighthood, a huge prize, and the qualification to make a "political donation".

In the early days of the empire, the inheritance of noble titles and property was based on primogeniture and division of inheritance.

In other words, the eldest son will inherit his father's title and most of the land, while the other children can obtain a portion of the land and property.

However, such an inheritance system not only fragmented the family businesses of nobles, but also made the eldest son, who had no competitors, prone to becoming unambitious, lazy, and cowardly.

After being defeated by the elves, Aknos XII introduced dueling succession into the succession law, binding titles with power.

The rule stipulated that titles should be inherited by the descendants of powerful noble families, rather than being limited to the eldest son. It also stipulated that other children could not obtain titles or land, but could only receive a small amount of money.

The purpose of this was to ensure that the property of the nobility, and its main components, especially large estates, manors, and mansions, remained intact and undivided. This was to prevent the dispersal of wealth and the resulting decline in the political and social standing of the entire ancient family.

This inheritance background led to a downward mobility of noble children who did not inherit titles and family businesses, forcing them to rely on their own efforts, such as winning military service, accumulating wealth, and paying political contributions, in order to find a chance to return to aristocratic society.

The martial arts tournament was an excellent opportunity for these noble sons who had not inherited the throne.

They have noble blood flowing in their veins, which allows them to enter the Knight Academy and become official knights.

The combination of being a formal knight and a descendant of a nobleman also qualified them to contribute "political donations".

What attracts them to participate is the generous prize money, enough to earn them a title.

It is very difficult for commoners to enter the Knight Academy—unless your family is wealthy and willing to pay a huge amount of academy construction fees.

Not being a knight, nor having a noble father, the tournament became the most sacred path for ambitious young commoners.

Both fathers achieved their desired rankings: Harry's father came in fifth, and Veronica's father came in third.

Making it into the top ten signifies the birth of a nobleman, and the two of them successfully obtained the title of baron.

Society at that time had already begun to promote "gentleman culture." They might be descendants of nobles who had moved down the social ladder and missed the glory of their fathers; or they might be wealthy merchants who had acquired gold coins and longed to gain their own sense of honor.

These people tried their best to imitate the behavior of nobles. They paid huge sums of money to build academies and sent their sons to expensive knightly academies. They kept their wives at home and sponsored theaters and charities. They would even hold hunting trips, spend a lot of money to prepare banquets, and take it as an honor to invite a few nobles to the banquets.

Once these people become wealthy, they typically buy large amounts of land and build magnificent mansions. Although it is difficult for them to obtain noble titles, by imitating nobles, they feel as if they have also entered aristocratic society.

The two who won a place in the martial arts tournament did the same; after receiving their titles, they both paid huge dowries and married noblewomen as wives.

However, noble society values ​​lineage, and some mean-spirited nobles would still belittle these new nobles in private, saying that even if they were wearing silver velvet now, it wouldn't change the fact that their grandfathers had indelible ashes on their hands.

The noble coats of arms of the Arcanus Empire were indeed respectable designs, but if the person who painted them was of commoner origin, they would not feel so noble.

Therefore, nobles like Harry's father and Veranika's father, because of their similar backgrounds, experiences, and the same rejections they faced, had a close relationship and supported each other.

Veranica was born posthumously; her father died during the "Bloody Invasion" in the capital, and her mother was the daughter of a viscount in the capital.

After Veranica's father died, the relationship between the two families did not become estranged, but rather became closer.

Every year when Harry's family returns to the capital, they are invited by Veranika's mother, and they always reciprocate.

The aristocratic circles in the capital were not large, and the two families had many opportunities to meet. Even when Harry's family was not in the capital, the correspondence between the two sides never ceased.

When Harry needed to attend the Knights Academy, Veronica also reached the required age, and the two naturally entered the same Knights Academy.

The process of knightly education can be roughly divided into three stages: family education, scout training, and servant training.

The family education stage lasts from birth to around ten years old.

During this stage, aristocratic children primarily received moral education and personality development from their parents.

If the father is a knight, this stage of education is considered complete. If not, then the home education stage is considered deficient, which is why some wealthy businessmen have to pay huge academy construction fees to send their sons to knightly academies.

The period of education for servants typically lasts from the age of ten to fourteen.

At this time, noble children would be sent to specialized knightly academies for specialized knightly education. During this period, these noble children would serve as pageboys, receiving instruction in martial arts and etiquette, moral cultivation, and character development.

At this stage, they would serve as pageboys to a knight of the academy.

Noble children were required to be at the knight's beck and call at all times. When the knight engaged in social activities, they would either stand aside and observe silently, learning the customs of aristocratic society, or serve tea and water and attend to others, thus being subtly influenced by the etiquette of aristocratic society.

On ordinary days, the servants would rise early and go to bed late, sweep the courtyard, and look after the house.

They also need to receive formal cultural and knowledge education.

There is no difference between a knight without learning and a farmer.

They were provided with private tutors to learn the common language, history, geography, music, and art, and even dance.

At the same time, they also received extensive martial arts training, which enabled them to grow into young people who were skilled, brave, loyal, and elegant in demeanor and speech.

The period from fourteen to nineteen years old is the squire training stage, which is the last and most important stage in knightly education.

At this point, their status changed from page to squire, completing their training in squire skills and learning how to be a knight in practice.

In military training, they were to act as knights' close attendants, preparing them for various activities: keeping helmets and shields safe, wiping lances and daggers, caring for swords and armor, and helping noble lords put on their helmets and armor and mount their warhorses.

As they grow older, they can also go to martial arts tournaments, duels, and even battlefields to observe and train in real-world situations, learning how to use weapons and military strategies.

In addition to these duties, squires also helped knights feed and train hunting dogs and falcons, and accompanied them on hunting expeditions to enhance their courage and boldness.

Afterwards, if one can pass the tests of etiquette and cultural knowledge, and most importantly—become a third-class samurai and unleash battle aura—then one can participate in the sword-slaying ceremony, obtain the title of knight, and become a formal knight.

Besides attending the same knightly academy, the two also chose to serve the same knight. Before Harry left the academy, the two were inseparable.

They trained and studied together, relying on each other as dance partners while also disliking one another.

When Veranica entered the Knight Academy, the new inheritance law had only been in effect for a few years. This new law removed gender restrictions for heirs to titles, allowing women to inherit their fathers' titles, and the Knight Academy was officially open to women.

Veranica's mother was farsighted; she understood that the new inheritance law gave her daughter the opportunity to continue wearing the glorious noble badge. However, being of noble birth herself, she also knew that the aristocratic society at the time did not value women, so her daughter would face unusually great prejudice.

She had watched Harry grow up, and in her eyes, although Harry didn't seem very smart and was greedy, and she couldn't find any redeeming qualities, he didn't have any moral flaws, and he always got along well with Veronica.

Having your daughter study at the Knight Academy with such people, even if she doesn't receive good influence, isn't necessarily a bad thing.

And so, Harry and Veronica entered the Knights Academy together.

Just as Veranica's mother had said, there were practically no female students at the Knight Academy at that time.

Although the noble boys were immature, they were puzzled by the fact that women could come to the Knight Academy, influenced by their fathers. Although the academy's etiquette classes taught them to respect the noble ladies, they did not believe that the ladies had any wisdom or strength.

Strength is the core of a knight, so martial arts training is the most important thing in the academy.

Veronica was agile and intelligent, and learned very quickly, which aroused the jealousy and resentment of the boys. However, Veronica was very humble, and she always found a suitable way to deal with their cold looks and ridicule.

To boys who were to inherit titles higher than her own, she would talk about how much she admired their noble bloodline; to those who were talented in martial arts or of average talent, she would praise how intelligent they were, how destined they were to become powerful knights, and how she had always wanted to be like them; she would also say how knightly they were and how handsome they were.

In short, Veranika dumped all the affirmation those little boys craved from others onto them, like garbage.

She also said how stupid she was, how insignificant she was in front of him, and how precious it was to her that he was willing to criticize her.

She would also earnestly ask the other party to continue pointing out her shortcomings, promising that she would definitely try her best to change, and believing that those wise suggestions would surely help her go further.

They were pleased with her flattery and touched by her humble attitude, so they gradually became more tolerant of her, even overlooking her gender-related defects.

Veronica made many friends at the academy, a large portion of whom would later inherit titles. One can imagine how popular she would be in the capital's social circles.