Chapter 28

༺ The First Letter (28) ༻

One should always be cautious with the use of force.

Every authoritarian essentially has the trait of privatizing force. In the eyes of the rulers, uncontrollable power is evil, and it was only judged as a thorn to be removed by any means possible.

It was only then that order could be maintained.

The order of the Empire originates from the Emperor, the order of the Southern Kingdoms originates from the Kings of each Kingdom, and the order of the Holy Kingdom originates from the God Arus. What they all had in common was that they were the pinnacle of power in each state.

Therefore, ‘just violence’ is something which only the authorities have the right to wield. This was also the case at the academy, which nurtures talented people who will shoulder the future of each nation. Rather, it would have been better to say that the Academy was a microcosm of this power struggle.

In most cases, violence was not permitted. However, everyone knew that violence was being perpetrated inside the academy, but problems didn’t arise since it was generally governed by the rules imposed by the system.

Nobles are tolerated even if they use a certain level of violence against commoners. It might change if it were to be done in a public place, but otherwise, most commoners didn’t make a big deal out of it.

You could stay as an academy student for only 4 years. After that, when they venture out into the world, the gap between nobles and commoners will become clear again, so they have no choice but to be patient.

Instead, it was customary practice for the nobles to cover everything that happened in the academy. The more this happened, the harsher the punishment bestowed upon those who dared to cross the line.

It was a strategy for the aristocracy to secure an upper hand within the academy.

Thus, while the academy might seem to advocate equality on the outside, deep down, one can’t deny the hierarchy of power.

That’s why Thean’s gang was unable to respond properly when I slapped the face of the aristocrat, or when I unsheathed the sword hanging from my waist.

It was because their brain could not comprehend the present reality.