Chapter 81: – The Lord Is With Us (2)

༺ The Lord Is With Us (2) ༻

The Academy strived for equality, valuing skills over social status. However, that also meant whoever lacked the ability would not be able to escape failure.

Even the most prestigious nobles were not immune from the Academy’s standards. This was evidenced by the number of high-rank nobles expelled from the Academy since its establishment.

There had been hundreds, if not thousands of expulsions.

Even the Empire’s top five most powerful nobles were reduced to ordinary students upon entering the Academy. In fact, the noble families rarely exerted their influence on the Academy and only felt ashamed when their children were expelled.

The Academy earned trust as an educational institution, and its strict standards were recognized by everyone, including the enrolled students.

But if you were to ask whether the academy was truly “equal”, some would deny it. Even an institution like the Academy couldn’t completely disregard the influence of noble families.

The scions of the Empire’s five families aside, the Academy was forced to grant some special privileges to members of the royal family and the highest-ranking representatives of foreign countries. It was a precautionary measure to relieve the academy of responsibility in case problems arose.

Such was the case with the royal princess, who entered the Magic Department as a first-year student this year. Despite being far down in the line of succession to the throne, she still possessed the blood of a dragon. As a result, the academy had to provide a separate annex specifically for her.

Another such case was the woman sitting across from me.

The warm sunlight reflected off her silver hair and cascaded down her back. Her smooth, flawless skin, finely sculpted features, and captivating pink eyes came together to create a unique presence.

Although she was dressed in a priestly robe that symbolized the Church, it was impossible to conceal the alluring figure of her feminine body. Her physical appearance embodied both divine holiness and sinful temptations.

She was the Saintess, an illustrious title bestowed upon the one maiden who had received the favor of God Arus in each generation.

A new Saintess would emerge around every 30 years, but until then, the current “Saintess” held great influence within the religious institution. Being the “Saintess” meant she personified the existence of God Arus.

According to the scripture, God had created humans from his flesh and taught them civility and faith. The first disciple of Arus inherited the title of “Pope” and passed it down from generation to generation while guiding the faithful.

However, in reality, this tradition was based on human laws. The selection of the next pope was designated not by God, but by the cardinals of the Holy Kingdom.