According to the history books, the wise and mighty Stellin IX had always been compassionate towards the people. From a young age, he went into the slums of the royal capital to investigate the society and understood the suffering of the people. He hated the nobles and bureaucrats who greedily plundered the wealth of the kingdom.
When he reached the age of 16, he was sent to the noble academy by his father.
In his four years at the Noble Academy, Prince Calgat eagerly learned all kinds of knowledge, absorbing the precious administrative experience of his predecessors, and honing his extraordinary knowledge. He never participated in the luxurious banquets and dances held by the bored nobles.
Stellin IX said that his four years in the noble academy had given him a deep understanding of the predicament the kingdom was in. It meant that the kingdom had to change in order to be saved.
However, he was still young back then. Even though he had the desire, he didn't know how to go about it.
Thus, Prince Calgat decided to travel around Freia to see what the other kingdoms were like.
Another four years later, Prince Calgart traveled almost the entire continent of Freia. He met many knowledgeable people and became close friends, such as Duke Lawcett Lin Dickens, the invincible commander Marshal Dubok Man Duncan, the iron-faced judge Marquis Ferdigal Mor Fawkes, and the shrewd treasurer Count Gaskel J. Ferman. These people formed the foundation of the kingdom's golden thirty years of development.
After returning to the kingdom, Prince Calgat met with his father, Stellin VIII, and made a request for a complete reformation of the kingdom.
However, the sickly Stellin VIII wasn't interested in it. He gave Prince Calgat the task of supervising the garrisons of the kingdom before sending him away.
Despite his failure, Prince Calgat was not discouraged. He continued to travel around the kingdom, reorganizing the garrisons in various areas and severely punishing those who violated the law and corruption. At the same time, he promoted his plan to reform and save the kingdom. This won him great prestige among the free people and merchants, and also laid the foundation for his final victory after the outbreak of the kingdom's civil war.
Two years later, when Prince Calgat returned to the royal capital, he didn't have the chance to report back to his father because Stellin VIII had passed away.
Next, Princess Irynia and Prince Ernest began to work hard to ascend to the throne.
Prince Calgat knew that he had no chance of ascending to the throne, and the nobles and bureaucrats in the capital would not elect an illegitimate son as their king.
Therefore, Prince Calgat could only try his best to mediate between Princess Irinia and Prince Ernest, hoping that they would put national affairs first and work together to face the crisis.
Elder Princess Ilynia and Prince Ernest were both annoyed. Even though you're a prince in name and our younger brother, you should think about your background. Do you have the right to meddle in our affairs?
Thus, they found a reason to send him out of the capital so that he would no longer appear in front of them and annoy them.
Prince Calgat's departure was akin to a dragon returning to the sea.
When Lossett Lin Dickens, who was still a playboy, heard the news, he rode his horse that very night to seek refuge.
It was also that night that the prince and the future prime minister had a candlelight talk and made up their minds to revive the kingdom and seize the throne.
However, Prince Calgat didn't expect that his actions would cause Princess Irynia and Prince Ernest to be so wary of him. The foolish baron of Whitestag led his private army to his camp to carry out the orders from the royal capital. That forced Prince Calgat, who hadn't fully prepared his army to seize the throne, to fire the first shot of resistance.
The next step was to take over Whitestag and take in the firearm garrison. That was when civil war broke out in Aueras.
At first, Princess Irynia and Prince Ernest shed all pretenses of cordiality and fought in the royal capital. Prince Calgat, on the other hand, brought his newly built army to sweep through the nobles and arrest the local officials who worked for the two factions in the capital.
Soon, Princess Irynia and Prince Ernest shook hands under the pressure of their respective supporters, the nobles, and the officials. They united their forces to deal with Prince Calgart's growing armed forces.
During that time, Prince Calgat suffered several defeats and had no choice but to retreat to the three southwestern prefectures.
After defeating Calgat's army that was marching towards the royal capital, Princess Irynia and Prince Ernest didn't pursue them. Instead, they started fighting each other again.
Prince Calgat, on the other hand, used the opportunity to recruit troops in the three southwestern prefectures and reorganize his army. Thanks to the support of the freedmen and merchants, Prince Calgat didn't collapse from the setback. Instead, he grew stronger and stronger until he finally won.
Princess Irynia ended up in exile in Nasri and died of illness in Shiks in the north of the continent.
Prince Ernest, on the other hand, was killed by a stray bullet on the battlefield. His remaining armed forces and subordinates, with the support of the feudal nobles led by Grand Duke Brown, persisted for more than four months. Finally, they were besieged at the Aimsen River and completely annihilated.
Grand Duke Brown committed suicide after his defeat, and the remaining nobles were either hung on the gallows or exiled abroad.
Princess Ilynia's flag was blue, Prince Ernest's flag was yellow, and Prince Calgard's flag was purple. Given that they were fighting for the throne, the princess and the two princes each had their own scepters as the symbol of authority to command their forces. That was why the history books referred to the Aueran War for the Tricoloured Scepter, while the common folk called it the War of Blue, Yellow, and Purple.
After taking over Whitestag and taking in the flintlock garrison, Prince Calgat finally remembered the warriors who had charged into Rodman Manor and decided to fulfill his promise of a handsome reward.
What he didn't expect, however, was that only one and a half of the warriors who had charged into the manor were still alive.
That wasn't a mistake. One was lightly injured, the other was heavily injured and on the verge of death.
In front of all his subordinates, the prince asked the heavily injured warrior if he had any wishes. As long as it was within his power, he would do his best to fulfill them.
The seriously injured person was very excited. His eyes emitted a golden light, and a bright path was laid out in front of him. He opened his mouth twice, but he didn't say anything. With a stomp of his foot, he stopped breathing. This was a person who didn't have good fortune …
Everyone looked enviously at the lone survivor. It was obvious that he was the only one left. The prince would definitely reward him twice as much so that he wouldn't fail to fulfill his promise.
"What's your name?" the prince asked gently as he turned to the trembling soldier.
He knew very well that many peasants who hadn't seen much of the world would behave like that in front of their superiors.
"My … my … my … my … my name is … Hasby Fer- Fer-" the soldier stammered.
In ancient Hez, fer- 'fer-' meant 'field'.
Those with the surname Ferd were basically farmers.
That Huxby Ferd was Claude's long-dead grandfather and the founder of House Ferd.
However, Claude's father, the current chief executive of Whitestag, Morssen Ferd, would always look vexed whenever he talked about his father. A great opportunity had been placed in front of him, but it was no different from entering a dragon's treasure cave. Instead of taking any precious gems or rare magical equipment, he just picked up a gold coin from the ground and left. What the hell was going on?
"Soldier, you should address him as His Highness!" one of the prince's attendants chided.
"It's fine.
Prince Calgat waved his hand. He didn't care about these details. "Don't be nervous, Hasby Field. You are a warrior. If it weren't for you and those heroes who sacrificed themselves, we wouldn't have won so quickly.
Tell me, what is your wish?
I'll help you fulfill it. Or rather, what do you want?
As long as it's something you want, I'll be able to fulfill it. "
"If your grandpa was a little smarter or clear-headed, he would've just asked His Majesty to bestow a word between his surname and given name, and we would've been nobles by now …" That was what Mr. Morssen often complained to his children.
Whenever that happened, Morssen's hatred for his father would reach a boiling point. He wished he could turn back time and appear before the prince instead of his foolish father, Hasby.
On Freia, the biggest difference between nobles and commoners was the addition of a single character between their surnames.
That character was known as' Zun ', which could also be said to be a noble's inherited surname.
Not just anyone adding a single character between their surnames could pass as a noble's. Instead, the character in their surname had to be recorded and verified.
For example, the future Prime Minister of the Empire, Duke Lucite Lin Dickens. The Lin in his name represented that his ancestors were pioneers of the Wilderness Forestland. Due to his meritorious service, he was conferred the Lin family name.
He was originally a son of a branch of the Lin Dickens family. When he was young, he was a famous playboy. After defecting to Prince Calgart, he first helped the prince ascend the throne. Later, because of his contributions to the kingdom for more than 30 years in power, he was made an honorary duke.
In Aueras, if you introduced yourself as Claude Ferd, people would know you were a commoner and could speak casually.
If you said you were Lawcett Lin Dickens, even those who didn't know you would know you were a noble from your name and would have to treat you with the respect you deserved.
That was why Claude's father, Morssen, dreamed of adding a single character between his surname. To him, that single character represented a bright future.
With that character, he would no longer be the chief administrator of a small town. The positions of mayor, councilor and county governor would all be waiting for him. Rising up the ranks wouldn't be a dream anymore.
Unfortunately, time would not turn back. Mr. Morssen's father, Hasby, had no idea that his future son would slander him for being unwise. Otherwise, he might have sprayed his unfilial son against the wall. If that happened, there would be no more Ferd Family.
As a young farmer who joined the prince's party only to fill his stomach, Hasby didn't know what was going on.
Lured by the smell of bread from the cooks in the camp, Hasby joined the prince's party less than a day ago.
As a result, after dinner and breakfast, gunshots rang out. Someone stuffed a musket into Hasby's hand and ordered him to follow the team.
Hasby followed the party in a daze. The gun in his hand was a new toy to him. He had only heard of it but had never seen it before, let alone how to use it.
When they reached the town, they heard the sound of gunfire and the air was choking with smoke.
The prince seemed to have made a speech and the soldiers around him cheered. Hasby cheered as well. Then, everyone in the party charged forward, including Hasby.
Luckily, Husby wasn't shot during his charge, and he successfully made it into the mansion.
The moment he entered, he was stabbed by a bayonet and suffered a gash below his ribs. However, the one who injured him was stabbed to death by his comrade who charged in from behind. In the midst of the intense melee, Hasby quietly hid in a corner and waited for help.
Just like that, his companions were all dead, and Hasby was the only survivor among the group of warriors.
"I-I want that house," Hasby said hesitantly.
"House?
What house? "Prince Kargat scratched his ear, thinking that he had misheard.
"This one," Hasby said boldly as he pointed at Rodman Manor behind the prince.
"Soldier Hasby Ferd, do you really only want this house as a reward and nothing else?" Kargat asked.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Your Highness. "Husby nodded.
"Alright, as you wish.
From today onwards, this house is yours. "