"… Very well, I will remember. There is no harm in being flexible in etiquette lessons. We will still have three nights a week, but when it comes to practical use, we can do it anytime and anywhere. Mobile phones … "
Gilbert's words rang beside his ears, and they pulled him back to reality.
Thales tried his best not to look at the schedule on Gilbert's knees. He also tried his best not to calculate how much free time he had left in a week. He sucked in a deep breath.
"As for the ancient language and foreign languages you mentioned …"
The prince nodded.
"Yes, the language of the Ancient Empire.
The Northlanders despise this stuff.
"But the Old Crow insisted on putting it back in the curriculum." Thales' eyes lit up. "'Don't waste the ancient books in the library.' That's what he said."
Gilbert moved a little.
He was a little nostalgic, and also a little touched.
"Is that so, Mister Hicks?"
Thales snorted and smiled. He intended to lighten the burden of this class.
"Of course, with your foundation and years of conscious reading, the language of the Ancient Empire is still quite easy for me.
"As for my classmate …" Thales shrugged.
"Hmm, I'm afraid she doesn't think so."
When he recalled how Saroma was staring blankly at a book titled "Poems of Political Satire from the Era of Kings and City-States" written in the ancient language of the Ancient Empire, biting her nails and looking around. Occasionally, she would cast a terrified glance at him as he flipped through the pages quickly, Thales instantly felt incredibly happy.
He decided that he would never tell her the secret to fast reading.
'Can't understand?
Then I'll skip it! '
At this moment, Gilbert suddenly spoke.
"So, Mister Hicks, are you teaching the language of the Ancient Empire or the modern language of the Empire?"
Thales was stunned and hesitated.
"Erm, let me think …"
However, Gilbert nodded without hesitation and began to write in rustling sounds again.
"I understand. You will need additional guidance for both languages of the Empire."
'Two languages.'
Thales suddenly felt a sense of sorrow, as if he had shot himself in the foot.
The Foreign Affairs Minister looked up.
"And foreign languages?"
The prince looked at the increasingly fewer empty spaces on the schedule. He said with a bitter expression,
"Erm, does the orc language count?"
Gilbert raised his eyebrows. With a look of understanding, he lowered his head and wrote, filling up the few remaining empty spaces.
"So, you still need guidance for three languages: Ancient Cia, Ancient Reen, and the common language of the elves."
'Huh?'
Thales lifted his head in fear.
"I was just joking, Your Highness." Gilbert raised his head and laughed loudly.
"Except for the elves themselves and linguists, no one can speak the first two languages."
"Don't worry, you only need to learn the common elven language."
As he watched her cross out a few more boxes, Thales wisely swallowed the question "So, does Aida know how to speak?".
"Very good. Then, grammar, history, etiquette, and language will be done with the basic classes in your curriculum," Gilbert said in satisfaction.
"Next is the second category."
What?
There's more?
Thales felt another wave of heartache.
The first category was enough to make him suffer!
However, Gilbert's next sentence attracted his attention.
"Philosophy."
At that moment, Thales was stunned again.
A few seconds later, Thales could no longer care about the pressure from his studies.
"Zhe … zhe what?"
Gilbert raised his head seriously and enunciated each word clearly.
"Philosophy is an ancient name. It's an extremely broad subject."
"Today, especially in your curriculum, it includes mathematics, nature, art, and theology."
'What?
Mathematics, nature, art, and theology? '
Thales asked in surprise.
"All of these can be placed in philosophy?"
Gilbert smiled faintly and retorted with the same sentence.
"Which of them can't be placed in philosophy?"
Thales waved his hand.
"I know what you mean." The duke was a little puzzled.
"But I thought that philosophy, which has a narrow and specialized meaning, is not so specific. Isn't it supposed to answer some broad and profound ultimate questions?"
The Foreign Affairs Minister seemed to be joking with him as he repeated the same words.
"Then, what questions do you think are not part of the 'broad and profound ultimate questions'?"
Thales was stunned. He then scratched his head. 'God, I must have gotten this from Kohen.'
"Erm … 'What are we eating today'?"
He asked in a daze.
Gilbert put down his glasses, sucked in a breath, and sat up straight.
"First of all, the question of 'what are we eating' can also be very profound …"
He looked at the prince earnestly and earnestly.
"Secondly …
"Your Highness, as long as a scribe or a civil official who graduated from an academy works hard enough and is familiar with ancient books, he or she can also become well-versed in grammar, history, etiquette, and language.
"As long as a conscript or a commoner knight who came from the city defense team works hard enough and practices martial arts, he or she can also be outstanding in martial arts, calm in command, invincible on the battlefield, and make many contributions.
"All of them have the chance to be conferred the title of nobility one day."
Gilbert's gaze sharpened.
"But how do you differentiate between the fact that you are a true noble with a long history and extraordinary significance, and the fact that they are not?"
Thales gave him an awkward smile in return.
'I don't really know.
After all, it's my first time as well …
'Being a noble, after all.'
Fortunately, he tried his best to suppress the words that he had been ridiculed countless times, "Glittering golden blood?" into his throat.
Gilbert smiled mysteriously.
"If you are not used to it, Your Highness, then just treat it as a nice name: philosophy."
Gilbert looked outside the window, and there was a yearning look in his eyes.
"You must know that long before the Age of the Empire, philosophy encompassed everything. It was once known as the 'Study of All Laws', and it was a compulsory course for the nobles. At that time, the knights controlled their armies on horseback and talked about philosophy when they dismounted. As a noble, it did not matter whether they learned philosophy or not.
'Study of All Laws?
'Compared to the Seat of All Laws that Asda mentioned …'
Thales paid attention to it quietly.
"But the content it contains, mathematics, nature, art, and theology, seems to be a little …"
The prince struggled to find an adjective, but he failed in the end.
Gilbert only looked at him from afar with a smile on his lips. He did not answer.
Thales, who could not find the right words, could only exhale.
"You know, you remind me of the Old Crow again."
The Duke of Star Lake recalled the past.
"Arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and geography. Even though the education of the nobles in Northland included them in military lessons without thinking, the Old Crow separated them and explained each of the four subjects separately.
"And the Old Crow did not just talk about simple arithmetic, but …"
Gilbert suddenly took over the conversation.
"Algebra?"
Thales' eyes lit up.
"Did he teach you that too?"
Gilbert chuckled.
"This is a compulsory course in Dragon Kiss Academy. It can be considered as an old tradition from a long time ago. Teacher Hicks brought some of it to his home class."
The Foreign Affairs Minister said airily,
"At the very least, all the students in Dragon Kiss Academy must learn how to solve general algebra, such as the principles and formulas of a quartic equation."
'What?'
"Quartic equation?"
'And it's a compulsory course?'
Thales laughed dryly.
"Why? Why not just learn the quintic equation, the sixfold equation, and the sevenfold equation? "
What he did not expect was that Gilbert began to recall in an exceptionally serious manner.
"Mister Hicks said that no one has found a way to solve the quintic equation. It is said that there were some methods during the Age of the Empire … Some people found them, but they were lost after the Battle of Eradication.
"It is said that some scholars who have devoted their entire lives to research even more deeply. Their algebra is no longer limited to referring to simple numbers, but to some objects beyond reality and beyond imagination. They can even find ways to accurately refer to direction and space, as well as motion and change. For this reason, their arithmetic paper can be spread out on several floors …"
"Urk, Gilbert, you can stop here." Thales started to feel a headache coming on. He made a gesture to stop Gilbert.
"You know, in the Northlanders' indoor military classes, I personally prefer astronomy and geography, even though my classmates prefer it the other way around …"
'Sorry, my interest in mathematics can't compare to a little girl in Northland.'
Thales thought in a half-mocking and half-resigned manner.
'You really bring shame to the traditions of the Empire.'
Gilbert lowered his head and continued to fill in the blanks.
"Apart from mathematics …
"Geography broadens one's knowledge and broadens one's horizons.
"Art includes music, painting, sculpture, dance, poetry, and drama. It cultivates one's body and mind, and cultivates one's temperament.
"As for theology … Hmm, it is more abstruse. You will come to know about it.
"The weekly schedule required for them to be added together … Hmm, let me see …"
Thales became more and more tired as he listened.
Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows and picked up the draft of the schedule.
"Oh, it seems like the schedule can't fit all of them …
"It's alright. I will go back and arrange the proportion of basic courses and philosophy courses so that they can be mixed together …"
Thales closed his eyes, resigned to his bad luck.
But he remembered something. He immediately opened his eyes and asked,
"Wait a minute, Gilbert. Didn't you just say that there are three main categories?"
Gilbert looked at him and revealed an expression that said that Thales was worth teaching.
"Yes, the third main category is practical. I will have to report this to His Majesty to make a decision …"
'What else?'
Thales asked, not without sorrow.
"Practical?"
Gilbert cleared his throat and continued to write notes on the piece of paper that predicted Thales' future fate.
"Let me give you an example. Practical governing. This is especially needed by the big families with the title of count and above.
"Military command and logistics, reporting and handling of government affairs, agriculture and business, finance and taxation, national politics and diplomacy, religion and relations between nobles, law and jurisprudence …
"But this is not something that can be taught by a normal teacher in an academy. Usually, it needs to be combined with reality and examples. It would be best if the students can personally experience it …"
After Gilbert finished writing something down, he raised his head, narrowed his eyes, and smiled.
"You do not have to be anxious for now. Fill up the content at the beginning first."
He looked at the schedule in his hands excitedly.
"Then, grammar, logic, and rhetoric in grammar class …
"Then, history class and etiquette class. I need to make some slight adjustments to the focus of these classes …
"Two types of the ancient language of the Empire and the common language of the elves. I reckon that you have almost forgotten the basics of the latter …
"Then, there is mathematics, nature, art, and theology. Hmm, the rest of these four classes will be further subdivided according to your interests and the teachers you can find. For example, I recommend art …
"As for the specific choice of tutors, let me take a look. It will be best if I can find a different tutor for each class so that you will feel a sense of novelty and like to attend classes …
"I will have to make a separate note for practical classes …"
As he listened to his words, Thales' expression changed from fear, pain, and sorrow in the beginning to gradually becoming numb.
"Very good. These are the three classes for you."
Gilbert smiled so widely that his teeth were exposed.
"I wish you a pleasant study."
Thales glanced at the schedule that was almost filled to the brim, and his face instantly turned pale.
"Do you think that I can handle all of them?"
Gilbert shook his finger. He was full of confidence.
"No, no, no. Others may not know, but six years ago, I personally witnessed your learning progress. Your Highness, you can be called a genius."
'Wait, wait.'
Thales' lips twitched.
"I believe that these classes will be a piece of cake for you.
Besides, six years ago, when you were still young, didn't you tell me this? "Gilbert blinked. He was filled with the gratification of finding a good student.
"You love to attend classes the most."
Thales' vision darkened.
'Gilbert.
You … Did you misunderstand something? '
If he said that his brain was damaged by the Northlanders, would it be of any use?
But the Foreign Affairs Minister obviously did not understand his feelings.
"Then, I will take my leave first. I will come again tomorrow. You must be ready for your grammar class!"
Thales could no longer remember how he sent Gilbert away.
He only remembered nodding and smiling in a daze, then nodding with a smile.
When Thales came back to his senses, he was already standing at the door of the reception room.
At this moment, a voice that was no longer unfamiliar rose from behind him.
"Is it over?"
Thales turned around in a daze.
"Very good. The police station just sent someone over to chase away the uninvited guests who wanted to visit the duke."
The captain of his personal guards, watchman Lord Mallos, was still smiling nonchalantly.
"Then, you should have time, right?"
Thales looked at him numbly. He did not understand.
Mallos grinned, and those who saw him felt as if they were bathed in the spring breeze.
"Get ready, Your Highness. Our training will begin tomorrow."
'Oh.'
Thales also returned to his senses in a daze.
'Wait.'
"F * ck …"
Thales snapped out of his numbness. He turned around abruptly, and his eyes widened.
"F * ck what?"
Mallos frowned a little.
"Did Count Caso not tell you?"
Thales shook his head subconsciously.
The watchman walked forward and sized up the duke with narrowed eyes.
"Other than the complicated classes on the basics, philosophy, and practical matters, there is one more important thing for the nobles of Constellation."
'One more important thing?'
Mallos nodded and said with a smile,
"Since the age of kings, it has been the most crucial standard to prove the difference between nobles and commoners."
'Again?'
An ominous premonition rose in Thales' heart.
He heard Mallos say with a smile,
"Martial arts."
Thales did not react and was momentarily speechless.
Three seconds later.
The prince took a deep breath.
"No, I learn martial arts. What … what does that have to do with you —"
Mallos interrupted him with a standard etiquette.
"Unfortunately, I am Tormond Mallos. I have just been appointed by His Majesty to be your …
"Martial arts instructor."
Thales was stunned.
Mallos looked up with a beaming smile.
"So, for seven days a week, I need you to devote seven mornings and seven afternoons. Starting tomorrow, please move to the training field in the backyard punctually at six in the morning and five in the afternoon.
"Follow me and train well." “
He said the last few words with great delight.
Thales stared at him blankly, unable to say a word.
Mallos patted his shoulder and flashed a friendly smile, "Don't be hasty, Your Highness.
"We still have a long way to go."
Thales sucked in a breath and walked forward numbly, completely ignoring the amused gazes behind him.
But Mallos stopped him.
"Your Highness.
"You may train moderately, but swords are blind."
His smile was gentle and magnanimous, but in Thales' eyes, it looked extremely evil, "If you bump into anything …
"Please bear with me."
Mallos bowed appropriately, smiled, and turned to leave.
The prince was left alone in the morning light.
At this moment, Thales felt complicated.
His mind was gloomy.
After a long while, he walked out of the guest hall with a haggard face.
He was ready to enjoy his life as a parasite for the last time.
The prince suddenly understood.
'So, when I was in Northland, it was just this world's …
'Nine years of compulsory education.'
Thales exhaled in pain.
'Now, I'm finally fourteen years old …
'I should …'
Thales thought in despair.
'High school.
Watching the duke walk past with a numb expression, Doyle shook his head in the distance.
'Unfortunately, this child came when Mallos was being threatened by a fat noble and was in a bad mood.
'But …'
Doyle sized up Thales' despondent look.
'Oh, our second prince, the Duke of Star Lake, can't take it anymore?'
His eyes darted around and he scratched his chin.
'After all, the female officials in the palace …
They're still waiting to give him a lesson on gender.
Royal bloodline
Royal bloodline
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