Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 12: Establishing the Academy (1)

Ugh.

Knight Commander Victor could not even utter his first words and only let out a groan.

Then,

Swoosh.

The knights seated around him glanced at him.

No one spoke, but their eyes all said the same thing: "Brother, say something."

“……”

As Victor's silence continued, Mangala, unable to hold back, spoke up in frustration.

"Commander, you can't just sit there like that. Say something. Everyone's feeling uneasy, and you need to set things straight."

He had a point.

This was a rare occasion for a knightly meeting, and yet their Knight Commander, Victor, was keeping his mouth shut.

That wouldn’t do.

So, Mangala’s complaint was understandable, but…

“Hey, you brat!”

Victor had his own grievances. He spoke with a resigned voice.

“Think about it. His Grace suddenly decides to establish the North’s greatest academy… And then he dumps the core responsibilities onto our knight order? But….”

Gulp.

Victor hesitated for a moment before continuing, a little embarrassed.

“We’re just swordsmen who have swung blades on the battlefield. When have we ever handled administrative work?”

Yes, that was the crux of the matter.

The task before the knight order was absurdly overwhelming.

That was the real issue.

Sigh.

Victor let out a deep breath.

“Establishing an academy, huh….”

It was ridiculous.

What was an academy in the first place?

It was a place that gathered the offspring of noble families, provided elite training for knights, mages, and priests, and nurtured them into the backbone of the continent’s defense.

However,

The knights here were not men who had been educated as nobles before being knighted.

They were all individuals who had displayed exceptional talent in their hometowns, caught the eye of local nobles, and…

After years of service as squires, they had earned their knighthood purely through their combat abilities.

They were warriors so skilled that Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz had paid extra to recruit them, even without noble titles.

In short, the knights gathered here were elite blue-collar fighters.

And now their employer had suddenly decided to set up an office and order them to do paperwork.

Sure, if it were just about training noble brats in swordsmanship, they could handle that easily. But…

Creating an education system for them, managing priests and mages, and handling all the administrative tasks were clearly beyond the capabilities of the knight order.

Krum, seeing Victor’s troubled expression, chimed in.

“Well… Commander, you don’t have to overthink this so much.”

“Speak. Do you have a good idea?”

“Well… when you think about it, all of us got here by training relentlessly from the ground up, right?”

“……”

“If you look at it that way, His Grace isn’t trying to create an academy just to pamper noble kids. He wants to train warriors who will protect Axen. So…”

So?

“We make them run in the morning, drill them in swordsmanship, and if they don’t listen, we beat them a few times. They’ll grow up fine—just like we did.”

Several voices agreed with Krum’s outrageous proposal.

“Yeah. Raising kids isn’t that hard. If they step out of line, you just beat them.”

“Right. This is a great chance to bash some noble brats’ heads in.”

“I’ve been getting fed up with nobles ever since His Grace started scolding us.”

No one responded to the last comment, but inwardly, many were nodding in agreement.

Thus, the knight order reached a consensus in their meeting:

‘Build a grand and majestic academy and dormitory.’

‘Make the sword training as intense as possible.’

‘In a few years, they’ll turn out decent.’

That was the entire plan.

Of course, there was still the matter of training priests and mages, but they figured that just because someone was a servant of the gods didn’t mean they were exempt from discipline, and just because someone used magic didn’t mean they should be spared from the rod.

So, for those groups, the plan was to throw them some books and force them to study all night.

Meanwhile, outside the meeting room, Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz, who had been eavesdropping on their discussion…

Step.

Turned around and headed back to his office, muttering to himself.

“Wow, shit.”

They’re really fucking stupid.

“So this is how these kinds of people gather together and stage military coups when things don’t go their way.”

It made him reconsider the difficulties that civil officials in Korea’s Goryeo era must have faced.

Perhaps whenever they issued commands, the knights would handle things in this crude manner, and when reprimanded… they’d grab their swords and say, “Are you looking down on us?”

Sigh.

He let out a deep breath.

Despite being given the mission to establish the North’s most prestigious academy, the best they could come up with was ‘beating knowledge into them.’

If he left things entirely to them, he would probably be arrested for child abuse across the continent.

Ugh.

‘This isn’t a joke; this is a serious problem.’

Johan wasn’t just trying to gather a few kids and raise them.

He was planning to establish a proper ‘educational institution,’ and this wasn’t something that could be done in a slapdash manner.

Think about it.

To run a top-tier academy, the first requirement was ‘funding.’

Hiring high-level mages and priests and building top-quality training facilities would cost an immense amount of money.

‘My budget alone won’t be enough.’

So Johan would have to turn the academy into a profitable business through tuition fees.

That meant attracting children from renowned noble and wealthy families across the continent.

However,

Why would those people entrust their children to an academy with no structured curriculum?

So, in addition to grand buildings and training grounds, Axen Academy needed a proper ‘official curriculum’ to convince them.

To design such a curriculum, he needed someone with expertise in education and experience in administrative work.

Ugh.

‘If I could find someone that qualified, I’d pay extra to recruit them.’

But given the educational standards of the continent at the time, finding such a capable individual wouldn’t be easy.

So, deep in thought, Johan headed toward his study.

He wasn’t planning to read, but he figured he could chew on some snacks while pondering.

And then,

“Ah, hello.”

Upon entering his study,

“Hm?”

Johan found Erina Trotsky immersed in reading, surrounded by open books.

‘Glasses?’

Lady Trotsky seemed completely absorbed in reading, even wearing glasses.

'Glasses on this continent should be quite expensive. As far as I know, even a lower-ranked mage’s spell is required to adjust the prescription properly...'

But the daughter of Count Trotsky, whose family was on the verge of bankruptcy, was wearing glasses?

This must mean that Count Trotsky highly valued his daughter's passion for studying.

Swoosh.

I looked at Lady Trotsky, whose mouth was covered in cookie crumbs, and asked,

"Do you like reading books?"

"...Yes."

I wasn’t sure why she seemed so intimidated, but then I recalled what Noich had told me.

"Um... Lady Trotsky reads books almost all day. She seems to be studying, taking notes on various topics..."

"The amount of sweets she consumes while reading could match a commoner’s annual income."

She was an incredibly expensive defibrillator.

I glanced at the luxurious pile of snacks stacked beside Trotsky...

Swoosh.

Then, my gaze shifted to the books she was reading.

, and so on...

"?!?!?!?"

Her choice of books was unexpected.

I had assumed that when they said she read all day, she was indulging in the semi-erotic novels I had stocked in my library.

I thought she was reading those high-quality, poetic masterpieces...

"Is that... interesting?"

"...."

Huh.

I had no idea I was housing a bookworm right next door.

And at that moment, I realized that the perfect candidate for overseeing administrative affairs might be right in front of me.

A simple test was necessary, so I asked a few questions.

"If we were to build an academy in our territory, where do you think would be the best location?"

She immediately opened the window and pointed to a remote corner of the ducal domain.

It was an open space where the mountain range and the castle walls intersected.

"There."

"Reason?"

"If we are to establish a proper academy, it would need to teach martial arts, herbology, magic, and sacred studies. To do that, we must prepare suitable learning environments for each discipline."

"..."

"The forward base near the castle wall would serve as a training ground for martial arts students, while the mountain range would provide an excellent study environment for herbology students."

"Hmm..."

"Additionally, the surrounding area is spacious enough to build luxury residences for the instructors of magic and sacred studies."

Hiss.

Her response made me involuntarily smack my lips.

"Lady Trotsky, do you know anything about accounting or document preparation?"

"...Just the basics."

Just the basics?

As long as she could draft tables like an Excel sheet and organize documents neatly, that was good enough.

Then my eyes fell on the documents she was holding.

Neatly written notes, well-organized tables, and formulas scribbled out of academic curiosity.

If this was just rough scribbling, then...

I made my decision on the spot.

This woman, Erina Trotsky, would be given a key position beyond just being the fiancée of the psychotic Northern Grand Duke.

"I want you to serve as the Secretary-General for the establishment of Axen Academy. Your salary will be slightly above the imperial average."

"...Deal."

And so, from that day, work immediately began.

I reviewed and approved the foundational plans for the academy that she submitted daily.

Soon, I started recruiting instructors for the academy.

Additionally, I summoned the best engineering mages in the empire to quickly construct the academy buildings.

"If shoddy construction causes it to collapse, I'll be coming for your heads."

"...Understood."

Then, as the academy's grand opening approached, I began the most important task.

That was—

"Announce across the entire empire that we are recruiting the first members of the Northern Region’s top elite academy."

I had begun my recruitment drive.

Yes, this was about gathering the best talents from across the entire continent.

And for good reason—

‘The novel’s prologue clearly described it.’

In the prologue of , the Prohatska Empire, and indeed all of humanity on this continent, was facing ‘annihilation.’

In other words, the novel had deeply foreshadowed the final crisis the protagonists would eventually face.

The rough summary of that was:

'He' used his ultimate weapon, Krisha.

That absolute being ultimately succeeded in modifying Krisha...

And it brought destruction upon the entire continent.

I distinctly remembered that passage.

A villain wielding unimaginable power, capable of shaking the entire world.

That was the inevitable future heading toward this land.

‘It will probably happen within five years.’

For me to return to reality, I needed to wait five years—the time required for the essence of the Northern Continent to fully stabilize.

The story of  would likely conclude within that timeframe as well.

If I wanted to survive and return, I had to find a way to prevent this continent-wide catastrophe.

That meant...

"Gathering ordinary talents won't be enough."

I had to find extraordinary individuals who could stand against that wretched villain.

Moreover, I had to develop powerful weapons capable of countering his ultimate weapon, Krisha.

Thus, I made my decision.

"Summon the best blacksmiths and mages across the continent to forge new weapons. Keep sending recruitment notices throughout the empire. As for me..."

Smirk.

"I’ll personally travel across the continent to scout hero-tier recruits."

I left the ducal castle alone to recruit ultra-rare combat units.