Book 1: Chapter 5: Teacher Louis (not) Fun Lesson about Nobility. (1/2)
TLN: I'm not very knowledgeable about these noble' titles/ranks. So If you found any incorrect terms, please feel free to comment below.
As the carriage rattled along, Louis looked at Monica sitting across from him and opened his mouth.
”The first question, please answer in order from top to bottom the rank of nobility in our kingdom.”
”…B, Baron, Marquis, Duke, Earl?”
As Monica replied unsurely, Louis gave her a beautiful smile and called her a ”stupid girl.”
”Not only does none of it correct, but also, where did the Viscount go?”
”Hiien…”
Now, in the carriage, Louis was giving a brief lecture about nobility.
Even though the lecture was covered on nobility, he didn't teach her how their manner or behaving.
In fact, before teaching her some manners, he would teach her some general knowledge.
———And the whole thing started with a simple question from Monica.
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”We will now head to my house in the royal capital. There, we will meet up with the daughter of Count Kerbeck, Young Miss Isabelle Norton, to complete the admission procedures…”
After getting into the carriage, Louis explained to Monica what they were going to do. However, Monica was more interested in what Louis was saying than what he was doing.
This time, Isabelle Norton, the daughter of Count Kerbeck, will be Monica's collaborator.
”Um, I thought Kerbeckwas a family name?”
”Excuse me?”
Monica said that while fidgeted with her fingers to Louis, who looked as if he didn't understand what she was saying.
”Well, I thought her name was Isabelle Kerbeck because she was the daughter of Count Kerbeck.”
”Kerbeck is their title. Those who have a title above count usually referred to by their title.”
”??”
When Monica's eyes went blank, Louis felt his cheeks twitching.
”My colleague, how much do you know about the nobility?”
Monica shook her head mutely, and the smile finally disappeared from Louis's face.
Thus began Teacher Louis' (not) fun lesson on nobility.
＊ ＊ ＊
”The first thing to do is to get this into your head. In our kingdom, the ranks of nobility are, in order from the top, duke, marquis, count, viscount, and baron. There are also quasi-aristocrats below these, but I won't go into that here. In any case, if you encounter a duke-class person, just consider him or her to be related to the royal family.”
With Louis's words etched in her mind, Monica blurted out.
”…Count is a surprisingly high position, isn't it?”
To tell the truth, Monica had thought that the lowest rank of nobility was count.
At Monica's murmur, Louis opened his eyes to the limit and stared at Monica as if he were looking at something incredible.
”My colleague? You have your own title, don't you?”
The Seven Sages were granted a special status of the count of magic, which was equivalent to the rank of count.
In other words, Monica was a member of the nobility and was also one of the few women in the kingdom that held a title of nobility, but… for the past two years, Monica has been cooped up in her cabin, unaware of her status as a member of the nobility.
Thinking back, she did remember receiving proof of peerage, a ring, and other things when she became one of the Seven Sages, but she couldn't remember where she had put them. It was probably buried somewhere in a stack of papers in her cabin.
When Monica honestly confessed that, Louis brushed his fingers over the crease between his eyebrows and exhaled deeply.
”To start with, let's talk about Counts. In general, a count who owns a territory receives their title directly from that territory. For example, Lord Azure Norton is Count Kerbeck, who rules over the territory of Count Kerbeck. This also applies to dukes and marquises.”
”Are there some counts who have no territory?”
”There are. Or rather, we are the ones, you stupid girl.”
Counts who did not have their own territories were referred to as count palatine. And the count of magic was one of them.
”In the case of a count who doesn't have a territory, you might add ”count” to their family name. In your case, you will be called Count Everett.”
Even people born as commoners can receive a peerage depending on their achievements.
Among them, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the count of magic is the highest position they could achieve.