Autumn of my tenth year.
I boarded a ship from Ashwood Port and headed toward the Axel Territory.
This trip to Axel involves me, my father, my mother, and my younger brother Ziegwald, the four of us traveling together.
“Toma ! Ziegwald!”
“Toma -chan, Zieg-chan!”
My grandfather, Duke Bayerlein, and my grandmother, the Duchess, were there to greet us at the port.
“Grandfather, Grandmother. It’s been a long time.”
“Grandpa, Grandma!”
Grandmother was walking on her own feet, moving steadily. She showed no signs of having been bedridden for years.
After greeting them, both Ziegwald and I were hugged by our grandmother.
Grandfather looked at us enviously, but I made him wait. Instead, I told him, “Ziegwald, you can be carried.”
“You’ve gotten heavy, Zieg!”
“Ah-ii!”
When Ziegwald was a baby, he would cry when Grandpa held him, but now he was being carried happily. Grandpa realized that it was not good to hold him so tightly out of love.
The Bayerlein family’s Axel Territory is one of the largest cities in the country. I’ve heard it is more prosperous than the royal capital in recent years.
We stayed for two nights at the Bayerlein family’s mansion in Axel.
Now, we are on our way to the royal capital by ship. If we sail down the Leiber River, we will reach the royal capital.
The Duke and Duchess are accompanying us on this trip, and the ship we are aboard is the Duke’s private vessel.
We are traveling in a group with two escort ships from the Roxfall family, guarding the flagship.
In this kingdom of Kordia, noble children start attending school at the age of eleven.
However, in the autumn of the tenth year, there is an entrance exam. One needs a certain level of education to pass, but as long as they have a basic education, it seems that anyone can pass without trouble.
This trip is for me to take the entrance exam, and my parents, Ziegwald, and the Duke and Duchess are accompanying me as support. It feels exaggerated, but it’s reassuring.
I’ve heard that there are river pirates, like sea pirates, along the Leiber River, but they did not attack our group, which was protected by the escort ships.
The port in the royal capital seemed to have a rich history, but it also had a somewhat chaotic feel to it. In contrast, the Basel Port in Axel Territory had been carefully planned and was a very functional port, so I was surprised by the difference.
We boarded a noble coach: me, the Duke and Duchess, my mother, and Ziegwald. My father rode a horse.
My knight-ranked father did not ride with the Duke and Duchess out of modesty, but because there are specific rules in the royal capital.
The nobility ranks are Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron, Knight Baron, and Junior Baron.
Earls and higher are considered high-ranking nobles and can hold important government positions. Viscounts and Barons are middle-ranking, and Knight Barons and Junior Barons are lower-ranking.
Knight Barons and Junior Barons are still considered noble, but in the royal capital, they are not allowed to ride in coaches. This rule applies only within the royal capital, and failure to comply can lead to punishment.
Additionally, there are several types of coaches, including noble carriages, box carriages, freight carriages, and battle wagons.
Noble carriages and box carriages have roofs, but noble carriages must display the family crest of each house.
Box carriages, on the other hand, are used by non-noble commoners, and they must not be excessively decorated.
Freight carriages are typically open or covered wagons used for transporting goods.
Battle wagons are used in war and are heavily armored, similar to Roman war chariots.
There are also carts, like a large hand-pulled cart, that are not considered carriages.
The rule about not allowing Knight Barons or Junior Barons to ride in carriages is to clearly distinguish the differences in social rank.
High-ranking noble carriages can use gold leaf, middle-ranking ones use silver leaf, and lower-ranking nobles are required to ride horses.
Lower-ranking nobles who cannot ride horses do not walk; they ride in palanquins, a traditional vehicle seen in the Edo period.
Many of those from families of civil officers, who are lower-ranking nobles, use palanquins. The Roxfall family, being a martial family, would ride horses within the royal capital.
The royal capital was a busy city, just like Axel Territory. Perhaps because I had already gotten used to Axel, it wasn’t that impressive to me.
The carriage moved at walking speed. This too is a rule in the royal capital. If a carriage were to speed up and cause an accident, even if the person involved is a commoner, they would be punished.
Even for the Duke’s family, they must follow this rule strictly.
When entering the noble district from the commoner district, there is a checkpoint.
The royal capital is centered around the royal castle, with the noble district surrounding it, and the commoner district extending outward.
The commoner district and noble district are separated by walls, and entry into the noble district requires passing through a gate, where a checkpoint is conducted.
“Duke Bayerlein and the Roxfall Knight Baron family, please!”
Even at the checkpoint, noble belongings are not checked—only the noble certificates are verified.
The gatekeepers salute us and bid us farewell.
We then entered the Duke Bayerlein’s mansion. His mansion is located near the royal castle.
The higher the noble rank, the closer their mansion is to the royal castle, and some nobles own two or three estates.
Of course, the Roxfall Knight Baron family only has a small mansion on the outskirts of the noble district.
