The King of Vorbei (Part 1)

The next morning, Ethan dressed in the most formal clothing he had, and went down to the first floor of the inn where Mia and the Sun Knights were eating breakfast. It was the day when Ethan would have an audience with the King, both as a new noble, and as someone who assisted the Sun Knights. The Sun Knights were also meeting with the King to report on their mission. Ethan sat by Hans and Friedrich.

"So, we're going to meet with the King then, Karl X. Have either of you met him before?" Said Ethan

"Yes, many times. The Sun Knights report directly to the King. Our order of knights falls under the category of 'Royal Knights' meaning that we do not answer to any noble, nor do we answer to the Ministry of War. Only the King can appoint Sun Knights, and order the Captain of the Sun Knights around. Of course, we still cooperate with nobles' forces and the Ministry of War during times of war so as to put up a united front against enemies, but we have an entirely independent command structure, and therefore report directly to the King. As such, each of the Sun Knights have met with him at least several times." Said Hans.

"The King is actually a pretty laid back person. He is a little bit younger than us, so he's always trying to learn from us, and get our stories of battles. He's pretty tolerant of most things. He doesn't really seem to care about people's etiquette, even incompetence he forgives and gives second and third chances for, but the one thing that he doesn't tolerate is betrayal. I guess that he's still traumatized because his father was assassinated right in front of him by someone who was secretly working for the Western Empire like a year and a half ago, and he was pretty young at the time. I guess that he sees betrayal as an existential threat to everything that he cares about." Said Friedrich.

[Wait. Hans and Friedrich are about my age so they must be about 20 or so, and they're calling the King younger than them? I would have assumed that the King was like middle-aged, but is he even an adult? And there's a whole category called 'Royal Knights'. Does that mean that there's other orders of knights like the Sun Knights?]

"How old is he?" Asked Ethan

"He's seventeen." Said Friedrich.

[I guess that's not super young, but still, to be running an entire country at that age? When I was that age I was still in highschool. Plus, He took the throne a year and a half ago. That would mean that he would be like fifteen or sixteen when he took the throne immediately after his dad died in front of him and his country was engulfed in war with a powerful expansionist neighbor. That's got to really mess up your childhood for something like that to happen at such a young age. I don't envy that kid at all.] Thought Ethan.

"Even at that age though, he's still one of the best kings that this Kingdom has ever had. Due to his competence as a leader, he didn't lose a war that was waged against a such a powerful enemy like the Western Empire. He has, since the war ended, improved our infrastructure, brought a lot of education to the general public, even commoners. Literacy in this Kingdom is now slightly above 50% in most areas, and food doesn't usually rot before it reaches the final consumers because of these measures. He even diversified our economy to be more self sufficient and stabilized our currency." Said Hans.

"Are there other orders like the Sun Knights? Orders that fall under the category 'Royal Knights'?" Asked Ethan.

"Including the Sun Knights, there are three. The other two are the Moon Knights and the Constellation Knights." Said Hans.

"Among those, the Sun Knights are the smallest order, but also the most prestigious. We have the best battle record, having never suffered a defeat, and have been around the longest. We also have the fewest knights getting convicted of misconduct or abuses of power. The Moon Knights are the second largest order of Royal Knights, being only slightly bigger than the Sun Knights with a total of 30 Moon Knights, and they have only suffered one defeat in their history, however they are also nicknamed 'The Cruel Knights' because of how often their members abuse their powers and commit atrocities against civilians and surrendering adversaries thinking they can get away with it because they're Royal Knights. Not worthy of the title in my opinion with an esprit de corps as corrupt as that, but the story is that they used to be considered honorable a very long time ago, but their current leadership is lacking in such mores. The third order of Royal Knights are the Constellation Knights. They are the largest of the three by far, boasting over 100 members, but they also suffered a number of defeats against the Western Empire in the last war, but their knights have generally good conduct." Said Friedrich.

[Interesting. I'm glad that it was the Sun Knights who found me rather than the Moon Knights, or I might not still be alive right now.] thought Ethan.

"Why does the King keep the Moon Knights around if they're so dishonorable?" Asked Ethan.

"Two reasons mainly: As dishonorable as they are, they do win battles against the Kingdom's enemies, and the second reason is that the Nobles' Faction exerts their influence because the leader of the Moon Knights is the child of a high ranked noble who is a member of the Nobles' Faction, so if the King disbanded them there could be internal political problems in the Vorbei Kingdom." Said Friedrich.

"As bad as this may sound, the King can deal with those knights who have unlawful conduct on an individual basis. It seems to be on the whole better for the people of the Kingdom that the Moon Knights exist as the Moon Knights do protect the people from enemy invaders." Said Hans.

[I guess that makes sense. It comes down to efficacy vs honor of a military force.] thought Ethan.

The group finished breakfast, and made their way to the Royal Palace.