The Emperor’s Angel of Death

Standard Terra Calendar 41, Brakato System, Passagardi.

As the second smallest planet in terms of mass within the Brakato System, Passagardi does not suffer from the harsh conditions typical of most dwarf planets. Thanks to the sophisticated terraforming techniques of the ancient Eldar Empire, it was placed in a suitable orbit and equipped with two small satellites to balance its rotation and stabilize its axis. Consequently, Passagardi enjoys a relatively favorable natural environment, featuring an ocean, two continents, and ice-covered north and south poles.

When the Star Knights first arrived, the two continents were sparsely populated with just over ten million inhabitants, maintaining relatively decentralized social structures, including parliamentary federations and feudal kingdoms. The early settlers had brought some technology, allowing the planet to maintain an electrical age level with automatic firearms as the primary weapons. Agriculture and industry were largely self-sufficient.

Subsequently, the DuPont Derringer family received this territory as their family domain from Sorshan, and the Knight family's High King naturally became the lord of Passagardi.

However, Grand Duke Olga had signed a contract with the planet's numerous small states and cities, promising not to alter the existing residents' lifestyles and social structures, nor to seize their land arbitrarily. They were only required to pay taxes according to standard rates.

The High King had the right to allocate and manage only newly reclaimed land and newly established cities.

During the DuPont Derringer family's rule, immigrants from Nason IV and Sanctuary Star gradually arrived on this world. Currently, Passagardi has nearly twenty million inhabitants, more land has been reclaimed, and four new, relatively large cities have been formed. The largest of these is the planetary capital, Olga, named after Grand Duke Olga, the re-creator of the DuPont Derringer family. It has nearly two million residents, and its core is the DuPont Derringer family's knight fortress and the Courage Palace, where the High King resides.

After High King Matthias ascended to the throne, he enfeoffed his brothers but did not break Grand Duke Olga's contract. All knight lords received newly reclaimed land and newly established towns, and many of their people were exiled criminals or debtors. Therefore, they were more accurately described as serfs rather than farmers.

This created a peculiar situation on Passagardi. The planet itself could be considered a civilized society, even a basic industrial society, but feudal serfdom and manors also existed. Of course, some knight lords developed commerce and primitive industries, resulting in a complex mix of social forms.

Despite the biting cold of the morning and the stiffness in his muscles, Serie felt invigorated as he rode his quadrupedal mount through the city's bustling streets.

During the two-week wilderness training, he had spent almost the entire time in the saddle or sleeping on the cold ground. Although he doubted he would ever need this knowledge in the future, his knight instructors said it was a means of honing his will. As a knight, being stranded or trapped in desperate situations was a real possibility, and willpower was often the key to victory and survival. Staying in the comfortable academy would never develop that.

Serie found this point agreeable. At 14 years old, he had only two years before his first knight examination. For students eager to become full knights and earn titles, the two major exams were trials they had to endure. The first, at 16, tested their physical condition, knowledge, mental acuity, and cognitive agility. Those who passed would advance to further studies, while those who failed could either continue studying for two more years for a final attempt, become squires and begin their apprenticeship, or abandon their combat career altogether. However, the odds of 'retaking' the exam successfully were low, as the requirements were raised to an almost impossible level. Becoming a squire meant a more arduous path.

This was a rule established by High King Matthias, so even Serie, with the DuPont Derringer name, was not exempt. Moreover, his father was just an ordinary baron—a title he supposedly received due to his nominal 'brotherly' relationship with the High King, according to rumors.

As the adopted son of the great Grand Duke Olga, Serie's father, Basri, was not a particularly strong warrior, nor did he possess any outstanding traits. However, he was gentle, fair, and one of the few lords who empathized with his people, often earning him the derogatory nickname 'Cotton Baron.' He didn't seem to mind, but it caused Serie considerable hardship and mockery at the academy.

Nevertheless, Serie never resented his father, because his father was kind not only to his subjects but also to his family. Compared to other knight parents who readily used corporal punishment, he was affable. Serie was grateful to have such a father.

So he always worked hard, wanting to clear his father's name with his own strength and silence everyone.

Even so, the two-week wilderness survival training had left him physically and mentally exhausted. Fortunately, it was finally over.

On the night before returning to the academy, he took a hot bath in the manor where they were staying, washing away the dirt he had accumulated while adventuring in the desolate wilderness. He fell asleep almost before his head hit the pillow and woke up refreshed when the alarm went off.

Now, he and his classmates were returning to the academy. During the wilderness training, they had been divided into groups of ten. Serie was in a group with his closest classmates. At first, everyone was chatting and laughing, but later it was mostly just traveling, eating, and sleeping.

Before entering the city, Serie changed out of his training uniform and put on a plain cotton shirt with silver thread embroidered on the wide collar of his black jacket. He wore a freshly washed and dried fur cloak and a tricorn hat, adorned with the DuPont Derringer family crest. The design was old-fashioned, but he liked it.

Serie's still somewhat youthful face appeared very three-dimensional in the sunlight. He was a handsome young man, having inherited features from both his father and his commoner mother. However, he had heard rumors at the academy that some of the older knight instructors had privately remarked that his eyebrows and eyes were quite similar to those of the great Grand Duke Olga, and that as he grew older, he seemed to resemble the image in the photos of Grand Duke Olga in his middle age—

This brought Serie no benefits; in fact, it only caused more trouble and inexplicable animosity. Whenever he mentioned this to his father, his father would remain silent.

It was well known that Olga, who had rebuilt the DuPont Derringer family, had no children, but the rumors at the academy made Serie wonder.