Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

Princess Milissa's carriage left the harbor district. After taking a distant look at the territory's most important industrial zone, it finally arrived at the heart of the new city.

Compared to the noisy outer city, this area was much quieter.

This was the command and logistics center of the entire city, built around the central square. Most of the structures were sturdy multi-story buildings made of concrete and stone, including the lord's residence, the Urban Planning Administration, the central granary, the public mill, medical clinics, a theater, and an academy.

Uniform rows of trees lined both sides of the roads. There were also more carriages here, but traffic remained orderly rather than crowded. Unlike other cities, carriage traffic was divided into left and right lanes according to destination, with vehicles heading in different directions using separate routes. As a result, traffic jams and collisions were almost nonexistent.

Fully armed soldiers could be seen patrolling the core district from time to time.

Princess Milissa's carriage was stopped and inspected several times. Fortunately, the old knight had obtained a travel permit from Yalina; otherwise, their carriage might have been detained.

"Are all of Silverclaw Count's cities this strict? Didn't they see the Silverbrook family crest on our carriage?" Princess Milissa asked with a trace of dissatisfaction.

The old knight did not answer.

Soon, the carriage stopped in front of a sprawling building bearing a sign that read Academy.

The two soldiers standing guard immediately approached and asked their purpose.

After learning that they were envoys sent by the Duke of Silverbrook and possessed a permit issued by Yalina, one of the guards finally went inside the Academy to report their arrival.

Princess Milissa was extremely displeased by this. In her view, Levi's soldiers had not shown her sufficient respect.

Lowering her voice, she said to the old knight, "Uncle Romon, these soldiers are far too arrogant. When I meet Silverclaw Count later, I'm definitely going to bring this up."

The old knight immediately frowned. He discreetly glanced at the soldiers standing at their posts with impeccable discipline before lowering his voice and replying in an unusually stern tone.

"Your Highness, you must not do that."

"You may end up offending Silverclaw Count."

"This is his method of managing the army. Haven't you noticed? Ever since we entered the city, every soldier we've encountered has been extremely diligent. What does that tell you?"

Before he could finish, the soldier who had gone inside returned.

"The Lord has agreed to meet you. He requests that you wait outside the classroom."

"Very well. Thank you."

The old knight stopped lecturing Princess Milissa and politely nodded to the soldier.

Although this soldier was not even a knight's squire, and ten soldiers like him would be no match for the old knight, who was both a landed noble and a powerful warrior, the difference in their status was enormous.

Yet the old knight still showed him proper respect.

As a result, the soldier's impression of him improved noticeably, and he took the lead, guiding them forward.

Princess Milissa's attempt at appearing mature did not last very long. Feeling annoyed, she followed behind in silence.

The Academy was quiet.

Only the faint sound of children reciting lessons in unison drifted through the air.

This was information the old knight had never obtained before.

His heart stirred. He quickened his pace slightly and casually struck up a conversation with the soldier, naturally steering the topic toward the Academy.

This was not confidential information.

The soldier was not particularly guarded and answered readily.

"Our Lord is kind-hearted. He saw that many commoners couldn't even write their own names, and because their parents were busy working, there was no one to look after the children. So he specially built this Academy and hired teachers to teach them some basic knowledge."

"My younger brother studies here too."

The old knight was taken aback.

"That must cost a lot of money."

"It's completely free," the soldier replied, glancing at him.

"And the villagers are willing to send their children? Even a child can help with farm work."

"They are. The Lord provides two meals a day for every child who attends the Academy. If parents meet the requirements but refuse to send their children, they will be punished by the Lord. So basically every resident sends their children here, except for a few special cases."

"And what do they study?"

"Simple things. How to write their own names, their parents' names, and some basic arithmetic, I think. I'm already too old to attend, so I can only participate in the literacy classes in the army. I don't really understand the details myself."

"Literacy classes?" the old knight asked in surprise.

"That's right. After our daily training, we're required to attend literacy classes. Honestly, they're even more exhausting than military training!" the soldier complained.

"And what do they teach in those literacy classes?"

The old knight fell silent for a moment before asking in a grave tone.

Levi's actions were completely different from those of other nobles.

From this, the old knight sensed tremendous ambition.

After all, ruling a count's territory did not require so many educated people.

Even if Levi's domain expanded greatly in the future, as long as he was willing to cooperate with other nobles and delegate authority, none of this would be necessary.

If that was the case...

Why was he doing all of this?

Connecting this with the information gathered over the past few months, the old knight knew that after annexing Silverclaw Viscount's territory, Levi had consistently refused to recognize the status of the former nobles and knights. As a result, the war had never truly ended, and the Sky Knight Rune had been continuously suppressing those who launched rebellions in an attempt to reclaim their lands...

The old knight's frown deepened.

"Levi... what exactly are you trying to do?"

The moment the soldier heard the old knight's question, his guard immediately went up.

"Why are you asking that?"

"Just curious."

A flash of annoyance passed through the old knight's eyes.

A mere soldier dared speak to him in such a manner?

If this had been Aetherlan, he would have already ordered a squire to whip this fool who didn't know his place.

But this was the Silverclaw Peninsula.

Suppressing his anger, the old knight smiled.

"Just curious."

"That's not something you should know. Our conversation ends here. Please do not continue speaking to me."

The soldier's tone was stiff, but cold sweat was running down his back.

He had realized that he had revealed quite a bit about the territory. While none of it was particularly secret, he still feared losing this well-paying job.

As a result, he treated both the old knight and Princess Milissa coldly for the rest of the journey.

Though displeased, neither of them showed it.

Eventually, they arrived deep within the Academy and stopped in front of a large classroom.

The man whose reputation shook the entire continent seemed to sense their presence.

He turned and glanced at them.

His gaze was calm.

Without any further reaction, he simply turned back around.

Unaffected by their arrival, he continued standing before two hundred students, teaching them basic knowledge.

There seemed to be a strange charisma about him.

The concepts he explained were simple and easy to understand, captivating even the most mischievous children.

Although the old knight and Princess Milissa held noble status, they did not dare rush a man who had earned his own prestige through his achievements.

They simply stood quietly and watched.

It was not unheard of for a lord to teach others.

However, the students were usually members of his own family or the children of other nobles.

Moreover, what they taught was generally combat skills or breathing technique training methods.

Someone like Levi, teaching ordinary knowledge, was extremely rare.

That was traditionally the work of scholars.

Yet the scholars Levi had recruited stood obediently off to the side, their expressions complicated.

Their role was merely to assist Levi with the lessons.

More time passed.

Some of the material Levi was teaching had already become quite advanced in the old knight's eyes.

Even noble children who had received education from a young age would struggle to master it.

At that moment, Levi paused and asked the students how well they understood the lesson.

To the old knight's astonishment, the vast majority claimed they had already mastered it.

The scholars beside them were no longer surprised.

Or perhaps they had simply become numb to it.

They took over Levi's task and began questioning the students individually.

The old knight was horrified to discover that the children had not been lying.

They truly had mastered the material.

The results were genuinely terrifying.

The old knight's expression changed dramatically.

As he watched Levi finish teaching and walk toward them, all the words he had spent so long preparing completely vanished from his mind.

He could not utter a single sentence.

Instead, it was Princess Milissa—too young to understand the terrifying implications of Levi's ability—who finally spoke after noticing the old knight's prolonged silence.

"It is an honor to meet you, Lord Levi."

"I bring a decree of commendation from my father."

"He greatly admires your defeat of Silverclaw Viscount, the rebellious noble of the duchy."

"He has decided to grant you all of the former Silverclaw Viscount's lands and elevate your title to that of Count."

"The new Count of Silverclaw!"

"Congratulations, Count Silverclaw. You have made history within the duchy and become the fastest noble ever to rise from Baron to Count!"

Princess Milissa declared enthusiastically as she solemnly presented the decree.

Levi's response was merely: "Oh."

With a calm expression, he accepted the decree, glanced at it only briefly, and immediately handed it to an attendant beside him.

Only then did he seem to remember something and turn toward the heroine of The Frog Prince, whom he had met once before.

"Please thank the Duke on my behalf."

"You've come a long way. It must have been a tiring journey."

"If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay here for a while and experience the local customs."

"If you need any assistance, you can speak with Yalina."

Having said that, Levi hurried off.

"I've never seen such a... lord..."

Princess Milissa stood frozen for a long moment before finally recovering her senses.

By then, Levi had already disappeared from sight.

The old knight finally snapped out of his daze.

His expression was extraordinarily complicated.

Turning to Princess Milisha, he said: "Your Highness, let's find a place to stay first."

"We must report an important matter regarding Count Silverclaw to the Duke immediately."

"Report what?" Princess Milissa asked in confusion. "That this Count doesn't understand noble etiquette at all? He's ruder than a butcher."

"No! That isn't important!"

The old knight's expression became extremely serious.

"It's the educational ability Count Silverclaw has demonstrated."

"That is the truly astonishing thing!!!"

He paused before continuing.

"With that ability alone..."

"Count Silverclaw can change the world!"