(Violet Storm POV)
"That's not the only problem."
As I pressed my back against the pillow, Jules continued with his explanation.
"Noble's power abuse."
I suspected it had something to do with nobles. I was born into nobility and I saw first-hand their arrogance and superiority complex.
I don't think my family has abused their power before, though I may not know about it.
"Don't worry Violet, your family probably hasn't done anything illegal. Most of the abuse of power comes from long-standing nobles and ones who are about to lose their titles."
Jules was trying to comfort me, but he didn't seem like he was lying.
"Wait, what does that mean about my family."
James butted in. He came from the Schwarz family, one of the 15 royals.
"Your family has done a lot of shady dealings. They have many connections to the underworld and the black market."
Jules hit James with the harsh truths. James stared at the floor, downcast and depressed.
"The nobility system is not a bad idea and it is a great incentive for common people. It's only because of negligence from the government that power abuse becomes an issue."
"Really?"
I had my doubts about that.
"You know how people can become nobles right?"
"Yeah."
People could become nobles when they contributed something to humanity. Whether it is by an incredible invention or the creation of a divine artifact or weapon.
However, the most common way people could become noble was by becoming an S rank. The S rank and their immediate family would be granted the title of noble, being able to control some territory in the human domain.
But, they had to continuously provide something to humanity, otherwise the title would be revoked.
"Becoming S rank is the most common way to become a noble. For them to keep the title, that family must continuously provide more S ranks."
"Let's say S rank become a noble and had five children. Though they would all be mages, on average even if they reach their full potential, they would usually be only B rank."
"But's give him the benefit of the doubt and say that they all somehow don't die before reaching their full potential and one of their children is an A rank. Eventually, the S rank would die in battle leaving his children to manage the noble title."
"Having an A rank would barely keep them above the threshold of losing their title, and by the time the next generation comes, if they are not extremely lucky, then they would lose their title. It's basically a scam."
"S ranks having children that become S ranks themselves are extremely rare. Amina, your grandfather got extremely lucky in having two sons being A rank and S rank respectively. And now you, who will probably be S rank in the future."
Amina, hearing Jules' compliments turned red in embarrassment.
I now understood what he meant, by the nobility system not being a bad idea. They would only be nobles for 3 generations or less because of not being able to handle the pressure. In Jules' words, it is a scam.
"But it's in those last generations that power abuse becomes a problem. The descendants of the S rank are usually desperate to have a child who can carry their name they usually try to have as many children as possible, sometimes even enslaving others to accomplish their goal. They want to cling to power by any means possible."
"Long-standing nobles stabilize their power by having many connections and extending their hands in different businesses. That is not an inherently bad thing, but when they dig their roots in the underworld and political scene of the government, then it becomes a problem."
"For the former, it makes sense, but why does being involve in the politics of the government a bad thing?"
I eagerly asked Jules. Though this involved heavy topics, I greedily absorbed all the information he was telling me.
I know I am naive in thinking this, but I wanted to solve these issues plaguing the human domain.
"The government is supposed to be independent of the nobles and have total authority over them. After all, it is the representative of the people. And the voices of the common people, outweigh the voices of nobility."
"But when nobility intertwines with the government, they can easily divert more power to nobles and grant them greater authority over the people."
"So yeah, those are two main issues. How individual mages can be above the law, and nobles abuse of their power. There are many more, but these are the most problematic."
That was a lot of information. I didn't know how he came across this information and what sources he had, but I was glad he enlightened me. James was in a similar state, mulling over everything that was spoken. Even Amina seemed to pick up some new information.
"Hmm, but now that I think about it, the former issue is less of a concern now thanks to your grandmother."
"H-How?"
My eyes peered into Jules in wonder. Ever since I was little, I always admired my grandmother.
Hearing about her achievements inspired me. Though I'd never met her, my mother had endless admiration for her.
Her stories also helped me get over leaving my parents behind on Earth. Though I still think about them from time to time, I understood the fact I'd never see them again.
"Though I gave an extreme example in saying S ranks can commit any crime they want without consequences, it is rare for them to do so. They usually get whatever they legally."
"However, there was an S rank mage named Glenn Price who once raped multiple women. The government would usually turn a blind eye to this and give him a warning to stop committing crimes."
"However, this angered Rebecca Storm, so she single-handly defeated him without any major destruction to built-up areas. She forced the government to arrest him and he was sent to Tartarus."
"Really?"
If this were an anime, there would be stars in my eyes.
"What's Tartarus?"
But James had to ruin my mood by asking a logical question. I punched him on the shoulder before turning to Jules.
He was amused at our interaction but still answered his question.
"Tartarus is a prison for mages. Also if you want to know what happened to him officially, he died on the battlefield. We only know about this because he was a potential target for Amina to use {Soul Absorption} on."
"So anyway, that's all I know."
Jules started stretching after giving his TED talk. He looked like he had gotten rid of a burden after telling us.
It warmed my heart to know that he still trusted in us this much despite not seeing each other for 16 years.