# Episode 2
**Royalty. Prince. Princess.**
Usually, anything with the character 'Hwang' (황) in it possesses noble and dignified power.
But it was a bit different in the empire.
The royal family...
There were more of them than expected.
'Doesn't the current emperor have over 100 children?'
Even if being part of the royal family was impressive, having three-digit numbers of direct descendants of the emperor was a bit problematic.
At that point, if Lee Han sneaked into the imperial palace, the emperor might mistake him for one of his own children.
Just as Lee Han had to live a hard life because he was born later than his siblings, the emperor's children were the same.
If you weren't born first...
You had nothing.
In some ways, it was harsher than Lee Han's situation.
At least the head of the Wodanaz family remembered and took care of his children's names.
But the royal children had to manage their own lives without such attention.
Of course, even so, the noble blood of the royal family had some power in front of commoners...
However, those around here were children from prestigious families known even in the empire.
They didn't have to bow to an unknown prince.
Even Yoner Meikin had a better position than most of the royal children.
Then why was Yoner sticking with the prince?
'... Is the kid a bit stupid?'
Lee Han thought something that would have angered Yoner if she had heard it.
Indeed, there were a few boys and girls around who were mocking Yoner.
They were mocking her for lowering herself to serve a prince, considering the pride of a noble.
The pride of the empire's nobility was no less than that of the royal family.
In fact, the emperor couldn't treat high-ranking nobles recklessly.
"Alright. I understand."
However, Lee Han accepted Meikin's proposal.
'There's nothing bad about it.'
It was Meikin who was being mocked, not Lee Han, who received the proposal.
And just because the prince wasn't impressive didn't mean he needed to pick a fight from the first meeting.
Getting along with people could always be helpful later.
"… Thank you! I'm relieved!"
Meikin smiled like bright sunshine. Her joy made Lee Han curious.
"Why?"
"Three people have already refused my proposal."
"..."
Lee Han slightly regretted accepting Meikin's proposal.
* * *
Prince Gainan was the 97th prince.
There were rumors that he was actually the 101st due to several siblings born around the same time, but Gainan firmly insisted he was the 97th. He probably didn't want to reach three digits.
Aside from that, Gainan was quite an immature royal.
Even though 15 was considered an adult, not everyone matured the same way.
Apparently, he hadn't yet realized that the value of royalty wasn't that high in this school.
"Did you hear, Lee Han?? That guy refused my proposal!"
"Yeah, yeah. I heard."
"How dare he??"
"He probably doesn't know how noble you are, Gainan."
"What does noble mean?"
Gainan looked at Lee Han curiously.
Lee Han stared at Gainan and then nodded with a gentle smile.
In that moment, Lee Han's evaluation of Gainan dropped a notch, but Gainan didn't notice.
"Noble means high status and precious."
"Ah. It's a word that suits me."
"Indeed."
"Anyway, he refused my proposal and is talking to Adenart! It's really insulting...!"
Adenart.
The student Gainan pointed to, Adenart, was also a royal. She was probably the 43rd or 44th princess.
'Her atmosphere is different.'
Long, flowing silver hair and clear blue eyes. An intelligent and elegant face.
The princess made the surroundings cool just by standing silently.
Such a dignified princess naturally commanded respect from noble students.
Moreover, Adenart probably...
'Didn't call people using others like Gainan.'
Even if the noble children had strong pride, they weren't rude enough to ignore a royal who personally approached them.
If Gainan had just gone and talked to people himself, he would have gathered a crowd.
"Will you deal with him later?"
Gainan looked at Lee Han and said.
Lee Han, who was taller and more robust than his peers, had been learning swordsmanship all along.
Even though they had gathered to become wizards, among boys and girls who hadn't properly learned magic yet, fists were more powerful.
Of course, Lee Han had no intention of fighting others for Gainan's pride.
"Gainan."
"Yeah?"
"Noble beings don't order others to bully."
"Not bullying but punishing..."
"Anyway. Noble beings don't do that. Think about it."
"Hmm."
At Lee Han's words, Gainan pondered. It did seem a bit undignified.
"Then, Lee Han. What do you think I should do?"
"Forgive generously."
"... Any other options?"
"Challenging him to a duel directly is another way."
"Hmm. I'll forgive generously."
Not wanting to duel, Gainan quickly made a decision.
In that moment, Lee Han discovered Gainan's advantage.
He was simpler than expected.
"Wow. You're amazing. You even broke Gainan's stubbornness."
Yoner spoke with a surprised expression. Lee Han asked curiously.
"Why do you stick with Gainan?"
"Relative. Cousin."
"Even so, you don't have to listen to everything he says, right? The Meikin family..."
Before he could ask further, a loud voice echoed through the hall.
- Did you enjoy chatting, iron heads! Now you can stop chatting. You'll have plenty of time to chat in the coming years.
"!"
It was the same voice they heard at the front gate, and a giant skull appeared in the middle of the hall.
A skull with blazing eyes, radiating immense magical power.
'Lich!'
A great wizard who became an undead to overcome death.
That was a lich.
Lee Han had only heard rumors and was seeing a lich for the first time. Other students were also buzzing with curiosity.
- I'll ask a question. Why do I call you iron heads?
Adenart raised her hand. Gainan glared displeased.
- Speak.
"… Because the symbol of us new students is steel."
- Excellent. I'll give your house 10 points!
"Is there such a thing?"
- Of course not. To become a wizard, you must first learn to see through lies.
Realizing she had been tricked, Adenart's pale face turned red.
- Yes. The symbol of you first years is steel. Just like the symbol of second years is bronze. Steel is strong, its quality varies depending on how it's made, and it's a versatile useful material. Truly a metal that suits you first years.
"Ooo…"
"Indeed."
The boys and girls gathered in the hall were impressed by the skull principal's words.
- You're fooled again! You fools. The reason your symbol is steel is because you have nothing in your heads. So you're iron heads! If you don't believe me, knock on your heads. It'll make a good sound.
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere in the hall instantly turned cold.
Many here had never been insulted like this because of their status.
But no one could protest.
Such was the overwhelming presence of the skull principal.
'Impressive.'
Lee Han inhaled and exhaled.
Since the skull principal appeared, the density of magic around him had risen crazily, making it difficult to move.
It felt like being in the deep, deep sea.
'But… I think I can move. Yes. I can somehow move.'
As Lee Han tried to move, the skull principal turned his gaze to Lee Han.
- …?
A curious look.
Lee Han immediately straightened up and stood properly.
He had entered to graduate with a diploma and connections; he couldn't afford to get marked by the principal from the first year.
- I feel I may have been too harsh on the future of the empire who traveled a long way.
The skull principal's voice softened. Some felt slightly relieved, but Lee Han wasn't fooled.
'He's definitely a bit crazy.'
People said you lost something when becoming a lich, and the skull principal had clearly lost several things.
Lee Han recalled a professor from the neighboring lab during his graduate school days.
That professor also seemed to have eyes full of madness like the skull principal...
'No. This lich might be better than that professor.'
Thinking this, the skull principal seemed surprisingly manageable.
- Now! The finest chefs in the school have prepared a banquet for you since yesterday. It's not much, but enjoy this banquet and relieve your travel fatigue. After the meal, warm blankets and beds will be waiting for you in the dormitory…
At those words, some chubby boys drooled.
What kind of banquet would it be? Western Empire style, with well-raised chicken coated in flour and simmered with oil, butter, onions, salt, pepper, and wine, or a gratin generously topped with béchamel sauce would be nice.
Right now, even just thick cheese and butter spread on white bread would be satisfying.
Or Eastern Empire style, with fresh fish marinated in gochujang and grilled over charcoal would be good.
Although noodles from the East were considered cheap food and not often eaten, given the long journey's hunger, they might be welcome now.
However, no food appeared on the giant tables in the hall.
"???"
- Fooled again! You fools! When will you come to your senses? How do you plan to become wizards?
'Isn't he crazy?'
Some timid new students were on the verge of tears at the skull principal's harsh words.
- Now, I'll tell you the rules. This school is a cradle for wizards. And the greatest driving force for nurturing wizards is desire!
With those words, a shabby cloak, a shabby staff, and a shabby set of clothes appeared in the air.
- These are the uniforms you'll wear.
As soon as he finished speaking, black, hard bread and cold rice balls appeared in the air.
- These are the foods you'll eat.
"This is too much…!"
When someone shouted involuntarily, the skull principal responded excitedly.
- Yes! That's the reaction I wanted! Does that food look too unappetizing? Learn magic quickly and get your own food! Does that cloak and staff look like trash? Learn magic and get new clothes and staff! This school has everything you want if you work for it!
"..."
Lee Han was stunned.
He had heard rumors that Einrogarde was harsh, but not to this extent.
In short, the school's policy was to improve your magic skills quickly if you didn't like it!
'Is this even allowed?'
"Pfft. I'll just bring in supplies from outside."
A cocky student muttered angrily.
The skull principal responded even more excitedly.
- Yes! I wanted that reaction too. First years are not allowed to go outside! Don't even think about asking upperclassmen to get you things! You won't even meet upperclassmen for a while!
"..."
"..."
- Dismissed! Iron heads, good luck! Become great wizards!
Lee Han thought he heard someone mutter 'bastard'.
The skull principal didn't seem to mind that.
Prince Gainan stomped his feet in frustration as the skull principal disappeared.
"Is this for real?? How dare they treat us like this? Lee Han! Aren't you angry? Do you think people can live with clothes fit for beggars and food fit for pigs??"
"Huh? Isn't it alright?"
"..."