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Chapter 16
“Huh? What… why? Why me? I answered correctly—why am I being expelled?”
The cadet who had been disqualified for giving a common-sense answer protested urgently, but the instructors who had burst into the lecture hall grabbed him by both arms and dragged him out.
“What the hell! XX, what is this!”
The 87th class grew somber as they watched their fellow cadet getting hauled away, cursing at the top of his lungs.
The previously lax, chaotic atmosphere in the classroom vanished, replaced by taut and suffocating tension. Ignoring it all, the professor pointed at the next cadet.
“This time, you answer. What country borders the Drakenia Empire?”
“Cadet of Class 87, Julia Morgan!”
Having learned from the previous cadet’s mistake, she loudly shouted her name and rank. Eyes darting anxiously, she clenched her fists and named a bordering nation.
“U-um… the Caldera Federation.”
“You’re disqualified as well.”
With a kindly smile, the military ethics professor announced her removal. An instructor re-entered and dragged her out.
Two were expelled in an instant.
The cadets already knew what being “removed” meant. They had heard the instructor’s threats during basic training, and they had seen a hot-blooded cadet raise a gun at an instructor in protest—only to be dragged away as well.
Being disqualified was not a break. It was punishment.
Terrified the professor might call their name next, the cadets desperately avoided meeting his eyes, pretending to take notes or stare at anything else.
The third cadet chosen was…
“Nihlen Duchy! I’m right! Open up the map! If the map doesn’t show the Nihlen Duchy as the border country, I’ll give you my entire family fortune!”
“Hm. Disqualified.”
Despite staking his entire family wealth on his conviction, he too was taken away.
Chloe calmly retraced everything the professor had said earlier, trying to deduce the correct answer.
It was impossible for her to be expelled here—not before she had even started her real mission. Besides, her pride as an elite wouldn’t allow her to lose over a trivial Northfort lecture question.
“Today, we shall learn the attitude of obedience.”
“When a command comes from above, no matter what it is, you follow it.”
“Now, focus. Our empire’s bordering nation—the Kingdom of Dmussen.”
Words from the very beginning of the lecture. There was the professor’s intended answer.
While everyone avoided eye contact, Chloe remained still, her gaze steady and unwavering. The professor noticed and pointed at her with an intrigued look.
“And you?”
“Cadet Chloe Winslet of Class 87. The Kingdom of Dmussen.”
Her classmates smirked at her as if she were an idiot who didn’t know basic geography. But at last, the professor smiled in satisfaction.
“Finally, a correct answer.”
Those who had been laughing at Chloe snapped their eyes wide open. Chloe felt relief more than pride—relief that she was safe from expulsion.
“Chloe Winslet, was it? One merit point. You may collect it after class.”
A friend of the second expelled cadet shot up in anger, pointing accusingly.
“No, the Kingdom of Dmussen isn’t even nearby! How can someone with no common sense be sitting there as a professor!”
“You’re disqualified. Haven’t you realized? Common sense has no place in this question.”
Another lamb was dragged out.
The professor wasn’t ignorant of basic geography. He gave the wrong country on purpose—to test Class 87.
His lesson was exactly what he had announced:
Absolute obedience.
Even if the answer contradicted reality—if the professor said B instead of A, then the cadets must say B.
That was obedience.
“What is this, some outdated drill from 30 years ago…?”
Chloe, who had received modern military education, found the lesson absurd. These days, soldiers were taught to challenge unjust orders, to file proper complaints—not to obey blindly.
Northfort was at least thirty years behind. In facilities, discipline, even culture—it was far inferior to the Royal Central Military Academy.
The professor asked a few more students. All, terrified of expulsion, answered “Dmussen Kingdom.” None received merit points.
In this way, Class 87 learned the meaning of obedience—through the fear of expulsion.
“This concludes today’s lecture.”
The end of the lecture had never sounded so divine. Afraid the professor might change his mind, the cadets fled the room.
In just one class, Northfort had seared into their bones a painful truth:
There was no such thing as free time here.
Chloe tucked away her merit token. She had thought the professor would distribute several, but she was the only one who received any.
‘Then where do you earn enough merits to eat properly?’
Some upperclassmen could afford the “special meal of the day,” which cost five merit points. That meant there had to be ways to earn them…
But with only one lecture so far, it was too early to judge.
“If it weren’t for you, every single one of us would’ve been expelled. I doubt half of them even listened.”
Lucian raised his voice as if wanting everyone to hear, then leaned closer and whispered.
“So how about using that merit to strike deals? If our dear classmates have any conscience, they won’t try to take your point.”
His eyes sparkled as though he had just gifted her a brilliant strategy.
“As if that’d work. Worry about your own points,” Rozelin scoffed. “Half these idiots turn stupid when a lady bats her eyes.”
Chloe nodded. She agreed completely.
“Yeah. As if scoundrels have consciences.”
Even Lucian, who was preaching conscience, had been exiled here for juggling multiple noblewomen. With a conscience, he wouldn’t be here at all.
Chloe already had a plan—one that involved threat, not negotiation. She didn’t need “peaceful words.”
The next class was Tactics.
After four expulsions in the previous class, the cadets wore grim determination on their faces.
“I am O’Connor Barnett, your Tactics professor.”
With gentle eyes and a calm tone, he scanned the class. The cadets relaxed slightly. He seemed far more reasonable than the uncompromising military ethics professor.
“Since this is our first lesson, we’ll start with a simple practical exercise.”
First day and practical combat? Chloe thought it odd—then remembered:
This was Northfort, where basic training was conducted like wilderness survival.
“Divide into two teams.”
Perhaps traumatized by the last class, the cadets hurried to form teams. Chloe ended up separated from her usual companions; only Rozelin stood beside her. Theodore was on the opposite team, and Chloe wondered if he’d try something again.
Well, as long as it wasn’t a fight to the—
“Good. You have five minutes. Kill the other team. Whichever side has more deaths will have all members expelled.”
With a serene smile, the tactics professor declared:
Kill each other.
Unlike the military ethics professor who expelled cadets one by one, this man was ready to eliminate half the class in a single stroke.
