[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-am-i-the-villain-or-not":3,"chapter-am-i-the-villain-or-not-am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-330":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Am I the Villain or Not?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},571732,820,"Chapter 330 - 333: Stellar Academy","am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-330",330,"\u003Cp>Hearing the king's words, Aurelian froze for a moment and turned her head to look around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles around her did not seem surprised by this sudden proposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But… Aurelian could not quite understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had he gone mad?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here in the kingdom, the high-ranking noble class was basically made up entirely of warriors who had secured their positions through force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because they needed that strength to consolidate their rule over their territories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, the lord of a territory had to be the strongest person in that territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was fundamentally different from the empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the empire, most powerful individuals would follow the empire's orders and guard cities in various regions, and they would not interfere with the administration of those cities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the strongest person in the empire was the emperor, and all power was concentrated in the emperor's hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the empire, it was rare for there to be any so-called lords.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Clavenna family was not truly a lord in the strict sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the Clavenna family had once been granted a large territory and allowed to name it after their family name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That territory was called the Clavenna Territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the largest city in that territory, Braeston, was not completely ruled by the Clavenna family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although everyone knew the Clavenna family was the dominant force in Braeston.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the surface, however, the empire would still assign officials to manage the city together with the Clavenna family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the biggest difference between the national conditions of the kingdom and the empire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the kingdom, as long as a territory remained relatively stable and showed no signs of unrest or rebellion, the lord would basically never be replaced casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the empire, however, cities would constantly change their mayors for the sake of development.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mayor's term might be five years, or ten years, before being replaced by someone else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And the former mayor would naturally be promoted to a higher position after gaining enough experience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But because of the kingdom's circumstances, the King of Cant had to ensure that the lords possessed powerful martial strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, the people under their rule would not submit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For commoners, the easiest way to rise in status was to become a warrior, crossing class boundaries through training their flesh and body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This led to the warrior profession, which had the easiest path to advancement, becoming the mainstream of the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It also resulted in the kingdom developing a unique noble title system, the star-ranked nobility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A lord's management ability, the reputation of their territory, and their martial strength would all influence their star ranking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of this, competition in the Kingdom of Cant was extremely fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fierce to a frightening degree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because the warriors competed so intensely, they had nearly crushed all other professions in the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially mages, who spent vast amounts of time and effort accumulating knowledge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in this brutal competition, they almost had no place to stand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the kingdom's mages simply abandoned the traditional path of being a mage and instead turned to obscure and niche methods in pursuit of their own power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unfortunately, in the end they all ended up ruining themselves on that path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The territories were ruled by warriors, and they had to maintain this ecosystem in which all nobles were warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if the king strongly promoted mages, and even wanted to establish a magic academy, setting aside what kind of impact this would have on the kingdom's rule, for the lords, the impact would certainly be huge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Aurelian took the initiative to ask the king, \"Your Majesty, do you know how difficult it is to cultivate a mage?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>King August nodded, leaning back slightly against the throne with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes, I am very aware.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, their country already had a powerful mage, Grand Duke Feistan Barlow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian's expression became somewhat serious as she continued asking, \"Then I would like to know, if even more powerful mages appear, would you grant them noble titles?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This point was almost a concern for the entire kingdom's system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although it was difficult for mages to produce powerful individuals, under academy-style education, there would still be quite a number of talented people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They might not grow as quickly or possess the overwhelming strength of those warriors, but it was still possible for some second-tier or third-tier mages to appear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that point, should the kingdom grant them noble titles?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not, then why would they even attend a magic academy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wasn't learning magic meant so that one could become a noble in the future and bring honor to their family?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>King August's answer, however, was very clever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If their contributions reach the corresponding star rank, they will naturally receive the treatment they deserve.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, the answer had been given from the beginning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Kingdom of Cant, competition was extremely fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even mages, as long as they could meet the rank requirements of the star-nobility system, could become nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This seemed very fair, because this was the kingdom, and it had the star-rank system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as someone obtained a star rank, even a single star, they would rise from a commoner to become a baron.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first glance, this did not seem like a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the issue was... in the early stages, the weakness of mages meant they were destined to be unable to compete with the powerful warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in the environment of the Kingdom of Cant, warriors were more numerous and much stronger than mages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But there was one thing people must not forget.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the lifespan of mages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mage could live far longer than a warrior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A single mage might live long enough to witness three generations of warriors come and go.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This longevity gave them enough time to establish their status within the kingdom's noble system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By constantly using elemental magic, magic power flowed through the meridians within their bodies, and their bodies would be nourished by magic, maintaining youth and vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A well-maintained mage living for one or two hundred years was not unusual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time that group of old warriors died, the mages would still be alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After enduring that period, the entire noble system of the kingdom would likely end up firmly controlled by those old mages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although mages were extremely rare, and not everyone could become one, living long meant possessing seniority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there were a hundred old mages who had lived for more than a century, would there still be any room left for newly risen warriors to become noble lords?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why was the Kingdom of Cant strong?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was because it had many warriors, and their growth was rapid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warrior threshold was relatively low, which led even commoners to hold dreams and willingly become warriors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although commoners did not know how long they would have to struggle, as long as they became strong and obtained a star rank, wouldn't they instantly become nobles and bring honor to their ancestors?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a result, throughout the entire kingdom, even commoners possessed considerable martial strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once mage nobles began appearing in large numbers, those who came later would first have to face the enormous threshold of becoming a mage if they wished to advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not everyone could become a mage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And then there was the dull and tedious study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Powerful mages needed time to accumulate knowledge, and only powerful mages could become nobles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the more powerful a mage became, the more unavoidable the passage of age would be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So if someone wanted to become a lord?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they would first have to live long enough to reach a hundred years old.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian analyzed the situation of the kingdom and saw the potential problems very clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the ruler of a nation, could August possibly fail to notice this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he still insisted on saying he wanted to establish a magic academy?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had the other lords really agreed to this?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This question troubled Aurelian deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking again and again, she concluded that this kind of matter should not be answered by her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because any answer would only make her fall into the trap set by this young king.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more one spoke, the greater the chance of making a mistake.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Aurelian smiled slightly and said politely, \"I'm very sorry, Your Majesty. If you have looked into it, you should know that I have two teachers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Although I am a mage, the time I have spent learning swordsmanship is not any less than the time I spent learning magic.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this sentence, many noble lords could not help turning their gaze toward Aurelian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From their faces, one could see extreme surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This princess who even looked somewhat fragile, a mage princess... was she actually a close-combat mage who trained both magic and martial arts?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To practice both magic and martial skills required double the effort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made the nobles present reevaluate the princess and once again feel a strong sense of goodwill toward her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in this kingdom, lords usually valued only two things, strength, and whether the other person was a warrior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian said calmly, \"So regarding this matter, I'm sorry that I cannot give an answer, because I am not a mage in the traditional sense.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"However, Your Majesty, perhaps you could ask my teacher, Viktor, Councilor Clavenna.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment these words were spoken, the many nobles all fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A distinct presence began to rise throughout the entire hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That power was so strong that it seemed as if all the elements within this space had been stirred together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Magic power began to stir restlessly, like rushing currents swirling around every noble present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This oppressive magic made everyone present feel a trace of unease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people could not help turning their eyes toward Viktor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was simply sitting there calmly, his hands in his pockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But those noble lords could clearly feel it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This sense of pressure was clearly emanating from Councilor Clavenna.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many people knew Viktor. After all, that ocean battle that had spread across the world had been far too shocking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And they had also heard something else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viktor and his group, on their journey to visit the kingdom, had bombarded the Nangaburna Valley that lay between the empire and the kingdom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That kind of feat, something almost impossible for human power to achieve, made these warriors feel even more shocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how strong they were, they could never produce destruction on the scale of a natural disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>August raised his eyebrows with interest and continued speaking to Aurelian, \"Oh? Councilor Clavenna understands this as well?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aurelian responded with a smile, \"Of course. My teacher himself is the chief professor of our Empire's Royal Magic Academy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As she spoke, a proud expression appeared on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That small trace of pride was noticed by August.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smiled lightly, \"I see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turned his gaze toward Viktor, and deep respect could be seen in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Councilor Clavenna.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viktor remained expressionless and only nodded coldly in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The king asked, \"In truth, my desire to establish a magic academy is not a sudden impulse.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In our kingdom, we already have an institution somewhat similar to the empire's magic academy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's just that it focuses more on training powerful warriors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, August straightened his posture, and a deep emotion seemed to appear in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Stellar Academy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This name comes from our kingdom's noble ranking system.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When I was young, I also studied there for many years.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood up, as if inviting them, and extended his hands toward Aurelian and Viktor with a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Councilor, and Princess Aurelian.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Would the two of you be interested in visiting that great institution with us?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1961,"2026-05-30T15:48:18.711Z","2026-06-01T04:31:37.164Z",1,"novelbin.me","310206604a477c74945bcff303b7c638833f1aa0c038c6a9a6a2162701eb600e","am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-331","am-i-the-villain-or-not-chapter-329",393,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fam-i-the-villain-or-not-cover.jpg"]