Ainz Ooal Gown: Noble Knight.

Pushing open the ornate double doors of the classroom, a faint fragrance of lilies wafted out.

White lilies were Cecilia Veris's favorite flower, and like her name, they represented kindness and innocence in the temple's teachings.

The room was spacious and bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls, providing excellent natural light. Bookshelves against the wall were neatly arranged with various books and scrolls, and in the center were two desks side by side, with a simple white porcelain vase in the center of the desk, with a few white lilies arranged in a pleasing manner.

A young woman was standing by the window and turned around when she heard the door open.

Cecilia Veris, 23 years old, comes from a declining lower-class noble family. She is well-educated and was hired as a tutor by the Eindora family three years ago.

She had long, dark brown hair, loosely tied in a bun at the back of her head, with a few stray strands falling around her cheeks. Her light gray eyes were gentle yet earnest, and she wore a simple, dark long dress with a plain silver brooch at the neckline.

"Young Master Rune, Miss Lajus, good morning." Cecilia gave a slight bow, her tone gentle yet respectful. "You're very punctual today."

Lajus gave Rune a smug look, as if to say: I dragged my brother here!

Rune pretended not to see and went to his seat.

"Well then, let's begin today's lesson." Cecilia opened the lesson plan on the table.

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Finally, the silver knight picked up his broken longsword again and charged into the vast army of undead with a death-defying spirit, buying precious time for the villagers who were fleeing behind him.

As Cecilia continued telling the story, Rune, sitting in his seat, was already barely able to contain his complaints.

Why is it that a knight who is at most "heroic" level can hold off such a large army of undead? Even if the silver knight in this story is incredibly powerful, he can still hold off a death knight who is only level 35 and whose attack power is not outstanding.

Secondly, the knights of the kingdom can only be granted to nobles, and usually only the second sons who cannot inherit noble titles and territories can serve as knights, which are the nobles' private domain.

Even the future winner of the "Royal Tournament," Gödel Stroronov, was boycotted by the nobles because of his commoner origins, thus losing the "Knighthood" he was entitled to.

In other words, if this silver knight is from the Kingdom of Ri Yestize, then he is at least a nobleman.

The kingdom's nobles are considered good if they don't harm the villagers; they don't treat commoners as human beings. This kind of situation only happens in fairy tales.

If the Silver Knights are from the Bahars Empire, then given the unfriendly relations between the two countries, they are promoting the bravery of the Imperial Knights to the heirs of the kingdom's ancient noble families.

Cecilia, do you really not want to improve at all?

Finally, even in fairy tales, it should be the knight who saves the princess. The knight bravely sacrifices his life for the princess, and the princess, filled with gratitude, marries the prince.

The nobles reaped their fantasies, the royal family gained loyalty, and the princesses and princes found true love. This is the kind of fairy tale that aligns with aristocratic values.

Cecilia, are you really a noblewoman of the kingdom? Wait, Rune seems to know why the Veris family fell into decline.

After all, it's astonishing that a descendant of the family would tell such a story that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe.

"Teacher Cecilia, I'll definitely become a Silver Knight someday!"

Rune, who was dumbfounded like Old Bones, looked at his younger sister with difficulty. He saw Lajus with her hands folded over her chest, her light golden eyes shining with pure light, as if she had been ignited by the heroic spirit of the story.

Rune's lips twitched slightly.

He glanced again at his younger sister—the eldest daughter of the Eindora family, a future paragon of nobility, who was currently looking at her tutor behind the podium with the eyes of someone admiring an idol.

It’s over.

Rune silently rubbed his forehead in his mind. This little sister has been completely led astray by Teacher Cecilia. Will she fall out with her parents in the future because of the adventure stories you tell, Teacher Cecilia?

"Miss Lajus has such aspirations, which is truly remarkable." Cecilia smiled gently, a hint of profound meaning in her eyes. "The most precious thing about the Silver Knight is not how skilled he is in martial arts, but that he is willing to give his life to protect others. This courage and kindness are the reason why the story has been passed down to this day."

Courage and kindness.

Rune's eyelids twitched when he heard those four words.

He couldn't help but ask, "Professor Cecilia, the Silver Knight in this story died in the end, right?"

Cecilia paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, he sacrificed himself."

"That's it then." Rune leaned back in his chair, a lazy, teasing tone in his voice. "Even a hero is nothing if he dies. A dead knight is a good knight, isn't that the real reason this story has endured?"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Lahoz blinked, looking at her brother and then at her teacher with a somewhat blank expression.

Cecilia's expression remained unchanged, but her light gray eyes stared at Rune for a moment before she smiled softly.

"Young Master Lu En's words...make sense." She lowered her eyes, smoothed her skirt, and spoke gently. "However, the meaning of a story is sometimes not just about depicting reality. It can also show people that there are still things in this world worth aspiring to."

She raised her head and looked calmly at Rune.

"Even if few nobles in reality are willing to sacrifice for commoners, the fact that someone told this story shows that the storyteller believed in the existence of such goodwill."

Rune paused slightly, unwilling to admit defeat, and unleashed his final trump card. "Teacher Cecilia, I remember this lesson is about faith-based magic, isn't it? Spending so much time on extracurricular stories isn't very appropriate."

If they can't win an argument, they flip the table – the same old-fashioned approach.

Cecilia didn't say anything more, but simply turned to the next page of her lesson plan: "I told this story so that you could understand faith itself. Those who pray pray for protection, and they believe in the benevolence of miracles. Okay, let's continue today's lesson..."

Lahas was still muttering to herself, "Anyway, I'm definitely going to become a knight someday..."

Rune did not refute this further.

He simply turned his head and looked out the window.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, falling on the white lilies and gilding the edges of their petals with a faint golden hue.

Do you believe in the existence of goodwill...?

He recalled his memories of his past life, those days filled with self-interest and scheming.

In this world, how much is kindness worth? Can kindness protect everything the Eindora family has to offer?

but--

He glanced at Lajus, who was listening attentively to the lecture, and then at Cecilia, who stood calmly and composed on the podium.

Forget it, at least for now, let her believe it.

Rune withdrew his gaze and looked again at the custom-made textbooks spread out in front of him.

The sunlight outside the window was just right, and the faint scent of lilies lingered around my nose.