Poor Noble Nord’s Adventure

Prologue. Why He Became an Adventurer

It is often said that poverty comes with many children, and it seems that no one, not even those with blue blood, can escape that rule.

This was something Nord thought about.

Nord was a member of a noble family. His family, the Ferris family, was a noble house in the Kingdom of Hamill, located in the eastern part of the Ilva continent.

The Ferris family had served the founding King Alva I even before the kingdom was established and had a proud lineage. They continued to serve the royal family for generations and were held in high regard by the royal household.

But still, no matter how much honor one has, it doesn’t fill one’s stomach.

The Ferris family, despite its history and tradition, was merely a knightly house ranked sixth in order of merit. Their stipend was only 16 silver coins—a ration for four people (it’s said that the living expenses for one adult per year amount to four silver coins). In addition, the salary for the head guard, the position they held, was also 16 silver coins, also a ration for four people.

If they could support eight people in total, wouldn’t that make them wealthy?

Some might think that, but it wasn’t so simple.

As a knight house directly serving the royal family, the Ferris family had to maintain their noble appearance, which meant hiring servants. At the very least, they needed a steward to manage the house and a head maid to supervise the maids. In practice, they would also need to hire several maids under them.

Furthermore, as the head guard, the Ferris family needed to fulfill their duty by managing the guards. Unlike regular guards who could serve alone, the law required the head guard to bring at least two warriors with them.

Additionally, it was common for nobles to have personal attendants separate from the soldiers.

A noble without an attendant was unheard of, especially among warrior families.

So, let’s do the math. A steward, a head maid, two soldiers, and an attendant—five people’s rations are needed.

Together with the Ferris couple, that makes seven rations. Children are considered half a person’s ration (two silver coins), so having two children would put them right at the budget limit.

Now, how many children did the Ferris family have?

That would be—twelve.

What in the world were they thinking? It was a natural question, but unfortunately, Nord didn’t have an answer to it.

If anything, the head of the Ferris family and his wife were quite fond of each other, and even the head maid and the maids nurtured love as the head’s mistresses.

The siblings’ lineup consisted of the eldest brother, Albireo, who was 22 years old this year, followed by the eldest sister, Hannah, who was 20. Next was the second brother, Johan, 18, and then Nord, the third son and fourth child, who was 16.

The second sister, Lilia, was 13, followed by the fourth brother, Eren, who was 6, and the third sister, Iris, who was 5. Considering the age gaps, it seemed they had realized the dangers of having too many children at some point.

However, there was another baby boom. The fourth sister, Helena, was 4, the fifth sister, Franca, 3, the sixth sister, Miria, 2, and finally, the twins born this year—fifth brother Christopher and seventh sister Clarissa—making it a total of twelve siblings.

Naturally, they didn’t have enough money to live.

Even when Nord and his older siblings were younger, they barely managed to get by with financial help from relatives. The situation had now worsened by double.

Fortunately, the eldest and second sons had reached adulthood (adulthood in the Kingdom of Hamill was 18), so they no longer needed support.

Albireo, the eldest, had already entered government service and received a stipend, while Johan, the second son, had married into another family with the condition of receiving financial support from relatives.

Meanwhile, the situation for the eldest sister, Hannah, was dire.

Hannah worked as a maid in another noble household (it wasn’t uncommon for the daughters of lower-ranking nobles to become maids for higher-ranking nobles as part of their bride’s training) while also doing embroidery as side work due to her dexterity. The embroidery she made sold for a decent price, making it a valuable source of income for the Ferris family.

However, Hannah had turned 20 this year.

She had a good temperament and, even without family bias, was beautiful, making her quite popular among eligible men. Unfortunately, the Ferris family couldn’t afford the dowry to marry her off.

As a result, she was still working for the family, unable to marry, in a kingdom where women over 20 were considered past their prime.

And so, Nord, the third son and fourth child, made a decision.

He resolved to earn money and save the Ferris family from their financial struggles.

He vowed to marry off his beloved sister, Hannah, and ensure that his younger sister, Lilia, wouldn’t face the same hardships when she reached marriageable age.

For that reason, Nord gave up on attending the military academy which was the expected path for a noble knight’s son.

The military academy was where one was taught the mindset of serving the king as a soldier. Graduating from it would lead to being appointed a noble for life.

By excelling in battle, one could move from a one-generation noble to a hereditary noble.

This was the typical path to success for younger sons of noble families.

Even for those aiming to marry into another family, graduating from the military academy was essential. No noble would take someone without at least the status of a one-generation knight as their heir. (In fact, Johan, the second son, was appointed as a one-generation noble before marrying into a relative’s family that had no male heirs.)

As for Nord, coming from a warrior family, he had no special skills to rely on. At best, he had learned swordsmanship from his father and brothers, but that wasn’t enough to appeal to another noble family. Thus, Nord’s decision meant abandoning his blue-blooded roots.

However, Nord thought to himself.

Even though the Ferris family was on the verge of poverty, it was still his beloved home.

He loved his parents, his siblings, the steward, the head maid, the maids, the attendants, and the soldiers coming in and out of that house.

That’s why Nord decided to abandon everything and become an adventurer.