CONSCRIPTION of the commoners.
Nikolai's father, the previous emperor, was a war freak who loved starting wars for all the dumb reasons.
As a result, the Imperial Family's military power suffered a lot.
When the Royal Knight Order was reduced to more than half of its original size, the previous emperor created a law that forced ordinary men as young as fifteen to enlist to the military and get dispatched to wars.
Without proper training, at that.
As a result, those inexperienced men only died on the battlefield.
[After all, most commoners are non-Mana users.]
Hence, when Nikolai seized the throne, he immediately got rid of the law that forced commoners to get drafted in the military out of their will.
Duke Arman Winchester, who realized his mistake, cleared his throat. "I misspoke, Your Majesty. For that, I deeply apologize."
