Once we were summoned to the grand hall, there was a bit of a crowd. The high ranking members of court that also had residences in the western section to the country were here. So were journalists and cameras. This was an exceptionally rare event. Usually knighthood were reserved for soldiers of high distinction and politicians sent to the Upper House of the nations legislature. However, this was a novel situation. The 8 members of the national tennis team had brought honor and glory to the nation these last few months. The king was sat on a throne. It was more humble than the one in the capitol, but this was a here for a humble purpose. King Terryon built this palace to interface with the farmers here. It was said he took many concubines from the region as well. It was also a great place to get away from the intrigue of the court politics. There were palaces and smaller estates for different purposes built in all 5 regions of the country. King Terryon also built cottages for several concubines as he would come to visit on trips to collect taxes or raise levies for a war. Great.
Quickly focusing on the matter at hand, Anna watched as the king called the members of the national tennis team forward. They approached the throne until they were told to kneel. The Burke Cup trophy was in the throne room as well on a stand. "What a wonderful trophy you all have won. It is an honor to host it in these halls. You have done me and your countrymen proud. I am a magnanimous lord. One that loves to reward success. As a reward for this victory, I was induct you into a new fraternal order of knights. You will be known as the Knights of the Cup. As the first class of inductees, you will be tasked with scouting and endorsing the growth of sportsmanship in the country." he pronounced on the throne. They would basically be the forward facing ambassadors of sports in Breaca. Figureheads with no power, they would just look pretty for cameras whenever a decently sized sporting event was going on. The 4 Idut brothers could all handle that. A servant gave the king a ceremonial blade. He made them swear their oaths of loyalty before dubbing the 8 guys knights.
As newly raised knights, it made the Idut Family raise in stature as they had a generation of knighthood. Reilly and the others were knights now. The king smiled at them warmly. He then moved on to the captain. He wanted to talk and hang out with the 3 alpha members. The 5 omega members were dismissed. Even though it was clear they were getting snubbed, it did not matter. They all became nobles on this day. It was the bottom rung of nobility, but it was something. Evan's father could now look exceptionally higher for offers to marry off his son. There was a power imbalance, but their family was religious. Evan fully believed it was right and just to allow his alpha to determine his marriage. Even as a new knight. It was very neat. Being married to a knight conferred the title of "Lady" to Anna. Her full legal name was Lady Anna Idut now. Lady Molly Idut and Lady Zoe Idut were in the same boat. It was a major change. Members of the court came to speak to the alphas to arrange formal meetings and possible social alliances through a marriage. It was the noble thing to do.
There were a few nobles that came to speak to the alpha parents of the omegas. The Idut brothers were already spoken for. Bruce was able to get in contact with a few of them for business deals. They were going to make a lot of money. Money made the world go round. A rising tide lifted all boats after all. What was good for Bruce was good for all the Iduts. Like it or not, he was the family head. As a higher rank in society, Kevin could leverage his children to establish a new noble house and lead it. The noble house would be stacked. Kevin probably would not do that. He did want to be in his father's will. That meant he still had to play along with his father's whims. He was in a better position than Dion though. Dion was a beta child. Kevin was the second alpha son. Dion would also be pulled by Bruce's short, tight leash. Bruce was the head alpha. Everyone had to submit. Competently navigating things would be up to everyone in the family from now on. Anna, Zoe and Molly married into this family. The girls were making a dynasty of tennis stars with their children. It was nice.
