Being a soldier is not an easy duty.
Most of the time, it would be hardship after hardship, especially in a world like this.
Forced to live right beside danger, with not a single day of actual peace of mind, as anything can abruptly go wrong and kill them all, it was a world worse for soldiers. All of them were kept in strict schedules where one mistake could mean the death of many.
A knight is a noble rank achievable by anyone.
Unlike the nobilities above it, where it was mostly heritage, anyone can become a knight.
All a person needed to become a knight was strength and achievement.
Rick started from a meager soldier, like most people, and he has an eye for opportunities that led him to become who he is today. A royal guard as well as a knight. But most importantly, he knew what other soldiers felt on a day-to-day basis.
He had been in their shoes a few hundred years ago.
And because of that, he knew that the most important aspect of a soldier isn't strength.
