People are creatures of compromise.
Had you asked the pampered sons and daughters of the wealthy from the University College to work for free at the trading companies—calling it an "internship"—they would have surely balked. The first step is always the hardest, and the program's inaugural year would have met with enormous resistance.
But if you told them they wouldn't receive their diplomas and would be sent to the front lines in the Holy Kingdom as cannon fodder upon graduation, then suddenly, gaining experience at a corporation would seem like a rather excellent and necessary alternative.
Rorschach set the term for three months. The Empire's prevailing expectation was that the war would last for two months. This meant the "deterrent of death" would hang over them for at least that long. Add in an extra month for their patience to wear out, and the total came to exactly one quarter.
