Special Families

Special Families are Families which likely hold some amount of political influence in the Tower and are special enough to be awarded with privileges or if not, special contracts.

Introduction
Special Families are different from ordinary families like Ship Leeso's family or Hatsu's family, as their amount of political influence or privileges, set them aside from the common class. These "privileges" probably allow the members to enjoy a certain standard of life. At least most or all Special Families have a special contract with Guardians that gives specific bonuses.

Apart from the Great Families, the other Special Families probably operate with the blessings or if not, the knowledge of the Zahard Empire. It is unknown if they also serve the Zahard Empire, in exchange for these privileges and other benefits.

In all these Special Families, someone isn't adopted just because someone takes pity on him but rather, for specific purposes. It doesn't matter if he is seriously ill or close to death but if he has failed to be chosen, he will be "discarded". And his body condition probably meant he would be "discarded" anyways.

More of such Families may be added as time passes.

Being born into a Special Family
For at least some or all of these Special Families, a biological child may not be instantly accepted as a Family member. Rather, he or she must first prove himself at a certain age. Then they gain the right to be chosen as a Family member, which means they're the ones chosen to wear the crest of the Family and to bear the surname of the Family. And they're likely chosen repeatedly, to ensure only the qualified remain.

Example One: Koon Agero Agnis won the right to be chosen to wear the crest of the Koon Family(his scarf) because at the age of 12, he was one of the winners of the extremely bloody fights between the children of the branch families. The losers didn't get to wear the crest and were discarded to a lower Floor of the Tower. They probably weren't allowed to keep the surname of their biological father.

And later, his branch Family was exiled because through his manipulations, his lover Koon Maria Zahard was chosen to be informal Princess over his sister. Since Maria was from the main Family, Agero was exiled because this meant his branch Family had lost the fight to be chosen again. After all, "being able to produce an informal or formal Princess" was the process which determined if they could be "chosen" again.

Example Two: The Po Biduh

Second, you can be adopted into 1 of the the Special Families. It seems there're a few types of adoption so far: informal and formal. The exact terms are unknown and we're just using these names to differentiate them.

Take note that regardless of the type of adoption, the person likely still holds some allegiance to his or her biological family. For example: Bia princess may belong to Zahard Family but she is likely, still loyal to the Bia Family.

Grounds for adoption
Since it's unlikely any Tom, Dick and Harry can apply to be adopted into one of these Special Families, it is likely only the specific few are chosen to be adopted for a specific purpose. For example: Androssi Zahard was adopted only into a branch Family because she showed talent(ch44).

Depending on the purpose the adoption is supposed to fill, considered candidates may range from Rankers, Regulars or even someone who is neither.

After the person has been adopted, depending on the purpose and their performance, one might actually get certain things in exchange like a Contract with the Family, special privileges, protection from the Family, etc. After defeating every other "unni" who was seated at her table, Androssi for example: got to eat the best food reserved for the head of her table, was given stuffed toys (ch44) and later, probably designer goods and a "throne" of her own.

First form of adoption: It seems one is "chosen" to be adopted into a Great Family or a Special Family to fulfill a purpose they've been "chosen" for, like they maintain and uphold a set of rules(Hendo's profile). However, he maintains his surname and is not considered a chosen son or daughter(because that's not what he's "chosen" for). For example: La Po Bia Ren doesn't keep the surname of Zahard even if he belongs to the Zahard Family. And unlike the Princesses, he doesn't call the King "Father". Another example: Mule Love who was born in the Mule Family belongs to the Chicken Love Family but he of course, doesn't

For example: Androssi Zahard was one of many girls adopted by a branch of an unnamed Great Family. Whether or not her parents were still alive, it's unlikely she was "chosen" to bear the name of a Great Family. She was instead chosen to be one of many females who showed talent and who were trained to produce a potential Princess candidate.

Second type of adoption: Someone is adopted but discards his or her birth family name for a certain pupose. In return, the person then views the Family Head as his or her parent as he or she is probably "chosen" to be the son or daughter.

So far, it seems only the Zahard Family practises this and to avoid binding the Princesses to their heredity(ancestry, bloodline). It probably means they're supposed to place interests of the Empire and the Zahard Family before their own biological family(may or may not be a Special Family).

, in exchange for powers and so on.

So far, it seems only the Zahard Family practises this. A female is chosen from among a pool of candidates and

She discards her biological name, probably to avoid being bound by heredity

She calls the King "Father" but likely, she

Lastly, he can of course be thrown out of a Family and this likely holds true not only for Great Families but other Families as well.

Known Special Families
10 Great Families

Zahard Family

Chicken Love Family

Mule Family

Jania Family