 Discriminant obstruction to ramification

A ramified prime makes the finite algebra ${\mathcal{O}}_K/p{\mathcal{O}}_K$ have a nonzero nilpotent element. Multiplication by its product with any other element is nilpotent and has trace zero, so the reduced trace pairing is degenerate. Therefore the field discriminant is divisible by $p$. This proves finiteness of the ramified rational primes without requiring explicit prime factorization in the field.