The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Liszt had no idea what was on the maid’s mind.

He was not interested in an irresponsible relationship in someone’s castle, either. His body was only sixteen years old. According to the laws of his home world, eighteen was the threshold of adulthood, and a man could not be married until twenty-two.

So, he should focus on building himself up. His former self was a loser, but Liszt was confident in becoming a sky knight now with his aptitude and the help of the misty missions. Chances were that he could even ride a dragon later on.

Dragon knights were the most destructive warriors in this world.

I cannot drop the training of Dragon Drill and Furious Fire. Although I don’t have to go to the battlefield, I must be able to protect myself.

…

The lunch was only for the family of Taro Castle. Mesiro and his wife were outside, and the grandfather and grandson were the only two in the castle right now.

As a result, the two of them and the Tulip siblings were the only people at the table.

Marquis Merlin was on a wheelchair because it was inconvenient for him to walk. The food here was better than that in Tulip Castle, as indicated by the fine white bread on the plate.

Liszt took a bite of the white bread. It was fluffy, delicious, and tasted more like cake than bread.

The wine served was also far more precious than New Moon.

As dinner trays were revealed one after another, the courses were as copious as those during an important festival in Tulip Castle.

However, the atmosphere was rather cold despite the abundant cuisine.

The marquis was solemn and used to be a powerful man. Both Levis and Lvera were rather restrained before him.

Liszt was quiet, too. Although he did not feel that they were incredible, it was still not easy to chit-chat with strangers.

So, he decided to focus more on the delicious food.

The rock lobster with mayonnaise, in particular, attracted his attention.

After finishing a plateful, he ordered another one.

“Rock lobster is a specialty of Red Crab Island. Most of them are caught by the fishermen and delivered to the castle.” Mayop had the bread and said, “If you like them, I’ll have someone prepare a batch of living lobsters for you.”

“I don’t think it’s easy to transport them. The road between Taro Castle and Flower Town is too long. It will take at least five days for me to return.”

“Actually, it’s very easy to keep rock lobsters alive. You need only spray some water on them. With the bloodline of sea monsters, they are not so vulnerable.”

Liszt certainly did not object to it. “All right, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Mayop smiled. Of the three Tulip siblings, Liszt was the closest to him, perhaps because they had similar appearances.

Listening to their conversation, the marquis suddenly said, “Liszt, tell me about Flower Town.”

“Grandpa, life in Flower Town is really boring.”

“You can introduce the history and the environment to me.”

“Well, it’s a small town with fewer than two thousand people. The town was built by immigrants after new tulips were discovered there. Now, the town lives on wheat. The land is barren, and taxes are few. But luckily, a new tulip magic medicine has been discovered. It will boost development again.”

“That’s a good thing.” The marquis asked further, “Tulip Castle paid a fairly huge sum of coins for the magic medicine?”

“I asked for a dividend. Not too many tulips can be grown in the town. I’ve reached an accord with my siblings to grow the tulips with them on the condition that they give me thirty percent of the profits.”

“Well, an interesting deal. It’s more valuable than some coins. Liszt, you’ve inherited both the beauty and the intelligence of the Taro family.”

The Taro family was famous for their shrewdness in the archduchy.

The marquis’s father, the previous marquis, was only an earl back then. Because the archduke needed money to arm the knights, the earl dedicated all his fortunes to Archduchy Sapphire in exchange for Red Crab Island and the title of marquis.

Now, the annual revenue of Red Crab Island was much more abundant than the money the earl gave away.

It was definitely a fair deal.

“Flower Town is only a small town. I need to make money to keep the castle running.”

“A qualified noble is a self-made noble.”

Courage, manners, loyalty, work ethic… Nobles talked about a lot of things, but they were essentially vampires that exploited ordinary people. Few of them even knew what hoes looked like.

…

After lunch, it was dinner.

The next day, Mayop was rather busy. According to the marquis’s instructions, he intended to throw a splendid ball that night and invite all the young nobles nearby.

A ball of nobles, to put it simply, was a meeting of blind dates.

The younger sons of the nobles were most interested in the ball. The eldest son could inherit his father’s title and easily find a suitable wife. The younger sons had to work harder to marry a wealthy lady in order to continue their noble life.

Otherwise, after generations, they would end up as common knights.

Female nobles were also passionate about the balls. Not every lady could be married to the eldest sons of nobles. They need also charm the noble descendants who had potential.

“Liszt, you must get ready!” Mayop came with his valet, who carried a bunch of formal attires. “Those are clothes that I’ve never worn. They must suit you well since we are of similar sizes.”

“Cousin, there’s no need to try every one of them. I think the one on me is quite good.”

“No, it has to be perfect. The nobles of thirteen towns have been invited to the ball. How many beautiful ladies will there be? They’re waiting for a romantic encounter with you.”

“I’m too young to be married.” Liszt was lost for words. He never realized that his cousin was such a passionate matchmaker. “You should dress my sister, who is at an appropriate age for marriage. My brother also needs a suitable mistress for Tulip Castle.”

“They don’t need my reminder. Levis borrowed a lot of my clothes, and Lvera have been getting ready since morning. You didn’t realize it?”

“Is that so?”

Liszt really didn’t. He was too busy reading the books of Taro Castle and enjoying the food at dinner.