The Defeated Dragon Chapter 2

2 – Smoke Serpentines

Roasted goat meat, boiled lamprey, a small portion of apple puree and snow pear slices, hops beer, and white bread made from fine wheat flour.

That was Liszt's dinner.

The western-styled food did not particularly suit his taste, but he could not cook, and therefore could not eat the food he liked. Also, according with this world’s customs, aristocrats were strictly forbidden from entering the kitchen, the warehouse, and other places meant for servants. Those who violated this aristocratic etiquette, would become a laughingstock.

Of course, the court was an exception.

The court's cooks and servants were a variety of lesser aristocratic lords. Liszt's father, the Count of Coral Island, served the current Sapphire Grand Duke as a groom. He was responsible for feeding the Sapphire Grand Duke’s beloved mount, a precious horse with a dragon’s bloodline.

Even now, the Count of Coral Island would still enter the palace, from time to time, as a groom.

He gladly endured this hardship, even fearing that there might be other aristocrats vying to replace his position as a groom and interfere with his close relationship with the grand duke.

In the same way, the Sapphire Grand Duke served his majesty the king of the suzerain state Steel Ridge Kingdom as a gentleman’s valet, waiting upon his daily necessities.

Basically, the commoners were the servants of the aristocrats, and the lesser aristocrats were the servants of the greater aristocrats.

Only by becoming the lord of a state, would one be considered to be their own master.

“Fortunately, I’m the sole master of Flower Town and do not have to wait upon anyone.” Liszt felt pleased as he ate the barely passable dinner.

With the count, his father, not liking him, he basically never bothered him.

After dinner, the old butler Carter directed a maid to tidy up the tableware and a gentleman’s valet with water for Liszt to rinse his mouth.

When everything was finished, Carter led the servants away: “I will be outside. My Lord and the two Messrs., please let me know if there is anything you need.”

“I will be troubling you, Mr. Carter.” Liszt revealed a gentleman’s smile. In terms of aristocratic etiquette, as he had been influenced by his predecessor, it would manifest itself naturally without him needing to learn anything.

Even while handling lowly servants, one still had to be courteous and respectful. It did not matter whether privately one would strike at or kill them, or how depraved one was towards them, so long as one kept the appearance of nobility and elegance.

“It is my pleasure to serve you.” Carter closed the door.

“Liszt.” Gort drank the tea with honey and said, “The sprite worms should be used as soon as possible. The finances of this small town are not a pretty sight to behold. The previous administrative officer was an idiot who only knew how to oppress the serfs, leaving a terrible mess behind!”

“I see. Teacher, please do a thorough investigation as soon as possible ,and find a suitable place to settle down the sprite worms.”

“Of course, it is my duty.”

Liszt turned to Marcus: “Thorns Ridge, will it be difficult to investigate that area’s magic beasts? Regarding the matter of the magic beasts harassing the farmers, as their lord, I must take this seriously.”

Marcus replied: “The Thorns Ridge is very large and the magic beasts’ scope of operation is not fixed. You only have four retainer knights. Even if I figured out the locations of all the magic beasts, you still would not be capable of defending against them. The patrols are basically useless, they are a bunch of scoundrels who would pee themselves if they were to face magic beasts.”

Flower Town was located in the northeasternmost part of Coral Island, surrounded by Thorns Ridge. The ridge was littered with magic beasts; therefore, very few caravans were willing go over to trade.

Thus, they could only rely on themselves. But without the help from sprites, the farmers providing for themselves was an open question, and then they still had to pay taxes to Tulip Family, the ruler of Coral Island.

The aristocrats only cared about the amount of taxes they were receiving, not whether the farmers lived or died.

And Tulip Family was no exception.

Liszt could not stay idle. He was a youth who had been immersed in the glorious banner of communism. Since he had become the lord of this territory, then saving the people from this abyss of suffering was something he had to do. Only when Flower Town was prosperous, could he receive greater benefits as the lord.

From the public to the private sector, he had to develop Flower Town.

“There is always a way. Teacher Marcus, tomorrow, after the knight cultivation lesson, please accompany me to Thorns Ridge. As the lord, I still have not taken a proper look at Flower City.”

“Liszt, that is a bad idea. There is nothing wrong with taking a stroll around the small town, but you should not go to Thorns Ridge. Do not forget that you nearly died there last time.” Gort promptly objected.

Liszt shook his head: “Last time, I had accidentally eaten a poisonous fruit. I will pay more attention this time.”

Marcus said bluntly: “I will inform your four retainer knights later this evening and set up a proper inspection root in Thorns Ridge, in order to guaranty your safety.”

“I willll have to trouble you.”

“Be careful.” Gort said helplessly.

Liszt spoke no more. The two teachers were oblivious of his true intentions. He had yet to recover completely; Therefore, according to his temper, he would have to first become thoroughly well, before going on a journey. When going on a journey, aristocrats would either ride carriages or horses, but regretfully, he did not had any carriages.

Riding horses, according to his predecessor’s memories, was not that easy as there were no saddles nor stirrup. Knights with qi had no need for such auxiliary equipment to ride horses or any other kind of mounts.

“On the contrary, a saddle will restrict a knight in displaying their equestrian skills… But without a saddle, one’s butt will have to suffer…”

Liszt contemplated after seeing the two teachers off.

“My Lord, when do you plan to go to bed?” His gentleman’s valet came in to inquire.

“After ten o’clock. Thomas, I need one more candle in my study, I want to read.” Liszt sent his gentleman’s valet away.

Thomas’ face showed disappointment. It had been already several days since he had been given a chance to do his job. Liszt had been casting him aside instead of requiring him to wait upon himself.

As a gentleman’s valet, he felt like he had lost the baron’s favor. He was concerned about his job.

This was indeed the case as Liszt did not like the gentleman’s valet. Every time Thomas waited upon him, helping him to wear his clothes, caused goosebumps to rise all over Liszt’s body, making him think that the aristocratic system was abominable!

Why could not male aristocrats have maids as their gentleman’s valets?!

Once Thomas left after bringing back a candle, the study had become well-lit. Liszt got up and pulled open the curtains. Through the castle’s window, he could only see a few lights of the nearby small town.

It was very dark.

This small town lacked food, had no nightlife, and was extremely quiet.

“This is my domain! Though it is poor and backwards, but it is solely mine! The town and its surroundings are an independent kingdom of mine… I shall forge it into an utopia!”

Suddenly.

Faint smoke emerged before Liszt. Alike countless small snakes, the smoke twisted and formed abstract symbols. These symbols were commonly used in the Steel Ridge Kingdom. They were known as Serpentines, and their origins were already untraceable as there was no habit of recording history.

As someone whose soul had crossed over and had succeeded the memories of his predecessor, Liszt could read the Serpentines.

The content had left him bewildered for the past week.

“Mission: As the lord, you need to understand everything about your territory. Please inspect Flower Town, comprehend the crisis befalling your territory, and lay proper groundwork for the future development of your territory. Reward: advancement in qi.”

The content was brief and uncomplicated.

What Liszt could not understand was why he could see the smoke Serpentines. Although, by scouring through his predecessor’s memories, he realized that the guy had seen the smoke Serpentines since he was small, but the smoke had been extremely faint and indistinct, to the extent that the Serpentines were unreadable and the fellow believed them to be an illusion.

Liszt only managed to clearly see the symbols after his soul crossed over.

After staring blankly for a moment, he reached out in an attempt to touch the smoke, yet the smoke immediately faded away, confirming that it was an illusion.

But now, Liszt did not think that it was an illusion. Perhaps it was a benefit of being a transmigrator, an incarnation of some system? As he was not clear, he decided to go test it.

So long as he inspected the territory, he would be able to complete the mission. At that time, whether he got the reward or not, he would have made sense of it.

If he did not got it, then it would prove that it was just an illusion.

If he got it, then it would prove that it was a benefit.

Was a transmigrator’s cheat – before a transmigrator moves, cheats go first?

( 穿越者未动，金手指先行 is a reference to the proverb 兵马未动，粮草先行 – before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first)

Chapter end