The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

“Ice cream, what is that dessert?”

True to her nature as a girl, as soon as the word ice cream came from Carter’s mouth, Li Vera immediately took note and asked, “Is it a dessert made of ice?”

Carter gestured to a servant to bring the ice cream from the kitchen, then explained to everyone, “Ice cream is a very delicious frozen delicacy, a special product of Fresh Flower Town Castle Kitchen, made from a unique recipe that is perfect for cooling off in the summer and as an excellent dessert after a meal. It’s a great creation thought up by the master.”

“Sounds like some sort of frozen cheese.” Lady Penelope remarked with a bit of disdain, “I’m not fond of cheese; it would make me feel nauseous all afternoon.”

Levis shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t like cheese either, perhaps I could have a cup of frozen juice instead.”

“Ice cream is not cheese, try it first, and I believe you will fall for the charm of ice cream, a food that is full of temptation,” said Liszt dismissively.

“You’re knowledgeable about gourmet food as well?” Lady Marie asked with a smile, “A dessert personally made by a noble, I must try it.”

Initially, the earl was just eating the roast meat on his plate.

Upon hearing Lady Marie’s words, his face turned slightly grim, and he spoke with greater seriousness, “Liszt, you’ve come of age and been granted your own land; you should be focusing on developing Fresh Flower Town and attaining knightly glory. Focusing on food is not in keeping with noble etiquette; the kitchen is a place for servants!”

Nobles absolutely never enter the kitchen, as it was deemed a place for lower-class individuals.

Liszt took a casual sip of chilled beer, not minding the earl’s scolding, “Father, ice cream is just an idea, and Mrs. Abbie made it based on this idea. As a noble, all I need to do is taste it and offer suggestions on the flavor.”

Saying so, he smiled at Lady Marie, “If you like it later, you could praise Mrs. Abbie; she is a dedicated and diligent cook.”

“I would be happy to.” Marie smiled.

She then lowered her head to cut the seafood on her plate, and her smile quickly faded.

In the short time of a few sentences, the servants had already brought out cups of colorful ice cream on trays, arriving beside each noble to place the ice cream on the table.

The cups were valuable crystal cups. Crystal is often an accessory mineral to dragon gems and, if of good quality with magic power, can be used to make lamps; with poorer quality and no magic power, it is often crafted into various crystal vessels and becomes a symbol of noble status, power, and wealth.

The castle had twenty crystal goblets.

Normally used in banquets to hold red wine, they were now being used to hold ice cream.

“Hmm, this is ice cream? It looks pretty and smells great,” Li Vera said as she picked up the cup of ice cream and examined it carefully. Inside the cup, there were three round balls.

One pink, one light yellow, and one light green.

On top, there were also two tiny purple wild berries.

She then glanced at the cup beside Levis, which also contained three balls, but in the colors of light yellow, pink, and dark brown.

Essentially, there were only four colors: pink, light yellow, light green, and dark brown.

It was just that the color combination of the balls differed from one person’s cup to another’s.

Carter spoke with grace, “Lords, ladies, young masters, and misses, there are four flavors of ice cream. The pink is strawberry, the light yellow banana, the light green matcha, and the dark brown chocolate. You can choose different ice creams according to your own taste preferences.”

“It’s very cold.” Captain Mickey said, holding the cup without hurrying to taste it, but rather asking curiously, “Liszt, are they made of ice? If I remember correctly, Fresh Flower Town doesn’t have an ice cellar. Forgive my curiosity, but I cannot fathom how the ice cream is made.”

“Indeed, Fresh Flower Town lacks an ice cellar, but that doesn’t mean we have no ice,” said Liszt, looking into everyone’s curious eyes without any intention of hiding the truth, “I found a very small saltpeter mine in the town. I remember reading a knight’s novel that said saltpeter could be used to make ice, and hence, Fresh Flower Town had ice.”

“Saltpeter? Making ice?” The Earl looked at the increasingly unfamiliar Liszt, and couldn’t help but ask, “Is this the work of a magician?”

“While magicians can make ice directly, saltpeter ice-making is a kind of… natural phenomenon. Saltpeter dissolves in water, absorbing heat, and that can turn the water into ice.”

“Magical saltpeter, may I see it?”

“Of course, you can, but I’m afraid that’s not possible today, as the saltpeter has been used up. It takes so much saltpeter to turn a small amount of water into ice, and Fresh Flower Town has only a tiny saltpeter mine. Mining all the saltpeter, we can’t make two buckets of ice in a day.”

“As Captain Mickey sighed, “That’s really a shame.”

Li Vera spoke up directly, “Liszt, give me enough saltpeter for a bucket of water, and I’ll give you gold coins!”

“Try the ice cream and see if it suits your taste, sister,” Liszt said, awkwardly changing the subject. This sister had been addicted to stealing his toys since she was little; she wanted every good thing for herself.

Li Vera glared at Liszt.

This brother, who she could bully when they were young, had grown up enough to ignore her.

“Even if only making two buckets of ice each day, it’s quite remarkable. Tulip Castle can’t open the ice cellar and take out ice every day, and in the summer, ice is more expensive than gold coins,” Marie turned her head toward the Earl, “Dear, saltpeter could perhaps be developed into an industry, you know, those nobles are always eying our ice cellar in the summer.”

The Earl scooped up a ball of ice cream with a spoon and said without looking up, “Magical as saltpeter is, two buckets of ice a day are barely enough for Liszt’s own use, not of great value.”

As he spoke, he tasted a scoop of the chocolate-flavored ice cream, and his eyes lit up instantly, “A very unique texture.”

Levis joined the conversation, “It is indeed delicious. It’s called ice cream, isn’t it? I like this strawberry flavor of ice cream. It’s creamier than frozen cheese but not so cloyingly sweet, more fluffy, melts in the mouth just right.”

“I prefer the matcha flavor,” said Li Vera, who had already eaten her light green ball of matcha-flavored ice cream.

“It makes a good dessert after a meal, especially after a summer banquet,” commented Captain Mickey.

The delicious ice cream instantly conquered everyone’s taste buds.

There was only one person at the table shaking her head, Lady Penelope: “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m not accustomed to such a taste. It doesn’t feel like food at all to me. Mr. Carter, I’d like a glass of iced sugar water instead.”

“Grandmother doesn’t like it? I do. Mr. Carter, another cup of ice cream for me, please. I want both chocolate and banana flavors,” Lidun said, having already polished off a cup of ice cream.

Ice cream was just an after-dinner dessert.

Liszt “invented” it merely to enjoy a cold treat in the summertime—not being able to drink iced beer all day long, but one could eat ice cream any time.

However, at today’s banquet, ice cream had truly stolen the show.

Aside from Lady Penelope, as well as the disinterested Captain Mickey and the Earl, everyone else was conquered by the taste of the ice cream.

The four large portions of ice cream made by Mrs. Abbie were eaten up in no time.

Eventually, the luncheon ended with the deliciousness of the ice cream.

Busily directing the servants to clean up after the meal, Carter stood up straight in the hallway, his tense mood completely soothed, and upon running into Butler Xi Er Wa, he smiled broadly, “Mr. Silva, thanks to the food brought by His Lordship, the gentlemen enjoyed the luncheon immensely.”