The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Liszt said with a smile.

The dealings between him and Levis were not particularly secretive, and it wasn’t difficult for those who wanted to know to find out about them. At least the Earl was definitely aware of their slave trade plan, and as he wished, he could find out about anything happening on Coral Island anytime.

Li Vera, watching the increasingly extraordinary Liszt, was very dissatisfied, “Liszt, the Fresh Flower Caravan’s seafood business has reached my Falcon Town!”

“Then congratulations, Sister, the residents of Falcon Town can enjoy delicious seafood now,” he replied.

“I will organize the serfs to harvest seafood themselves. Although you and Levis have monopolized the seafood market, other landlords will also organize their serfs to harvest seafood. Your good business won’t last long!”

Liszt, sitting in his chair, didn’t mind Li Vera’s childish provocation, “Seaside towns, of course, can harvest their own seafood since they have the right to do so. But Coral Island is so large, and not every small town is beside the sea, nor does every stretch of beach have abundant seafood.”

In fact, the Fresh Flower Caravan no longer had to work hard to catch seafood.

They simply cooperated with the landlords of the coastal towns, allowing these landlords to catch the seafood, and then the Fresh Flower Caravan would buy it and sell it to the cities. Each small town’s specialty seafood was different, and the Fresh Flower Caravan held the most complete variety of seafood, enabling them to buy at low prices and sell at high ones.

As the nobles and commoners of Coral Island gradually grew accustomed to having seafood on their tables,

revenue had risen from the initial estimate of three gold coins a day to four coins a day.

After paying Levis his share and covering the caravan’s expenses, more than three gold coins a day were pure profit. With the seafood market, Liszt was able to join the ranks of Coral Island’s wealthy.

This was a profit that made people envious.

Li Vera was green with envy but understood that Liszt had confidence—he had already satisfied Levis. On Coral Island, the two most influential people were the Earl and Levis. The Earl was Levis’s father and obviously would not compete with his son’s property, and Levis, having received shares, had issued seafood permits.

Now, no one could take away Liszt’s lucrative business.

She had no choice but to awkwardly change the subject, “You came over early in the morning, what for?”

“I came to bring Grandmother flowers,” Liszt said with a slight smile, then turned to his personal servant Thomas, “Go bring the potted plant from the carriage.”

“Yes, Master.”

Soon, a potted Dragon Hollyhock was brought in by Thomas.

“Ah, it’s Dragon Hollyhock,” Lady Penelope realized, “This is the Dragon Hollyhock I gave you. Have you taken good care of it? That’s not right, it’s not the same plant I gave you… Did that Dragon Hollyhock die? What a pity, it still couldn’t escape wilting.”

“Grandmother, don’t be sad. That Dragon Hollyhock is still alive and well, and moreover, very healthy, much healthier than the average Dragon Hollyhock,” he responded.

“What do you mean?” Lady Penelope beckoned her servant to place the Dragon Hollyhock on the balcony, “Stop beating around the bush, Liszt, just speak plainly. Talking in this convoluted way reminds me of Melissa. I have convinced myself that you have your father’s shadow, despite having Melissa’s face.”

Lady Penelope, the depth of her grudge against Melissa, was still profound.

Liszt had no memories of his mother nor knew the tone of her voice when she was alive, but he could guess that his way of speaking appeared somewhat “mysterious” and maybe even a bit distant. This was unavoidable since, after all, he was not the original Liszt and couldn’t invest too much emotion.

So, he continued to smile, “The Dragon Hollyhock you gave me wasn’t sick, it was just nurturing an Elf Bug. Now, the Dragon Kui Bug has been born.”

At the news of the Elf Bug, both Lady Penelope and Li Vera were taken aback.

Lady Penelope was sincerely pleased, having forgotten her annoyance at Liszt’s manner of speech, she heaped praise upon her grandson, “The glory of the knights favors you, Liszt, you are the luckiest of the Tulip Family. Take good care of the Dragon Kui Elf Bug, receive it as a gift from me.”

“I am deeply moved by Grandmother’s gift, and I will prepare a thoughtful present for you on your birthday this year,” Liszt expressed.

Seeing that Li Vera was about to speak.

Liszt, who had no interest in the adolescent girl, had already stood up, “Grandmother, I’ve arranged to meet with Mr. Frank, so I won’t stay here any longer. I hope to have lunch in the castle at noon.”

“Go on, lucky boy, I’ll have the kitchen make your favorite pan-fried egg pancakes,” she said.

“Mr. Frank.”

“Baron Liszt, you look even more mature now, but still as handsome as before,” said Frank, whose hairline was already close to the center of his head and had an unsightly red nose, “My Sherry, just back from Bull Horn Academy, has been talking nonstop about wanting to see Brother Liszt.”

“Sherry is back?” It took Liszt a moment to recall that Sherry was Frank’s younger daughter.

In his childhood memories, Sherry was his little follower, only a year younger than him, which meant they could play together. But then Liszt went to the Knight Academy, and Sherry was sent by Frank to Bull Horn Academy, and they had not met since.

As for Bull Horn Academy, it is located on Iron Hoof Island.

Iron Hoof Island is the fief of the Marquis of Bull, a member of the Sapphire Lineage. His ancestor was the Sapphire Duke’s favorite youngest son, who, having just come of age, was made the Earl of Bull; after the establishment of the kingdom, the island was directly granted as a fief, and he was promoted to Marquis.

The Bull Marquis Family built the Bull Horn Academy, originally to train maids for The Court.

Gradually, nobles big and small sent their daughters to Bull Horn Academy to learn — noble ladies with a Bull Horn Academy education were highly sought after for noble marriages. These ladies were deemed cultivated for studying etiquette, needlework, household management, music, and reading and writing at the academy.

Of course, not all noble ladies went to Bull Horn Academy, Li Vera being one of them.

He couldn’t be sure if it was just an illusion.

Liszt always felt that Frank couldn’t help but bring up Sherry every three sentences, as if he were trying to sell her to him.

“Perhaps, I have now become the most sought-after eligible young noble on the island,” he thought to himself, but he had no thoughts about Sherry at all; in his memories, Sherry was a little chubby girl.

After Frank had pushed the agenda for a while and saw that Liszt did not respond enthusiastically, he gradually returned to the main topic.

“Your officials and servants are taking inventory,” he said.

Five hundred serfs were gathered in small groups on a plot of land not far from the harbor. Most of them looked sickly, it was unclear whether they were ill or simply seasick.

Goltai and others, along with the clerks, were counting the number of serfs and calculating the ratio of men to women, as well as the number of craftsmen. After a rough tally, they quickly returned to Liszt’s side.

“My lord, a total of four hundred and seventy-six serfs…”

Frank casually explained, “Serfs are transported from far away, and it is inevitable that some get sick or fail to acclimate during the journey. The fleet initially purchased five hundred and ten serfs, and we lost a total of thirty-four people.”

He sighed inwardly.

Liszt nodded in acknowledgment—he was well aware that the trade of serfs inevitably involved death.

“Teacher Goltai, have the Fresh Flower Caravan cooperate to move these serfs to Fresh Flower Town for settlement as soon as possible,” he instructed.