The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Without marine experts to categorize sea creatures, there is no classification for whales and sharks. Large animals encountered by ships at sea are all referred to as Sea Beasts. Leviathan is clearly not a Sea Beast; legend has it that Leviathan is a giant Sea Serpent that can unleash storms and sweep through passing vessels.

The appearance of the humpback whale provided a topic of conversation for the otherwise dull voyage.

In the afternoon.

The Fresh Flower Vessel smoothly returned to port, docking at a simple pier. The round trip took three and a half days, and when he returned to the Castle, Consultant Goltai greeted him with two strangers.

“Sir, Rondo Waterpot and Lasse Steelyard are both Earth Knights, and they wish to follow you,” Goltai introduced. “Rondo is the progeny of Sir Layden, while Lasse graduated from the Knight Academy. Though they are young, they both have excellent knightly talents and ambition.”

Sir Layden was the Knight Captain of the Tulip Castle, often safeguarding Levis.

Rondo being Layden’s progeny means he is illegitimate. Otherwise, he would have been introduced as Layden’s second or third son.

As for Lasse, graduating from the Knight Academy without any mention of his family background meant he was evidently a commoner.

“Rondo, Lasse, since you are both Earth Knights, why haven’t you joined the Knight Squads of the various landlords and followed the Earl into battle?”

Liszt looked at the two men with interest, not expecting to have followers so soon.

Rondo, a handsome young man, politely replied, “I am superfluous in my family and not given much attention, without the right to participate in a Knight Squad.” He did not conceal his status as an illegitimate child, openly admitting it.

Lasse followed, “The Earl selects Knights for battle and I was eliminated because I had just broken through and my combat strength was inadequate. But rest assured, Baron, I will train diligently, master my Dou Qi Manuscript, and strive to become a qualified Knight for battle.”

The way he spoke was full of confidence, and his attitude was proper.

Upon first impression, Liszt thought both men were acceptable, but he wouldn’t recruit followers lightly, saying immediately, “A Knight chooses a Landlord to follow loyally, just as a Landlord chooses Knights to fight alongside. I hope that in the time to come, we can build a friendship.”

“We are willing to accept the Baron’s assessment!” Rondo and Lasse replied together.

Liszt nodded, “Since you both follow me as Knights, I won’t assign you to work in administration. You will serve as assistants, helping Marcus train the children and youth of our territory.”

He directly entrusted Rondo and Lasse to Marcus—hands-on management was not his style. Those above needed only concern themselves with the overarching issues, leaving the physical labor to those below.

Having dealt with the followings of the Earth Knights.

Goltai then reported, “Sir, I also received a letter these past two days. It’s from Zambrotta, do you remember him? He used to be Lidun’s private tutor. He was punished by the Earl, stripped of his title, for condoning Lidun’s beating of innocent commoners.”

After Goltai’s reminder, Liszt remembered.

Zambrotta was also an Honored Knight and had been employed as Lidun’s private tutor some years ago, often coming and going through Tulip Castle. Lidun’s beating of commoners was not a serious issue; it was Lidun’s failure to learn from his mistakes that infuriated the Earl. As a result, Zambrotta was stripped of his title in anger.

“What did Zambrotta write to you about?”

“He just mentioned some past events, but between the lines, he revealed his thoughts. He is likely considering coming to Fresh Flower Town, hoping to secure an official position.”

Fresh Flower Town was indeed short on officials, but Liszt would not recruit haphazardly, “Do you understand his character?”

“I haven’t dealt with him much, so I don’t know much about his character. However, I am aware that he has one exceptional talent. Hmm, he has traveled around the Steel Ridge Kingdom and its seven subordinate states, always able to recount many astonishing local customs and rare occurrences,” Goltai explained.

Traveled around eight countries?

Upon hearing this, Liszt felt intrigued and replied, “Is that so… Consultant Goltai, continue to communicate with him, and should he be willing to come work at Fresh Flower Town, I won’t be available, so you will be responsible for receiving him.”

After all, Zambrotta had been directly stripped of his title by the Earl.

To be stripped of a title is a grave offense, second only to exile, in the punishment of nobles. As the Earl’s son, it wouldn’t be appropriate to disregard the Earl’s wishes and recruit such a person as an official for his own territory. He could only employ him privately, benefitting personally while also preserving his father’s reputation.

In one day, he would have three more subordinates.

Liszt was in a good mood, seeing that many were looking favorably upon him, indicating that his advancement to Viscount was a natural progression.

“By the way, Consultant Goltai, work closely with Teacher Marcus and build the temporary stronghold on Black Horse Island as soon as possible, without delay,” he added.

“Rest assured, the importance of Black Horse Island will always be my top priority,” Goltai responded.

“Also, ensure that the news of Black Horse Island remains a closely guarded secret, understood?”

“Understood.”

After dealing with official business, Carter came to report on the Castle’s affairs.

“My lord, during the three days of your absence, Mrs. Morson and I have selected twenty children, ten boys and ten girls. They have already started their internships in the Castle, mainly working in the afternoons, training during the day, and residing with host families at night,” Carter reported.

After finishing, Carter asked, “Would you like to meet them?”

“I’m free anyway; have them come over to meet me and report their names,” Liszt said casually. In fact, he was mainly interested in finding out what kind of little girl Maggie was, the one particularly mentioned in the Smoke Mission.

The junior servants, training downstairs, were brought up in line by Carter and appeared before him.

“I, I’m called Poly, my, my lord.”

Soon, Liszt met Maggie in the study.

“My name is Maggie, my lord.” The little girl who spoke was shorter than her peers, quite cute, with a few freckles on her face.

Seeing her, he knew that even if she grew up, she would likely be just an average-looking girl.

Such physical attributes did not meet the standards of the secretary Liszt sought.

He inevitably felt a bit disappointed, but he also confirmed that, since she was not being groomed as a secretary, there must be other clues tied to Maggie that would be involved in the subsequent missions of the Smoke Mission.

So he smiled warmly and said, “I hope you enjoy living in the Castle, little Miss Maggie.”

“Yes, I’m enjoying life here very much, my lord,” Maggie replied, her little face blushing, somewhat shy. Perhaps she had never seen such a handsome noble lord smiling so kindly.

She waited until Carter told her she could leave.

Exiting the study, her heart was still thumping rapidly.