??Chapter 145: Chapter 144: It’s Just an Accident
Chapter 145: Chapter 144: It’s Just an Accident
“Roman, ryl.” Count rlin Rain-Longflower gently embraced his son-in-law and daughter, “It must have been a hard journey.”
At this mont, he was no longer the dignified Chief Executive of the Council of Elders, but simply a kind old father.
“Not at all, it wasn’t hard.” Lady ryl’s eyes brimd with tears, yet her smile was joyful, “Father, you’re still as strong as you were at Red Castle. You haven’t changed much, which is truly wonderful, truly wonderful.”
“What changes could there be?” Count rlin smiled as he spoke, “rcedes’s power boils within my body. Only when I return to the volcano and follow the Grand Duke to his rest will old age co upon .”
Viscount jie, Count rlin’s son, also stepped forward and embraced his brother-in-law and sister one by one.
He often saw Baron Roman but had not seen Lady ryl for over a year: “Welco ho, ryl.”
“I’m very happy, brother.” Lady ryl said through laughter and tears.
Viscount jie’s wife, Kuna Shadowfla, also embraced Lady ryl with a smile: “You’ve grown haggard from the journey. You must quickly regain your spirits. Many ladies at Tributary River Mouth have been missing you.”
“I miss them too, especially the ti when you had just married into our family, and I was still unwed… Ti flies so fast; our children have already grown up.”
“Yes, l has been ntioning Russell’s na at ho, heaven knows how many tis.” Kuna Shadowfla, watching Russell embrace and greet Count rlin, said softly, “Standing together, he and l look like true brothers.”
It had to be said.
Russell’s outstanding appearance and distinguished temperant always attracted more attention.
“Little fire sprite, you’ve grown up!” Count rlin didn’t see Russell often, but he used to when he was a child.
By the ti Count rlin went to Red Castle to govern, Russell had only visited once with his parents and t him at a banquet there.
Russell was about twelve at the ti, and afterward, his mories of Red Castle and Count rlin gradually beca vague. Only upon seeing Count rlin again tonight did Russell recall his impression of his maternal grandfather from his predecessor’s mories.
Stern, aloof.
Thus, Russell felt sowhat constrained and wasn’t as warmly close to Count rlin as Roland was.
Moreover, he was not very fond of socializing and had a touch of social anxiety, especially when it ca to seeing relatives.
“I’m very pleased to see you, Grandfather.” Russell did his best to make his smile appear more sincere.
But his sense of aloofness was easily seen through by Count rlin, the graceful old Earl, who did not show anything amiss but rely smiled gently, “Think of Bluebird Castle as your own ho and have a pleasant ti here.”
“Alright.”
And so the greeting ended simply.
Count rlin returned to fondly stroking the hair of Lola, who had co forward to say hello. Although Lola was not quite a beauty, she was at least not ugly and fairly cute. Hence, Count rlin took Lola’s hand, chatting amiably for quite a while.
“Uncle.”
“Good, tonight you must join
for a few drinks!”
“Definitely.” Russell smiled and replied.
Then he greeted his aunt Kuna Shadowfla: “Aunt, you look as radiant as ever.”
“Knowing you were coming made
very happy, and when one is happy, it shows,” Kuna said with a smile.
She was born into nobility, being the personal aunt of the current Grand Duke. After marrying into the Rainflower Family, she only had one son, Cousin l, and chose not to have more children. As a result, she took excellent care of herself, looking as slim and attractive at forty-five as a young woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Despite her bright smile.
Russell could still sense from certain subtle expressions that Aunt Kuna was not truly happy about his family’s visit.
Even subtly, Russell could sense that Aunt Kuna seed to have a slight disdain for his family.
“Because we’re ugly, or is it sothing else?” Russell didn’t know.
He couldn’t be sure whether his feelings were accurate or not.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to engage in social niceties with Aunt Kuna; that was a concern for Baron and his wife. His only duty was to keep his cousin l entertained.
Once all the necessary formalities were concluded,
l threw an arm around Russell’s shoulders and led him into the castle with a laugh, “Haha, finally got you here, kid. Have you been training hard in the territory? You seem a bit lacking in physique to !”
“Lacking? I’m still growing,” Russell replied with a smile.
“That’s why you need to focus on cultivating your Battle Qi. Beco a Great Knight soon, and you won’t be lacking anymore,” l teased.
Compared to his cousin l, Russell’s strength indeed seed a bit lacking.
l was only three years older but had already advanced to the rank of Great Knight and was just waiting for the day to ride a dragon as a “virgin.” Despite the massive investnt of Magic Elixirs by the family, it also proved l’s own remarkable talent.
In other words, cousins like l and Roland were the elite among the aristocracy.
Russell was just an outlier.
…
The banquet at Bluebird Castle wasn’t particularly grand, primarily because it didn’t involve the local aristocracy. It was just the family seated around a round table for dinner, yet dishes kept coming out like an assembly line.
As Russell’s personal servant, it was his job to attend to him during the al.
When a servant of Bluebird Castle brought the plates, he had to receive them and then place them in front of Russell, making it easy for Russell to help himself at any ti.
There were no chopsticks, only knives and forks.
Russell’s aristocratic manners were impeccable; he ate quickly yet gracefully. However, he only partook of foods imbued with magic power and rely tasted the others without much enthusiasm—since he didn’t have much love for most of the world’s cuisine, he only cared about which was more nutritious.
When it ca to Primordial Beast at and Magic Potion porridge and the like, he treated them as he would a Magic Elixir.
“Russell, how far have you gotten in your training?” asked Earl rlin curiously, quite impressed with his handso grandson at first glance, glad that he hadn’t wasted the Rainflower Family’s good looks.
Russell responded, “I’ve already opened up the main ridians in both arms, and now I’m further cultivating the main ridians in my legs.”
“It was during your coming-of-age ceremony that you first unleashed your Battle Qi, right?”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“That’s good progress,” said Earl rlin, pleased, “Talent in cultivating Battle Qi is important, but perseverance is even more so. The fact that you ignited your Battle Qi before the coming-of-age ceremony and carved out the ridians in your arms in a short ti shows that you’ve worked hard.”
In just over four months, he had carved out the ridians in his arms, and his training speed was now no less than so of the talented knights.
Of course.
Whether or not one was a genius did not determine a knight’s success; the true benchmarks were whether they could bond with a Fantasy Beast and if they could ride a dragon.
The training before bonding with a Fantasy Beast or riding a dragon was all about laying the groundwork for extraordinary power.
Ordinary Knights dreamt of bonding with Fantasy Beasts.
But aristocratic youths were wholeheartedly focused on dragon riding!
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