Chapter 33: The Lord of Long Taro Castle
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The rocking carriage jostled Liszt to the brink of sleepiness.
From Sea Crab City, he had endured a bumpy ride to Redstone City, where he spent a night. By dawn, after another two hours of travel, they finally saw Long Taro Castle standing halfway up the mountain.
Long Taro Castle was almost four tis the size of Tulip Castle, with arrow towers that soared to a height of one to two hundred ters. Its location on the mountainside almost rged the castle with the mountain range.
Liszt had once traveled from his hotown, Earth, to visit Neuschwanstein Castle in Europe.
The majesty of Neuschwanstein Castle was comparable to Tulip Castle, save for the latter’s precipitous cliffs. However, compared to Long Taro Castle in front of him, Neuschwanstein seed modest in scale. Long Taro Castle alone bore the grandeur rivaling The Lord of the Rings’ White City.
Below the castle lay a city.
The carriage didn’t need to go through the city, taking a rather steep mountain road directly towards the castle instead. Midway, it was spotted and approached by the Knight Squad of Long Taro Castle. Learning that they were relatives of the Tulip Family, the Knight Squad imdiately escorted the carriage to the castle.
And one knight sprinted up the mountain to inform them ahead of ti.
Thus, when the carriage arrived at the castle’s entrance, the heir to Long Taro Castle, the three siblings’ cousin ioubao Taro, was already awaiting them with servants.
“Levis, Li Vera, Liszt,” said ioubao Taro, who was handso and graceful, with sapphire-like eyes shining exceptionally bright, “I received the letter and have been waiting a long ti. Was your journey smooth?”
Liszt had to admit.
This cousin, both in looks and deanor, was quite outstanding, almost on par with himself. Standing together, he looked more like a brother to Liszt than Levis did.
“Cousin ioubao, everything went smoothly.”
“Cousin, you’ve beco even more beautiful than last year.”
“Thank you for the complint, cousin, but compared to your handso features, it always feels like mockery,” Li Vera said half-jokingly and half-seriously to ioubao Taro.
ioubao Taro laughed heartily, “I can’t refuse this, right, Liszt?” The second part was addressed to Liszt.
Liszt gave a slight smile.
Finally, he confird that Li Vera had been teasing him all these years out of jealousy for his looks: “Cousin speaks the truth.”
“Haha, indeed, heroes share common views. Let’s go inside the castle. Father is overseeing this quarter’s tax collection on foreign land and has yet to return. Grandfather is recuperating his health but was very pleased to hear of your arrival.”
“How is grandfather’s health now?”
ioubao Taro sighed, “Grandfather’s illness is a complication arising from the recurrence of an old injury. It fluctuates; sotis it’s better, sotis worse. The Grand Duke has already sent the Court’s physician to treat him — I believe he will recover.”
In the opulent bedroom, sitting on the bed was the master of Red Crab Island, one of the seven marquises of the Grand Duchy, forr captain of the Court Fleet, the most venerable person in Long Taro Castle.
rlin Taro.
He was a septuagenarian, his pale, wrinkled face still retaining its long-cultivated dignity, but fail to conceal the frailty brought on by age and illness.
Even as a forr Sky Knight capable of leaping into the air, he was not immune to the ravages of ti.
His sapphire-blue eyes had already turned cloudy, not to ntion a head of white hair.
He lay quietly against the headboard, with a low tea table on his quilt-covered legs, laboriously writing with an ink-dipped quill on a sheet of thick paper.
The age spots on his face were particularly noticeable.
“My lord, Young Master Sun has already brought the three young masters and miss of the Tulip Family into the castle,” the butler, almost as old as Marquis rlin himself, didn’t bear to disturb him and spoke in an especially soft voice.
Marquis rlin’s pen tip hesitated slightly, then he continued writing, not lifting his head, “lissa’s children? Then let them co and visit this old man, half buried in the grave.”
“My lord, you are only temporarily indisposed, and you will recover soon. You’ve said that you would live to a hundred, outlasting that old scoundrel Marquis Wallace from next door,” the butler said.
“Ha ha, I also threatened the Grand Duke’s Sapphire Dragon, saying that if it didn’t make the Dragon Domain Landlord, I would slaughter it. However, it was to no avail; this ti, I’m afraid I’ve lost to that old undying fellow,” Marquis rlin laughed heartily, quickly finishing the last few words, and put down his pen.
The servants attending beside him imdiately carried away the tea table.
The old butler supported the marquis, leaning him towards the head of the bed to sit more comfortably. He then bent down to straighten the red tie at the marquis’s chest.
A servant brought a bronze mirror.
Other servants handed over water, towels, and hair clips, serving the marquis in turn.
The marquis ticulously grood his appearance, quickly transforming from a frail old man back to a figure of authority, and then, he waited.
Hearing familiar footsteps outside the door, his murky eyes couldn’t help but shine a bit of light.
Which was quickly concealed again.
ioubao was leading the three siblings, and they had already walked into the bedroom.
Levis took the lead, with Li Vera and Liszt quickly following to the bedside, addressing Marquis rlin with the courtesy of juniors, “Grandfather, Li Vera, Liszt, and I have co to visit you. Father also asked to extend his sincere regards and hopes that you will recover imdiately to restore the splendor belonging to the master of Long Taro Castle.”
“Your father is thoughtful,” the marquis nodded lightly, “Did you have a smooth journey?”
“It was smooth.”
“That’s good to hear. Since you have co to visit your grandfather, stay for a few days at Long Taro Castle.”
“Yes, grandfather.”
The marquis’s gaze moved past Levis and Li Vera, settling on Liszt, with a reminiscent look in his eyes, “Liszt, you’ve co of age.”
“Yes, my coming-of-age ceremony was on the ninth of March this year.”
“I’ve heard that your father has titled you a baron; which town is it?”
“Fresh Flower Town.”
“Hmm, not even able to allocate a viscountcy, it seems Earl Li Weiliam has been quite unsuccessful,” Marquis rlin comnted bluntly, then his tone beca wistful again, “I wasn’t there for your coming-of-age ceremony; lissa will surely bla . Seeing you is like seeing lissa standing right before .”
ioubao echoed, “Grandfather, Cousin Liszt indeed resembles Aunt lissa so much. When I was a child and t Aunt lissa, I thought that the Long Taro flowers were truly the most dazzling in the Grand Duchy.”
“I can hardly rember my mother; I can only look up to her through the portraits at Tulip Castle,” Liszt said, indeed he had no mory of his mother.
Liszt had been only two years old when lissa passed away; what could a two-year-old child rember?
There were portraits of lissa in the castle, but he didn’t often look at them. Besides, even if they were portraits, they lost much in their veracity, making it difficult to capture the true elegance of the person.
It was a cause for regret.
The marquis’s emotions were quickly reined in, “It’s been over a decade, but sotis it feels like just yesterday You must be tired from your journey. ioubao, take your cousins to rest. I want the young n and won to be full of vigor at the luncheon. Also, if ti permits, hold a ball tomorrow night; make it a lively one for the young people.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)