Underwater Glimmer

Moonlight curled and spilled over the front of the manor villa, reflecting a shimmering, pearly white across the surface of the Glimmering River beneath the slope.

The study window faced the Glimmering River directly.

Russell could appreciate the wonderful scenery under the moonlight.

Without bringing wine, Butler Morris carried a candle lamp and knocked on the door alone. "Master."

"Sit."

"Are you admiring the scenery?"

Without answering, Russell withdrew his gaze and asked, "Is the work finished?"

"Yes, the four Knight Retainers and two teachers have returned to their rooms to rest, and the servants have finished organizing the goods and gone to sleep," Morris reported. "The three Spirit Worms have been placed in your bedroom and have already been fed the Jade Powder."

Spirit Worms didn't usually need to eat; they relied on their own worm-grass to absorb nutrients from the earth.

But these three Spirit Worms were currently undergoing migration. Their worm-grass had already retracted into their bodies, making them unable to absorb nutrients from the earth, so they had to rely on gnawing on jade powder to replenish their magic loss.

"I won't be dining at the manor villa tomorrow at noon," Russell said.

"Then which Male Servant would you like to choose to accompany you?" Morris asked. Nobility always needed to bring a Male Servant when traveling to serve meals and attend to daily life.

This was roughly similar to the personal attendants of the young masters in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Currently, Russell had three Male Servants: Ram, William, and Fox. Strictly speaking, Mr. Brown, who was staying behind at the manor villa, could also be considered a Male Servant, though he was a bit older.

"You arrange it," Russell said. He wasn't familiar with the three Male Servants, so he simply let Morris handle it.

"Then let's have Ram try it first; his temperament is the most steady. If you feel he isn't suitable, we can switch to William or Fox next time."

"That works."

"As for Mr. and Mrs. Brown, Master, I intend to have Mr. Brown serve as the doorman, and Mrs. Brown will go to the kitchen to assist Mrs. Moore."

Mrs. Moore was the cook. The cook was responsible for managing the kitchen and held a status second only to the butler, even higher than the Head Maid.

"That works."

"Additionally, should you give an order to Foreman Old Hans to hand over the eggs and flour for the Lord's Blessing Day as soon as possible?"

"Lord's Blessing Day?" Russell asked in surprise.

"Of course. When the Lord Master takes office, all serfs in the territory must pay eggs and flour to you, Master, as a tribute of praise," Morris said, then added, "Praising the Master isn't just about saying a few words."

Russell then remembered that the holidays included the Lord's Blessing Day.

This didn't seem like a celebratory festival; rather, it felt like an excuse for exploitation. Besides this, there was the Dragon Birth Festival for the birth of dragons, and the Snow Ghost Festival to mourn the humans killed by the Snow Demon. For all of these, serfs were required to pay living supplies to the Lord.

For example, they had to send eggs to the Lord for the Dragon Birth Festival, and hens for the Snow Ghost Festival.

"Wouldn't this be too harsh on the serfs?" Russell asked.

Morris replied with an expression of absolute justification: "Master, the fields the serfs till, the chickens and ducks they raise, and the cattle, sheep, and dogs they feed are all your property. Since they are fed and clothed, it is only right that they hand over the harvested goods to you."

Legally, that was indeed the case.

Even these serfs were the private property of the Lord.

Seeing that Russell was still hesitant, Morris added, "Master, the supplies gifted by the Baron Lord include very few eggs and flour; they won't last more than a few days."

"I understand. The Lord's Blessing Day only happens this once, right?"

"Yes."

"When Old Hans comes tomorrow, I will instruct him. Is there anything else?"

"Nothing more."

"Then, goodnight, Mr. Morris."

"Goodnight, Master." Morris bowed and retreated.

The night ended there. Russell returned to the master bedroom to rest. The thick stone walls isolated all the sounds of the night, leaving only the sound of his own breathing.

A lord, I've actually become a lord... With a smile, Russell quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In a daze, his consciousness arrived once again in the desolate, dark environment. This was the Dark Dreamscape that appeared almost every night.

However, unlike the castle outlined by lines in the previous nights.

This time, the scene outlined by dim lines in the Dark Dreamscape had changed into the manor villa and the open space around it. There was even a small river outlined by lines running through the edge of the Dark Dreamscape.

"Beautiful. Just as I expected, the Dark Dreamscape is an area centered on where I sleep."

When sleeping in the castle, the Dark Dreamscape was the castle area.

When sleeping in the manor villa, the Dark Dreamscape was the manor villa plus the surrounding land.

"Ga!"

The Little Dream Dragon appeared again.

Once it reached him, Russell, in his cartoon-figure form, leaped onto it and instantly opened the Magic Key of the Dark Dreamscape.

Several rays of light lit up from within the manor villa.

Those were the magic lights emitted by the battle aura of Charles, Eric, and the four Knight Retainers. Eric's light was the brightest.

After all, Eric was a Great Knight, while Charles and the four Knight Retainers were only Armored Knights, one level lower.

Russell himself, having just cultivated battle aura, was also an Armored Knight.

Besides that, there were some sporadic magic lights in the manor villa, emitted by the three Spirit Worms and some magical artifacts.

"Tsk tsk, compared to Fluorite Castle, the magic light in my manor villa is truly pathetic."

"Ga ga!"

The Little Dream Dragon suddenly carried Russell and flew toward the riverbank.

When they reached the river, Russell let out a surprised sound. He saw a faint luster flickering in the river water outlined by dark lines. Because the light was too dim, he couldn't make out the original shape of the object, and he couldn't tell if it was emitted by a fish.

Moreover, this dim light was moving slowly.

"It shouldn't be a fish. A fish couldn't swim this slowly... It looks like a living creature, like a river mussel, moving."

He suddenly thought of the Black Pearl Wine he had drunk at the banquet.

When Charles was boasting, he mentioned that legend had it that special old mussels lived at the bottom of some lakes, capable of gestating magic black pearls.

"Could this be a river mussel that has gestated a Magic Pearl?"

Unfortunately, in the Dark Dreamscape, he could only look; he couldn't take anything, and he couldn't affect reality. So, after observing for a while, Russell rode the Little Dream Dragon and began to patrol other areas.

Alas.

There were no more new magic lights.

"Little Dream Dragon, let's part ways here. I'm going to go pick up a pearl." Russell prepared to wave goodbye to the Little Dream Dragon and immediately go find the river mussel.

The Little Dream Dragon tilted its head, looking at Russell in confusion, not understanding.

Man and dragon stared at each other silently.

Soon.

Russell discovered a problem: he had no idea how to leave the Dark Dreamscape. It was like a real dream—he knew he was dreaming, but he just couldn't wake up.

"Little Dream Dragon, let me out."

"Ga."

"I said, I want to go out, leave here, bye-bye, get it?" Russell tried to instill his thoughts into the Little Dream Dragon.

What he got in return was the Little Dream Dragon changing direction and continuing to tilt its head: "Ga."

A moment later, Russell gave up on communicating and raised his middle finger at the Little Dream Dragon: "You idiot! You grew four claws just to pretend to be a dragon!"

Legend had it that dragons possessed four limbs, intelligence no less than humans, and could communicate in the Dragon Tongue.

The Little Dream Dragon also had four limbs, but it was a fool.

Just like that, man and dragon stared at each other until the Little Dream Dragon couldn't hold on anymore and grew tired. With a final "Ga," the Dark Dreamscape ended.

All consciousness sank into chaos.