Little Dream Dragon

"I heard Luorui bullying Tess from outside the door." A stern, steady voice came from the hallway, followed by the entrance of a middle-aged noble with rather plain features.

His flaxen hair was slightly curled, and his facial features were unremarkable.

However, his posture was upright, and the well-fitted house tailcoat he wore gave him a uniquely attractive, gentlemanly air.

This was the master of the entire Fluorite Castle, the third Baron Gloomlight, Roman Fluorite Mushroom.

"Cheep, cheep, cheep!" The Mushroom Bird, Luorui, immediately took flight from Meryl's shoulder, landed on Baron Roman's shoulder, cast a disdainful glance at Tess, and then tilted its head to begin preening its emerald-green feathers.

Tess stood on Meryl's shoulder, still with one hand on its hip and the other pointing at Luorui, letting out a series of shrill cries.

"Quiet down, you little ones!" the Baron scolded.

"They're just too rowdy, Roman. We really should house them separately," Meryl said with a chuckle.

The personal male servant following the Baron quickly pulled out a chair at the dining table. The Baron sat down and said, "It's no use. They always find each other and start bickering... It's just that there are too few Spirit Worms in the castle."

Butler Carter leaned over and asked, "Master, Madam, shall we begin serving dinner?"

Baron Roman nodded. "Please, Carter."

Laura covered her mouth and said, "Father, can we put Luorui and Tess in my room? I wouldn't mind their noise at all."

Meryl smiled and stroked Laura's hair. "My dear Laura, children aren't allowed to keep Spirit Worms."

"Why?" Laura didn't understand.

"Because you haven't cultivated Battle Aura yet," Baron Roman said. "Only Battle Aura can provide the potential for Spirit Worms and grant the power for the entire patch of medicinal herbs to grow."

"Can Russell keep Spirit Worms?" Laura asked again.

Baron Roman finally glanced at his second son. He didn't answer Laura's naive question but instead asked Russell, "One Fluorite Mushroom Bug, one Monochoria Spirit Worm, and one Dill Spirit Worm—that's fine, isn't it?"

Russell had no further extravagant hopes and nodded. "That's fine."

A single Spirit Worm could influence about 10 hectares of medicinal herbs, which was equivalent to 150 mu of land.

Three Spirit Worms combined could cultivate 450 mu of medicinal herbs, and the future output of Wuyou Snake Manor would be enough to support him and his Retainer Knights.

"The location of Wuyou Snake Manor is decent. Although Snow Ghosts and Ghost Beasts occasionally cross the line, the Xiangshui River Cave acts as a barrier for you, so there won't be any large-scale warfare."

"I understand."

"What you need to be more careful of than Snow Ghosts and Ghost Beasts are these Cave Freemen. As a lord with a fief, you must strictly vet them. Never let these freemen disrupt the order of your fief just for the sake of population."

"I understand."

The Baron briefly mentioned some of the work a lord should do, all based on his own experience and personal insight.

Meryl listened to the conversation between father and son with a smile while she ate.

She had two sons. Her eldest, Roland, had inherited Baron Roman's talent for cultivation and was already a Great Knight at a young age. Her second son, Russell, though slightly less talented, had inherited the beauty of the Monochoria Family and was equally her pride.

The male servants brought in dish after dish.

In reality, the food in the castle wasn't particularly lavish; a dinner consisted of only five or six courses. But because it was a plated service, each person had five or six plates in front of them, which required many servants to attend to the meal.

Russell was multitasking.

Filling his stomach was his primary concern, but of course, listening to the Baron's teachings was equally important, as it concerned his future.

Baron Roman was not just his father, but also his lord.

"Roland is about to retire from the Dragon Blood Knights. Shadowflame Castle hopes our family can send another heir to serve in the Dragon Blood Knights," Baron Roman suddenly brought up another matter. "Russell, do you want to go?"

"Serve in the Dragon Blood Knights?" Russell frowned.

But he quickly smoothed his brow and responded calmly, "I don't intend to serve in the Dragon Blood Knights."

Baron Roman wasn't surprised, merely saying indifferently, "Give me a reason."

A reason?

Russell's reason was quite sufficient. The Dragon Blood Knights were the most elite knight order in the Shadowflame Grand Duchy, but they were also the most dangerous, as they had to fight real Snow Demons.

As a peace-loving person, he didn't want to go!

However, this reason couldn't be brought to the table; at least in the noble honor of this world, avoiding the battlefield was a great disgrace.

So he found another reason: "Big brother is in the Dragon Blood Knights and can stay close to the Grand Duke. But now that the Grand Duke has ascended the throne, there's little point in me going to the Dragon Blood Knights as well. It would be better to cultivate my Battle Aura in my fief and strive to train a Knight Squad as soon as possible, so I can follow you, Father, and achieve great things."

Meryl didn't want her son to be too far from home either.

Therefore, she chimed in, "That's right. The Grand Duke has already ascended the throne, and Roland has already established a good relationship with him. There's no need for Russell to go."

The Grand Duke of Shadowflame was the monarch of the entire country and also Baron Gloomlight's liege.

As the heir to Baron Gloomlight, it was natural to want to curry favor with this young monarch and build a good personal relationship.

His eldest son, Roland, had done well.

So Baron Roman didn't insist, nodding in tacit agreement with his second son's explanation.

"Then, starting tomorrow, we will recruit retainers and servants for you to go and manage Wuyou Snake Manor," the Baron said, turning to look at the old butler, Carter, who was serving the meal. "Carter, the recruitment of servants will be left to you."

Butler Carter bowed slightly. "As you wish, Master. I will hire a group of excellent servants for Young Master Russell."

Upon hearing this, Russell smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Carter."

Butler Carter replied, "It is my duty, Young Master Russell."

The delicious, though not entirely to his taste, filling dinner ended. After bidding his parents farewell, Russell returned to his room.

His room was on the third floor of the castle.

It faced northwest, and the window wasn't very large.

Obstructed by the castle's outer wall, he could only see the lawn inside the castle and the activity area for the magical beasts on the lawn.

It was night now, and the magical beasts were all resting.

Lord Ross must be asleep by now, too, Russell thought. From his room, he couldn't see the tower where the Clay Dragon Ross liked to perch.

His predecessor had been very dissatisfied with this, believing it hindered his chances to get close to Lord Ross.

Riding a dragon!

That was every boy's dream.

But the current Russell thought this was for the best, so he wouldn't be an eyesore under Lord Ross's nose and expose his identity as a transmigrator.

Dragons, huh? I have one too!

There was no nightlife. After bathing and washing up, Russell went to bed early and drifted into a dream.

In a daze, he didn't know how much time had passed before his consciousness arrived in a desolate, gloomy environment. He could see the outline of a castle, as if sketched with the dimmest ink. There were no thick walls, no large stones, only sketch-like lines.

Pitch black was the main theme, and there was nothing else in the silence.

"Fluorite Castle, this is the Fluorite Castle in my dreams..." Russell was already accustomed to this special dream.

His very own golden finger.

"Gah!"

Accompanied by a crisp cry, a small beast emitting a bright golden luster slowly flew over from the corner of the castle's lines.

It looked like a dragon, but it was very cartoonish and ridiculous.

Its head was the size of a cow's head, with horns, scales, vertical pupils, and tiny sharp teeth, perfectly fitting the characteristics of a dragon.

Its nostrils flared, and faint smoke puffed out like dragon breath, though this breath was even thinner than secondhand smoke and had no lethality at all.

The funniest part was its body, which was actually about the same size as its head.

Disproportionate body, disproportionate wings, disproportionate forelimbs and hindlimbs, and a disproportionate little tail.

"You have four limbs, which is a characteristic of a Great Dragon. Little Dream Dragon, tell me, are you a Great Dragon?" Russell asked with a smile.

The Little Dream Dragon hovered in front of him, its wings flapping, its body swaying up and down.

It tilted its head, seemingly not quite understanding Russell's question.

Russell had asked similar questions many times before. The Little Dream Dragon in his dream was a fool, so he couldn't be bothered to waste more breath.

He leaped up and rode on the back of the Little Dream Dragon.

Oof!

In the dream, he was also just a cartoon figure.