Morning Dew After Rain

Morning Dew After Rain?

The moment Leon heard the name, it felt inexplicably familiar. It seemed he had heard it somewhere before. Yet when he thought carefully, he could not remember what it was.

Seeing Leon deep in thought rather than putting on an act, Eaton asked with a hint of surprise, "Could it be that Viscount Pat doesn't know?"

"I have not inherited the title yet, Count Eaton. There is no need to address me that way—just call me Leon." After saying that, Leon shook his head. "Morning Dew After Rain sounds familiar, but I truly can't remember what it is."

Eaton gave Leon a long, searching look, then reached out and took a wooden box from his attendant, handing it over to Leon.

"Do you recognize this box?"

It was an exquisite carved wooden box. Its design was utterly unlike the relief carvings popular in the Empire; a few simple rising and falling strokes brought out the flowing curves of cloud patterns. It was a style completely different from the fashions of the day. Others might not recognize it, but Leon happened to remember it—this was plainly Old Jon's personal tea box.

Could Jon's enemies have come knocking?

"This should be... a box for holding things, right?" Leon had originally intended to say it was a tea box, but after a moment's thought, he changed his words. Even if he did not like Old Jon, his most beloved younger brother held Jon in the highest respect. For Angel's sake alone, he would not expose Jon.

Leon was still too young. Though he quickly reined in his expression, Eaton had caught that instant of astonishment.

"You don't recognize this box?" The voice was full of doubt.

"No," Leon said without hesitation.

After a long pause, Eaton curled his lips, a shadowy chill flashing through his eyes. He said coldly, "Very well. Since Viscount Pat has no impression of it, we shall not waste any more time. Farewell!"

As Eaton and his attendant departed, Leon's expression gradually darkened.

That decisive departure, coupled with the stern killing intent in Eaton's eyes before he left, gave Leon a bad feeling.

After considering it, Leon ordered the knights maintained by the estate to go on alert, while he himself spurred his horse at full speed toward the stilt house where Old Jon lived.

This was his second visit to the stilt house that day, but his mood could not have been more different.

He came in such a rush that he stirred up a gust of wind, setting the short grass in the yard swaying wildly.

"Brother, why are you here?" Seeing that something was wrong with Leon's expression, Angel did not make another "You're here" joke. Assuming something serious had happened, he hurriedly asked.

"Have you seen the tea box? The one Old Jon uses to store tea leaves." As Leon spoke, he raced up to the second floor and pushed open the door to Jon's bedroom.

Angel followed after him. "Tea box?" He took a round box carved with dragons from a small cabinet at the side. "Do you mean this one?"

Jon had been sitting at his desk reading—his mute servant turned the pages while he did the reading—and naturally, Leon's considerable commotion had not escaped his notice.

"What's this? Has little Leon finally seen the light and learned to appreciate the tea I have here?" Jon laughed.

The Golden Sparrow Empire also had tea, but it was entirely different from the tea Jon prepared. More precisely, the Empire's tea was a beverage made with fresh flowers, syrup, and milk, somewhat akin to milk tea. Angel and Jon both liked tea with a rich milky flavor, though Jon himself rarely drank that kind. The tea he drank came entirely from the green tea trees he grew himself, painstakingly processed by hand without any other seasonings added. The tea plantation where Aoli had previously worked was one Jon had personally built and tended when his health was still good. As his health worsened, however, he handed it over to the head maid Mana to manage.

Leon ignored Jon's teasing and took the tea box from Angel.

Leon frowned. "No, this isn't right."

"What isn't right?"

"The pattern. This box is carved with a serpent monster. The box I mean was carved with patterns like waves." Leon recalled the box he had seen in Eaton's hands earlier.

"A serpent monster? Brother, this is actually a dragon."

"A dragon? I've never seen such a scrawny dragon."

Angel knew that discussing mythological cultures from different worlds with Leon would only lead them in circles, so he did not argue further. Instead, he said, "The boxes Mentor uses for storing his own tea are usually carved with dragons. Besides that, he carved peach patterns on the rose tea box he gave Mother, bat patterns on Father's tea box, and other boxes with various carvings. The wave-like pattern you mentioned should be the cloud pattern used on gift boxes."

"So the old man's box carvings are this particular? I never noticed before." Leon looked surprised, then quickly came back to himself and said to Angel, "Then it should be a cloud-pattern box. Where are the cloud-pattern boxes?"

Angel gave Leon a strange look. "Didn't I just say that cloud-pattern boxes are for gifts? There aren't any here. Father once had Mentor carve a batch of cloud-pattern boxes. Aside from the ones that were given away, the rest should all be piled up in the warehouse, right?"

"Leon, tell me. What happened?" It was Jon speaking. Though he had said nothing until now, his eyes had been watching Leon's expression the entire time. From beginning to end, Leon's face had been filled with anxiety, and his brow had never once relaxed.

Leon looked at Jon, sizing him up from head to toe for a while before slowly opening his mouth. "Today, Count Eaton of the Mone Family..."

"Hehe, so little Leon was worried that this old man's enemies had come knocking?" Jon chuckled after hearing Leon's account.

"Who's worried about you?! I only kept it hidden for Angel's sake!" Leon awkwardly turned his head away, huffing and grumbling.

Angel also grumbled inwardly. He had always thought his brother's defining trait was male chauvinism. Who would have thought he also had the legendary tsundere trait?

"Tell me, then. What grudge do you have with Count Eaton? He came in a hurry and left in a hurry today. Especially when he left—his eyes were far too vicious. If the matter can be resolved, I will try my best to resolve it. If not, you may have to fend for yourself."

"No grudge," Jon replied without thinking.

"No grudge? How is that possible! The box in his hands was clearly carved by you!"

Jon looked at Leon. "The only people I know in this world are within Gelu Town. I have no need to lie about this."

When Jon arrived in this world, his body was already showing signs of trouble. On top of that, the language and culture were unfamiliar, and it took him several years to adapt with Viscount Pat's help. By the time he had more or less adjusted to this world, his limbs had already begun to atrophy, making it naturally impossible for him to travel far again. Thus, over all these years, the farthest place Jon had ever gone was the imperial capital, where he had accompanied Old Pat for medical treatment. His connections had never expanded, much less had he made enemies.

Seeing the confusion on Leon's face, Angel spoke up as well. "Mentor isn't lying, nor does he have any reason to lie. Perhaps... Brother's train of thought was wrong from the very beginning. Count Eaton may not even know Mentor exists."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"According to what Brother said, Count Eaton came because of something, and he asked about Morning Dew After Rain from the very start. He should have come for that, right?" Angel tilted his head slightly, a habit he had whenever he was thinking. "But isn't Morning Dew After Rain just a type of tea? Did he come all this way just to drink tea? Something about that feels wrong."