Evil Dragon Egg

"Can I use this money to fix up the castle? The plaster on the outer walls is all peeling off."

Yorkshire hesitantly shook his head.

"Can I use this money to hire maids? Just look at Dina..."

Yorkshire innocently shook his head.

"Then I can at least use it to recruit castle guards, right?"

Yorkshire firmly shook his head.

"Fuck your grandfather!" Allen pulled a broadsword from beside a knight statue, slammed it onto the table, and roared, "Then tell me what it can be used for!"

Staring at the ghostly gleam reflected off the broadsword, Yorkshire weakly said, "To entertain the higher-ups of the Holy See."

Allen deflated like a balloon and sat weakly on a stool.

"My county, my subjects—if the taxes had to be handed over to my old man, I could accept that. But why the hell should I spend it entertaining those bastards from the Holy See?"

Yorkshire was completely muddled by Allen's words. He truly could not understand how the Baron, who had once been reasonably polite to others, had become so unbearably crude.

"By the way, something interesting happened outside," Yorkshire quickly changed the subject. "Princess Hathaway of Duke Lotel Kingdom was adopted as the goddaughter of a cardinal from the Holy See."

"Hathaway, that seductive bitch?" Allen glared at him irritably. "What does that have to do with me?"

Yorkshire awkwardly rubbed his nose, silently blaming himself for saying the wrong thing. Wasn't this just poking at a sore spot?

After being reborn, Allen had three women who left the deepest impression on him. The first was Dina, the second was his cheap mother, the Grand Duchess, and the third was Princess Hathaway.

After merging his memories, he could not recall much of the past. But Hathaway was the most legendary among the many princesses of Duke Lotel Kingdom. He had heard her name so often his ears were practically callused, especially from Dina, who talked about her all day long.

It was said that Hathaway had been born at exactly the same time as Allen, and that both possessed absurdly high elemental affinity. They had both been born with talent for magic.

Unfortunately, Hathaway and Allen had taken completely different paths. Allen had gone farther and farther down the road of being an idiot and disappointing his father, his retreating back forever beyond reach.

Hathaway had become a Fire Magic Apprentice at the age of eight, recognized as a child prodigy.

When Allen was eight, his father had beaten him viciously, and he had completely given up on magic. He was publicly recognized as the poster child for disappointing one's father.

At sixteen, Hathaway did not know battle aura, but she could still perform a few flashy moves. The outside world generously praised her as a rare practitioner of Magic-Martial Dual Cultivation.

At sixteen, Allen had been beaten by both his father and mother, and he had completely given up on Martial Skills. The outside world generously praised him as worthless mud that could not be propped up.

When Hathaway came of age, the king of Duke Lotel Kingdom bestowed upon her the most prestigious title of Thornflower Princess. The duchy granted her its richest county as her territory, filled with well-bred young nobles and intellectuals.

When Allen came of age, the Duke of the Kingdom of Locke stripped him of his count title and demoted him to Baron. The entire kingdom bestowed upon him the title of disgrace to the nobility and assigned the barren Outpost County as his territory, where the people spent every day thinking of ways to evade taxes.

The only point of intersection between them was when Hathaway visited the Kingdom of Locke. Stunned by her beauty, Allen publicly proposed to her.

Although Hathaway did not agree, she did not directly refuse him either.

She merely told Allen calmly, "Please hurry home and take a look in the mirror."

Humiliated in public, Allen had secretly sworn more than once that he would avenge that insult someday. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. The pampered Allen could not adapt to the harsh living conditions of Outpost County and fell seriously ill, allowing the soul of another Allen from another world to enter his body.

"Are you deliberately trying to pick a fight with me today?" Allen eyed Yorkshire sideways, finding him unpleasant no matter how he looked at him.

Yorkshire blinked innocently.

"Is there no good news at all? What kind of secretary are you? Do you know how to squeeze the people dry? How to embezzle and bend the law? How to oppress honest citizens?"

Yorkshire thought for a long time, but he simply could not connect the county's ruffians—who spent every day fighting, brawling, or evading taxes—with the words "honest citizens."

Allen was somewhat annoyed. Other nobles wore fine clothes, rode spirited horses, and indulged in pleasure. Why was his own life so miserable?

Seeing "looking for trouble" written across the Baron's left cheek and "looking for a fight" across his right, Yorkshire blurted out without thinking, "Oh, there is one more piece of good news."

"What good news?"

Yorkshire played coy. "Can you guess who won this year's arena championship?"

Allen frowned. "What does that have to do with me?"

"It was Count Kahn, your elder brother."

Allen grabbed the helmet from the knight statue and smashed a huge bump onto Yorkshire's head.

Yorkshire clutched his head. After thinking for a while, he finally decided that he did not deserve any sympathy. What was wrong with him today? Why did he keep saying things that invited a beating?

Among the nobles of the Kingdom of Locke, everyone knew that Allen and his elder brother, Count Kahn, had never gotten along since childhood. They were practically strangers, and Count Kahn, who cared deeply about appearances, had even publicly declared that he was severing all blood ties with Allen.

Seeing the bump on Yorkshire's head, Allen felt a little guilty as well.

To be honest, he had quite a favorable impression of this handsome middle-aged man. But life was a play, and everything depended on acting. He was merely playing the role he was supposed to play.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Yorkshire apologized repeatedly.

"Forget it. Just be more careful from now on. No wonder you lost every political struggle."

Yorkshire sighed helplessly, thinking, It wasn't that I lost political struggles. Your father was just too narrow-minded.

"Forget it! I won't bully you anymore." Allen stretched and said, "Let's go out for a walk."

Yorkshire rubbed the bump on his head, stood up, and pushed open the door.

After the two left the castle, Old Butler Leisi stood atop the bell tower, watching Allen's back as he muttered once more, "The reincarnation of a holy infant? Or a devil from a Different Plane?"

Dina quietly approached Old Laixi from behind and nearly slapped the scrawny old butler apart with one blow.

"Ha! Uncle Leisi, what are you doing here?"

Old Laixi rubbed his shoulder and asked with a bitter smile, "Nana, do you think the Second Young Master is suited to cultivating magic?"

"Are you still half-asleep? You know what happened to the Second Young Master. A few days ago, he barely became a Magic Apprentice, and Nana had to help him with that." Dina sighed. "A mage? With the Second Young Master's aptitude, unless... ah!"

"What about Blood Magic and Necromancy?" Old Laixi looked at Dina with a smile.

Dina covered her large lips in terror. Her eyes, as wide as bells, stared at Old Laixi as if she had seen a ghost.

Her frightened expression gave Old Laixi quite a scare as well.

To be fair, Dina was not ugly. She was merely too tall and too sturdy.

Her high nose bridge, large eyes, and slightly full lips gave her a wild beauty.

Taken separately, her features were not exquisitely sculpted, but they were not unattractive. Yet all of them gathered on one large round face looked awkward no matter how one viewed them.

Old Laixi stroked the stubble on his chin and said to himself, "Magic itself has no distinction between evil and justice. Human nature does. Just like the gods in the sky—when they watch over you, it is justice; when they ignore you, it is evil."

"But what about the Holy See? Wouldn't that bring trouble to the Second Young Master?" After thinking for a moment, Dina said disdainfully, "Uncle Leisi, stop acting all mysterious. Don't think I don't know—you're only a high-level Water Mage. Besides, the Second Young Master already knows water magic."

Old Laixi shook his head and gazed at the crowd outside the castle. "There are countless races on the continent: elves, dragons, dwarves, giants, Beastmen of Behemoth, Druids, barbarian tribes of the wastelands, and more. Over the past thousand years, which race has lacked brilliant talents? Without enduring hardship and weathering trials, how can one become a great vessel? Only after crossing the thorns can one see the distant scenery."

Dina was speechless. She turned and left directly. That old fool was getting mystical again. She might as well return to her room and practice embroidery.

Old Laixi called loudly after her, "By the way, Nana, go take a look around outside. A lot of outsiders have come to the county."

Dina stopped and turned back nervously. "What are they here for?"

"A trade caravan from the Kingdom of Locke brought back a Hell Black Dragon Egg from the Behemoth lands. It is said to have been stolen, and many hired mages and adventurers have come to try their luck."

"An Evil Dragon Egg?" Dina muttered softly, then lowered her head and walked down the bell tower, lost in thought.

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