Duchy? Saint Blue Duchy?! You've really made things difficult for this Grand Duke!

The young dragon never expected that all he had done was make a cake for the evil dragon, and that before the dragon ate it, it would contact each of his friends to show it off.

How could a black dragon over three thousand four hundred years old suddenly become so childish? The young dragon covered its face, unable to look directly at the evil dragon.

"Lance, Lance, stop now. Doing this will make you look childish. Leige, Venus, Amelia might laugh at you."

Lance, who was about to continue showing off to his student Andre, heard the young dragon's words, put away the black dragon Projection Communicator, and grinned. "Don't care too much about other people's opinions, evaluations, thoughts, and views. If you care too much about other people's evaluations of you, you will live a very tiring life."

If you really care about what others think of you, then follow your own mood. Whoever's opinion or evaluation makes you unhappy, then beat them up.

If I can't do it, I'll ignore it. I can do it, so I can transform into a dragon at any time and fly to beat up those creatures that speak ill of me.

Even if the person who has corrupted my Dao Heart is thousands of miles away, I will fly there to confront them and demand an explanation.

You might not understand what I mean by "ruining my Dao Heart me put it another way: as long as you worry about what others think of you, they can enslave you.

Only when you stop seeking affirmation from outside yourself can you become your own master.

The young dragon took out his diary and pen and carefully wrote down the last two sentences from the evil dragon.

She didn't understand what the Dao Heart was.

But she understood the dragon's last two sentences.

As Imperial Daughter, she always cared a lot about how others evaluated and thought about her.

She wanted to gain the approval of the empire's ministers and nobles.

She would be very happy when nobles and ministers praised her.

When nobles or ministers gossip about her behind her back, saying that she is not as Smelly Imperial Sister Asina, she gets angry and depressed.

For a moment, the dragon's words made her feel as if she had grasped something.

But is this really a mindset that a human being can possess? How powerful would a human have to be to have such thoughts and a mindset? She believed that dragons had such thoughts and a mindset.

"Life is short, only a hundred years. Within your own capabilities, try to follow your heart and don't pay too much attention to those messy things."

"You are not human, you are a dragon."

"Precisely because I am a dragon, I must follow my heart and do whatever I want. If I had to care about everything and think things through before doing anything, how tiring and painful would my life be? Remember this: do not let your heart be locked up by the invisible shackles that are everywhere in the world."

The young dragon was slowly beginning to understand Lance's words.

Lance placed the cake on the dining table, took out the Black Dragon Projection Communicator, took a few pictures of the cake, and sent them to Andre.

The caption reads, "The cake that my little dragon made for me."

Not long after, Lance received a message from Andre: Teacher, are you showing off your pet to me?

Lance: Hmm.

Andre: I'm glad you're happy.

Still have unread messages?

I glanced at the person who sent the message; it was Ticia.

You've sent so many messages in a row, is it urgent?

Lance opened it and saw: [Your Excellency, there is an urgent matter. Please return immediately.]

Thinking that Ticia had been contacting him frequently lately, he decided to contact Ticia after finishing the cake to see if Saint Blue had any urgent matters to attend to.

After putting away the Black Dragon Projection Communicator, Lance cut the cake into four pieces.

He gets one piece, the dragon cub gets one piece, the dog gets one piece, and the turtle gets one piece.

The cake made by the little dragon tasted pretty good, but it's definitely not as good as the one made by the dragon.

"How does it taste?"

"Great! In another year or two, you'll be able to surpass me in making pastries."

The baby dragon secretly chuckled as the cake he made was approved by the evil dragon.

"You should try some too."

"Um."

Er Gouzi, with cream smeared on his head, came back and swallowed the two remaining pieces of cake on the table in one gulp.

Two dog heads, one dog head from the same piece.

Lance's eye twitched slightly; he'd forgotten that Er Gouzi had two dog heads. Poor Gui Gui.

I'll make a dessert for the turtle another day to make it up to it.

My birthday wasn't as grand as I'd imagined. We just had a simple cake and received a gift, and that was it.

Over the next few days, the young dragon worked in the fields alongside the evil dragon.

May 1, 3456 of the Black Dragon Calendar, sunny.

The young dragon shrunk to about 1.5 meters tall, squatted on the boulder, and listened to the evil dragon and Ticia talking.

They didn't return to Saint Blue; they were still on Black Dragon Island. After finishing all the work in the fields, the evil dragon finally had time to contact Ticia.

On the projection screen, Ticia, dressed in a blue and gold knight's uniform, looked somewhat haggard with dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

"What happened? How could our small territory of Saint Blue have made you so tired?"

Lance was shocked when he saw Ticia's appearance. How could a fair-skinned little girl have become so haggard?

"Your Excellency, a lot has happened in Saint Lan while you were away. There are two things you need to know, one good and one bad."

"Let's start with the bad stuff."

On the projection screen, Ticia's face showed shame. "Viscount, we have been tricked. We are in financial trouble and are now spending more than we earn. The duchy may collapse at any time because of financial problems."

Is Saint Lan facing financial difficulties? Is it on the verge of collapse?

What happened to the Duchy of Fa... fa... etc. while he was away?!

What duchy? "You just said... a duchy?"

"Yes."

"What duchy? How come a duchy suddenly appeared?"

"The Saint Blue Duchy".

"???"

What kind of nonsense is this? How did Saint Blue suddenly become a duchy?!

A city, a few villages, such a tiny territory—does it even deserve to be called a "principality"? A rebellion? Could it be that Ticia, under Claire's influence, has raised the banner of rebellion and started a revolt?

"Saint Blue... has rebelled?"

"Huh? What rebellion? No, no, Saint Blue didn't rebel. However, Saint Blue developed too quickly, which made the Red Maple Royal Family wary of us. Then, during our development, we were schemed against by His Majesty the current King of the Red Maple Kingdom."

Even scheming against Saint Blue resulted in Saint Blue becoming a duchy. If he hadn't been schemed against, and Saint Blue hadn't known, wouldn't Saint Blue have taken over the Red Maple Kingdom?! I really want to give him a "It's getting cold, put on another layer?"

Lance was sweating bullets. How could his loyal, honest, and unambitious black dragon have encountered such a driven subject?

You've really caused me a lot of trouble... a lot of trouble for this black dragon.

"Let's leave aside how Saint Blue became a duchy for now. Tell me the good news, let me hear the good news you have in mind."

"The good news is: Congratulations to the Viscount on becoming a duke with eight provinces. Although our Saint Blue Duchy is facing financial problems, as long as we overcome this difficulty and give our Saint Blue Duchy a few years, we can definitely stand on equal footing with the Saint Blue Duchy of the Red Maple Kingdom."

Ticia's statement was somewhat conservative. As long as their Saint Blue Duchy of Saint Blue Duchy could overcome this financial crisis, and given a few more years, they could put the Viscount on the throne.

The eight provinces were purchased by Saint Blue from the royal family of the Red Maple Kingdom. Only after they bought them did they realize that, apart from Saint Blue Province, the other seven provinces were all in deficit.

They were tricked by the king of the Red Maple Kingdom.

The king of the Red Maple Kingdom wanted to use the seven provinces, all of which were in deficit, to drag down their Holy Blue Kingdom.

It's an open conspiracy.

If Saint Lan wants to grow and expand peacefully, he must acquire more territory.

The king of the Red Maple Kingdom wanted to curb the development of Saint Blue, but he didn't want to go to war with Saint Blue easily, so he wanted to use this method to cripple their finances. "Dragon cub, pack your things."

"Back to Saint Blue?"

"Go back to Saint Blue? Run away! Eight provinces, at least tens of thousands of mouths to feed, how am I supposed to feed them?"

"Dragon dung".

The young dragon was kicked into the sky by Lance.

This kid, how can he just spout such nonsense?

What do you take him for?

Ticia, on the projection screen, covered her mouth to stifle a laugh; the Little Dragon Highness's response was just too funny.

I really couldn't help it.

"Your Excellency, when will you be returning?"

"Don't call me Viscount."

"Your Majesty the Duke?"

"I'm hanging up now, I don't want to talk to you guys for the time being."

Lance ended the projection call; he was about to explode with anger at Saint Blue and his gang.

After finishing the work in the fields, I was planning to relax at Shenglan, go fishing, and wander around the streets and alleys to see if I could find any children with special destinies.

The opening ceremony Lightning Strike.

He became a grand duke with eight provinces, but Saint Lan, who had just been promoted to a duchy, couldn't afford to contact Ticia today because his finances were strained.

What holiday is May 1st?

Labor Day.

With the government in financial distress, we can't expect the government to cover the losses, can we?

If he's like those legendary dragons, sleeping on piles of gold and jewels every day, then so be it if I have to spend money.

The key issue is that he has no money.

How can he make up the difference if he doesn't have the money?

We can't exactly send him to work, can we? He's a Grand Duke, not just a Grand Duke, but also the Black Dragon.

What's so bad about going to work? If Leige found out, wouldn't he take the opportunity to write a book about him? No need to even think of a title: Let's Get a Work, Black Dragon Lord! The young dragon, who had been kicked into the sky, flew back.

Excitement shone in her purple-gold vertical pupils.

The once-small Saint Blue has now become a duchy, and if the evil dragon works a little harder, it's not impossible for it to be promoted to a kingdom.

"Lance, Lance, you're really not going back to Saint Lan?"

"How am I supposed to feed the people in those eight provinces when I go back?"

"Dragon Cough. Saint Blue Saint Blue can afford to raise it."

"Of course they can't afford it. Didn't you hear Ticia say the finances are on the verge of collapse?"

"We set up a stall to earn money to subsidize Shenglan and help it get through this difficult time."

It's a duchy with the potential to become a kingdom.

Hehe, if I don't have the chance to return to the Farolyn Empire, inheriting a human nation that can become a kingdom from the evil dragon wouldn't be bad, would it?

"It's already a duchy. What a pity if it collapses because of financial problems?" Lance sighed.

In the human world, most of the time, subjects of territories support their lords.

How come things have turned upside down with him? He's now the lord, supporting the people of his territory? Sigh.

I'll go back to Saint-Lan tomorrow.

"Dragon cub, pack your things, we're going to Saint Blue tomorrow."

"Should we pack up the things from the stall?"

"No need to bring it."

"Oh."

The young dragon went to pack its things.

May 2nd, 3456 of the Black Dragon Calendar, sunny.

Lance returned to Saint Blue with the dragon cub.

The Earl's Mansion's Mansion plaque has been changed to the Saint Blue Royal Mansion.

As soon as they entered the courtyard of the [Saint Blue Royal Mansion], the maid Ingrid trotted up to Lance Lance bowed to him. "Viscount, you've finally returned."

Upon seeing Ingrid before him, Lance once again considered running away.

I've lost weight.

Ingrid has lost weight! What does this mean? It means that the conquerors of Saint Blue haven't been getting enough to eat lately.

Look how hungry Ingrid has become.

"Which bastard has starved our maid to thinness again?"

"Ah? No. Your Excellency, you misunderstand. I've been on a diet recently, not by starving myself, really."

"Thank you for your trouble. Contact Ticia and Claire and have them come to see me."

"Yes."

About half an hour later, in the living room.

Ticia and Claire appeared in the hall. Upon seeing Lance, they exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief.

They felt much more at ease upon seeing the Viscount.

"Lord Viscount."

"Alright, no need for formalities. Sit down and let's talk. Ingrid, make them a cup of black tea."

"Yes."

Ticia and Claire sat down opposite Lance and the dragon cub.

Lance looked the two of them over, then took out two prepared medicinal liquids from the Diamond Cutter and handed them to Ticia and Claire: "These are tonics to replenish energy. Take them back for the officials who work late into the night handling government affairs. You two can drink them too."

"Thank you, Your Excellency."

Ticia and Claire were somewhat moved. The first thing this viscount did upon seeing them was not to inquire about financial matters, but to give them medicine and show concern for their health. It seemed that no subject could refuse to serve such a lord, the Grand Duke.

"Your Excellency, we are facing a financial crisis."

Lance raised his hand to interrupt Ticia, "There's no need to go into the details of the financial crisis. Everyone makes mistakes, and it's normal to be taken advantage of once. Just tell me directly how much money Saint Lan needs to get through this financial crisis."

"One million, at least one million gold coins are needed to get through this crisis."

"How many gold coins?!"

"One million gold coins"

"Dragon cub, pack your things."

"Your Excellency, please don't run away, we..."

"Why run away? I'll go to work. If I don't work, how long will it take you to earn this million gold coins? Alright, don't put too much pressure on yourselves. I should be able to earn this million gold coins if I work hard, little dragons. Your task is to continue to maintain the current state of Saint Blue and make sure that the military pay is paid in full."

"Ticia, is the Lightning Dragon Eileen still at the Dragon God Temple? If she is, I'd like to borrow ten thousand or one hundred thousand gold coins from her to ease your burden."

"Viscount," Ticia suddenly stood up, walked to the hall, knelt on one knee, and said with red eyes, "I have made you suffer."

Lance got up and walked to Ticia to help her up. "You're overthinking it. No matter how hard it is, I won't make myself suffer. Don't blame yourself. I can handle this responsibility."

"A mere million gold coins? I can have that much with a little robbery sometime."