The next morning, Liszt had already packed his luggage. The dark circles beneath his eyes were faintly visible.
He also enjoyed breakfast in his room: bread, fried eggs, pastries, jam, milk, honey, and coffee.
Once Levis and Lvera had finished packing, the three siblings prepared to bid farewell to the Marquis. The Marquis had risen early and was sitting in his wheelchair, writing something.
"Did you sleep well?" The Marquis stopped writing and looked up at the three tall siblings. "I heard you all enjoyed last night's ball?"
Levis replied with a smile, "It was a very pleasant evening, Grandfather. Our cousin's ball was great fun, and we met plenty of noble ladies. Some of the beautiful ones even caught my eye."
"That's good. You're young, so when you feel drawn to someone, go for it."
After chatting briefly, the three siblings took their leave. The Marquis didn't try to keep them. He simply said to Liszt, "I wasn't there to witness your coming-of-age ceremony. To make up for that regret, I'll give you a present. Meiopal, bring the gift we prepared for Liszt."
Meiopal soon entered, carrying a long box.
As soon as Liszt saw it, he knew his guess had been right. The Marquis's gift was exactly what elders most liked to give their juniors: a weapon.
"What kind of magical weapon will it be?" He could hardly wait.
Meiopal handed him the box. "Liszt, Grandfather is giving you this Red Blood Sword. I hope you'll use it to cut through every obstacle and let a knight's dazzling brilliance shine."
"The Red Blood Sword?"
Liszt opened the box. Inside lay a gleaming white knight's greatsword.
It had a long, slender blade, a long, slender crossguard, and a long, slender hilt. It looked just like a German two-handed sword. A fiery red gemstone was embedded where the crossguard met the hilt. Even just looking at it, he could feel the magic radiating from the gemstone and coursing endlessly through the sword.
He could even see fine, blood-red streaks appearing along the blade.
No wonder it was called the Red Blood Sword, despite looking snow-white.
More importantly, this wasn't a magical weapon, but something even better—a Gemstone Weapon!
"A ruby?" When Lvera saw the red gemstone set where the crossguard met the hilt, she was taken aback. Intense envy and jealousy shone in her eyes.
An ordinary magical weapon cost around a hundred gold coins.
But a Gemstone Weapon was worth over a thousand gold coins—ten times as much as a magical weapon.
This Red Blood Sword alone was probably worth several years of taxes from a prosperous small town. Her Falcon Town was about as prosperous as one, and after years of pinching pennies, it might just be able to afford a Gemstone Weapon—but she couldn't give up her extravagant lifestyle, so there was little chance she'd ever be able to buy one.
Unable to hold back her jealousy, she blurted out, "Grandfather, you're so unfair to Liszt. For my coming-of-age gift, you only gave me a dress."
"For your coming-of-age, that boy from Coral Island gave you a Little Elf and even made you a Baron. But Liszt didn't get any of that. He can favor you, but I can't favor Liszt?" The Marquis's tone made it sound perfectly reasonable. At the same time, it revealed his dissatisfaction with the Earl of Coral Island.
Having gained so much, Liszt immediately showed his gratitude. "Thank you for the gift, Grandfather. I'll take good care of the Red Blood Sword and never let its brilliance fade."
A Gemstone Weapon could be sold for a thousand or two gold coins. What a tempting sum! Of course, he wouldn't sell it. The ruby embedded in the Red Blood Sword clearly had a Flame attribute and could aid his cultivation. It was even more effective than using magical potions and ingredients to support his training.
Anything made by a dragon was bound to be the finest.
With the Red Blood Sword in hand, Liszt prepared to set off home, watched by Meiopal and a large crowd of servants.
His two-day stay as a guest at Long-Yam Castle had come to an end.
He didn't feel much reluctance to leave. Flower Town had plenty of matters waiting for him, and there was no place like home. Just as he was about to climb into the carriage, someone called out, "Liszt, wait."
He turned around and saw Athena.
"Good morning, Miss Athena."
"Good morning." Athena was slightly out of breath, probably from running over from the castle. "Are you going home?"
"Yes."
Levis, who had climbed into the carriage and then stepped back out, suddenly chimed in, "If a beautiful girl were waiting for me, I'd rather not go home."
Liszt turned and glared at him. "Brother, get in the carriage, please."
Levis shrugged. "Miss Athena, I'll leave you two to talk."
"Thank you, Sir Levis."
Left alone with Liszt, Athena nervously clutched the hem of her dress. "Can't you stay a few more days?"
"There are a lot of things I need to take care of in town."
"Will you visit White City?" Her eyes brimmed with hope.
Liszt smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I have no reason to visit your family. I don't know your father, and we have no connections."
Nobles always needed a reason to pay one another a visit. They couldn't just show up without one.
"You could come to see me." Athena lowered her head as soon as she said it. Her meaning couldn't have been clearer: with him unmarried and her unmarried, there could only be one reason for such a visit.
Liszt sighed silently.
He felt his next words might hurt the lovely young woman, but he had to say them. "Miss Athena, thank you for your affection, but I've never considered the possibility of a relationship between us. Please don't dwell on me. You're so beautiful; there'll surely be plenty of people better than me pursuing you."
Athena's eyes quickly dimmed, but soon her smile returned. "Thank you for being honest, Sir Liszt. I wish you a safe journey."
"Thank you. Take care." Liszt turned and climbed into the carriage.
The coachman raised his whip, and the horse pulled the carriage swiftly down the mountain. On the road paved with cobblestones, there was no dust, only the clatter of the wheels rolling over the stones.
"Liszt, you just turned down the advances of a noble lady. How cruel." Lvera wore an inscrutable expression. Perhaps she doubted that her timid younger brother could actually reject someone.
"If I don't feel anything for her, why force myself? That would only hurt us both."
He turned and looked through the carriage window. In the distance, Athena still stood at the castle gate, her delicate figure wrapped in clothes that fluttered lightly in the wind.
She was brave, but he couldn't accept her feelings.
He wanted to spend ten minutes reflecting on the moment.
But Lvera's scoff shattered the mood. "What do noble marriages have to do with feelings?"
"They don't? Then why don't you just pick someone with good prospects and marry him?"
"Because I don't want to become anyone's dependent. Even if I marry, the man will have to come to Falcon Town! Or he'll have to be so charming that I'll give up Falcon Town and move into his castle. If I met someone like that, what would be wrong with giving him all of myself?" Lvera declared proudly.
Liszt said nothing.
A moment later, Lvera reached out. "Let me see the Red Blood Sword."
She stroked the finely crafted Red Blood Sword and its potent ruby. She made no effort to hide her jealousy. "Why is Grandfather so good to you? I might never be able to afford a Gemstone Weapon in my whole life! Liszt, it's wasted on you. Give it to me, and I'll give you a hundred Nardas!"
"Not a chance."