Chapter 186
"Although I can't remember anything right now... I know... there are some things I absolutely must remember!"
She seemed to have made up her mind, muttering to herself as she walked.
"Wraith, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me... I'll find it myself, whether it's the part about Theresa... or any other part!"
The Doctor could vaguely sense that there was someone important he hadn't been able to recall.
(First of all, Happy Mother's Day to everyone! And Happy Mother's Day to the Doctor of this book!)
(What? You're asking why I'm asking why I'm asking Doctor instead of someone else? First of all, I don't want a male mother! Secondly... Doctor has a daughter named Little Rabbit! A single mother is still a mother!!)
No.
Chapter 21, The Dragon's Nature... What?
The Warwick Earldom... oh no, it should be renamed the Dragonblood Earldom now.
Although it's unclear why this gentleman who inherited the Earl of Warwick's estate has such an... flamboyant? Or perhaps "arrogant" would be a more fitting description?
Dragonblood Duke...
It's almost as if it were specifically meant to signify something, for example, regarding the current situation in Victoria, there is another bloodline besides Aslan, who represents the lion, who is qualified to inherit the throne.
Drak, symbolizing the red dragon...
If Drak were to succeed him, the living conditions of the Tarans would surely improve.
The butler emerged from the manor and, as always, began trimming the greenery outside with pruning shears. This task had been entrusted to the meticulous old man long before the original servants had all fled, since, for Earl Warwick, these planted trees were perhaps the only aristocratic decorations on the entire manor.
However... the Dragonblood Duke seemed to have no desire for this flower garden. The butler could tell that the man strode into the manor, completely ignoring the only flower garden in the area that could be considered exquisitely maintained and had a standard Victoria aristocratic style. Instead, his gaze was always drawn to those seemingly expensive... but actually inexpensive items that easily reflected colors due to the materials and sunlight.
The butler assured him that he had tried his best to be tactful, but he still couldn't help recalling how the other party had entered the mansion with two other girls... who might be partners or relatives, to choose their rooms.
To be honest, although it was harsh to hear, he really couldn't find any other so-called euphemistic way of expressing it.
Although the Dragonblood Earl's demeanor far surpassed that of any other "nobleman" he had ever encountered, the feeling he evoked while observing the area around the mansion was like...
A country bumpkin with absolutely no sense of propriety.
You see, the Victoria aristocracy, to put it bluntly, was affected and had complicated etiquette, but this was something that was truly ingrained in the bones of every old nobleman.
Warwick may have spent little on his mansion, but his daily conduct undoubtedly conformed to the image of Victoria aristocrat.
But this one... has an even stronger aura than the average nobleman, yet his demeanor is unlike that of the nobles, as if he always wants to raise his head and spout some "high-class anecdotes" that are difficult for ordinary people to understand.
It seemed to him, like most people, believed that nobles should adorn their residences with luxurious minerals and precious metals...
Wait a minute... ores and precious metals... gems and gold?
The butler suddenly paused, then, as if suddenly remembering something, stroked his chin... In that case... this seemingly flamboyant title made sense.
After all, ancient scrolls have been passed down that record that the red dragons were keen to use these things to decorate their palaces. Apart from that, the only things that could attract their interest were women or men.
"Sister, what is this?"
Inside the Londinium building, Loughshinny looked at her sister with some confusion. The latter was leaning back on the sofa, holding a pale purple gemstone in her hands, lost in thought.
"I'm wondering, what exactly is it about this thing that's so appealing?"
"Where did the gemstone come from?"
"Zuo Jian was found on the wardrobe in the room on the rooftop. It seems to be a decoration from a suit. I asked him about it, and he had no objection."
Eblana glanced at her younger sister and spoke calmly.
"But you don't seem very interested in it, sister."
"Well, I've been thinking, this thing has so little resilience; it can't be used to make weapons, nor can it enhance the efficiency or power of spells. So why do those old books say that it has such a huge attraction for red dragons... for Drak?"
"Honestly, it's hard to say how authentic these scrolls, so ancient that their origins are impossible to trace, are. They're probably similar to the ancient history of the Flame Kingdom where a certain dynasty valued plumpness as beauty." Loughshinny simply lowered her head and continued flipping through the book she had somehow acquired.
Eblana turned her head, casually placing the gem in her hand aside, thinking she would just put it back like that later; she really didn't feel any attraction to it.
Ultimately, how could a powerful and noble Drak possibly be attracted to such a worthless stone?
Absolutely right! This Dragonblood Duke might actually be a Drak!
Otherwise, how can one explain why his gaze lingered only on inexpensive objects that reflected dazzling light? Could it be that before this he was merely an ordinary citizen, completely unrelated to the so-called nobility, who imagined an emperor tilling the land with a golden hoe?
"No... Ugh... What am I thinking?"
The butler bowed his head and let out a long sigh of relief.
While the Dragonblood Duke was out on business, some residents who had left Earl earldom gradually returned.
They said that as they were about to leave, they encountered Iron Duke's soldiers at various checkpoints. The soldiers informed them that the Tarans Iron Duke was willing to guarantee, on his own honor, that the newly appointed Dragonblood Duke would not oppress or exploit the Tarans.
His actions would even surpass those of the original Earl Warwick.
After saying this, the Iron Duke's soldiers did nothing else. It didn't seem like they were making empty promises before forcing them to return "voluntarily." It was as if they had simply come to inform them.
"What a joke! This is the Iron Duke!" They even doubted if they had heard correctly. Let alone the Iron Duke, they couldn't even imagine any duke using his reputation to vouch for a group of Tarans.
Although some still believe this is just a facade by the nobles and insist on leaving, considering the current era, most nobles wouldn't even bother to pretend when dealing with so-called commoners. Therefore, quite a few residents of Tara have returned.
Therefore, it was meaningless for the butler to understand that speculating about the intentions of the new Earl... or rather, the future duke.
He would likely be better off doing the same thing as his predecessor, Earl Warwick, in dealing with the Tarans.
The housekeeper only needs to know this much.
Thinking about this, he suddenly realized that he might have underestimated the Dragonblood Duke's taste. After all, what the ancient scrolls said might not be true. His focus was on those shiny, inexpensive items, which might mean that he just happened to like furniture made by ordinary people, right?
The claims that Drak is brutal, cruel, greedy, and debauched are probably just old rumors!
Just as the butler was lost in thought, a land vehicle suddenly drove up from not far away and then drifted to a stop in front of the mansion.
"This is the residence of the Dragonblood Duke. May I ask who you are...?"
The butler stepped forward and then noticed that the woman driving the car was one of the girls who had entered the mansion with Dragonblood Duke earlier.
"Ah, it's you, Miss. Has the master returned...?" the butler said, glancing towards the back seat of the car, expecting to see that familiar face...
But then they discovered that quite a few women were lying haphazardly in the back seat!
Wait, wait, wait, wait!
The butler rubbed his eyes, glancing at the unconscious women in the back seat...
One of them was a girl I'd met before, who had come with the Dragonblood Duke; her name seemed to be Laurentina.
There were also three Sarkaz women, and one woman of unknown race, but who appeared to be a beautiful woman with short black hair.
This person did not seem to have lost consciousness, but their face was flushed and they were still breathing heavily... as if they had experienced some strenuous exercise.
As for the person in the driver's seat... although she seemed fine, the sharp-eyed butler could still notice that Skadi's limbs were still trembling slightly from time to time...
One two three..
Six?!
Good heavens... I must say, no wonder he's Drak! He has such incredible physical abilities... He's definitely different from those traditional Victoria nobles who look strong but have long been ruined by alcohol and women!
"Um, Miss Skadi, may I ask, where is the master? And who are these gentlemen...?" Although he already had a pretty good idea of what was going on, the butler still asked with a calm expression.
"Dragonblood Duke still has matters to attend to, so he wants us to return to our residence and rest for a while. As for them... they are Dragonblood Duke's friends."
At this moment, the Doctor slowly stood up and spoke, seemingly to calm his breathing.
"Could you please... accommodate these three... no, these two as well, in the mansion as well?"
The Doctor initially pointed to the unfamiliar white-haired Confessors, Liz, and Theresa.
However, after only a moment's hesitation, the number was changed, excluding Theresa.
"And the remaining two..."
"Skadi and I are here to move..."
Although the Doctor was somewhat weak, he still jumped off the land vehicle and, together with Skadi, carried Theresa and Laurentina back to their room.
The butler stood there, watching Skadi and the unknown woman slowly return to the mansion, each supporting one of the other two people.
The other two Sarkaz girls lay on the back of the land vehicle, showing no sign of waking up.
Thinking of this, the old man unconsciously swallowed.
Is this... the power of the Dragonblood Duke?
He dared not think too much, and carefully helped the two unfamiliar Sarkaz women step by step into the guest room...
(It's about to begin! It's about to begin! The main plot involving His Highness and Zuo Jian is about to start.)
Wow! I love it!
(By the way, there is no yuri, no yuri, no yuri. I'm saying it three times because it's important.)
Chapter Twenty-Two, Zuo Jian: Children, I haven't come back.
Laurentina had forgotten when she last returned to this space where there was absolutely nothing in sight.
If she remembers correctly... her earliest memory comes from the time she first underwent the Abyssal Hunters's modification surgery.
The side effects of the modification left her in a coma for an unknown period of time, but it was much easier than the later incident.
Ah, she remembered, the last time her consciousness sank into this place was because those guys from the Church of the Deep tried to enter.
The experiment involving fusion with Originium caused her to fall into a coma due to intense pain.
Then... then... her consciousness was trapped here, and she kept venting her anger on those church scum... and then...
Ah, yes.
Then, Zuo Jian came to his side.
Zuo Jian... Zuo Jian...
Where is the Zuo Jian?
Laurentina suddenly opened her eyes, realizing that the voice that had been in her mind had completely vanished at this moment, without echo or sensation, as if... it had never existed.
It was then that Laurentina realized that her surroundings felt both strange and somewhat familiar.
The Duke of Warwick's mansion? The room she and Skadi chose together?
Her mind cleared instantly, providing an answer to her question. In that instant, her perception was spread outwards, like the wavelength of a radar spreading invisibly. At that moment, Laurentina perceived all the living beings in the mansion.
She could even sense that this ability to perceive could continue to extend.
Her body also became... more flexible, as if in just an instant, her flesh and blood could expand into any shape she needed, and further away, she could even sense scattered specks flickering.
Was that Xiu Tina and the others? He could even sense them directly at this moment, and they could give him his commands together, as if every piece of flesh and blood that was spread out was a product of his own hands.
Before this, she had never felt so... well.
No one shared this body with her, and every inch of flesh was completely subservient to her at this moment, as if... only if she so desired.
A drop of blood dripped from Laurentina's fingertip. It was caught by gravity in mid-air, tumbling and falling to the ground. Then, it began to churn and spread in her eyes, like a beast gathering strength, waiting for the moment to tear its cage apart.
She felt that with just a thought, this blood could instantly transform into an army that would devour everything. It would not stop, it would not fear death, it would devour everything, until it had painted the entire land crimson.
Zuo Jian had previously handed over most of the control to her, and she had wondered what she would be like if she completely suppressed Zuo Jian.
But she never imagined... that after Zuo Jian completely left her side, the way she controlled everything he left behind would be... like this.
His departure was like unlocking the last valve, unleashing all his so-called "power," making her feel as if she could overturn the entire earth with just a thought.
But... but...
Laurentina suddenly bent over, shrinking into the corner of the bed, her hands tightly covering her chest.
"Zuo Jian... where did you go... I..."
She knew, of course, how many people this power could fanaticize, how many people could be driven into an inescapable madness.
Yes, the power to make the earth tremble with a mere gesture—how alluring! This power had always resided within him, only to be taken over and controlled by Laurentina after his departure... But... but...
The white-haired girl hid in the blind spot where the Twin Moons shone outside the window. At this moment, she didn't look like a powerful figure who had mastered the power of Catastrophes and world destruction... but rather like an ordinary girl who had lost something precious.
"Zuo Jian... where did you go...?"