Warm Dragon

Chapter 10: The Glow Beneath the Water

The moonlight was tender, casting a silvery glow on the front of the manor and the Dusklight River below the earthen slope, reflecting a shimmering white.

The study’s window faced the Dusklight River, allowing Russell to admire the beautiful scenery in the moonlight.

Without wine, the butler Morris entered alone, candle in hand, and knocked on the door. “Lord.”

“Sit down.”

“Enjoying the view?”

Without answering, Russell turned his gaze and asked, “Have you finished all the work?”

“Yes, the four retainers and two tutors have already returned to their rooms to rest. The servants have finished sorting the goods and are now asleep,” Morris reported. “The three sprite grubs are in your bedroom, and they have been fed jade powder.”

Sprite grubs usually don’t need to eat, as they draw nourishment from the earth through their insect grass. However, these three sprite grubs are currently migrating, and their insect grass has retracted into their bodies, preventing them from drawing nourishment from the earth. They can only replenish their magical energy by consuming jade powder.

“I won’t be dining at the manor tomorrow at noon,” Russell said.

“Then which male servant would you like to take with you?” Morris asked. Nobles always took a male servant with them on their travels to assist with meals and daily chores, much like the young masters’ attendants in Dream of the Red Chamber.

Russell currently had three male attendants: Ram, William, and Fox. Strictly speaking, Mr. Brown, who stayed at the manor, was also a male servant, though he was a bit older.

“Arrange it as you see fit,” said Russell, for he was not familiar with any of the three male servants.

“Then I’ll let Ram try first. He is the most stable. If you find him unsuitable, we can move on to William or Fox next time.”

“Fine.”

“As for the Browns, Lord, I plan to put Mr. Brown in charge of the gate, and Mrs. Brown will assist Mrs. Moore in the kitchen.”

Mrs. Moore was the cook, and the cook was in charge of the kitchen, a position second only to the butler, even higher than the head maid.

“Fine.”

“Also, shall I inform Old Hans, the foreman, to deliver the eggs and flour for Praise Day as soon as possible?”

“Praise Day?” Russell was surprised.

“Of course, when the Lord takes office, all the serfs in the domain must pay you eggs and flour as a tribute, as a sign of their praise,” Morris added, “Praising the Lord is not just about saying it with words.”

It was then that Russell remembered that the festival included a day of praise. It didn’t seem like a celebration, but rather an excuse for exploitation. Besides the Dragon Birth Festival, where the serfs had to give eggs to the lord, and the Snow Demon Festival, where they had to give chickens, the serfs had to pay various goods to the lord on different occasions.

“Isn’t that too hard on the serfs?” Russell asked.

Morris replied matter-of-factly, “Lord, the fields the serfs cultivate, the chickens and ducks they raise, and the cows, sheep, and dogs they feed are all your property. They should pay you the harvest so that they have enough to eat and wear.”

This was indeed the law.

Even the serfs themselves were considered the private property of the lord.

Seeing Russell’s hesitation, Morris added, “Lord, the eggs and flour the baron gave us are very limited and won’t last long.”

“I understand. Praise Day only comes once, right?”

“Yes.”

“Old Hans will come tomorrow and I will instruct him. Is there anything else?”

“Nothing more.”

“Then good night, Mr. Morris.”

“Good night, Lord.” Morris bowed and withdrew.

The night was over. Russell returned to the main bedroom, where the thick stone walls blocked out all the sounds of the night, leaving only his own breathing.

“Lord, I am a lord now…” Smiling, Russell soon fell asleep.

In a daze, his consciousness once again entered the desolate and dark environment, the Dark Dreamscape, which appeared almost every night.

However, unlike the previous nights when the Dark Dreamscape depicted a castle in outline, this time it showed the manor and the surrounding land, even a small river running through the edge of the Dark Dreamscape.

“Beautiful, just as I expected. The Dark Dreamscape is centered around where I sleep, creating a region around it”.

When he slept in the castle, the Dark Dreamscape was the area of the castle.

When he slept in the manor, the Dark Dreamscape was the manor and the surrounding land.

“Quack!”

The Little Dream Dragon appeared again.

When it approached, the cartoonish Russell leapt onto its back and instantly opened the magic key of the Dark Dreamscape.

Several bright lights emerged from the mansion, emanating from the martial energy of Charles, Eric, and the four knight guards. Eric’s light was the brightest as he was a Great Knight, while Charles and the four knight retainers were only Armored Knights, one level below.

Russell, who had just cultivated martial energy, was also an armored knight.

Additionally, there were some faint magic lights in the manor coming from the three sprite grubs and some magic-infused objects.

“Tsk tsk, compared to the Fluorescent Castle, the magic lights in my mansion are pitiful.”

“Quack quack!”

The Little Dream Dragon suddenly carried Russell towards the river.

When they reached the river, Russell exclaimed in surprise. A faint glow flickered in the faintly outlined river. The light was too dim to discern the object, making it unclear if it was a fish.

And that faint light was moving slowly.

“It’s probably not a fish; fish can’t swim that slowly… It looks like some kind of living creature, like a clam, is moving.”

He suddenly remembered the black pearl wine he had drunk at the banquet. Charles had boasted of a legend that certain ancient clams in certain lakes could produce magical black pearls.

“Could this be a clam that produced a magic pearl?”

Unfortunately, in the Dark Dreamscape, he could only observe and not interact with the real world. So after observing for a while, Russell rode the Little Dream Dragon to patrol other areas.

Unfortunately, he found no new magic lights.

“Little Dream Dragon, goodbye. I’m going to find the pearl.” Russell prepared to wave goodbye to Little Dream Dragon and immediately set out to find the pearl.

The Little Dream Dragon tilted its head, looking at Russell with confusion.

The two of them stared at each other silently.

Soon, Russell realized a problem: he had no idea how to leave the Dark Dreamscape. It was like a real dream, where he knew he was dreaming but couldn’t wake up.

“Little Dream Dragon, let me out.”

“Quack.”

“I said let me out, go away, goodbye, understand?” Russell tried to convey his thoughts to the Little Dream Dragon.

The Little Dream Dragon only tilted its head in a different direction, “Quack”.

After a moment, Russell gave up trying to communicate and gave the Little Dream Dragon the middle finger: “Idiot! Pretending to be a dragon with four claws!”

According to legend, dragons had four limbs, possessed intelligence equal to that of humans, and could communicate in dragon language.

The Little Dream Dragon had four limbs, but was an idiot.

Thus, the two of them stared at each other until the Little Dream Dragon finally gave up, tired, and the Dark Dreamscape ended with a “quack”.

All consciousness fell into chaos.