Warm Dragon

Chapter 32: Talk Between Father and Son In Study

Russell was certain that the Dark Dreamscape had expanded.

He had noticed the large tree before, and indeed only a small part of it had been encompassed within the Dark Dreamscape. Now, however, more than half of the tree had been swallowed by the dream.

“I can confirm it-this change happened after Little Dream Dragon swallowed the Ice Hail Pearl!” He laughed out loud as he rode Little Dream Dragon. “Snowcone, just wait! Soon, I’ll be feeding you gold coins every day!”

“Gah?” Little Dream Dragon tilted its head.

Seemingly understanding, it nodded eagerly. “Gah, gah, gah, gah!”

“Gah gah!” Russell mimicked the dragon, yelling a few times.

The Ice Hail Pearl was indeed valuable, but raising the Little Dream Dragon and expanding the Dark Dreamscape couldn’t be measured in money.

Because…

Russell became more and more convinced that Little Dream Dragon might actually be a dragon.

Although it didn’t exist in the real world and could only be ridden within the dream, and although it was not as massive as the Shadowflame Dragon from a noble family that could create vast, endless warm oases, its intellect was also not quite up to par.

But dragons were legendary creatures, mysterious and varied, not limited to the Shadowflame dragon template.

Maybe Little Dream Dragon was just another kind of dragon.

“Gah.” After a short time of playing, Little Dream Dragon grew tired.

Russell patted Little Dream Dragon’s large head affectionately, laughing as he waved. “Good night, Snowcone, sweet dreams… Haha, what are sweet dreams anyway? Maybe you and I are living a dream right now… Anyway, I hope that one day we can fly through the sky together!”

“Gah!”

Little Dream Dragon disappeared around the corner, and the Dark Dreamscape fell silent.

Morning

Sunlight streamed through the crack in the curtains, casting a bright streak across the bedroom floor.

The life of a lord was quite comfortable; no one came to wake Russell, but his ingrained biological clock had him awake early nonetheless.

He casually tugged on the bell cord beside his bed.

Russell then walked into the bathroom to use the toilet-his room was the only one in the estate annex with a private flushing toilet, though the water for the toilet had to be carried in by the servants as there was no modern plumbing system.

After using the toilet, he returned to his bedside, took a deep breath, and abruptly opened the drawer, letting out a sigh of relief.

Inside, the Ice Hail Pearl was completely gone. This meant that the events of the previous night hadn’t been a hallucination, but something that had actually happened.

The Little Dream Dragon had indeed eaten the Ice Hail Pearl, resulting in the expansion of the Dark Dreamscape.

“Very good, very good. I’ll hunt more snow ghosts and raise my dragon!” He grinned as if he saw a bright future ahead of him.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door: “Good morning, my lord.”

“Good morning.”

The head maid, Leona, entered with three other maids and quickly went to work.

With freckle-faced Erin, buckteeth Phoebe, and short and awkward Olivia-Russell had plenty of reason to suspect that when the old butler Carter had arranged for his servants, his mother had specifically instructed him to exclude the more attractive maids.

Otherwise, given the old butler’s affection for Carter, there was no way he wouldn’t have picked out some beautiful maids.

“Maybe the old butler has already made his compromise… at least Leona isn’t bad looking, and she has a nice figure.” Russell gave the head maid another look. When she bent down to pick something up, her rounded backside was quite noticeable, sparking a certain respect.

“My lord, good morning.” A male servant named Lam knocked and entered.

Russell refocused his mind as his male servant helped him get dressed, then he headed downstairs for breakfast before attending his knight’s morning training session.

By the time he had worked up a good sweat, Charles was just coming downstairs. “Good morning, my lord.”

“Good morning, Teacher Charles.”

“Oh, by the way, my lord, will you be inspecting the estate today? If you have some free time, I think we should have a knowledge lesson.” Charles said. His role had always been that of Russell’s tutor, teaching him cultural knowledge.

“We’ll talk about it later.” Russell dismissed the suggestion with a wave of his hand.

Now that he was an adult, he didn’t want to attend any more cultural lessons. He saw Charles more as an assistant and advisor. If there was anything he didn’t understand, he could ask later.

While they were talking, a knight galloped up to the estate and was quickly ushered in by the butler, Morris. “My lord, the messenger from Fluorescent Castle.”

The knight saluted, fist to chest. “Raphael sends his regards, Young Master Russell.”

“Hello, Master Raphael.”

“The Baron has a message for you,” the knight continued, “He invites you to lunch today at Fluorescent Castle, where he wishes to speak with you.”

“All right, thank you for the errand. Please have some tea, and we’ll go to Fluorescent Castle together later.”

“Much appreciated.”

After the knight left for tea, Charles immediately remarked, “It’s definitely about hunting the Snow Ghosts. The Baron always keeps an eye on you.”

“Mm.” Russell understood. In the Baron’s eyes, he was probably still just a child, even though they allowed him to live independently on his fief. They still kept a close watch on his every move.

After a bath and a change of clothes, Russell, accompanied by his personal male servant and two accompanying knights, followed Lord Raphael back to Fluorescent Castle.

Upon arrival, it was indeed to discuss the Snow Spirit hunt.

“Chris told me about it yesterday,” the Baron said, praising him. “You did well, Russell. You killed the Snow Spirits sooner than I expected.”

Russell humbly replied, “That’s what I’m supposed to do as a lord.”

Lady Meryl then scolded, “You are still growing, and your martial energy is just beginning. You should avoid such risks. Chris is really something. You asked him for help, but he just stood by and watched, letting a child like you fight.”

The Baron replied, “Russell is no longer a child. He’s already undergone his coming of age ceremony.”

“No matter how old he is, he’s still my child.”

“Ah, a woman’s point of view.” The Baron turned and went upstairs. “Russell, come into the study with me. You can stay behind, dear.”

“Go on, go on.” Meryl adjusted Russell’s clothes before he followed the Baron.

In the study, Baron Roman took a bottle of red wine from the shelf and poured a glass for himself and Russell. After toasting, he took a sip.

“How did it feel, hunting the Snow Spirits for the first time?” the Baron asked casually.

“It felt all right. The fighting spirit of the Knight Squad helped to stir me up, so I didn’t feel scared or anxious. In fact, I was so exhausted afterwards that I didn’t think about anything else, and the battle ended just like that.”

“Better than your older brother,” the Baron chuckled. “When Roland first came with me to hunt ghosts, he saw the headless snow ghosts and almost spaced out.”

“I guess I’m just not easily shaken.”

“No, you’re actually more thoughtful than your brother,” the Baron smiled. “I was worried you’d have trouble living on your own, but you’ve adapted much better than I expected. You handled the Snow Spirit invasion well – not reckless and not timid.”

“That’s because of your influence, Father.”

“Already buttering me up after a few days out here?” The Baron grinned. “It’s good. You’re much more cheerful than before.”

Perhaps it was because he had paid less attention to his younger son in the past, but now, seeing Russell before him, the Baron felt a sense of unfamiliarity.

Russell chuckled, but said nothing. He couldn’t exactly admit that it was he who was doing the flattering, while the quiet one was actually his son.

But soon both father and son were quiet – once the Snow Spirit’s conversation was over, they had nothing else to talk about. They rarely had such serious discussions, so they awkwardly raised their glasses to fill the silence.

Fortunately, it was lunch time.

“My Lord, Young Master Russell, the lady would like you to come to the dining room.” A male servant entered.

Both the Baron and Russell sighed with relief. They exchanged a smile and left the study behind them, one after the other, to head for the dining room.