Chapter 771 Closeness and Distance

Giving a super-magical beast to his father, Lee William, was neither significant nor a sacrifice, whether viewed from the perspective of benefit or family ties.

After all, the Tulip family and Liszt were bound together, their bloodline inseparable.

Of course, both family affection and interests had their limits. Liszt still had an unridden Lightgreen Gem Dragon, but he’d never part with it to Marquis Niuwei. A dragon’s strategic weight and political stakes were far too great—even if he dared to offer it, Lee William might not dare to accept.

Dragons were inherently proud creatures, not mounts for just anyone.

To dragons, humans were mere ants. Those who hadn’t become sky knights by the age of sixteen were the lowest of ants. Only those who achieved the rank of sky knight before sixteen could barely be considered marginally stronger ants, earning the qualification to approach a dragon. This was also the standard for the dragon knight candidacy trials in the continental kingdoms.

The untalented stood no chance of succeeding in riding a dragon, so there was no point in wasting resources on them.

Even among talented knights, only a handful among thousands could truly succeed in riding a dragon. They had to endure countless trials, pass the dragon’s tests, and earn its favor to qualify for the mental duel. Only by winning this mental battle could they truly gain the dragon’s recognition and succeed in riding it.

Since ancient times, dragon knights had always been the elite of the elite.

Liszt was the sole exception.

His aptitude was middling at best. If not for the Milon Mind Fruit, his charm alone would never have conquered Leo’s heart. And if not for the Lightgreen Gem Dragon’s severe injuries and fate’s intervention, he wouldn’t have been able to erase the imprint of the First Dragon Knight either.

He still had three Milon Mind Fruits left, but he’d never squander them on Marquis Niuwei—the Marquis was already too old to ride a dragon for much longer.

The Milon Mind Fruits were meant for taming more dragons, not squandering on one that had already been ridden.

In terms of pure talent and mental strength, the only knight worthy of riding a dragon was likely Emily, whom he was currently nurturing with great effort. She began training at eleven, became an Earth Knight at twelve, and soon after advanced to an elite Earth Knight, pushing for the sky knight rank.

Only such talent could win a dragon’s favor.

But Emily still needed to put in more effort to prove herself.

From the scattered historical information available, one fact was clear: the annals of the continent had never seen a female dragon knight.

Whether the Lightgreen Gem Dragon would ever recognize Emily remained uncertain.

"At its core, it all boils down to me not fully accepting my father-son relationship with Lee William." Lost in thought, Liszt rarely examined his own heart. "My worldview was already fixed before the transmigration. It’s hard to truly integrate into another family dynamic, especially since the original owner seemed to have lingering resentment toward his family."

To be honest, the original owner’s status wasn’t high. His older brother, sister, and younger brother all held him in contempt.

Lee William might have adored him as a child, but as his mediocre talent became apparent, his regard cooled, leaving deep scars on the original owner.

But this shadow wasn’t due to outright bullying—rather, the family’s attitude made him feel the coldness of noble kinship.

Lee William didn’t mistreat him. Unlike most nobles who would cast out their adult second sons to fend for themselves, he granted him the title of Baron of Flower Town, a minor fief to sustain himself. It was a father’s duty fulfilled—though the original owner likely saw it as pressure from his maternal grandfather.

As one of the seven Marquises of the Duchy, Marquis Merlin’s grandson’s coming of age was something Lee William had to consider.

A barony over a small town was a token gesture at best.

"During the formative years of the original owner’s worldview, the Tulip family left him alienated—even Penelope was no exception. Marquis Merlin was probably his only solace, never turned a cold shoulder. Inheriting the original owner’s memories, I too sensed that Marquis Merlin was the most sincere toward his grandson."

As an adult,

Liszt wouldn’t let a child’s memories sway him easily. He trusted his own discernment.

He wouldn’t become embittered by their indifference, but he had his own measure. The closest to him had always been Marquis Merlin, not Lee William or Penelope. Both Lee William and Penelope only grew warm after he displayed his talent.

"If I knew how the Lord of Dragon Domain’s contract worked, I might have let Marquis Merlin try to bond with the Lightgreen Gem Dragon… Unfortunately, the Grand Duke didn’t know the method. That madwoman, Curtis Truth, took the secret to her grave."

Back then, only low-tier lich magic was passed down, which ultimately led Marquis Niuwei to initiate the dragon purge.

...

No matter what, the past is already behind us.

Liszt has no need to dwell on a past that doesn’t belong to him. The current him is a completely new identity, with a brand-new social circle and interpersonal relationships.

He can act entirely according to his own will.

Moreover, ever since he changed his surname to Flame, he has already separated from the Tulip family—everything about him now belongs to the entirely new Flame family.

A super beast as a token of goodwill is fine, but dragons are definitely out of the question. In fact, even super dragon beasts are off the table. Little Yellow, Little Red, and Little Black are clearly more badass than the dark albatross and will be stronger when fully grown. Yet, he has no intention of giving them away; he'd rather save them for his squire knights.

Soon.

The Flame docked at Black Horse Harbor. Seeing the enormous dark albatross, the dockworkers just gave it a curious look for a moment before returning to their tasks.

Folks used to seeing dragons aren’t particularly impressed by a big black bird.

The dark albatross was quickly dragged to an open area around Thorn Castle and chained with thick iron shackles—though the chains couldn’t actually restrain it. However, Liszt released Leo to keep an eye on the dark albatross.

Being under the watchful gaze of a dragon.

The dark albatross was terrified stiff—literally.

"Send a message to Tulip Castle. Inform Marquis Niuwei that Thorn Castle has captured a super beast—a giant bird—and ask if he’d like to tame it as a mount." Liszt ordered a squire knight to deliver the message.

He then asked Acheronides to take some time to bring Nami to the newly discovered island of mangroves to see if they could set up operations there: "Acheronides, I know you’re busy, and the Mage Guild can’t do without you. But Nami also needs attention—I sense it has potential for evolution."

Since the Smoke Task issued a task for Nami, it’s clear that Nami possesses the qualifications to influence fate itself.

"Mmm, Acheronides adores Nami."