Chapter 226 Baron Henderson Wants a Duel

After the battle at the horse field, Parris's arrogance diminished significantly, and she began to take her role as a bodyguard more seriously.

　Of course, it wasn't 24-hour close protection.

　Often, Liszt didn't need her to follow him around all the time, nor did he want her to know too many secrets. Trust isn't built in a day or two; it takes time to observe and adapt before one can determine if someone is trustworthy.

　"In Flower Town, you can move freely and occasionally serve as my sparring partner. When I go out, you will accompany me to ensure my safety... On Coral Island, there's hardly any danger, so you won't need to use your Black Dragon Chiang power much. It's a relatively easy job."

　"What if I want to visit Coral City?"

　"Request leave and get permission, and you can go. No one is restricting your life," Liszt said. "But remember, on Coral Island, you must not violate the territory's rules, and you mustn't reveal that you are wanted by the Maple Leaf Grand Duchy. After all, we are both vassals of the Kingdom of Steel Ridge."

　Although they are independent states, the Grand Duke of Sapphire and the Grand Duke of Maple Leaf are, in a strict sense, just dukes of the Kingdom of Steel Ridge, belonging to the same camp.

　"You're being overly cautious, Baron."

　"You should address me as 'My Lord,' which is the basic etiquette when facing a noble, Lady Parris." Liszt displayed the elegance of a noble.

　Such demeanor was indeed very convincing.

　At least Parris reluctantly called out, "My Lord."

　...

　The magic of dragons can corrupt people, turning them into White Dragon Chiangs or Black Dragon Chiangs. This was a significant discovery for Liszt.

　It made him more cautious when studying the magic of fire dragons.

　He certainly didn't want to turn into a shape-shifting monster with only a decade or so left to live, which clearly contradicted his ideal of living a long life. His goal was to ride dragons, not be ridden by them.

　"Speaking of which, I seem to have a special connection with dragons... the gemstone gift from the Invisible Dragon, the fate influence from the Smoke Dragon, the residual magic of the Fire Dragon, and now the Black Dragon Chiang from the Light Dragon."

　Unfortunately, the dream of riding a dragon remains far off.

　Marcus was mining on Black Horse Island, where volcanic glass would be continuously transported to the castle.

　Liszt hurried to design the bathhouse, planning to use the heat energy from a small fire dragon to complete the next smoke task and obtain a new variety of flame mushrooms.

　The bathtub hot spring had already been designed, using a separate structure for the bathtub and the water heater. In simple terms, it involved using a small fire dragon to heat the stove and provide hot water, which was neither difficult nor creative. The only challenge was how to accurately place the small fire dragon in the water heater and measure how much magic was sufficient to heat the water.

　Too little magic, and the hot spring wouldn't work well; too much, and it might even boil eggs.

　"So, whether it's a bathtub hot spring or a bathhouse, if you want to use a small fire dragon, you need to master the skill of controlling and releasing magic."

　Parris was an excellent demonstration subject for learning how to control and release magic.

　However, after probing Parris, Liszt expressed regret. Parris's Black Dragon Chiang power, like a knight's combat aura, could be activated with a thought, but the exact mechanism was mysterious.

　He then asked about the notes from the court grand mage's study on White Dragon Chiangs.

　"The notes were on the thief who stole the book. He left after taking revenge, and no one knows where he went. As for why he became a White Dragon Chiang, it's because the grand mage placed a magical mark on us. I don't understand the principle behind it. I'm not a mage, and I can't read the notes."

　Parris had a poor opinion of mages.

　In fact, although she knew Serpent and Wind languages, she was semi-literate, recognizing few words.

　Before the age of fifteen, she was a commoner and couldn't read. After fifteen, she either wandered or became a thief, never having the opportunity to learn.

　The few words she knew were taught to her by a mage during the period when she was used as a magical experiment subject.

　With no progress from Parris, Liszt had to independently research the fire dragon magic in the volcanic glass: "Unfortunately, I'm not a scientist... Parris's unique Black Dragon Chiang status would be perfect for dissecting and studying."

　He outlined several clumsy experimental plans.

　All he needed was for the volcanic glass to be mined and transported back, and he could begin his experiments.

　"Oh, right, my message in a bottle contains a 36D ghost. I wonder if I can infect it with fire dragon magic to turn it into a White Dragon Chiang?" he wondered curiously.

　A long time ago, a ghost had startled him, making him feel incredulous.

　But with more experiences, especially encountering more and more incredible things, such surprise gradually faded. Dragons and elves existed, so other entities like ghosts, Dragon Chiangs, werewolves, vampires, even beastmen, dwarves, and trolls seemed perfectly normal to him.

　Winter had officially arrived, and the river began to freeze.

　Just yesterday, the architect Mbappe Stonecrusher and his apprentices left, handing over the completed ice cellar to Flower Town. Unfortunately, the ice layer in the river wasn't thick enough to store ice in the cellar.

　Although the ice cellar project was completed,

　Other projects were starting up one after another.

　Led by Gort, the officials were destined to be busy this winter—clearing land at Thorns Ridge, quarrying in the dock area, building woodworking workshops, constructing the Knight Square, teaching serfs Serpent language, training apprentices for craftsmen, and training children in combat aura. A myriad of tasks awaited arrangement.

　To prevent the newly arrived serfs from forming cliques, the officials spent these days assigning accommodations and work pairings, ensuring a mix of local residents and new serfs.

　The seafood business declined with the onset of winter, exacerbated by illegal fishing in the coastal town.

　Fortunately, the market for Flower Soap had opened up, and after assigning deputies to oversee operations, Sherlock and Harpagon became more focused on their business. Now, no noble used regular soap; they all competed to buy Flower Soap. As a result, within a week of selling at a low price, Flower Soap returned to the original price of regular soap.

　Even so,

　Baron Henderson of Snake Spear City, whose soap business was nearly ruined.

　The reason it hadn't completely collapsed was that the soap production in Flower Town couldn't keep up with demand, despite Bounie Poison Egg leading twenty apprentices in frantic production.

　On one side, soap sales were stagnant; on the other, Flower Soap was in high demand.

　According to information from the Flower Caravan, Baron Henderson had been extremely angry these past few days, even declaring at a banquet, after a few drinks, that he would challenge Liszt to a duel.

　Sobering up, he never mentioned it again—what if, during the duel, Liszt rode Hiddleston into the arena? The outcome would be obvious.

But he has more than once loudly accused Liszt of being greedy, robbing him of his due share.

"Pay no heed to Henderson's ranting. Once the soap business completely declines, he'll likely have no strength left to shout. At that time, let him focus on supplying soap powder. If he still doesn't know better, drive him into bankruptcy. Don't think that just because he is a baron appointed by Father, he can speak without restraint. Is my Red Blood Sword incapable of tasting blood?"

Liszt was indifferent to this. His gaze had long since shifted from Coral Island.