Chapter 351: A Calm Mind

The dragon-slaying incident concerns the fate of the family, and whether it happens or not, Coral Island is powerless to prevent it.

Liszt can't afford to be hasty, as this also affects his future prospects. He needs to think carefully about how to explain and deal with it in order to better negotiate with the Count and reach a result favorable to himself. Throwing out an unverified question isn't a smart move.

After drinking a cup of milk tea, he still found it hard to calm his emotions. The news Cris Truth brought was indeed quite shocking.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered that the smoke mission should have been completed, so he called up the smoke mission: "Complete the mission, reward the magician Cris Truth."

Sure enough.

The not-so-pretty magician Cris Truth, who had just sobered up, was the reward for the smoke mission. Just like how the previous smoke mission's reward was the thief Parris, these were both "character" rewards. More accurately, they were opportunities to interact with these characters in a way that could benefit him.

Whether he could make the most of the mission reward still depended on Liszt's own efforts.

"Too bad, Parris is gorgeous and has a great figure, but Cris is just... meh." He shook his head, thinking that this wasn't the time to think about such things.

The serpentine smoke before him twisted and transformed.

A new mission was quickly issued: "The news brought by Cris Truth has left you feeling deeply uneasy. This stems from the fear caused by your own weakness. As a great Lord, you must overcome the unease deep within and calm your mind. Reward: a melody from memory."

"It's true that I am a great Lord, but why is the reward a melody again? Do they really want to turn me into the King of Piano?" Liszt was not very satisfied with the reward.

Certainly.

Playing and composing piano pieces boosted his charm and attracted a lot of attention from women. But he preferred to rely on his own efforts to become a powerful knight, the center of attention, and ultimately realize his dream of riding a dragon. Piano music had no significance to him.

However, since the mission had been issued, he had no reason to refuse—learning a couple more piano pieces would improve his social skills and enrich his noble depth in the future.

Returning to the mission content, how to overcome the inner unease and calm his mind?

A good method was to play the piano.

He went to the bug room and sat in front of the piano. In the past, there were mermaid Acheronides listening to him play the piano or singing accompaniment, but now he could only play for the spirit bugs.

"Wow!"

There was also the spirit bug Jie La, sitting on top of the piano, yawning boredly. Music meant nothing to it. In fact, it used to jump onto the keyboard and start dancing while Liszt was playing, only calming down after a few swift keystrokes.

His fingers gently touched the keys.

Taking a deep breath, Liszt slowly played a piece he had recently learned, "Water's Edge Euryale," which he had heard Meopo play at Longtaro Castle. He found it very beautiful, though slightly lacking in rhythmic variation, but still a classic piano piece.

The piano master Cherni Windmill and the water-side gorgon Euryale exchanged a glance and turned to stone.

He played slowly. Unlike Meopo's way of playing, when he played at home, he usually improvised, playing however he felt comfortable without worrying too much about details. After one run-through, he switched to *Für Elise*, then to *Accompanied by You*.

The music made Jie La more and more sleepy, and it finally fell asleep on top of the piano.

Liszt became more and more engrossed in his playing, and his mood became more and more cheerful. He realized that he really loved the piano; every time he played, it cleared his mind. It seemed that there wasn't a single piano piece that couldn't solve a worry.

And if there was, then two pieces would do.

At some point, a faint, ethereal smoke naturally appeared before him, forming into serpentine symbols.

"Mission completed, reward: the melody of *Canon in D*."

His fingers had struck a new sequence of keys, and a classic piano piece blossomed with the pressing of the keys. This was a rondo. One melody followed another from beginning to end, with eight chords running through it until the final note, where the notes merged together.

The piece ended.

Liszt quickly took out a pen and paper he had long prepared, dipped it in ink, and hurriedly scrawled down the melody. He played it over several times, while the inspiration was still fresh, identifying any mistakes or discordant parts and making corrections, eventually compiling a complete version of the "Canon in D Major."

He also wrote down the title "Canon in D Major - Liszt" and added it to his collection of piano pieces.

……

The piano music soothed his emotions, leaving him calm and rational.

This clarity made it easier for him to consider how to deal with the potential crisis that was about to emerge: "In truth, I've overlooked one key point from the beginning until now—the Earl and the Grand Duke are not one and the same. Of course, in the Sapphire Duchy, the Earl holds a fief on Coral Island and is in a position of high authority. But if something happens to the Grand Duke, the Earl will be implicated."

Putting away the piano music and returning to his study, Liszt continued to ponder: "But the first to bear the brunt will be the Sapphire Family, whereas the Tulip family, with a smaller ship, can turn more easily... No matter who comes to annex the Sapphire Duchy that has lost its dragon, the Tulip family can choose a new master to pledge loyalty to."

Of course.

Changing allegiance was not a glorious thing, and the treatment would correspondingly decrease. But a wise person knows when to adapt; there's no need to remain blindly loyal to a declining family.

The Earl, being a sword saint-level sky knight, had a group of elite earth knights under his command, which was still a considerable fighting force, not to be easily dismissed.

As long as there wasn't an army at the gates, the Tulip family wouldn't be easily destroyed—an outer island like Coral Island didn't seem to warrant the dispatch of a large number of knights from the mainland nobles. If dragons were to be sent, that would be another matter entirely. But if any nation were to send dragons against an Earl...

Liszt felt that his family should simply carry on with their lives, eating and drinking, while they waited for whatever fate awaited them.

"So, if the worst happens, the Sapphire Family will bear the brunt of it. I don't need to worry too much; I can just wait for the situation to unfold. The Earl probably feels the same way; at most, he'll make preparations in advance, whether they succeed or fail in slaying the dragon, he can seize the opportunity."

That night, he slept rather soundly.

The next morning, before dawn, Liszt had already gotten up, donned his leather armor, wearing his Red Blood Sword at his side, mounted his Black Dragon horse, and led Hiddleston the blizzard beast, preparing to head to Tulip Castle. He also informed Parris to bring Cris Truth along and join him at Tulip Castle.

On the way, without needing to guide it, the Black Dragon horse knew the way to Longtaro Castle on its own, so Liszt used the time on horseback to study the new smoke assignment.

"No one can foresee whether the road ahead is fraught with thorns or a smooth avenue. The key is to always be prepared for challenges. The wealth of Flower Town is sufficient to support a squad of knights, who can become your loyal followers and keep your blade sharp. Reward: a forgotten mana skill book."