The Mighty Dragons Are Dead

Roger Golden Wheat Sheaf's arrival was a prelude to that of his sister, Loria Gold Wheat Ear, but the Tulip Family had already made all the necessary arrangements.

The detached castle in Birch City would serve as a temporary residence for the bride.

An Earl's daughter marrying a Viscount's son certainly couldn't match the scale of a Grand Duke's daughter's wedding. The Tulip Family's financial and material resources also couldn't compare to that of the Long Taro Family, but the festivities would not be lacking.

As the wedding day approached.

Nobles on good terms with the Tulip Family began to arrive in droves. Among them, the most distinguished were the Mesiro Couple, bringing along newlyweds Cousin Meioubao and Princess Angela.

Tulip Castle became increasingly lively, and Liszt was so busy he hardly had a moment to rest. He was naturally a member of the groomsmen's party and also had the responsibility of receiving guests. Moreover, he had to endure the harassment from female guests—there were always bold and spicy Noblewomen who admired his looks.

As a single Noble, such harassment was inevitable.

But these were not the sources of his worry, nor was it the awkwardness of potentially seeing Rona Sally Golden Wheat, once romantically ambiguous with him, accompanying the bride back to Coral Island.

His real worry was brought on by Meioubao.

Or to be precise,

It was caused by the Smoke Mission, which made every encounter with his cousin exceptionally awkward, and his heart was a mess of confusion and entanglement, like a bundle of knotted yarn.

"Liszt, Liszt?" Meioubao patted his shoulder, "What are you thinking about? Angela is asking you what kind of Noblewoman you like. She knows many Noblewomen of marriageable age and could help you find a match."

Next to Meioubao, Princess Angela was looking at him with a smile on her face.

Liszt came back to his senses and with a look known only to himself, glanced at the newlywed couple in front of him and laughed, "Sorry, I was just thinking that I have two Elf Bugs that I haven't had time to place with Cordyceps, so I got a bit distracted. By the way, did the Grand Duke give you a Greater Elf?"

Meioubao responded grumpily, "It's an Oat Greater Elf, but let's not talk about Greater Elves now. We're discussing what kind of Noblewoman you like."

Angela also spoke up, "Liszt, you're different from Meioubao and Levis; you can't inherit a peerage. Marrying a Noblewoman wouldn't just help with the development of your estate, but also with your advancement in peerage. Grandfather said you have great potential, but having a Noblewoman as your wife could further ensure the realization of that potential."

"Let's take it as it comes. I'm still young. For now, I want to focus on my cultivation. I need to build a solid foundation so that in the future I can break free from the shackles of the earth," Liszt gave an excuse, "When the day comes that I want to find a Noblewoman to expand my family, I will definitely ask for your help, Angela."

Seeing the couple so concerned about his marriage, Liszt felt even more conflicted inside.

But soon,

He decided within his heart to cut through the chaos quickly, forsaking the new Smoke Mission—just two days ago, after he contracted the Dragon Kui Bug and Venus Flytrap Worm, he completed the Smoke Mission.

"Mission completed, reward Mutated Variety Corn Grass."

The reward set his mind racing; a fruit mutation sounded like the Corn Grass really had mutated into corn cobs. He immediately ordered Blair to keep a close watch on the Corn Grass fields to find the new mutated variety.

The subsequent updated Smoke Mission,

Caused him to be conflicted for two whole days.

"Mission: Continuation of the bloodline is of utmost importance for a Noble family. Your older brother, Levis, is about to enter into matrimony and spread the family's branches, but your cousin seems to have encountered some trouble. His marital relations with Angela Sapphire are not harmonious, and he may need your help. Reward: Piano scores from Meioubao's collection."

This time, the Smoke Mission contained a rich amount of information.

Marital disharmony,

Was understandable,

But needing his help left Liszt puzzled; how could he possibly help with someone else's marital issues? This was why he was conflicted—if it had been anyone else, given Angela's status and appearance, he wouldn't have been tormented and would readily have offered his help.

However, Meioubao was his own cousin, and they were close.

As he grew closer to the moral standards of this world, he still couldn't bring himself to engage in such scandalous and incestuous behavior, and so he decided to cut through the chaos quickly: "I've been studying the piano recently, and Meioubao, I remember you have a collection of piano scores. How about giving me one?"

"No problem,"

Meioubao agreed immediately.

This relieved Li Si Te (Liszt), grateful that the task reward was merely a piano score, which he could possess to change the mission.

If the reward had been a Little Minor Elf or information related to Fire Dragon Bones, his sense of morality might have tormented him—there would be no choice but to feed himself to the tiger.

...

The internal conflict unraveled.

Li Si Te (Liszt) returned to his usual indifference, but he couldn't help thinking that Cousin Meioubao's head would inevitably turn green—without a harmonious life, problems would arise sooner or later.

All he could do was wish the Long Taro Family could maintain the purity of their bloodline as much as possible.

The morning before the wedding day.

The official fleet of Golden Island finally docked at Coral City Port.

Marquis Roderick and his spouse, along with the nobles from Golden Island who had come to attend the wedding and their daughter about to be married, Loria Golden Wheat Sheaf, headed for the separate castle in Birch City. They would stay overnight in Birch City and come to Tulip Castle tomorrow to attend the wedding.

As the second son of the Tulip Family, Li Si Te (Liszt) needed to serve as a groomsman.

The group of groomsmen consisted of familiar faces: Cousin Rolie Pinecone from Aunt Melinda's home, the son of Viscount Trick, Aubrey Lycra, and three barons' sons.

Only unmarried men could serve as groomsmen.

Similarly, only unmarried women could serve as bridesmaids.

Rona Sally Golden Wheat, Loria's sister, was among the bridesmaids. There were inevitably face-to-face encounters when they took time to practice the wedding procedures.

"Hi, Li Si Te (Liszt),"

"Hello, Rona Sally,"

"I heard from my brother that you have been titled Viscount for your military achievements, congratulations." Rona Sally said with a smile, "You own your own island now, is it a city?"

"Black Horse Island, right next to Coral Island."

"That must be a beautiful island."

"Beautiful is yet to be seen, it's just an undeveloped desert island. I've built a small town on it, and then ran out of money to develop it any further."

"Difficulties will always pass, right?" Read exclusive content at empire

"Exactly."

Then there was no more conversation to follow, and the day ended just like that, with the rehearsal leaving everyone exhausted.

...

Night.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Inside a guest room at Tulip Castle, Meioubao, having bathed and changed, returned to the bedroom. Looking at Angela, who was already lying in bed, he couldn't help feeling exhilarated, "Angela, in this new environment, do you feel all fired up? I believe with a bit more effort, we will have our own bundle of love."

"I look forward to it, bearing an heir for the Long Taro Family is my unshirkable duty," Angela replied with a smile, but her eyes showed a hint of an unusual expression.

They had been trying for almost a month, and there was no sign of any movement in her stomach.

And she had inquired around—Meioubao, already twenty-five, had many lovers in the past, but he had never impregnated any of them, let alone fathered a child out of wedlock.