Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 259 - 259 258 Consolation Money

Chapter 259: Chapter 258: Consolation Money Chapter 259: Chapter 258: Consolation Money In early February, having been away from his estate for over a month, Russell returned to the beloved Wuyao Snake Manor.

At the entrance of Charcoal Dust Road, the signpost still read, “Beware of Blackwaist Serpents nearby, poisonous, be careful of bites,” however, the sign was nearly toppled over, clearly no one paid attention to the warning on it.

Blackwaist serpents were rarely seen wandering around Wuyao Snake Manor anymore.

Because Eric had returned to the manor the night before, when Russell arrived back this morning, Charles had already assembled all the officials to greet him at the entrance.

“A warm welcome to Sir on his triumphant return!” Charles stood at the front of the line, took off his hat, and bowed deeply.

The other civil servants also bowed deeply, while a few knights beat their chests in salute, “A warm welcome to Sir on his triumphant return!”

“No need for such formalities,” Russell said, sitting astride Unicorn Polly and waving his hand with a faint smile.

He continued towards the gates of Cigar Courtyard, escorted by the crowd, stepping on Charcoal Dust Road, scattered with broken ice.

The ice period was deepening, and many places had already frozen over.

Butler Morris, along with several servants, cheered once again for Russell’s return: “Welcome home, master!”

Russell glanced at Cigar Courtyard, construction was completed, but it looked uglier than he had imagined.

But he was not concerned, for he would live here for at most another year or two, after which he would build his own true castle in the Warm Enclave that was to be developed, and from then on, he would reside in this future castle.

Therefore, the appearance of Cigar Courtyard was no longer important.

“Sir, should we not celebrate grandly today? On one hand, it’s your triumphant return, and on the other, your promotion to Phantom Beast Knight…” As soon as Charles entered, he began planning a celebration for Russell.

However, Russell raised his hand to stop him from continuing, saying, “Let’s keep it low-key, the duke has just passed, it’s not suitable to celebrate loudly, a luncheon will suffice. Also, give out a few copper coins to each of the townsfolk as a gesture, that’ll be enough.”

“Understood,” Charles complied.

Before Russell could sit down, he heard the chirping of “chirp chirp,” “coo coo,” followed by two little ones flying down from upstairs.

It was the Mushroom Bird Rosy and Little Sprite Nicco.

Landing one on each shoulder, they had missed him dearly during the month they had been apart.

Russell immediately burst into hearty laughter, “Rosy, Nicco, hello, you two seem to have had a great time.”

Rosy held her head high, as if trying to convey something.

Nicco, hands on hips, chattered nonstop, though Russell didn’t understand a word. He guessed from their mind link that Nicco seemed to think it was too cold outside, didn’t like the ice period, and couldn’t even go out the door.

After having some fun with the two little ones,

Russell finally had a moment to inquire, “Charles, Eric, please discuss John’s compensation.”

He took out a bag of Ice Pellet Pearls. These were battle spoils from the second fallout battle he had partaken in, consisting of over two hundred regular Ice Pellet Pearls and more than twenty superior ones, though there were no Ice Soul Pearls.

All the Ice Soul Pearls had been taken by Red Castle to be gifted to the Shadowflame Dragon.

Under Russell’s command, with Eric—a Phantom Beast Knight, Grove—a Great Knight, and Tom, Jack, John, and James—four Armed Knights, the division of the spoils was straightforward and quickly tallied.

After discussing, Charles and Eric came to a decision regarding the compensation for John: “Sir, based on John’s share of one superior Ice Pellet Pearl and eight regular ones, it can be exchanged for twenty Gold Coins, adding another twenty as compensation, forty Gold Coins in total should suffice.”

Forty Gold Coins is a substantial sum,

For the average person, it might be more money than they could earn in a lifetime.

But this was a life that John had exchanged with his own. Russell was not stingy at all, and said, “I will personally add ten more gold coins, making it a total of fifty gold coins.”

Having settled on the compensation amount, Russell swiftly led everyone to the official residence buildings at the small market.

He met John’s family.

John was not young, but he had not married. After making a success of himself at Wuyao Snake Manor, he promptly moved his parents, brother, and sister to join him.

Upon learning of John’s death in battle, the family was immediately thrown into disarray; the parents were in tears all day long.

Even though the family had their own plot of land in the Wuyao Snake Manor, without John’s support, they did not know what the future held for them.

“John was a brave attendant, he followed me and died a heroic death, fulfilling the duty of a knight’s attendant,” Russell affirmed the significance of John’s death in battle.

John’s parents burst into tears, his brother’s family and sister also wiped away tears.

Russell was, in fact, a softhearted person, and could not bear to see such scenes, so he quickly had a purse of money brought over.

He personally handed it to John’s parents: “There are fifty gold coins inside. Twenty are John’s share from fighting, twenty are for the death compensation, and an additional ten gold coins that I have personally added, to be given to you both as solace.”

Upon the mention of fifty gold coins.

John’s parents were stunned, forgetting even to cry; his brother’s family’s eyes sparkled, and even his sister stared wide-eyed at the purse.

John’s parents then clutched the purse tightly and knelt to the ground, incessantly kowtowing to Russell: “Ah, praise the master, thank you, master. It was John’s greatest fortune to follow the master; you have been so merciful, John was truly lucky!”

His brother quickly dragged his wife and child to join his parents in kneeling and kowtowing, and the sister also promptly knelt down to kowtow.

In no time, the floor was marked by the blood from their kowtowing.

However, this scene of gratitude did not bring Russell any consolation; on the contrary, it stirred a sense of indignation within him.

But he did not say much more. Life was certainly precious, but in everyone’s eyes, life already had a clear price tag. Once that price is exceeded, even death can be swiftly accepted.

Fifty gold coins were enough to suppress all emotions John’s family had for him.

“Take care,” said Russell and then turned around to leave John’s home.

Charles, skilled at reading the room, followed behind Russell, whispering in comfort, “Sir, this is normal. If I were to die and my wife and children could receive such a large sum, they would surely jump for joy.”

Russell shook his head and said, “What nonsense are you speaking.”

“Heh heh, I thought you couldn’t accept this reality. For a knight of such familial background, the most ideal outcome is to die in battle and receive a large compensation,” Charles glanced at the stolid Eric, his words tinged with sarcasm, “Knights like Sir Eric who are ambitious are rare.”

Eric gave Charles a glance, suddenly feeling a sense of superiority stirring within him—what does it matter if you’re eloquent, can you contract with a Fantasy Beast?

“Work hard, Charles, and you can be ambitious too.”

“Heh heh, I have no hope of contracting with a Fantasy Beast. I am fully content if I can handle the affairs of the domain well for you, Sir,” Charles replied.

“Don’t neglect the education of your son,” Russell kindly reminded him, thinking that Charles had no chance to advance to a Phantom Beast Knight in this lifetime.

Without the hope of becoming a Phantom Beast Knight, there was no possibility of receiving a title—the minimum standard for ennoblement in the Grand Duchy was a Phantom Beast Knight. Without a contract with a Fantasy Beast, one could only take the route of a civil servant or a scholar to enter high society.

Therefore, even when he became a Baron in the future, he would not be able to confer on Charles the title of a Lord.

But if Charles’ son could become a Phantom Beast Knight in the future, Russell would certainly not be stingy with a Lordship title.

Charles had not yet grasped this, and just chuckled: “Of course, the Magic Elixir that Sir has rewarded me with, I have given all to my son, so he has a solid foundation, ready to follow Sir in the future to build achievements!”