Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 261 - 261 260 Cat and Mouse

Chapter 261: Chapter 260: Cat and Mouse Chapter 261: Chapter 260: Cat and Mouse The banquet was held as usual at the Cigar Courtyard.

Despite the passing of Grand Duke Kunstan and Red Castle’s national decree forbidding banquets and balls, private feasts couldn’t be stopped.

The authority of Grand Duke Kunstan was not sufficient, and the nobles held no awe for him.

It was said that when Quentin III Shadowflame died twenty-one years ago, not a single noble dared to hold a banquet in private for an entire year. Only after Red Castle took the lead in hosting a feast did the nobles gradually let loose.

Now, the nobles were eating and drinking as they pleased.

However, when Charles clamored for more wine, Russell timely chastised, “Enough, a full meal is sufficient, drink in moderation.”

He then raised his glass towards the north, “This last glass of wine is to honor Grand Duke Kunstan who sacrificed for our country. May the Shadowflame Duchy prosper under the guidance of the Council of Elders. May the Great Dragon recover quickly and expand our frontiers!”

“To Grand Duke Kunstan!”

“May the Shadowflame Duchy prosper immensely!”

“May the Great Dragon recover soon!”

After the lunch banquet, the officials went about their work, while Russell stayed behind with Katie, inquiring about her training progress.

“I have cleared six of the main meridians, and now I’m devoting all my efforts to dredging the last main meridian in the head and face,” Katie replied. To become an Armed Knight, one must dredge seven sets of main meridians and then the branch meridians.

“Keep up the good work, I’ll sponsor another batch of Magic Elixirs for you,” said Russell.

Katie was immediately choked up, “Sir, you’ve already sponsored me so much… Katie… Katie doesn’t know how to repay you!”

“Advance to Great Knight, that will be the best repayment for me,” Russell said with a mild smile.

“Katie will do her utmost to become a Great Knight and never let you down, Sir!”

“Just do your best,” he replied.

As they talked, they had already left the Cigar Courtyard.

The Red-eyed Rat King Jerry, who had been gnawing on a bone in the mouse shed, brightened up and quickly scurried over. Just as Russell thought Jerry was coming to get close to him, Jerry rushed to Katie instead, resting its forelimbs on her legs and begging for food.

Not having seen Russell for a month, Jerry had almost forgotten his master, while getting closer to Katie.

Katie spread her hands towards Jerry to show she had no food.

Only then did Jerry turn to Russell and came over to beg for food from him, but Russell wouldn’t indulge it and pushed Jerry away with his foot, “All you do is eat, eat, eat, and I still remember, you cursed me in your thoughts before!”

Russell had struggled wits with Unicorn Polly in the Snow Forest, while Jerry, using Fantasy Beast’s private language, had insulted him for being sick.

After he later rode on Polly, Russell was too proud to remember this.

Now, seeing Jerry’s groveling appearance, his memories were immediately revived, “It seems the discipline I normally give you isn’t enough!”

“Chirp chirp?” Jerry lay on the ground, looking up with its small red eyes gleaming innocently.

“Sir,” Katie interceded for Jerry, “Jerry has great respect for you. Perhaps because I’ve been trying to please it lately, so it’s easier to command against potential Snow Ghost invasions, I’ve been giving it treats often, making it a bit slack.”

“Is that so,” Russell looked from Jerry to Katie.

One was the Red-eyed Rat King and the other a wildcat sister, almost seeming to have a bit of a cat and mouse dynamic.

He made a quick decision, “Since Jerry is so fond of you, I’ll assign you a task. Continue to supervise Jerry’s training of the Treasure-Hunting Rat Squad and the Sentinel Rat Squad and strive to develop two elite rat teams.”

Katie joyfully replied, “As you wish, Sir!”

She then crouched down and affectionately rubbed Jerry’s head, and like a little dog, Jerry nuzzled her hands.

Russell squinted as he watched this scene.

He didn’t mind the closeness between Katie and Jerry. If Katie could form a contract with Jerry in the future, he would not be stingy. Jerry, as the Rat King, was certainly strong among the Fantasy Beasts, but Russell already had the more powerful Unicorn Polly.

And soon he was to become a Flying Dragon Knight, his desire for Fantasy Beasts was no longer as intense.

Moreover, with the skill to converse with fantasy beasts, capturing them was not difficult, and Russell now had the qualifications to pick out even better ones, preferably a fantasy beast that could match a unicorn.

“Jerry, oh Jerry, it’s not that you’re not excellent, it’s just that my standards are a bit high,” Russell withdrew his gaze and looked toward the nearby bamboo forest.

The expansion of the bamboo forest was swift, already having swallowed up most of the wasteland north of the Cigar Courtyard.

This caused some regret in Russell for planting the bamboo cordyceps there. A single cordyceps could affect one hundred and fifty acres. In some time, he feared the entire Cigar Courtyard would be surrounded by the bamboo forest—even just the bamboo cordyceps could encircle the Cigar Courtyard.

However.

Upon reflection, living in the midst of a sea of bamboo seemed to have its own unique charm.

…

Hans had returned in the evening and immediately entered the Cigar Courtyard to meet with Russell.

“My lord, I’ve returned triumphant, and it’s truly impolite of me that I couldn’t greet you!”

“You didn’t know which day I was coming back, so greeting me precisely would have been the impoliteness. Stand up, Hans. Have a cup of tea and tell me about the current situation at the Cigar Factory,” Russell said casually while flipping through a book.

Hans stood up, took a seat, and once the servant served tea, he began to report on the Cigar Factory, “My lord, the first batch of the exclusive Frost series has been produced on a small scale—twenty boxes. And the VIP Mist series has also produced about two hundred boxes.”

Pausing, Hans carefully asked, “My lord, do we still need to produce three hundred boxes of the Frost series for this year?”

According to the previous quota, three hundred boxes of the Frost series were to be produced in total.

One hundred boxes for Grand Duke Kunstan, one hundred for Count Merlin, and another one hundred for Mr. Roman.

However, Grand Duke Kunstan has already passed away.

Upon hearing this, Russell squinted and thought for a moment before saying, “Continue to produce three hundred boxes, as for who gets the extra hundred boxes, I’ll make a decision when the time comes.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Are there any orders for the Cigar Factory now?”

“The caravans have already stopped, there were only a few local orders from Glowing Valley before the year’s end.”

“Mm, produce and reserve more of the Mist VIP tobacco and Dewdrop cigars. It won’t be long before a flood of orders come in,” Russell was very confident about this; previously, Count Merlin had offered the Dewdrop Rain Dragon cigars to everyone in the command tent.

Those who had tried the Dewdrop Rain Dragon cigars all gave positive feedback.

It was foreseeable that with the end of the Second Fall battle, the Rain Dragon cigars would become famous nationwide alongside this great war.

The orders would surely come flowing in non-stop.

Afterward, Russell invited Hans to join him for dinner. During the meal, Russell unexpectedly discovered a new dish.

“Is this… tofu?” Russell immediately summoned Butler Morris to call Mrs. Moore, the cook, to inquire.

Although Mrs. Moore had been praised for her research into cuisine multiple times and was no longer timid, she was still trembling when she saw Russell, “My, my lord, this is tofu… I, I recently managed to make.”

Russell’s pursuit of hometown cuisine had never stopped.

But since he could not cook himself, and it wasn’t appropriate for him to enter the kitchen given his noble status, he had delegated the task to Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Brown for development.

He had previously mentioned tofu and even told Mrs. Moore that “soy milk” needed to be curdled with something to turn into tofu. He hadn’t expected her to actually find a method and successfully make tofu.

“It’s salt, my lord, with salt water…” Mrs. Moore explained in a low voice.

“Hmm, I see,” Russell nodded. He liked to eat tofu and had heard of gypsum being used to curdle tofu, but he did not know what gypsum was.

He didn’t realize salt could also be used to make tofu.

Taking a bite of the tender tofu with a spoon and placing it in his mouth, Russell instantly found a taste of home.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he announced, “Reward!”