Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 431 - 431 430 Annie from the Ade Family

Chapter 431: Chapter 430: Annie from the Ade Family Chapter 431: Chapter 430: Annie from the Ade Family “Willem Ginnari?” Dressed in a house tailcoat, Russell carefully examined the young man before him in the sitting room.

His appearance was hard to describe, with a distinct exotic temperament.

Moreover, his accent was similar to that of Marquis Arno Sunfire, though even clumsier. After all, the Marquis had long dealt with the Grand Duchy of Shadowflame, and his accent had become more and more local, whereas the young man’s accent did not closely resemble that of the Grand Duchy.

Faced with the unexpected visit from Willem Ginnari, Russell was quite surprised, “You say you are the Baron Phoenixbird of the Scorching Torrent Kingdom.”

“Yes, Lord Russell,” the young man beat his chest in salute, his respect for Russell openly evident, “I just came of age this May and successfully inherited the title of Baron Phoenixbird passed down in our family, but our family only has an estate’s worth of land left.”

“Then,” Russell raised his eyebrows, “who is Wester Ginnari to you?”

“You also know my great-grandfather,” Willem expressed in surprise, “Wester Ginnari was indeed my grandfather, the first Baron Phoenixbird… but after Grandfather passed away, the estate gradually withered, leaving only one manor remaining.”

Wester Ginnari was indeed the Dragon Domain Lord mentioned in “The Evolution Possibilities of Dragons”.

Facing the descendant of a character from a book, Russell felt somewhat surreal.

When the servant brought over tea, he asked, “Lord Willem…”

“Lord Russell, please just call me by my name,” Willem set down his teacup and bowed deeply to Russell, “You are a senior on the path of knighthood and a model of knightly conduct, while I am but a junior in your presence.”

It was indeed so.

The Ginnari family’s territory had withered to an estate’s size; there was no telling when the title of Baron Phoenixbird might be revoked.

In terms of both status and ability, Willem could not compare to Russell.

“Alright, I’ll call you Willem,” Russell nodded, “You take a seat… By the way, that large bird outside, is it your Phantom Beast? It looks very odd, almost like a Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon successor?”

“Its name is Lily,” Willem’s eyes lit up when he mentioned Lily. “Indeed, it is a Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon successor, a ‘Mock-Kinari Dragon’, but I haven’t formed a pact with it yet… I only recently advanced to a Great Knight, and my Fighting Spirit Chain skills are still not proficient.”

“I see.”

“Lord Russell, this is a letter from Chosen Son Mel for you,” Willem handed a letter to Russell.

After that, he fell silent, evidently not very adept at socializing despite being an adult.

“You sit first; I will read the letter,” Russell said.

He then opened the letter from Cousin Mel; the penmanship was indeed Mel’s, and the seal on the envelope was indeed unique to the Rainflower Family.

As for why Mel had written a letter instead of sending it through the family’s Knights, an explanation was already included in the letter.

“Russell, I must admit, in praise of dragons, that this diplomatic mission to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom was completed perfectly by me, securing an alliance between our two nations with dragons fighting alongside us. But that’s not the important part, the important part is, I have found love!”

Indeed.

Mel had met a distinguished lady at a ball after his diplomatic mission to the Scorching Torrent Kingdom and it had been love at first sight, a mutual adoration.

“Her name is Annie, Annie Helichrysum. Her beauty, her vitality, her passion, are indescribable entities. All I can tell you is that her father is Earl Ade Riyang of the Kingdom.”

Russell narrowed his eyes.

He directly queried Willem, “Earl Ade Riyang, do you know him?”

“I do, he and Marquis Arno Sunfire are both distant blood relatives of the Lieyang Royal Family, as they restored their Lieyang surname after becoming dragon riders,” Willem explained, “My aunt is the wife of Earl Ade, and Annie is my cousin.”

“So that’s how it is.” Russell understood that Mel had apparently persuaded Willem to come here.

As expected, the letter soon mentioned Willem.

“Willem greatly admires you because his great-grandfather was a Dragon Domain Lord. Through Annie’s connection, he hopes to come to you to learn how to ascend to Dragon Domain Lord… So I brought him back to the country and sent him to find you.”

Mel did not personally bring Willem; he had just returned from a diplomatic mission and was too busy with numerous matters, while Willem could not wait.

So, he simply sent someone to escort Willem to Glowing Valley, letting Willem visit Russell on his own.

At the end of the letter, Mel hoped Russell would consider his difficultly attained love and accommodate Willem for a while.

Sealing the letter.

Russell, with a smile, asked, “So, Willem, describe your cousin Annie to me.”

He wanted to know what kind of lady could attract his cousin.

Willem frowned and thought for a moment, “Cousin Annie is very pretty and also very… very lively and cheerful; I don’t know much else. Because her family’s castle is in the capital, and my manor adjoins the snowfield, this time I went to the capital to meet His Majesty the King and stayed at cousin Annie’s for a while.”

Russell understood that the relationship between the cousins was not very close, and they did not live together, hardly seeing each other once a year.

Things were clear now.

Russell went straight to the point, “Mel said in the letter that you want to consult me on how to become a Dragon Domain Lord?”

“Yes!” Willem replied with determination.

“But why become a Dragon Domain Lord? Wouldn’t it be easier to strive to become a Flying Dragon Knight?”

“Because, I want to restore the prestige of our family,” Willem said. “Lily and I both want to revive the family, to return to the grandeur of my great-grandfather’s time as Dragon Domain Lord, rather than just watch our domain dwindle to Cold Spring Point.”

Of course, there was another reason Willem did not mention.

His family did not have a Bipedal Flying Dragon, and becoming a Flying Dragon Knight was almost as difficult as becoming a Dragon Domain Lord—at least his family had a Phantom Beast Pseudo-Dragon Successor, the “Mock-Kinnaly Dragon Lily,” which gave him a slight hope of advancement over others.

After listening, Russell slowly shook his head, “I’m sorry, Willem, if that’s your purpose, you should go back.”

“Lord Russell, why is that?”

“Ascending to Dragon Domain Lord is deadly dangerous, and if it’s only for reviving your family, it is not worth such a desperate effort. Moreover, I’ll tell you the truth, there is no shortcut to becoming a Dragon Domain Lord. It’s a fine line between life and death, and those without a strong foundation will definitely not succeed.”

This was the hard truth; if Russell didn’t have the foundation of the amber worm, if he didn’t have the foundation of the Little Dream Dragon, he wouldn’t have succeeded either.

As Mel’s future cousin-in-law, Russell would still have liked to pass on his experience if possible.

Unfortunately, this experience couldn’t be passed on.

Waving his hand, Russell said, “So, go back, form a contract with Lily, and become a Phantom Beast Knight before you think about riding dragons.”

Willem did not leave but instead looked even more fervent, “Your teachings, and the words our great-grandfather left to the younger generation in the family, are the same!”

“Hmm? The same as what?” Russell countered.

“You said that Dragon Domain Lord needs a foundation. The words left by our great-grandfather also told us younger ones that we need to prepare a substantial foundation in order to strive for Dragon Domain Lord,” Willem straightforwardly said. “Lord Russell, this foundation, it involves the amber worm, right?”

Now Russell was truly surprised, “You know about the amber worm or rather, did your great-grandfather also have an amber worm?”