Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 503 - 503 501 Not Taking Initiative Not Refusing Not

Chapter 503: Chapter 501: Not Taking Initiative, Not Refusing, Not Responsible Chapter 503: Chapter 501: Not Taking Initiative, Not Refusing, Not Responsible It was night.

Evernight Castle was as bright as day.

In the castle’s study, the smoke from cigars lingered, but Baron Swan Quinbylf Flame-shadow was still puffing on his own pipe.

Tapping the table with his pipe, he asked irritably, “Lord Arno, what in the world is the King thinking, supporting my Sunflower Family to replace the Flamecrest Dragonblood Family as the main branch? Isn’t that the best choice?”

Behind the smoke, Marquis Arno was comfortably reclining in his rocking chair.

He responded nonchalantly, “His Majesty has His Majesty’s considerations, how could I presume to guess His profound deliberations? However, the Sunflower Family need not be hasty. The Lieyang Royal Family is very willing to maintain a friendship with the Sunflower Family for generations.”

“How can I not be hasty? If we don’t act soon, the dragon will end up in bed with Russell!”

“Haha, that’s an interesting way to put it, although it’s a bit disrespectful to dragons,” chuckled Marquis Arno.

“If my grandson becomes the Grand Duke, I would kneel and kowtow to a dragon statue every day willingly, with such sincerity that no one could say otherwise,” Baron Kunbiff said angrily. “But if that boy Russell becomes the Grand Duke, I will never set foot in Red Castle again in my life!”

“Calm down, calm down.”

“I cannot! Lord Arno, please give me an answer quickly! Your country has established the system of the Chosen Son, surely you can’t just watch it become irrelevant.”

“Everything changes, you know. The times are different now, so of course, we need to make corresponding adjustments.”

“I haven’t noticed any changes, but you, Lord Arno, have been changing day and night!” Baron Kunbiff glanced at Marquis Arno’s increasingly bulging belly. “Arno, just give me a straight answer, what exactly does His Majesty the King think!”

“His Majesty’s thoughts…,” Marquis Arno said unhurriedly.

Baron Kunbiff interrupted directly, “Has His Majesty already decided that Russell will become a Dragon Knight?”

“Well…,”

“So the King will just watch the plan he’s been plotting for years fail without stopping it?”

“That might not necessarily happen, right…”

Whoosh!

Baron Kunbiff rose from his chair and drew his sword, “Arno, I challenge you to a duel right now, a fight to the death, only one of us will leave this study alive!”

The aura of the Flying Dragon Knight expanded greatly, pressuring Marquis Arno.

Marquis Arno was also a Flying Dragon Knight, but alas, his Bipedal Flying Dragon was not with him, and his body had grown portly.

Facing the oppressive aura of Baron Kunbiff, he felt somewhat intimidated and hastily said, “Take it easy, take it easy, Lord Kunbif, at our age, why rush to anger, let’s have a nice talk.”

“You’ve been stringing me along!”

“Alright, alright, let’s sit down and have a sincere talk.” Only after placating Baron Kunbiff did Marquis Arno speak at leisure, “Before we talk, you tell me first, how did the Council of Elders’ negotiations with the dragon go?”

“How else? Ambiguous!”

“What do you mean?”

“The dragon neither acknowledges nor denies it, does not take the initiative nor does it refuse. No one can fathom its true intentions now,” Baron Kunbiff huffed. “Welchi, the ungrateful cur, insists that the dragon is merely considering the Flamecrest Dragonblood Family and hasn’t immediately changed the contract.”

Marquis Arno nodded, “There’s some truth in that.”

“But Earl Osclo and I feel that the dragon might not necessarily approve of Russell; he’s merely a fallback option. The dragon has been beaten several times and has lost its former sharpness, so having an escape route is normal. But that doesn’t mean Russell is the only choice!”

“There’s truth in that as well.”

“Alright, I’ve said my piece, now it’s your turn. What is His Majesty the King really thinking?”

Facing the relentless questioning of Baron Kunbiff, Marquis Arno pondered for a moment before cautiously replying, “His Majesty has not shared His thoughts with me, but as the envoy facilitating communication between our two nations, I can sense some changes.”

“What changes?”

“His Majesty’s approach has become gentler, treating your nation on an equal footing, which evidently recognizes that the dragon will soon have its knight.”

“How can this be!” Baron Kunbiff was as if struck by lightning.

He remembered the day when King Ares had come to offer his congratulations, the image of him walking side by side with Russell…

“It’s just my personal feeling,” Marquis Arno hastily consoled, “but in fact, the best choice right now is to keep everything unchanged, so we can calmly deal with complex changes. Just as with dragons, you, me, or even Russell, should all do the same.”

“This…”

“What’s the harm in waiting a bit longer? Welchi needs to strive upward, but the Sunflower Family has its own Warm Enclave; they can move forward or retreat at ease, right?”

After Marquis Arno finished speaking, he smiled and passed over a Rain Dragon Cigar from the Cloud Mist series: “Here, Lord Kunbifu, try the taste of this cigar. As the times change, our noble indulgences must keep up with them!”

…

Qinqiu.

The wind howled, the grass sprouted.

The muddy hills quickly took on the colors of spring with the arrival of the warm season.

“Truly excellent territory, but it’s a shame it’s so desolate. Even if you were to divide it into a hundred provinces, it wouldn’t be possible to develop it in a short time,” Mel, the Chosen Son, remarked at leisure, riding on the back of his phantom beast, the Iron Winged Grey Crane Mola.

Beside him, Russell, riding the Harpy Hape, accompanied him on the inspection of the Qinqiu territory.

Ever since Hape was promoted to Pseudo-Dragon, her size had increased, allowing her to comfortably offer riding services.

“It doesn’t matter; let it grow grass and trees, and later on, breed phantom beasts and sprites,” Russell casually said.

“Right, most of my family’s Tributary River Mouth is also lying fallow with grass,” Mel nodded in agreement.

Pausing for a moment, he suddenly asked, “Why don’t I feel you’re excited at all? I bring such explosive news, and you have no reaction? Being a Dragon Knight, you have the chance to become a Dragon Knight, to reach the pinnacle of life!”

Mel came to relay the face-off between the Council of Elders and the Shadowflame Dragon.

“The Shadowflame Dragon didn’t give a clear response,” Russell laughed with a very calm tone, “Not proactive, not rejecting, not taking responsibility, it’s clearly an old degenerate dragon, even a bit worse than our family’s Ross.”

Ross was a Clay Dragon; Baron Roman and Roland had attempted to court it, but because of a heart knot, it always refused to contract.

Whereas the Shadowflame Dragon was consciously manipulating the contract negotiation.

Their tiers were not on the same level.

“Old degenerate dragon, what does that mean?” Mel, not understanding, and too lazy to guess, directly said, “I’m here hoping you’ll make an effort, contract with the Shadowflame Dragon soon, and end my miserable life as the Chosen Son.”

He sighed, “Before coming here, I had a long talk with Grandfather, and I repeatedly expressed to him that I don’t want to be the Grand Duke.”

“What did Grandfather say?”

“He scolded me, of course.” Mel shrugged his shoulders, continuing to sigh, “How should I say this, I feel Grandfather seems to have changed. Before, in my memory, Grandfather never had personal desires, only cared for the country… Now, it seems…”

“It seems he cannot distinguish between family and country, or he simply wants to turn the country into a family?” Russell interjected.

At that, Mel exclaimed in surprise, “How do you know that’s what I was thinking?”

“It’s simple, it’s just human nature,” Russell said with the tone of someone who had been there before. In fact, having lived twice, he truly had a clear understanding of human nature, “Grand Duke Kunstan would not die, and Grandfather would definitely be dedicated solely to the country, but with opportunity knocking, how could he not strive for it.”

In his youth, Cao Cao was equally passionate about serving his country, dreaming of becoming “General Who Conquers the West.”

As long as Grand Duke Kunstan lived, Count Merlin would have no such thoughts and would only wish to be the Grand Duchy of Shadowflame’s “General Who Conquers the West.”

But the direct line of the Flamecrest Dragonblood Family had already ceased.

And his grandson Mel, inheriting the blood of the Flamecrest Dragonblood Family and backed by the Shadowflame Dragon, could become the Grand Duke without it being considered usurping the throne.

Russell smiled, consoling Mel: “Cousin, you really don’t need to bother yourself with this. If Grandfather doesn’t strive for it, should he just hand the Grand Duchy of Shadowflame over to Kunsley or Augustus? Do you think they’re worthy?”

“Yeah, they’re not worthy,” Mel nodded and laughed, “Haha, in fact, I was just saying it offhand, I’ve never truly blamed Grandfather.”

After a pause,

he suddenly burst out laughing: “And now it’s fine, I don’t need to fret anymore. Once you take your place, I won’t have to worry every day. You are also Grandfather’s bloodline; if you become the Grand Duke, we can all accept it!”