Evil dragon has a warm heart-Chapter 152 - 151 The Beauty of Burning Passionately
Chapter 152: Chapter 151 The Beauty of Burning Passionately
Chapter 152 -151 The Beauty of Burning Passionately
The birthday feast was to be held at five o’clock, and by the time it was four, guests dispersed around Bluebird Castle began entering the banquet hall one after another.
Before the feast began, there was an important procedure that needed to be observed.
That was the presentation of birthday gifts.
Whether it was Russell’s hometown Earth or the Dragon Sleep Continent, gift-giving was an indispensable part of social interaction. This was especially true among the nobility where banquets and gift-giving were frequent, and they even preferred to receive gifts publicly.
“Count Merlin, the Duke has sent me to bring you a cane, crafted by the great artisan Winscato of the Volcanic Iron Furnace Room, forged from a combination of eighteen metals, and inlaid with twenty-four different gems,” said Lord Fisher.
Lord Fisher immediately opened the gift box and took out the splendid cane the Duke had sent for Count Merlin: “The Duke himself has named it… the Elder Dragon Knight’s Guardian Cane.”
A servant promptly stepped forward, struggling to hold up the Elder Dragon Knight’s Guardian Cane and hand it to Count Merlin.
“Splendid!” Count Merlin, sitting in the main seat of the hall, held the Elder Dragon Knight’s Guardian Cane in one hand, resting it on the ground, his face bearing a serene smile, “The Duke is thoughtful indeed, Lord Fisher, you must convey my sincere gratitude to him when you return.”
“Of course, I will convey your thanks to the Duke at the first opportunity,” Fisher bowed respectfully and stepped back.
Then the second gift-giving guest stepped forward, Lord Ort Willow, representing Count Shard Osklo Willow, with a gift of a somewhat precious gemstone, though not quite matching the stature of Count Broken Stone.
Count Merlin showed no interest in this gift, simply letting his servant take it before waving Lord Ort Willow away.
Lord Ort Willow seemed to understand and resumed his seat without any embarrassment from the cold reception, smiling cheerfully.
Russell narrowed his eyes at this.
He knew there was a story behind this.
The father of Oskolo Shuiliu had been the Chief Executive of the Council of Elders for the previous decade, who after ten years of ruling and wishing to continue, was defeated by Count Merlin in the competition, and returned to the Gravel Domain in disgrace, passing away not long afterward.
This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.
Thus, a rift had arisen between the two great earldoms.
Even though Oskolo Willow’s wife, Kunli Shadowflame, and Mejie Yujiuhua’s wife, Kuna Shadowflame, were blood sisters, and both were the Duke’s aunts, the two families still held grudges and kept little contact with each other.
After the Duke’s and Earl’s gifts were presented, it was the Barons’ turn.
Baron Romand and his wife did not rush to present their gifts, allowing four other Barons’ messengers to go first, each presenting their gifts in turn.
Among them were Cooper and Rolin, representing the Baron of Blackgarden in the gift-giving.
Then came Baron Romand’s family, who all stepped forward to present their gifts, with the Baron and his wife offering two bottles of “Clay Dragon Blood Wine”—upon the fall of the battle, Mr. Ross had vomited three liters of blood when he escaped back to his domain, which the family collected and brewed into Dragon Blood Wine.
The wine contained the essence of a Bipedal Flying Dragon’s life force and was considered more precious than any treasure.
“Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!” Even the seasoned Count Merlin’s eyes sparkled upon seeing the Dragon Blood Wine.
“As long as you’re happy, father,” Lady Meryl said with a smile.
“Happy, with such a filial daughter and son-in-law, how could I not be?” Count Merlin, deviating from his usually cultured and gentle manner, burst into laughter, “And more so, drinking Dragon Blood Wine can prolong life; I plan to live to a hundred years old!”
“The great Lord of an Earl surely can.”
“Forget a hundred—one hundred and ninety-five years is not out of the question.”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Under the watch of the Great Dragon, the great Lord will surely fulfil this wish.”
The guests present all followed Count Merlin’s words, flattering him, creating an atmosphere of joy and harmony within the hall.
After receiving the Clay Dragon Blood Wine.
Roland stepped forward, presenting Count Merlin with an original draft of the author’s notes for “Snowflake Rhapsody,” which he had collected with great care.
“Not bad, Roland, you’ve put thought into this.” Count Merlin expressed satisfaction with the gift.
However, this was somewhat different from what Roland had envisioned; he thought that Count Merlin would be very happy, but now it seemed just ordinarily pleased.
Therefore, he felt a bit disappointed, and his smile stiffened somewhat.
But seeing Russell with his box, he had a point of comparison and breathed a sigh of relief—so long as his gift was better than Russell’s, there was nothing to worry about. Moreover, he had the advantage of contrast with his cheap uncle’s family behind him.
His gift was definitely the best among his grandfather’s grandsons.
“It’s your turn to perform.” Roland patted Russell on the shoulder and muttered softly, “I hope your cigars haven’t shamed Fluorescent Castle.”
Russell, not paying him any heed, stepped forward with the box and said, “Grandfather, this is my gift to you, cigar smoke.”
Upon opening the box, neatly arranged inside were dozens of cigars, slightly thicker than fingers and about fifteen centimeters long.
In this world, there were no cigarettes, and tobacco was smoked using pipes.
Count Merlin glanced at Russell’s gift and frowned, “What exactly is this cigar smoke?”
“Cigar smoke is a new type of cure that I have invented especially for you, Grandfather,” Russell recalled the words he had prepared and got ready to demonstrate, “Considering the traditional pipe, adding tobacco and cleaning ash each time is quite inconvenient, so I invented the cigar.”
He took out a cigar, held it naturally and smoothly between his fingers, and his personal servant Ram quickly passed him a large burning match.
He began lighting the cigar with the large match.
As he lit it, he introduced, “Cigar, cigar, named because its ashes resemble the gray-white of snow, and its coiled shape is like an eggplant; hence, I call it a cigar.”
After the brief introduction, the cigar was successfully lit, and Russell personally handed the lit cigar to Count Merlin, “Grandfather, you can take a few gentle puffs to taste it, just like smoking a pipe, simply inhale, but do not let the smoke pass through your lungs.”
To tell the truth.
If not for the fact that Russell was his grandson, Count Merlin would never have tried a cigar, looking like a dead twig; he had no idea how it could be smoked.
Nevertheless, he still took the cigar, holding it between his fingers just like Russell had done.
With this hold, he immediately felt something.
Then he put it to his mouth and took a gentle puff, instantly the clean fragrance of the tobacco, along with the smoke from the burn, was drawn into his mouth and went deeper into his nostrils, a lighter taste than from smoking a pipe, but with a lingering aftertaste.
“Grandfather, how do you feel?”
“Not too bad,” Count Merlin had not discerned any special flavor, just a faint novelty while smoking the cigar.
Russell then laughed, “Grandfather, do you know how a cigar is made… First of all, there is the tobacco. I chose sun-cured rather than fire-cured because sunlight uniformly showers the tobacco leaves, and taking a puff is like basking in the sunlight.”
He paused.
Russell continued to boast, “Next is the wrapping of the cigar, I chose an entire tobacco leaf to roll the filler, so that when you smoke, you can fully savor the vitality and fragrance of an intact leaf.”
“Hmm.” Count Merlin nodded and took another puff.
This feeling of holding the smoke between the fingers steadily enhanced to some extent, while listening to Russell’s description.
“Lastly, the most important purpose of inventing cigars,” Russell spoke eloquently, “With traditional pipes, you draw a puff, add some tobacco, always a bit intermittent with a lingering regret. But cigars are different, from start to finish, they can completely burn themselves.”
He also lit a cigar and took a light puff, then exhaled the smoke, “Smoking a cigar is like experiencing a knight’s entire life. The cigar, like life itself, unveils all its beauty in the joy of burning.”
