08/06/2024 — 23:12

"Liszt."

Frank spoke the name aloud. "The Baron of Flower Town, the third son of the Earl. Sherry, you must still remember him; when we were young, you always followed him around to play."

"Big Brother Liszt? Of course I remember." Sherry blinked, and in her hazy mind, an image of a handsome face with a hint of childishness surfaced.

Young Liszt had always been very handsome.

However, she had left Coral Island and gone to Ox Horn College to study for several years.

Due to the inconvenience of travel by ship, she hadn't returned home even during the holidays, and her impression of Liszt had gradually faded. At that time, she wasn't yet at the age where she would admire the opposite sex, so naturally, she wouldn't have clear memories of any particular playmate.

"What do you think of Liszt?" Frank asked.

Sherry shook her head. "Father, I only met Big Brother Liszt when he was twelve. Back then, he was just a child, and now that he's grown up, I have no idea what he's like."

"That's true. We should find an opportunity for you two to meet."

At this moment, Frank's wife asked, "Liszt doesn't seem to be favored by the Earl. His fief is the most remote Flower Town."

"Liszt indeed isn't favored by the Earl. The Earl, relying on his own initiative and ambition, founded the Coral Island lineage, and he hopes all his children will forge ahead bravely," Frank said. "But regardless, he's of the Tulip family's bloodline, and receiving a fief upon reaching adulthood is not a privilege enjoyed by ordinary second sons of nobility."

"The Earl is merely being kind. He's a devoted father, even granting a barony to Lvera."

His wife said enviously.

Lvera wielded considerable influence among the noble ladies of Coral Island. As a hereditary lady knight, she was rare even throughout the entire Sapphire Duchy.

"The reason the Earl doesn't favor Liszt is because Liszt has poor talent and a soft character. But from my recent interactions, Liszt has undergone a transformation, exuding dignity amidst his calmness. He's maturing. Even the Earl visited Flower Town to celebrate the Sailing Festival; that's a sign."

"What sign?"

"What else could it be? A son regaining his father's trust. The Earl is still in his prime, and of course, he hopes to gain more glory with his sons."

"Is that so? But he hasn't gone to war, while Levis already has."

"It's only a matter of time. He carries the blood of both the Tulip and Longtaro families." Frank felt that his wife had the narrow-mindedness of a rural noble and decided to speak directly to his daughter. "Sherry, Liszt has already begun assembling his Knight Squad. He purchased a batch of equipment for an armed Knight Squad from Tulip Castle."

No amount of praise was as convincing as action.

A rural lord who owned a Knight Squad was certainly extraordinary.

Sherry's eyes lit up. "Father, Mother, when can I see Big Brother Liszt? I believe I have the ability to judge for myself."

"Our Sherry is smart and beautiful, of course you have your own judgment. Father will soon find an opportunity for you."

...

Stumbling steps.

Exhausted and hungry.

Ivan wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at his fellow travelers with numb eyes. Their clothes were dirty and smelly, their hair a tangled mess, and the dust on their faces couldn't hide their pallor and sallow complexion. The group was indistinguishable between men, women, the elderly, and the young, even the cries of infants lacked energy.

"Hurry up! If you don't want a whipping, all of you better perk up and keep up with the group!" shouted the clerk holding a whip.

Occasionally, he would crack the whip in the air, producing a sharp snap.

Ivan's body jolted, and his slightly dazed mind instantly became alert, his heavy footsteps involuntarily quickening. Just moments ago, the person next to him had been struck by the clerk's whip,

tearing his clothes and causing tears to fall from the pain. "Snap!"

Another crack of the whip.

Ivan lowered his head, gritting his teeth to move faster. He was terrified of the whip. On the ship, a companion who slept in the same corner and came from the same town as him was brutally whipped to death by the ship's chief mate. The dying wails before his death had haunted his nightmares for several nights.

Nightmares in his dreams.

Reality was also a nightmare.

He longed for the days of hard labor on the island. Although he would sometimes go hungry and there were knights who would whip peasants who couldn't pay taxes, most of the time, he could move freely and chat with others. Even going to the town to catch a glimpse of the beautiful proprietress of the bakery.

But one day, everything changed.

He heard the knights' shouts of battle, and then a group of knights stained with blood arrived at his village, driving them away. Those who didn't want to leave were killed; those who didn't want to be killed had no choice but to follow. It was on this day that he left his homeland and began the endless nightmare.

He was taken to a market where what was sold were peasants like him.

Locked in cages, eating a little bit of stale black bread, in a daze. Peasants were constantly being taken away, and new ones were continuously brought in.

Then, he was taken away as well.

He boarded a large ship with a group of strangers, unable to understand the language spoken on board and too afraid to speak to anyone else. Unexpectedly, there was someone on the ship who recognized him; they were from the same town.

"They're Sapphire people!" his companion told him.

Instantly, he thought of the legend of the "barbarians." Every year, there would be sea barbarians who came to the Kingdom of Eagles to pillage and kill, all coming from the Sapphire Duchy on the sea.

"There are Sapphire people on the ship. We've been sold to the barbarians! Those who captured us were mercenaries, more despicable than rats!" his companion said resentfully. "I swear! One day, I'll come back, find these mercenaries, and kill them all!"

Ivan didn't respond.

He was terrified by his companion's words.

Having started farming since childhood, he had never even killed a chicken—because his family didn't have chickens—and only nobles killed peasants; peasants didn't dare to kill.

Unfortunately, not long after his companion made his vow, he was beaten to death by the whip.

Ivan lost his conversational partner and continued living in a nightmare from which he couldn't wake up. He had never been on a ship before, and seasickness nearly killed him. Several days later, today, he finally set foot on land, arriving at a completely unfamiliar place. He couldn't understand a word of what the people here spoke.

He didn’t know where he was being driven to.

His future was bleak and uncertain. He didn’t know what he was holding on to, or even what it meant to persevere. He simply followed the whip’s command, going wherever it led him. He had never contemplated death, nor did he know what joy life could offer. His legs had gone numb countless times from walking.

Hearing the scribe waving his whip and shouting something.

He couldn’t understand, but the line slowly came to a halt. As others stopped, so did he, finally allowing his legs a brief respite.

Seeing others begin to sit down,

he followed suit and sat down as well.

No one spoke. On the ship, everyone was forbidden from communicating; they had grown accustomed to silence. He lifted his head, his gaze landing on a female serf not far ahead of him. She was preparing to breastfeed her child, lifting her tattered clothes to reveal her withered chest, which she then placed into the infant's mouth.

The baby sucked vigorously, unsure if it would receive any milk.

In the past, Ivan would have swallowed his saliva, greedily stealing glances at the woman's breasts. He was still young, having never touched a woman's hand, let alone her swollen chest.

But now, the breasts held no allure, and he had no thoughts of such things—his stomach was so empty that his intestines felt like they were twisting together.

As the sun moved overhead, it was noon.