Warm Dragon

"Snowflake Rhapsody" is a famous piano piece. The author is not a well-known composer, and even few of his works are circulated.

But this does not prevent "Snowflake Rhapsody" from being loved by Count Merlin.

"This piece describes an ice age, when the snow demon invaded the hometown of the hero and heroine. The hero had to take up arms to fight the snow ghost, and then never came back... Many years later, the heroine followed the caravan to the snowfield and saw a snow ghost on the snowfield."

Cousin Mel was telling the content described in "Snowflake Rhapsody".

Russell then asked: "So, the snow ghost that the heroine saw is the hero who turned into?"

"Yes and no."

"Huh?"

"The snow ghost is not the hero, but the heroine imagined it as the hero, and then threw herself into the arms of the snow ghost in the snow... She committed suicide for the hero, a very sad story." Mel sighed.

"The story is quite sad, but the song seems quite cheerful?" Russell listened carefully to the piano piece and said.

"Because the song is full of the heroine's fantasy about the hero."

"I see." Russell nodded. He didn't have a high aesthetic taste for music, and he listened to the music more for fun.

Looking at the middle-aged and elderly men and women dancing on the dance floor, he couldn't help but ask: "Why does grandpa have a special liking for "Snowflake Rhapsody"?"

I didn't expect an answer.

But Mel said why: "When my grandfather was young, he didn't like my grandmother... You can see that our Yujiuhua family and Shuiliu family have been at odds with each other since my grandfather's generation."

The wife of Count Merlin was born in the Shuiliu family. Her name is Olive Shuiliu. She is the aunt of the current Count Osklo Shuiliu of the Stone.

The marriage of the nobles is complicated, and they are all relatives.

"Grandfather didn't love my grandmother because my grandfather's first love went into the snowfield alone after learning that my grandfather had to marry my grandmother, and never came back." Mel sighed, "At that time, my grandfather searched for three months in the snowfield..."

In the end, he failed to find his first love.

So, the painful Earl Merlin finally accepted the family's arrangement and married Olive Water Willow.

Perhaps Olive Water Willow knew that Earl Merlin did not love her, so she gave birth to two daughters and a son for Earl Merlin and then passed away.

"So, grandpa always missed his first love, so he preferred "Snowflake Rhapsody" so much." Russell sighed.

"Not so."

"Huh?"

"When I was a child, I stupidly asked my grandfather, and my grandfather told me that he had forgotten his first love. The reason why he loved "Snowflake Rhapsody" the most was because he owed his grandmother and needed to rely on this song to numb himself."

"I don't quite understand." Russell frowned, not understanding why he used a song related to first love to commemorate his wife.

"In the song, grandpa will suffer, and suffering can make him restrain his apology to his grandmother." Mel took a sip of red wine.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "So I hate that kid Kunstan. He shouldn't use my grandfather's reputation to force my grandfather! My grandfather was a decent man all his life, especially in terms of love, he was very painful. He owed his first love and his grandmother. How could he be with Princess Anxia..."

After that, Mel restrained his anger and smiled apologetically to Russell: "Let's not talk about these things that will affect your mood. You still have to dance on the dance floor later."

"Compared to dancing, I prefer listening to stories here."

"Stories heard are not as interesting as stories experienced by yourself. If you don't dance, how can you have stories and experiences."

Three consecutive songs were all social dances for middle-aged and elderly nobles.

When the fourth song was finally changed to a light dance music, Earl Merlin left the dance floor early, and young men and women began to invite dance partners.

No matter how Mel urged him, Russell was motionless and was too lazy to invite the ladies to dance.

"Don't be so dull. Look at your eldest brother. How happy he is to dance with others in his arms." Mel pointed to the dance floor.

The eldest brother Roland was hugging a mature and charming lady, dancing and laughing on the dance floor, so comfortable.

As he was talking, a bright girl came over and invited Mel: "Mr. Mel, can you ask me to dance?"

"How can I ignore the invitation of a beautiful lady? Please." Mel immediately stood up and followed the bright girl.

But he still did not forget to look back and wink at Russell. The meaning in his eyes was self-evident, asking Russell to act quickly.

Russell smiled but said nothing.

However, even if he did not invite others to dance, there would still be ladies who would come to invite him to dance.

"Hello, Mr. Russell, my name is Julia, do you remember me?" A young, lively and lovely girl came over, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with flaxen hair slightly wavy, and the corners of her mouth turned up as if she was smiling all the time.

"Of course, a beautiful lady is naturally impressive." Russell knew that the other party was the daughter of a duchy lord.

According to his aesthetic standards, the other party could get eight points out of ten.

"Then can you ask me to dance?" Julia asked.

Russell, who didn't want to dance just now, immediately stood up and held Julia's hand: "Of course."

Mel, who was dancing with his partner in the dance floor, saw this scene and smiled.

The partner was a little puzzled: "Mr. Mel, what are you laughing at?"

"Just call me Mel, I just met an interesting person, who said no, but his body was very honest and wanted it."

"Who is this interesting person?"

"Don't worry about it. You are the focus of the world right now." Mel's beautiful words came out of his mouth.

His partner immediately giggled.

Just like the couples dancing happily in the dance floor.

Julia's waist is very soft, but Russell's arms are strong, leading Julia to dance in the dance floor with a little unfamiliarity.

"Don't you often go to dances?" Julia asked.

"I live in the Valley of the Glowing River. It's not very big, and there aren't many nobles there, so there are rarely any dances."

"Is that so?" Julia narrowed her eyes, like two crescent moons, "Then follow my rhythm. You danced a little too fast just now, and didn't keep up with the beat of the music."

"Okay."

"Where is the Valley of the Glowing River? I haven't been there yet."

"In the south, the southernmost part of the Grand Duchy of Shadowflame. Go south along the Mountain and River Trade Road, and you'll get there in three or four days."

"Speaking of which, this is my first time leaving the Volcanic Oasis and coming to the Warm Enclave." Julia said. The residents of the Volcanic Oasis usually call the warm land opened up by the Wyvern the Warm Enclave, which is not connected to the volcano.

In fact, the official name of the Volcanic Oasis is the Volcanic Domain; and the official name of the Warm Enclave is the Hot Spring Domain.

"Is this place different from the Volcanic Oasis?"

"It seems to be similar."

"Hmm."

"Do you live in a castle?"

"No, I live in a country manor. I've been granted a fiefdom and become a lord." Russell answered truthfully.

"Don't you have a castle in your country estate? My father is also a lord, but we have a small castle."

"Maybe because we are poor."

"Haha, you are really good at telling jokes." Julia laughed.

"I am really poor." Russell was telling the truth. He now relies on family loans to support his life in the territory.

If there is no investment of one thousand gold coins from Fluorescent Castle, the capital chain will soon break.

Julia obviously didn't believe such words, but just smiled and asked: "You are still very young, Mr. Russell, go to the snowfield to hunt snow ghosts more often, and you will be able to build your own small castle soon. By the way, what is the name of your estate?"

"Black-waisted Snake Manor."

"Black-waisted snake? What is that?"

"Uh... a kind of snake."