The Defeated Dragon

“Liszt wants me to do more and more things. During the day, I cannot even rest for a quarter of an hour. Isaiah, I haven't had a good night's sleep for an entire week.”

In the town's administrative office, Gort vented by slamming a stack of thick bast paper: “Originally, I believed that I would be doing some idle work after coming to the Flower Town. I didn't expect to wear myself out so quickly.”

“Obviously, Liszt does not expect his officials to rest on their laurels.” Isaiah calculated this quarter's taxes by using his fingers. He said without lifting his head, “Gort, you should strive to work hard. Leading a comfortable life would only sap at a knight's fighting spirit.”

“It seems that, alike Blair, you started to like the life in the Flower Town. I remember how you always complained when you first arrived.”

“It was really disappointing when I first arrived. The fief was run down, crude, and didn't had many people.” Isaiah's fingers were a bit numb from all the counting, “However, after getting used to living here, I started to think that the Flower Town had an unprecedented vigor. According to Marcus, Liszt is an aristocrat that stands out from the ma.s.ses.”

“He really stands out from the ma.s.ses.” Gort spread his arms.

“Thus, I think that Marcus' desire to rise to the rank of aristocracy and my wish to rehabilitate my family might be accomplished by staying with Liszt.

“It seems that you are serious.”

“I can no longer lead a vain and humdrum life. For the sake of my stupid son, I have to pull myself together.”

“Well then, I am also going to pull myself together. I am going to see how the construction of the oyster settlement's houses is progressing. Now that the fief lacks in manpower, I better rack my brain and come up with a way to gather a team of loggers.”

Though he said that, yet after he left the administrative office, Gort didn't go to the oyster settlement and instead returned to his house.

The two-story-tall building had once been the residence of the knight responsible for collecting taxes dispatched by the count. In the castle, only the lord could reside there.

“Sir, you're back. The work for today has been done?” A girl in a flax colored cloth dress hurriedly went up to Gort to help him remove his coat.

Gort groped the girl's b.u.t.tocks: “How can work be done? Yet life still has to continue.”

The girl was red in the face: “Then won't Sir Lord rebuke you if you don't go to work?”

“I am Liszt's teacher and the fief's administrative official, I have the authority to grant myself a half-day-long vacation… Freya, I missed you, and therefore was not in the mood to do work.” Said Gort before embracing Freya, kissing her on the cheeks, and then pushing the girl to the bedroom.

Freya quickly struggled free before hurriedly saying: “S… Sir, it is daytime.”

“What about it? I have been eating too many oysters recently, so nighttime is no longer enough.” Gort selectively forgot that he could only persevere for one time per night, with each time not surpa.s.sing thirty seconds.

Freya was a little frantic. It seemed that she was looking to change the topic: “You seem to be in a bad mood, is it because of the position of adviser?”

“Of course I am in a bad mood. He is the lord and has the right to put me to work, even if it is from dawn till dusk. It has already been three months since I came to the Flower Town, yet I still have not gotten the position of adviser. f.u.c.k. Here, who can be the adviser besides me?”

Gort hit a wall before saying full of indignation: “I regret coming to the Flower Town!”

Freya's complexion changed: “Sir, are you leaving?”

“Not yet. Freya, It is because of you that I am still lingering in here.” Gort regained hold of Freya and started kissing her.

Freya pushed him away.

Gort's expression immediately turned gloomy: “Freya, what is the meaning of this!”

Freya took a deep breath and once more plastered a smile of her face: “I know that you are not happy. These days, you always have something to worry about. I guess that you want to go back to the Coral City, which is a big city and is countless times more flourishing than the Flower Town… I want to let you know that I will stay in the Flower Town and raise your child, so please don't mind us.”

“What are you saying?” Gort's complexion changed.

“I'm pregnant.”

Freya's soft words made Gort look distracted for quite a while before regaining his senses: “You are pregnant?”

“Yeah” Freya touched her belly. Although it was still flat, yet she felt a strong little heart beating.

When she said that, she suddenly retched.

Gort was convinced that Freya was indeed pregnant, yet he did not know whether he should be pleasantly surprised or startled. He had wife and child in the Coral City. The child had already grown up and got married. Furthermore, he had become a grandfather last year. The relationship he had with Freya only served to overcome his loneliness.

Never had he expected that such a day would come.

“Oh heavens, Freya, I, I… It is too sudden. Sorry, I don't know how to face this news.” Stammered Gort.

Freya just smiled: “Sir, it doesn't matter. I know that serfs like me cannot hope for a better tomorrow. I am very grateful to Sir for giving me fairly happy memories. I will bring up this child alone, it will grow healthily and vigorously… My only wish is that you can provide the child with the ident.i.ty of a freedman before you leave.”

“Freedman?”

Gort hesitated. Freya just smiled at him.

After a while, he exhaled deeply a mouthful of turbid air. He had finally made a decision: “Sorry, Freya, I let you down…”

Freya's smile quickly dimmed.

But Gort's following words prompted an even more brilliant smile to rise on her face.

“I just hesitated, that was not right of me. I promise you that I won't, at least for now, I won't leave the Flower Town. I want to see the child born, tell it the name of its father – Gort Mast… I think I know what should be done. The reason why I had never integrated into the Flower Town…”

Gort drew Freya into his arms before saying with warmth instead of l.u.s.t: “Was because I already am an aristocrat and am used to enjoy myself rather then to struggle. I keep complaining that Liszt does not give me the position of adviser, yet I don't work hard. But now, I have to work hard to earn an aristocratic t.i.tle for our child!”

“Sir, really?” Freya opened her eyes wide.

“Of course, I swear on my t.i.tle!”

After a moment of warmth.

Gort broke away from the gentle embrace, then once more put on his frac habillé (a three piece suit) and strode out of his house. This time he really went to inspect the construction of the oyster settlement's houses.

……

At night, the castle held a small banquet.

Before the banquet was officiated, Marcus, Blair, and Isaiah chatted among themselves. Gort, on the other hand, reported the progress of the work to Liszt in the study.

“At present, the main road leading to the Thorns Ridge has already been completed halfway. The amount of sand is adequate. However, there is a lack of stone. I have already started to single out able-bodied serfs to organize a team of loggers, who would simultaneously be responsible for breaking stone in the Thorns Ridge and then move the gravel to the road construction site. If the stone in the Thorns Ridge permit it, then the dirt roads between the settlements could also be filled with gravel.”

“A very good plan. Implement it just like that, Teacher Gort.” Nodded Liszt with satisfaction.

He was not only satisfied with the plan, but also with Gort's att.i.tude. Previously, at banquets, Gort would just fill his pie hole and crack some jokes, never taking the initiative to talk about work.

Yet today, he unexpectedly took the initiative to make a work report.

As the lord, Liszt certainly liked subordinates who were hard-working rather than subordinates that cared more about filling their pie holes.