The Dragon Girl would never like the Lord.

Page 193

The busy residents along the Rhine River, after a day's work, return home to enjoy a simple but warm dinner with their wives and daughters.

This territory belongs to the Leonard family and is the only remaining territory of the Leonard family.

Before the defeat of the Black Iron Kingdom, the Leonard family was more powerful than ever before, with branches in various places holding titles.

Leonard is the current head of the family and the most trusted marquis of the king. If nothing unexpected happens, he will become a duke who guards a region after the war ends.

After the defeat of the Black Iron Kingdom, the Leonard family and other families that resisted the most were all stripped of their titles, leaving only one of the lowest-ranking baronial titles, while the rest were all stripped of their titles.

If it weren't for winning people's hearts and letting the world see the benevolence of the Saint-Tess family, perhaps the Leonard family wouldn't exist today.

From this point on, the Leonard family fell into decline, and even some lower-ranking nobles dared to provoke them.

Previously, these nobles couldn't even step through the Leonard family's gates.

Fortunately, the Leonard family still wielded considerable influence, so the nearby nobles dared not go too far.

Because they know a principle: even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, let alone a once mighty lion.

Inside the banquet hall, the family sat at a long brown wooden table, enjoying a meal.

Seated in the central seat was Leonard Hughes, who was nearly fifty years old. He was the current head of the Leonard family and Ron's father.

Although his hair has turned a little gray, he still looks strong and has a domineering air about him that most people don't have.

Sitting next to him was Leonard Rhodes, a man in his twenties, the eldest son of the family, and Ron's older brother.

He looks somewhat similar to Ron, but the two are completely different people.

Leonard Rhodes is a kind and friendly person who always greets everyone with a smile. He is introverted and doesn't like to cause trouble.

In fact, Leonard Hughes disliked his eldest son's temper; he feared that if he were gone, the Rhodes family business would be lost.

But considering that it would be the last generation to pass it down to him, he didn't dwell on it. After all, it wasn't a high-ranking title. He could just keep a small baronial territory, and as long as he could live a peaceful life, that was fine.

"Father, a merchant came today wanting to buy wheat. What do you think we should do? Should we store it or sell some of the old grain?"

Leonard Rhodes was undecided about the matter and wanted to hear his father's opinion.

"I told you that I would entrust all affairs within the territory to you this year. Even if the territory is sold, I will not say a word."

Leonard Hughes frowned slightly upon hearing this.

"Just pretend I'm dead. Now you're the one in charge."

He didn't want his eldest son to start managing the territory only after his death.

Now, while I'm still here, I should cultivate his ability to handle things independently.

"I know, Father."

Leonard Rhodes used to be less concerned about family matters because his father made all the decisions.

Only when you have to handle everything yourself do you realize how difficult it is to manage your territory.

"Don't worry, your father is dead, but you still have your mother."

The speaker was a woman in her forties. She glared at the man in the main seat before turning her tender gaze to her son.

She is Leonard Ron and Rhodes' mother, Leonard Ensalind.

"Me too, big brother!"

A little girl who looked only eleven or twelve years old patted her chest, seemingly wanting to share some of the burden with her family.

She is the youngest member of the family, Leonard Rowling's sister.

The three siblings all have the character "Luo" in their names, and the last character of each of their names was chosen from their mother's name.

This was at the insistence of their mother, Leonard Ensalind. In her words, it was not unreasonable for them to have Leonard as their surname and their given name as their own.

Leonard Charles had no choice but to go along with his wife's wishes, and besides, the names were quite nice.

After all, she had received a lot of care from her maternal family over the years, which prevented her from being completely devoured by the nearby nobles.

Of the several noble families that were demoted to lower-ranking nobles back then, only the Leonard and Cecil families remain. The remaining families were either devoured by their former enemies or divided up by nearby nobles, and began a life on the run.

"Don't make a fuss. This is a decision only he can make. No one is allowed to give him any advice."

Only he, as the father, understood that being a lord required great courage and decisiveness.

If even this cannot be done, then the territory will only face destruction.

Seeing his serious expression, no one brought up the matter again.

"By the way, there hasn't been any news about Ron lately. I wonder how the pioneering work in the far north is going."

Sensing the awkward atmosphere at the dinner, Rod's wife, Leonard Daisy, quickly changed the subject.

And she was indeed somewhat worried about Ron expanding his territory.

"My second brother must have been living a carefree life after leaving home, which is why he never sends letters home."

Rowling, who knew Ron well, felt that this must be the case, otherwise she would have been writing home every week.

"Yes, Ron must have forgotten to reply."

When talking about this, Leonard Ensalind, as a mother, still felt a little flustered.

We had agreed to contact each other about once a week, but it's been almost half a month and I still haven't received a reply.

Expanding territory is inherently fraught with danger; how could anyone feel at ease doing so?

“It’s a letter from Master Ron.”

Just then, a woman in her forties rushed into the restaurant.

She was so excited because her children had all gone with their mistress to explore new frontiers.

Now that they've replied, perhaps we have news of them.

However, she was still uneasy, after all, pioneering meant fighting, and she was very worried that something might happen to her son.

She is Felice, the mother of Yarman and Fiona...

"Hurry up and bring it here, Felice."

Upon hearing this, Leonard Ensalind excitedly put down her knife, feeling a great weight lifted from her shoulders.

"Good lady."

Felisa stepped forward respectfully, handed over the letter, and then stood aside to wait.

She wanted to see if there was any news about her daughter.

"It's a letter from my second brother. Quickly, see what he said."

Rowling was really looking forward to Ron's letter.

There are several letters.

Leonard Ensalind had originally planned to read the contents of the letter aloud so that everyone could hear it.

But when they opened the envelopes, they found everyone's names written on them.

"Are there any for me? Are there any for me?"

Upon hearing that there were several letters, Rowling became anxious and hurriedly asked if anyone had sent her a letter.

If not, she would be heartbroken for at least three whole days.

"Of course, Ron won't forget to send you a letter."

Leonard Ensalind handed over the letter bearing Rowling's name.

"Hehe~"

Rowling's eyes crinkled into crescents when she received the letter, a stark contrast to her previous serious demeanor.

Receiving Ron's letter now will make me happy for at least a few days.

Then everyone received a letter.

"Fiona's letter."

Finally, Leonard Ensalind placed a letter in Felice's hands.

"It seems Fiona has grown up; she can even write letters now."

During this period, only Ron replied a few times, mentioning Fiona and Yarman briefly in his letters.

Unexpectedly, Fiona took the initiative to send a letter this time.

“It must be because of Young Master Ron’s good teaching, otherwise Fiona wouldn’t have sent a letter back.”

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Felice has always known her daughter's personality. She guessed that Ron taught her to write letters, otherwise she probably wouldn't have written them on her own initiative.

“Father, Father, Ron said in his letter that he has already established territory in the swamp and killed Wilson Gray, the second son of the long-time enemy Wilson family. He has also occupied Cryton Valley, and the territory is now large enough to accommodate at least a hundred Rhinelands.”

Upon reading the letter, Rhodes trembled with excitement and jumped up.

He is a very calm and reserved person, but upon hearing such exciting news, he couldn't help but let his emotions flow.

"Give me the letter."

Leonard Hughes didn't open the letter immediately, but continued drinking heavily. However, upon hearing the news, he could no longer remain calm.

No one present knew the dangers of this expedition to the far north better than him.