Chapter 4

Listen to the morning dew after the rain?

When Leon first heard this name, he felt an inexplicable familiarity. It seemed like he had heard it somewhere before. But when he tried to recall, he couldn't think of anything.

Eton, seeing Leon's deep contemplation, which didn't seem feigned, asked with a hint of surprise, "Could it be that Viscount Pat doesn't know?"

"I haven't inherited the title yet, so you don't need to call me that, Eton. Just call me Leon," Leon said, then shook his head. "Morning Dew After the Rain, it sounds familiar, but I really can't remember what it is."

Eton looked deeply at Leon, then reached out and took a wooden box from his attendant, handing it to Leon.

"Do you have any impression of this box?"

It was an intricately carved wooden box. The carved scene was vastly different from the popular bas-relief paintings in the empire. Simple lines depicted the undulating curves of cloud patterns. This style was completely different from the current trends. Others might not recognize it, but Leon had an impression of it—it was the old man Jon's personal tea box.

Could it be that Jon's enemy has come looking for him?

"This, should be a... box for holding things, right?" Leon originally wanted to say it was a tea box, but after a moment's thought, he changed his mind. Even though he didn't like the old man Jon, his beloved younger brother held Jon in high regard. For that reason alone, he wouldn't expose Jon.

Leon was too young. Although he quickly composed his expression, the moment of surprise was still caught by Eton.

"You have no impression of this box?" Eton's voice was questioning.

"No," Leon said without hesitation.

After a long pause, Eton's lips curled, and a cold light flashed in his eyes. He said coldly, "Alright, since Viscount Pat has no impression, we won't waste any more time. Goodbye!"

As Eton and his attendants left, Leon's expression slowly darkened.

Such a decisive departure, coupled with the cold and murderous intent in Eton's eyes before he left, gave Leon a bad feeling.

After some thought, Leon ordered the knights in the manor to be on alert and then hurriedly rode to the stilt house where the old man Jon lived.

This was his second visit to the stilt house today, but his mood was completely different.

He rushed in, causing a gust of wind that made the low grass in the courtyard sway.

"Brother, why are you here?" Engel, seeing Leon's expression, didn't play the "you came" joke. He thought something serious had happened and quickly asked.

"Have you seen the tea box? The one Jon uses to store his tea." Leon said as he quickly went upstairs and pushed open the door to Jon's bedroom.

Engel followed, "The tea box?" Engel took out a round, dragon-carved box from a small cabinet, "Is this it?"

Jon, who had been sitting at his desk reading—his mute servant turned the pages while he read—naturally saw Leon's movements.

"So, Leon, have you finally come to appreciate the tea here?" Jon laughed.

The Golden Sparrow Empire also had tea, but it was completely different from the tea Jon prepared. The tea in the Golden Sparrow Empire, to be precise, was a drink made from flowers, syrup, and milk, somewhat similar to milk tea. Engel and Jon both liked tea with a rich milk flavor, but Jon rarely drank this kind. The tea he drank was made from leaves picked from his own green tea plants, purely hand-processed without any additional ingredients. The tea plantation where Oli used to work was built and managed by Jon when he was still in good health, but as his health declined, he handed it over to the head maid, Mana.

Leon ignored Jon's teasing and took the tea box from Engel.

Leon frowned, "No, it's not right."

"What's not right?"

"The pattern, the box you showed me is carved with a basilisk. The one I'm talking about is carved with wave-like patterns," Leon recalled the box he had seen in Eton's hands.

"Basilisk? Brother, it's actually a dragon."

"Dragon? I've never seen such a slender dragon."

Engel knew that discussing the mythology and culture of different worlds with Leon would be futile, so he didn't argue and said, "The tea box the mentor uses for himself is usually carved with a dragon. Besides, the mentor carved peach patterns on the rose tea box for Mother and bat patterns on the tea box for Father. There are also other types of carved boxes. The wave-like pattern you mentioned is probably the cloud pattern used for gifts."

"So the old man's boxes are so intricate? I never noticed before." Leon looked surprised, then came to his senses and said to Engel, "It must be the cloud pattern then. Where is the cloud pattern box?"

Engel looked at Leon curiously, "I already said, the cloud pattern boxes are for gifts. There are none here. Father once had the mentor carve a batch of cloud pattern boxes. Apart from the ones given away, they should be stored in the warehouse."

"Leon, tell me, what happened?" Jon spoke up. Although he hadn't said anything, he had been watching Leon's expression the whole time. Leon's face had been anxious from the start, his brows never relaxing.

Leon looked at Jon, sized him up for a moment, and then slowly said, "Today, Earl Eton of the Monten family..."

...

"Ha ha, so you're worried that someone is coming to seek revenge on the old man?" Jon laughed after hearing Leon's story.

"Who's worried about you! I'm just doing this for Engel's sake," Leon turned his head awkwardly and grumbled.

Engel also thought to himself, always thinking his brother was a macho man, but it turns out he has the legendary tsundere trait!

"Tell me, what's your beef with Earl Eton? He came in a hurry and left in a hurry, especially with that fierce look in his eyes. If it can be resolved, I'll try to resolve it. If not, you might have to fend for yourself."

"No beef," Jon said without hesitation.

"No beef? How is that possible! The box he had was clearly carved by you!"

Jon looked at Leon, "In this world, the people I know are only within the range of Grul Town. I have no reason to lie about this."

When Jon came to this world, his body was already in poor condition, and with the language and cultural barriers, it took him years to adapt with Viscount Pat's help. By the time he had adapted, his limbs had already started to atrophy, making it impossible for him to travel far. So, over the years, the farthest he had been was to the imperial capital with Old Pat for treatment. His network of contacts had not expanded, and it was even less likely that he had made any enemies.

Seeing Leon's puzzled expression, Engel also spoke up, "The mentor isn't lying, and he has no reason to lie. Perhaps... your thinking was off from the start. Earl Eton might not even know the mentor exists."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"According to what you said, Earl Eton came for a specific reason and asked about Morning Dew After the Rain right away. It must be for this, right?" Engel tilted his head slightly, a habit when he was thinking. "But Morning Dew After the Rain is just a type of tea. Could he have come for the tea? It just doesn't seem right."

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