Chapter 4: Morning Dew After the Rain

"Morning Dew After Rain?"

Hearing this name, Leon felt a strange sense of familiarity. It seemed he had heard it somewhere before, but when he tried to recall it, he couldn't pin it down.

Seeing Leon’s thoughtful expression, which didn't seem feigned, Eaton asked with a hint of suspicion, "Could it be that Viscount Pat does not know?"

"I have not yet inherited the title, so there is no need for Count Eaton to address me as such. Just call me Leon." After saying this, Leon shook his head. "Morning Dew After Rain—it sounds familiar, but I truly cannot recall what it is."

Eaton looked at Leon deeply, 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 exquisitely carved wooden box. The patterns carved on it were vastly different from the relief carvings popular in the Empire; simple, undulating outlines depicted the curves of cloud patterns. It was a style completely distinct from current schools of art. Others might not recognize it, but Leon happened to have an impression of it—this was, without a doubt, Old Man Jon’s personal tea box.

Could it be that one of Jon’s enemies had come knocking?

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

Leon was still too young; although he quickly composed his expression, that momentary flash of surprise was still caught by Eaton.

"You have no impression of this box?" The voice was questioning.

"None," Leon said without hesitation.

After a long silence, Eaton curled the corner of his mouth, a cold, shadowy light flashing in his eyes. He said coldly, "Very well. Since Viscount Pat has no impression of it, we shall not waste any more time. Farewell!"

As Eaton and his attendants left, Leon’s expression slowly darkened.

Such a decisive departure, coupled with the cold, murderous intent Eaton had displayed before leaving, gave Leon a bad premonition.

After a moment of thought, Leon ordered the knights kept at the manor to enter a state of alert, then rode at full speed to the stilt house where Old Man Jon resided.

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

He arrived in a rush, kicking up a gust of wind that sent the low grass in the courtyard swaying.

"Brother, why are you here?" Seeing Leon’s grim expression, Angel didn't play the "you're here" joke again. Assuming something major had happened, he asked hurriedly.

"Have you seen the tea box? The one Old Man Jon uses to store his tea." As Leon spoke, he quickly climbed to the second floor and pushed open the door to Jon’s bedroom.

Angel followed him up. "The tea box?" Angel took a round, dragon-carved box from a small cabinet nearby. "Is this the one you mean?"

Jon had been sitting at his desk reading—the mute servant turned the pages while he did the looking—and he had naturally noticed Leon’s agitated movements.

"What is it? Has the penny dropped for you, Leon, and you’ve finally learned to appreciate the tea I have here?" Jon laughed.

The Golden Bird Empire had tea, but it was completely different from what Jon brewed. The Empire’s tea was, to be precise, a beverage made with fresh flowers, syrup, and milk, somewhat resembling milk tea. Both Angel and Jon liked tea with a rich milky flavor, but Jon rarely drank that himself. The tea he drank was made from leaves plucked from green tea trees he grew himself, purely handmade without any added seasonings. The tea garden where Auli had previously worked was one Jon had built and tended to himself when his health was still good; it was only after his health declined that he handed it over to the head maid, Mana, to manage.

Leon ignored Jon’s teasing and took the tea box from Angel’s hands.

Leon frowned. "This isn't it."

"What’s wrong with it?"

"The pattern. This box is carved with a basilisk, but the box I’m talking about had patterns that looked like waves," Leon said, recalling the box he had seen in Eaton’s hands.

"A basilisk? Brother, that’s actually a dragon."

"A dragon? I’ve never seen such a slender dragon."

Angel knew that discussing the mythological cultures of different worlds with Leon would never lead to a clear answer, so he didn't argue. Instead, he said, "The boxes the Mentor uses for his own tea are usually carved with dragons. Besides that, the Mentor carved peach patterns on the rose tea box he gave Mother, bat patterns on the one for Father, and there are other types of carved boxes. The wave-like patterns you mentioned should be the cloud patterns used for gifts."

"So the old man’s box carvings are that particular? I never noticed before." Leon looked surprised, then quickly regained his composure and said to Angel, "Then it must be the cloud pattern. Where is the cloud-patterned box?"

Angel looked at Leon strangely. "Didn't I just say? Cloud-patterned boxes are for gifts; there aren't any here. Father once had the Mentor carve a batch of cloud-patterned boxes. Aside from the ones given away, the rest should be piled up in the warehouse, right?"

"Leon, tell me, what happened?" It was Jon who spoke. Although he hadn't said anything until now, his eyes had been fixed on Leon’s expression. From start to finish, Leon’s face had been filled with anxiety, his brow never once relaxing.

Leon looked at Jon, sized him up for a moment, and then slowly began to speak. "Today, Count Eaton of the Muen family..."

...

"Heh, so young Leon was worried that an enemy of mine had come looking for me?" After hearing Leon’s story, Jon chuckled.

"Who’s worried about you! I was just doing it for Angel’s sake, helping you hide it." Leon turned his head away awkwardly, grumbling.

Angel, standing to the side, mused to himself: he had always thought his brother’s personality was chauvinistic, but it turned out he had the legendary *tsundere* trait as well!

"Tell me, what grudge do you have with that Count Eaton? He came in a hurry and left in a hurry today, and his eyes were far too vicious when he left. If it can be resolved, I will try my best to resolve it. If not, you might have to fend for yourself."

"There is no grudge," Jon said without hesitation.

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

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

When Jon arrived in this world, his body was already failing, and coupled with the language and cultural barriers, it had taken him several years to adapt with the help of Viscount Pat. By the time he had mostly adapted, his limbs had already begun to show signs of atrophy, making it impossible for him to travel far. Therefore, the furthest place Jon had been in all these years was to the Imperial capital with old Pat for medical treatment. His social circle had never expanded, making it even more impossible for him to have made enemies.

Seeing Leon’s confused expression, Angel also spoke up. "The Mentor isn't lying, and he has no need to. Perhaps... Brother, your line of thinking was wrong from the start. Count Eaton might not even know the Mentor exists."

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"According to what you said, Count Eaton came for a specific matter, and he asked about 'Morning Dew After Rain' right from the start. He must have come for that, right?" Angel tilted his head slightly—a habit he had when thinking. "But isn't 'Morning Dew After Rain' just a type of tea? Did he come just to drink tea? It feels like something is off."