Chapter 111: A Friend’s Little Sister

The music was soft and gentle. The lighting was just right, neither too bright nor too dark. The interior was decorated with warm tones. Groups of people stood together, whispering to one another. This was the salon that had become popular in Karada over the last two years. It was also the meeting place for George’s blind date today.

Every salon had its own theme. The party George attended today was hosted by Baroness Appled, and its theme was food.

However, the food served in the area where people gathered to chat were mostly sweets and cold dishes that did not give off strong smells. Foods with strong odors and hot dishes were placed in separate rooms.

The entire salon used a buffet style and even provided special alchemy potions to deal with bad breath. It was clearly prepared with great care and thoughtfulness. As soon as George stepped inside, the teasing words and expression of his father, Viscount Bolerum, from last night immediately popped into his mind.

Last night, when George was told that his second blind date would be held at a food salon, he was completely baffled. With a face full of confusion, George asked Viscount Bolerum, “Although various salons have been very popular among the nobles of Karada in recent years, why did you, Father, arrange my blind date at a food salon? Is it because the only thing people think of when they see me is eating?”

“I have said before that you have no major flaws in managing your territory, your political sensitivity, or your personal strength. In terms of the qualities of an heir, you are absolutely my greatest pride. One of my favorite things is to hear the sour words from nobles who know my deeds and see the jealous glances they give me. Others might not understand the price you paid, but as your father, I know it all too well.” Saying this, Viscount Bolerum first showed a look of deep satisfaction, but then, acting uncharacteristically for a father, he winked at George, showing a rare mischievous expression.

“Is there a direct and necessary connection between this and choosing a food salon?” George said this with a very bad feeling. ‘Is my dad deliberately finding an excuse to tease me?’ Viscount Bolam put down his quill pen and made a very serious face. “It is precisely because you spend all your time on these serious matters that you have not really explored art forms like poetry, music, and painting that are popular in most salons now. If someone asked you to exchange ideas or asked about your works at such an event, what would you do? If you made the Bolerum Territory lose face over something like this, it would be a huge loss. I thought and thought, and found that although you have no other hobbies, you have a special love for eating. Isn’t there a food salon these days? I think it fits the requirements perfectly!”

‘How do you know I haven’t studied music, art, and poetry? Although it would be very difficult for me to create such works myself, I can still handle viewing and appreciating them. I still have the foundation from spending years on forums before I transmigrated! Why does it always feel like Father deliberately arranged this just to laugh at me? Is it my fault that I was born in a great food empire before I transmigrated?’ Although George felt that Viscount Bolam’s decision was definitely driven by some unspeakable sense of fun, a voice in his heart kept saying, ‘Just satisfy him! After all, he hasn’t enjoyed the joy of having his children around him.’

“Although I don’t really like it, since you, Father, have already made the appointment, I will reluctantly go there to meet Miss Markin.” George’s words seemed to reveal a sense of helplessness. As for whether there was any interest in trying new foods, George would definitely not admit it out loud.

Hiren, upon hearing this news, wore a look of schadenfreude and said, “In a moment, ‘Greedy George’ will be your new nickname! Don’t worry, as soon as we return to the territory, I will make sure everyone knows.”

Craig, on the other hand, flashed his starry eyes and acted cute toward George. “George, can you take me with you?”

After getting a negative answer, he immediately begged, “Then can you bring me some of the desserts from the salon?”

To avoid being labeled as both a foodie and a stingy person, George rejected all of Craig’s requests.

“George-ge!” The soft, cooing voice pulled George out of his bitter smile from his memories and back to reality.

George turned around and smiled. “Isn’t this our lovely little lady, Catherine?”

Catherine Andrews Markin was the younger sister of George’s friend, Ben Andrews Markin, and the apple of Count Markin’s eye. It was unclear whether Viscount Bolerum’s intelligence network had failed or if he had been too concerned with Baron West’s family and deliberately ignored her. In the previous conversation between father and son, Viscount Bolerum seemed to know nothing about the fact that George and Catherine Andrews Markin had known each other for a long time and had a quite good relationship.

“Hmph! You have already come to Karada, yet you never come to play with me!” Catherine muttered angrily. Her small mouth, which could barely hold a bottle of oil, and her cheeks, which looked like big meat buns, were extremely cute.

‘I used to often go practice with your brother and chat to exchange information. You little shadow were always following him behind. How could I not play with you? I don’t want to get a bad reputation for bullying a little girl.’ Of course, such words could not be spoken directly. If he said them, Catherine, the little girl in front of him, would almost certainly burst into tears on the spot.

This would not only guarantee that today’s blind date would fail, but also firmly establish the reputation of bullying a little girl in front of so many people. It would also have a negative impact on future blind dates. Most importantly, if this made Count Markin feel that his face was lost and he held a grudge, thereby casting a shadow over the previously good relationship between the two families, it would be a huge loss.

‘This little girl is different from us men who mostly stay in the territory. She has been living in Karada all year round. Now, many excuses won’t work. Maybe it’s better to tell the truth selectively at this moment.’ Having quickly made up his mind, George reached out and patted Catherine’s head. In the tone of an older brother, he said, “A lot of things happened on the way to Karada this time, so I have been busy dealing with the aftermath recently. I really couldn’t find any time! Besides, if your brother is not here, isn’t it inconvenient for me to visit a girl at your home?”

“Hmph! You have a point. I forgive you!” The little girl said, then made a funny face at George.

Knowing that the other party was a child at heart, George understood that he had passed this hurdle. Children growing up in such families often lacked suitable playmates during their childhood. Loneliness and isolation were always companions. Having a ‘playmate’ who approached them without ulterior motives was something they looked forward to every day. So, throwing a small tantrum was less about being angry and more about acting spoiled.

To be honest, the little girl had changed a lot in recent years. Maybe she had reached puberty; she really could be said to change her look every year. Compared to Craig Bart, who was the same age, she was still a complete little kid.

George carefully examined Catherine. Having not seen her for nearly half a year, she had become even more beautiful. Her round, bright eyes were clear and shining, complementing her long, neat, and shiny black eyelashes and her willow-leaf eyebrows.

Perhaps because she had not fully grown yet, her round, bean-shaped face still had a bit of baby fat. However, paired with her smooth, delicate, and fair skin and her wavy long hair, she had a look that made people want to take a bite.

With her water-chive-like nose and cherry-like small mouth, she was perfectly decorated. Maybe to change her image of always being a child in front of others, she had specially chosen her outfit for today, highlighting her newly developed chest. She no longer had the flat chest like a runway model she used to have.

Catherine, being looked at by George like this, blushed all over her round face despite their relatively close relationship before. She turned her face slightly to the side and lowered her head a bit, then said in a voice no louder than a mosquito, “D-don’t stare at me like that!”

George, however, put on a thick-skinned and natural expression. “I didn’t expect that in just a few months, Catherine, you have turned into such a beautiful girl. As your older brother, I naturally have to check carefully where you have changed the most, otherwise, I might not recognize you next time we meet.”

“I haven’t changed that much as you say! And what you just meant, does that mean I wasn’t beautiful before?” It seemed that no matter what kind of girl, they would be particularly sensitive to such words. Immediately, she turned around to face George, her almond eyes wide open, and her mouth showed her sharp little tiger teeth. It looked like she would pounce and bite if George did not give a reasonable explanation.

George was prepared for this. He waved his finger in front of Catherine and said, “Change happens little by little every moment. You probably look in the mirror every day and are used to it, so how could you notice? It is only when someone like me hasn’t seen you for a while that they feel the change is big! Besides, your past image was that of a little girl, so ‘cute’ was the right word to describe you. Now that you have the image of a young lady, ‘beautiful’ is the appropriate word!”

They say that women need to be coaxed. Although George did not fully understand the essence, he could handle this little girl who had not experienced much of the world. He immediately coaxed the little girl until her heart was full of joy, but on the surface, she seemed to take it ungraciously, pouting and saying, “It’s always like this. You always have your own reasons.”

Unfortunately, her redder cheeks betrayed her inner thoughts.

‘She’s tsundere! This is tsundere! She is the rare type with three parts arrogance and seven parts coquettishness! How could I not notice this characteristic of hers after knowing her for so long? Unfortunately, whether we will end up together is still uncertain, but having such an interesting little sister is not a bad thing.’ After thinking for a moment, George knew what action to take next. He made a quirky expression and asked Catherine, “Do you like delicious food?”

“Yes!” Catherine answered without thinking. This girl was also a true foodie.

George took Catherine’s soft little hand and said, “Then follow me! I am very confident when it comes to food.”

The following events were easy to understand. Under George’s leadership, this blind date turned into a food tasting party for two foodies. George acted as both a tour guide and an announcer, looking like an older brother taking his little sister on an outing. This not only brought the two closer but also did not reveal any other emotions. He took a conservative middle path, so no matter how things developed in the future, he could handle them with a steady hand.

Salons, in most cases, did not last very long. About two hours later, the event came to an end. As the self-proclaimed older brother, George, following the usual custom of outings, voluntarily walked Catherine home.

At the gate of the Markin family’s mansion, the two got off the carriage. Outside the gate, George smiled and gently patted Catherine’s head. “Alright, Catherine, that’s all for today. Next time, if there’s a chance, I will take you to try other delicious foods.”

“George-ge, remember to come find me next time!” Catherine tilted her head and said these words. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something, her little face turned red, and she ran into the house without looking back. This left George no time to say goodbye.

‘Did this little girl misunderstand something? Oh well, let her misunderstand. Who knows what the future holds?’ After a self-mocking smile, George turned and returned to his carriage. “Back to the Manor. Drive steadily on the way.”

Didn’t George say before that when in Karada, he did not like riding in carriages nor did he like having attendants follow him? So why was this situation happening today? You should know that salons, which are relatively small-scale gatherings, are basically held in the host’s own home. Could one walk to participate in social activities at other nobles’ homes? That would not only be embarrassing for oneself but also disrespectful to the host.

The night was so quiet and deep, but the creatures under the night sky did not necessarily enjoy this kind of peace. And intelligent creatures were even more of a special case. Borrowing the light and heat from fire, although their activities at night were restricted, they could still have a good time. However, George, who had been busy all day, fell asleep early after completing his daily routine exercises.

The crisp autumn days were truly invigorating! The sky was a brilliant blue with not a cloud in sight, and the scorching sun could no longer rage as it used to. George, stealing a half-day of leisure, was deciphering the content of a volume of the Martial Record in his room.

However, to save the not-so-cheap cinnabar, George had already copied the original text from the metal onto paper beforehand. Although some rare words and vocabulary were hard to understand clearly, with George’s own proficiency in the Kalatu Common Tongue, he could still roughly copy it down by following the pattern.

Comparing the two different language books, George was annotating the text on the copy of the Martial Record. As he wrote, he suddenly stopped, rubbed his hair with his hand, and muttered to himself, “Does this character seem to mean ‘guide’? But combined with this language, it seems to have the meaning of ‘direction’ as well. Sigh! It’s really difficult.”

The Common Tongue of Karada was basically the official language of the Flying Dragon Empire. Like the Chinese characters of Tianchao before his transmigration, this was a logographic syllabic script. Speaking of it, learning this language was much harder than learning alphabetic languages. The key was the interpretation and use of morphemes, with inflection, compounding, and other methods making people’s heads spin. Taking George’s foundation as a base, grammar problems were actually easy to solve.

Looking at the twenty-something pages of the copy text in his hand, and counting the six or seven pages he had already annotated, George had classified the decoding work as an engineering project that would require a lot of spare time.

Don’t look at George having annotated almost a third of it in just a short time. As he just said, every combination of words had more than two meanings. Once all the annotations were completed and the decoding began, the content that could be combined from these things was likely to be extensive. The time spent finding the correct combination would be the biggest part!

This was only possible because George had a quite good foundation in Kalatu. Of course, he had bet on the System to a certain extent. Once the annotation was completed, relying on the System should save a lot of time.

So what George had told Wang Qinian before, that this thing could basically not be sold in Karada, was absolutely true. As for the translation and annotation helped by Wang Qinian, that also required the other party to trust him. What if there was a problem with your translation? Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, the person practicing would definitely have problems. George had at least read “The Legend of the Condor Heroes,” so he would not make mistakes in this area.

Furthermore, even if one obtained the correct content, truly understanding the meaning inside would still require some effort. Think about it: before his transmigration, in the Taoist classics George studied, even the simplest terms ‘Dragon and Tiger’ and ‘Yellow Sprout’ represented different meanings in different schools. This is the meaning of the saying: “True transmission is one sentence; false transmission is ten thousand books.”

However, the Martial Record itself was intended for military generals and their descendants to study. Such personnel, in most cases, were not necessarily uneducated brutes, but they were also not scholars with extensive knowledge. The content inside should be recorded in relatively simple and easy-to-understand language. If it were a classic from a specific school, George would definitely try to lower the price again.