There were no words that could describe Claude's joy at reuniting with his family. However, he was still given quite a fright when he entered the house. A white dog half the size of a man darted out of the house and pushed him to the ground, licking his face with its big, wet tongue.
Gum, who was following behind, was similarly shocked. She hurriedly jumped off the carriage and drew her shortsword to save Claude. Fortunately, Myjack saw it clearly and knew that Claude wasn't being attacked. Instead, he was being intimate with the big white dog.
Pegg wasn't surprised at all. He only called out the dog's name loudly. "Pluto, move aside. Don't bother your master."
It took him quite some effort to push the white dog away. It was the snowhound he brought home all those years ago. He didn't think that it would still recognize him after five years. It was a pleasant surprise, but it wasn't as cute as it was when it was still a child.
Hearing the commotion outside, his mother came out. She was shocked to see Claude with the big white dog jumping around him. She hurriedly apologized, "I'm sorry, Mister. It's our Pluto's fault. I hope he didn't hurt you."
Claude shook the dog's neck and said with a smile, "It's me, Mother. I'm back. Pluto was being intimate with me."
"Huh?
Claude … You're really back? "His mother exclaimed in surprise," You … It's you! You're really back? "
Claude climbed up from the ground and hugged his mother without even bothering to brush off the dust on his clothes. "Mother, it's me. I'm really back."
His mother didn't say anything else. She only cried tears of joy and hugged him tightly.
The big white dog didn't join in the fun anymore. Instead, it turned its attention to Myjack and Gum. It circled the two and sniffed them from time to time.
"Mother, who's here?"
A clear voice rang out as a big-eyed beauty came out with a frying pan. The first thing she saw was Claude, who was hugging his mother.
Clang! The frying pan fell to the ground.
The big-eyed beauty stared at Claude. "Bro … Bro, you're back …"
"Yeah, I'm finally back."
Claude let go of his mother and held her hand as they walked into the dining hall. "I didn't think the crybaby would grow up to be such a beauty.
Anna, you've broken the pot in half. Hurry up and clean it up. "
Bloweyk, who was staying upstairs, also came down after hearing the commotion. The little fatty and mischievous boy had grown into a handsome boy after five years.
Bloweyk, who was almost 14 years old, was already a second-year student at Whitestag Elementary School. He was escorted to school by Angelina last year and was beaten up quite a few times by Angelina. Thanks to that, he finally changed his bad habit of not going to school.
Having not seen Claude for five years, Bloweyk was a little shy at first.
But soon, he found the longing and longing for Claude that was etched deep in his memories.
He hadn't forgotten how much Claude doted on him and Angelina when they were young. Now, he refused to leave Claude's side and insisted on listening to him talk about his experiences on the battlefield. He was quite envious of the three green stars on Claude's epaulette.
After greeting Claude's family, Myjack and Gum hurried to move the things Claude bought from the carriage. Fortunately, Claude had marked the packaging of the items so that they could be clearly marked for whom.
The most important and valuable items were moved to the study on the second floor, where Angelina did her magic research and experiments.
A corner of the dining hall was filled to the brim with those items. His mother, who was going to cook for the three of them, asked Claude how much he spent on them.
Claude didn't pay much attention to his mother's question and answered that he spent close to 500 crowns.
As a result, his mother almost had a heart attack. For the next two hours, he was caught in his mother's condemnation of him for wasting money on random things.
Fortunately, Angelina returned quickly after going out to buy ingredients, so his mother didn't complain too much.
Claude felt rather wronged. Aren't we rich? Why do we have to be so calculative?
Besides, it's my money I spent, so why is my mother so angry?
His mother and sister busied themselves in the kitchen for two hours before they finally made a satisfying meal for Myjack and Gum. By then, Claude was so hungry that he didn't even have the strength to continue.
His mother still didn't know that Myjack and Gum were actually Claude's subordinates. She misunderstood them and treated them as Claude's friends and colleagues. She tried her best to leave a good impression on them so that they could take care of Claude in the army.
However, Myjack and Gum didn't dare to sit at the head of the table during the meal. Only after Claude introduced them did they realize that the two young soldiers were Claude's subordinates.
They were orphans and had nowhere to go even when they were on leave. That was why they accepted Claude's invitation to accompany him to visit his family.
Therefore, his mother and sister Anna were very sympathetic and warmly welcomed the two of them to their home.
Claude enjoyed the meal to his heart's content and Gum showed off his boundless stomach. In the end, all the leftover food went into his stomach. Bloweyk even reached out to touch his stomach, wondering where all the food went.
During the meal, Claude only told them some interesting stories about his time in the army. He didn't even mention how he was promoted to captain and how he earned his knighthood. He didn't want his mother to know about the risks he took and the bloody battles he went through on the battlefield.
The atmosphere during the meal was quite harmonious. But when his mother thought about his father, she said that he would be proud of his achievements if he was still alive and didn't feel as sad as before.
Angelina, on the other hand, mentioned a name he hadn't heard for a long time. Claude almost forgot that he still had an elder brother in name.
Had it not been for Angelina's reminder, he wouldn't have been able to recall what Arbeit looked like.
His mother, however, was quite proud and said that Arbeit had grown up quite well.
It turned out that Arbeit hadn't been home for the past five years. But he did send two letters to his mother.
The first one said that he was currently serving a count and was quite busy, so he didn't have time to visit his mother.
The second letter was sent last year at the same time as the first one. It was a rare occasion for him to include a ten-crown gold scroll for his mother. He said that it was his savings from the past few years and that he was sending it to his mother to buy some good food to nourish her body and to ask her to forgive him for his past mistakes.
The letter moved his mother so much that she teared up. Her eldest son being able to turn over a new leaf was her greatest joy.
His mother had even framed the ten-crown gold scroll and placed it by her bedside.
Whenever she saw the scroll, she would think of Arbeit and feel really happy.
"Did Mother reply?" asked Claude.
"She did.
Ever since she received the first letter, Mother wrote quite a few letters, but Arbeit didn't reply.
It wasn't until the second letter that he told Mother not to send him any more letters. He was very busy running around for the Count, and the letters he sent would only be received at the end of the year. Moreover, the Count's servants would often peep at him and laugh at him. So, he told Mother not to write any more letters. If anything happened, he would write to Mother. Mother did not need to worry about him. So, Mother did not write anymore … "
Claude nodded and didn't really care about his elder brother's situation.
It was good that he was still alive and living well. Even if he met with misfortune, Claude wouldn't shed a single tear for him. They didn't share any brotherly bond, anyway.
Now that the future of House Ferd was in the hands of his younger brother, Bloweyk, he wouldn't be able to do anything even if he returned.
After dinner, it was time for Claude to show off his treasures. It was time for him to show his mother what he had spent nearly five hundred crowns on.
Back then, his father, Morssen, was forced to commit suicide by a debt of five hundred crowns to save his family.
Yet, Claude was spending the same amount of money to buy those useless toys. His mother saw it as an act of treason.
"Mother, these are all antiques. Look at this set of twenty-eight gold and silver tableware. It has a history of more than two hundred years. It was made by Vanderloon, the personal master craftsman of the seventh Duke of Rimodra. It's said that the current duke's butler ran away with a bunch of things and ended up on the market.
I picked up a bargain and bought it for only half the price.
This nine-piece crystal tea set was the most prized possession of Madam Dinia, the beloved concubine of the fourth Duke of Siddings, three hundred years ago. It's said that Madam Dinia loved to invite two or three of her best friends to enjoy tea in the garden on sunny afternoons.
That famous painting, Madam Dinia's Afternoon Tea, had this crystal tea set on the table. "
Actually, those two sets were the most valuable antiques Claude had bought and he believed them to be the real deal.
However, the stall owner who was selling these two sets of treasures didn't think so.
The main reason was that there were too many imitations of the two sets on the market, so he didn't believe them to be the real deal. He only thought that the imitations were on point.
However, Claude had activated Appraisal Eye. Under the observation of the spell, he could see that the real antiques were completely different from the fake ones. So, he didn't think he would be so lucky as to come across the real antiques among the fake ones. So, he didn't bother haggling with the shopkeeper and agreed to the high price the shopkeeper offered to buy the two antiques.
"Mother, I've already gotten someone to appraise them. They're real antiques and are worth close to a thousand crowns on the market. That's why I only spent a third of the price. I'm already making a profit," Claude answered his mother's doubts calmly.
"But, but they're too valuable."
His mother's suspicions were dispelled, but she still didn't know what to do. "It's too troublesome to leave them at home. What if someone finds out that they've been robbed? We'll have to hire someone to keep watch at night."
"There's no need for that. We'll just keep them carefully.
I believe these two antiques can become heirlooms of House Ferd. They're the foundation of our family. We can let Blok pass them on to his descendants in the future. "
Claude didn't really care about the value of the two antiques. In his eyes, they weren't as interesting as the magic items he got from the black market.
The next few antiques were gifts for his family. His mother received a ruby necklace that was said to have come from a noble family in Sidins.
His sister, Angelina, received a diamond corolla that was a birthday gift from the daughter of a marquis. It had been lost for a long time.
His younger brother, Blowektor, received a machete inlaid with gold. It was said to be a coming of age gift from Duke Canas to a noble in Askilin. It was probably sold on the black market by a soldier of the kingdom for shiny gold coins.
The shotgun he bought for himself was the one made by the baroness' father, a renowned master gunsmith.
He also bought a set of fifty-six pieces of exquisite silverware for his family so that they could be used to entertain guests at banquets in the future.
The set wasn't an antique, but a custom-made one.
It was probably an item left behind by a noble family in a duchy that was stolen by the soldiers of the kingdom before being sold on the black market.
Because the items came in sets and had to be carefully stored, they were packed tightly and had to be shockproof during transportation. That was how the carriage was filled to the brim.
Even though Claude spent close to 500 crowns on them, the actual value was more than 1,500 crowns. There were also a few magic items that he brought upstairs that couldn't be bought with money.
He felt that he was extremely lucky to be able to find it on the black market and buy it.
Next, Angelina and his mother personally repacked the two sets of antiques and put them back into their boxes. They then had Claude bring them up to the third floor and put them in his mother's room.
He didn't know if his mother would be able to sleep well in the future. If she were to suffer from insomnia, Claude would be in deep trouble.
As for the set of fifty-six pieces of exquisite silverware, Angelina decided to go to the furniture workshop the next day and have it displayed in the dining room.
She could bring it out to entertain guests in the future. It would be convenient and she could show it off.
It was only then that Claude realized that Borkal's father, Rubiwill, was right. Angelina was the one in charge of the household now and his mother had no say in such matters.
After all that was done, the next thing he had to consider was his accommodation.
The attic was now Blowektor's private space.
The third floor was his mother's bedroom and Angelina's room. The second floor, which used to be Arbeit's room, could be used as Myjack and Gum's living quarters. Claude could only sleep in his former study, which was now Angelina's apothecary workshop.
His mother and sister went up to the second floor to tidy up their rooms. Claude, Myjack and Gum were led around the streets by Blowektor to see if there were any clothing stores that were still open. He wanted to buy some casual clothes for the three of them so that they wouldn't have to wear military uniforms all the time on vacation.