Claude felt something touch his face. He groggily reached out and found a smooth wrist in his palm.
Who is it? Can't you see that I'm sleeping soundly?
It took him quite some effort to open his eyes. Only then did he realize that there was a beautiful woman sitting in front of his bed, looking at him with teary eyes.
What's going on? Am I not at home? Who's this beauty? She looks a little familiar … Claude was dumbfounded for a long while before he suddenly remembered that he was sleeping half-naked and exposing his body to a beauty he didn't know was rude. He hurriedly let go of his wrist and tried to cover himself with a thin blanket.
He didn't think that the beauty would pounce on him the moment he woke up and hug him tightly. As she cried, she whispered in his ear, "I missed you so much, Claude.
Thank the god of war, you've finally returned safely … "
It's Kefnie … Claude snapped out of it and relaxed his body. He hugged the girl tightly. "I said I'd be back. Don't cry, be good. Why did you come here so early in the morning?
I wanted to go find you today … "
The girl rubbed her tears on Claude's face. "Last night at around ten, Gerrard came home and told my sister that the Lambach gang was wiped out by three soldiers who came back from the frontlines to visit their families.
I felt that you were back. If it wasn't for the fact that it was too late, I would've come to see you. "
"Is that why you came here so early?
What time is it now? "Claude teased.
"How could it be so early? I came here after feeding my niece. It's already past nine now. Auntie said that you just got back and it was rare for you to have a good sleep, so she didn't let anyone wake you up.
She only told me to come up to see if you were awake when I came … Ugh … "
Claude had already captured her mouth and his tongue went inside. Kefnie only whimpered a few times before she collapsed on top of him, allowing his hands to roam all over her body.
The weather at the end of June was getting hot, so Claude slept topless with only a thin blanket at night.
Kefnie, on the other hand, wasn't wearing much. She was only wearing a long dress and undergarments, which Claude's touch left her clothes in disarray.
Claude, on the other hand, had just woken up. Everyone knew that he was as hard as steel at the moment. As the two intertwined, he felt the temperature rise and he started considering whether he should do it with Kefnie on the spot.
A series of knocks on the door jolted Kefnie out of her daze. She pushed Claude away and jumped out of bed, fixing her clothes with a reddened face.
He sighed in frustration. He was just about to take off Kefnie's dress when someone came knocking on his door.
"Who is it? Come in," Claude said in annoyance.
"Big brother, I hope I'm not interrupting you and Kefnie?"
Anna poked her head in from the door mischievously. "Mother says you should get up. You have to visit Felidos and Uncle Tomas in the morning. It will be rude if you go too late.
That's why he asked me to call you and bring you your uniform.
Kefnie, I didn't do anything to you, did I?
Eh, why is your face so red? "
That's right, Claude remembered that he had to visit those two important figures in the morning. It would seem like he was neglecting them if he went in the afternoon.
No matter what, Felidos was the one who recommended him, so he had to thank him as soon as he got back.
"Alright, bring the uniform over. Cut the crap. Kefnie's face is red because the room is too hot," Claude said, trying to cover up.
Anna rolled her eyes at him and handed him the uniform. "Don't think I don't know anything. Hmph, you were the one who wanted to do something bad just now."
Claude ignored her and put on his clothes. He wore a white shirt, a bright red uniform, black pants, grey socks, black military shoes, a black leather belt and a straight cap.
After he was done, a valiant royal soldier appeared before the two girls.
"Wow, Big Brother, you're so handsome," Anna exclaimed.
Kefnie didn't say anything, but she stared at Claude unblinkingly. Her eyes were filled with blurry love and happiness. There was no one who wouldn't like their lover to be outstanding and handsome. Claude's appearance in the uniform far exceeded Kefnie's expectations. He could only be described as handsome.
After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he went downstairs for his mother's breakfast.
"Myjack, go get the two bottles of the most expensive wine in the inventory."
The two bottles were part of Claude's spoils of war. Giving one bottle to each of Felidos and Tomas was more than enough to show his respect.
"Sir, do you need me to go with you?" Myjack asked.
"Then you can drive me there," Claude said.
"What about me?" Gum asked.
"Just stay at home and study hard. Learn a few more words.
We'll be going to training together next year. I don't want you to become a joke in the academy because you can't read. "
After that, Claude turned to Kefnie. "I'm sorry, Kefnie. I might have to go to a few places today and won't have time to accompany you."
She smiled and shook her head. "It's fine. It's good news that you're back safely. We'll have plenty of time to spend together in the future. You should go do what you need to do."
Angelina said, "Big Brother, when you meet Felidos, don't forget to mention the purchase of the public wood."
Claude nodded and got into the carriage. After telling Myjack where to go, the carriage headed east to the new district.
Felidos was probably waiting for Claude to visit him in the administrative center of Whitestag since early in the morning. He already knew that Claude and the other two had wiped out the entire Lambach gang. He even had the transcript of the incident in front of him, so he was well aware of Claude's visit.
That day, he arrived at the administrative center on time, which was rare for him, and was working in his office.
As a city under the direct jurisdiction of the royal capital, Whitestag didn't have a city lord's manor. It could only be used as an administrative center for the highest ranking officer in the city.
If Claude had returned after five years on the battlefield as a sergeant major or second lieutenant, Felidos wouldn't have been so enthusiastic about him.
He would only care about Claude's experiences on the battlefield over the past five years and sigh at the cruelty of war. He would also reminisce about the glory he gained when he was in the army and encourage Claude to continue working hard in the army so that he wouldn't let him down.
But now, Claude had returned to visit his family as an official captain of the kingdom and even received the highest knighthood of the royal army. Felidos couldn't help but take notice of him. It was an honor he couldn't receive even when he was younger.
Not to mention, he even got rid of the Lambach gang that had plagued Whitestag for many years on the way home.
Three against more than thirty, the entire gang was wiped out and even their hideout was ransacked by Claude. Yet, the three of them came out unscathed.
That meant that Claude's achievements and promotions on the battlefield were genuine and not because of Maria's influence.
Felidos came from a military background and was given a courtesy name for his contributions.
Even though he was now an administrator, he still retained some of his traditional military qualities and often regretted that he had to leave the army due to his disability.
That was why he liked to recommend young people to join the army the most. Unfortunately, most of the young people he recommended didn't make much of a mark in the army.
He didn't think that Claude, who had been recommended to join the army, would be so successful after coming to Whitestag as a majordomo. That was a huge surprise for Felidos.
After five years in the army, he went from a recruit to a captain and even received a knighthood medal. That meant that Claude would have a bright future in the army.
It was a huge surprise for Felidos, who recommended Claude to join the army. Being able to discern people with a keen eye and recommending a talent to the nation was something he could brag about for years to come.
If Claude were to develop further in the military in the future, Felidos would gain even more glory and would be of great help to his family.
If his descendants were to join the army in the future, they could look for Claude to take care of them. As the one who recommended Claude to join the army, Claude wouldn't dare to be negligent.
So, when Claude came to visit, Felidos went to the door to welcome him in front of most of the officials in the administrative center. After Claude saluted him, Felidos returned the salute solemnly.
He patted Claude's shoulder with his remaining arm to show that he wasn't doing it to embarrass Claude, but to show respect for the knighthood medal on Claude's chest.
That morning, the entire administrative center was filled with Felidos's hearty laughter. He purposely left his office door open to let everyone know how happy he was.
As the one who recommended Claude, he was very satisfied with Claude's performance in the army and felt that Claude didn't embarrass himself. He wished Claude a bright future.
Claude wasn't used to Felidos's enthusiasm, but he didn't show it. He only thanked him for his recommendation and offered his gift, a bottle of wine worth three crowns. It was a spoil of war from a count's manor in Askilin.
Steward Felidos was very satisfied with the gift. He expressed that he would treasure this bottle of good wine.
At the same time, he asked about the actual situation on the battlefield. He was heartbroken that Bluefeather was wiped out by the enemy on the Great Plains of Canas, after all.
However, he was also glad that Claude didn't serve in Bluefeather. When he heard that Claude didn't return to the army after his home leave and instead went to a military academy in the royal capital for training, Felidos knew that he had made the right bet. The kid before him would have a bright future ahead of him.
When Claude mentioned buying a public wood, Felidos called the administrative officer in charge of such matters and had him spread out a map of Whitestag for Claude. In the end, not only did he sell the wood to Claude, he even bought the surrounding areas and sold them to Claude at a discount of two crowns per mu.
It wasn't that Felidos was trying to gain personal gain at the expense of the public. Rather, the wood that could be harvested in the public wood had long been cleared due to the expansion of Whitestag. All that was left was an empty plot of land. Even the trees that were supposed to be planted couldn't be replanted due to the lack of manpower. That was why he sold it to Claude at half price.
At the moment, there were only two private woods left in the hilly region to the southwest of Whitestag.
One was House Normanley's seven thousand hectares of forest, while the other was House Ferd's four thousand hectares of forest that they had just acquired.
After negotiating the purchase of the wood, Claude got up to leave.
However, Steward Felidos forcefully invited him to have lunch with him.
Claude couldn't refuse it, so he said that he would treat him at night since he had something to do in the afternoon.
Felidos was very polite and insisted on hosting a banquet at Whitestag Tavern that night. Claude had no choice but to agree.
Next was Uncle Thomas. He had moved to a new house and bought a small manor in the East District.
When Claude arrived, he found out that it wasn't too far from the manor of Sir Fux, whom he had murdered before he joined the army. There was only a huge mansion between them.
Tomas welcomed Claude's visit. Unlike Felidos, he treated Claude as his own nephew.
Back then, he and Claude's father, Morssen, were planning to open a new sea route. Then, they were attacked by pirates and captured by the royal navy.
Fortunately, Claude spoke up for them through Maria and they were absolved of any wrongdoing. They only lost their jobs.
Many things happened after that. Claude's father was schemed against by Sir Fux and owed a huge debt. In order to prevent his family's red brick mansion from being taken over by Sir Fux, Morssen had no choice but to commit suicide to protect his family's assets and allow them to have a place to live in town.
As a close friend of Morssen's for many years, Tomas took care of the aftermath and the funeral.
It wasn't that he didn't want to help Claude's family, but there was nothing he could do at the time.
He thought that House Ferd wouldn't be able to recover, but he didn't think that Claude would be so monstrous. After getting news that the navy was going to be built in Whitestag, he worked with Baroness Maria in the royal capital to develop real estate in the slums. His friends, who had been implicated in the new sea route, invested in the so-called real estate company.
In the end, it only took half a year for all the shareholders to earn back ten times the amount of their capital.
Everyone thought that Claude was a true business genius. It was a pity that Felidos interfered and recommended Claude to be a soldier.
However, Tomas still remembered Claude's words and organized and managed the huge construction team well. Thanks to that, he was elected to the national council and became one of the three most influential people in Whitestag.
It could be said that Tomas trusted Claude the most at the moment. It was thanks to Claude's words that he was able to live the life he had today.
Now that he saw Claude return safely from the battlefield, he was overjoyed.
He didn't care what rank Claude became. Being able to return in one piece was the greatest satisfaction he had.
Claude didn't talk to Tomas about his experiences on the battlefield either. Instead, Tomas kept asking him about the problems he encountered in the construction business and Claude answered all of them.
Claude stayed at Tomas's house for lunch. He treated him like family and didn't need to stand on ceremony, which made Tomas quite happy.