Claude didn't think that he would have so many social engagements during his visit.
First was Felidos's invitation, followed by Tomas's uncle, Borkal's father, Rubiwill, and finally the ten or so elders who worked together with his father to set up a new trade route.
For the next twenty days or so, Claude was invited to banquets every night.
He attended four of Felidos's banquets. Naturally, he wasn't the one who invited him. Instead, it was someone else who invited him. Felidos then asked Claude to accompany him to the banquets.
Felidos treated Claude as a role model for him to show off. Claude, on the other hand, had no choice but to thank Felidos for his recommendation time and time again.
The reward for wiping out Langback's bandits was distributed within a week under Felidos's care. It amounted to more than five hundred crowns.
Myjack and Gum only took a hundred crowns each. They refused to take the rest and gave it all to Claude.
Coupled with the gifts from the merchants who took back their looted goods, Claude earned back almost all the money he spent on the black market in Efenasburg.
There were many things to do at home. After Claude bought the public wood, Angelina went there every day. For safety's sake, Claude had Myjack and Gum stay by her side. He also had Myjack help draw out a detailed map of the wood so that he could plan for the development and construction of the wood.
After the banquets and social engagements came to an end, Claude planned to stay at home for two months. His own magic cultivation was nearing the crucial stage of advancement.
With his sister's encouragement, Claude was determined to become a two-ring rune magus no matter how difficult it would be.
That magus Landes mentioned in his diary that he only took seven years to become a four-ring rune magus. Angelina, on the other hand, had only been studying magic for five years and she was about to become a three-ring rune magus.
Only Claude was still a one-ring rune magus. Even though joining the military greatly affected his magic training, it also had a lot to do with him slacking off on his magic training.
However, many things will always appear in front of you at unexpected times and disrupt all your plans and arrangements.
Just like now, it was rare for him to eat his mother's cooking at home. Just as he was finishing his meal, she said, "Claude, it's about time you and Kefnie got married. You two aren't that young anymore.
This time, your home leave is longer, so you can take care of this matter.
I went to the Temple of the Moon Goddess to ask the priest. The priest said that the 12th of September is a very auspicious day. It is very easy to get the blessing of the Moon Goddess for the newlyweds.
You and Kefnie will be married on the 12th of September … "
Kefnie was also present. She had no intention of objecting to her mother's words and merely lowered her head with a red face.
He wanted to tell his mother that he wasn't young anymore. He was only twenty-four after the new year.
However, he immediately realized that this was a different world. It wasn't the era of his previous life where he could only find a partner and start a family after the age of thirty.
The legal age for marriage in this world was 18. Kefnie was only three months younger than Claude, so she could be considered an older girl in this world.
No matter how conflicted he felt, he had no choice but to agree to his mother's request.
First of all, he didn't want to disappoint his mother. Kefnie was already his daughter-in-law and they would have a good relationship in the future.
Secondly, the girl had given her heart to him. She had rejected countless suitors and waited for him for five years. That was something he couldn't help but feel touched.
Thirdly, he had done everything he could with Kefnie during this period of time. He had to give her an answer no matter what, or he would really be a scumbag.
Even though the magus Sheerah was his true love and the two of them shared a common language in magic cultivation, Sheerah had already rejected his proposal.
But the problem was that Sheila had already rejected his proposal. She didn't want to waste her precious time on family matters and wanted to focus on magic instead.
Under such circumstances, Kefnie was without a doubt the best marriage partner for Claude.
Of course, he also knew that his invitation to a banquet had given his mother and Kefnie a sense of danger.
After all, Claude was young and promising. Even though he was unmarried, he could still be considered handsome and had caught the eye of some of the big shots in Whitestag.
That was especially true for the smaller nobles who came to invest in the kingdom. They didn't mind introducing young unmarried women from their families to Claude as it was a form of investment for the future. They were rather optimistic about Claude's prospects.
For Kefnie, marrying Claude was the best choice for her.
She was already 23 and would be 24 after the new year. She was still living in her sister Katherine's house.
Her sister and brother-in-law already had a son and a daughter in the past few years. Now that her sister was pregnant again, the three bedrooms and one living room in the house were a little tight.
Even though her sister and brother-in-law wouldn't let Kefnie move out, she felt more and more uncomfortable staying in her sister's house as she grew older.
Since Claude and Kefnie didn't object to it, the marriage was happily settled.
There was still a month and a half until September, but time was tight for his mother. She had to settle where they would live after the wedding.
Usually, newlyweds would need a place to live or a small house, but the only property House Ferd had was the red brick house.
Although the large red brick house was an apartment, apart from the one in which the Fields now lived, the other three floors and the attic were all rented by others.
If no one wanted to cancel their rent before September, the Ferds wouldn't chase their long-term tenants out just for Claude's wedding.
His mother wanted her, her sister and brother to move out and leave the attic for Claude and Kefnie to use as their new home. They would find somewhere else to rent.
Unfortunately, none of the neighbors in the area had any vacant apartments for rent or sale.
As for the wood, they would have to wait until the end of the next year to build a new house.
Claude, on the other hand, didn't want his mother and the others to move out. He had never thought of chasing them out just for the sake of their marriage.
Even though he was the guardian of House Ferd and managed the affairs of the family before Bloweyk came of age, that was only in name. Angelina was the one in charge of the family affairs and Bloweyk trusted her very much. She ensured that he wouldn't get into bad habits during his chuunibyou period.
Furthermore, Claude would only be home for a little more than five months. He would have to return to the royal capital after the new year and Kefnie would be in charge of the family affairs then.
She was his wife and had the status of a duchess, much higher than Angelina's commoner status.
But even if Kefnie took over the reins of the family, she would still need Angelina's help.
Claude was very confident in Angelina's abilities.
He hoped that after he went to the royal capital for military training, his mother, sister and brother would still be able to live together.
That way, even if Angelina was busy with the development of the wood, Kefnie would still be there to take care of his mother.
When he returned, he noticed that his mother had aged quite a bit. Her health wasn't that great to begin with. Had it not been for Angelina becoming a herbalist and taking care of his mother's health, she might have gotten even worse.
That was one of the main reasons Angelina wanted to buy the wood. A herbalist wasn't omnipotent.
His mother's illness wasn't something that could be cured with a few concoctions. It had already developed into a chronic disease of old age and required daily care, fresh air and a peaceful life. Only those would be beneficial to his mother's health.
Even though the red-bricked house was bustling and convenient for daily shopping, there were many things to worry about, especially the gossipy neighbors who liked to gather together and gossip. That was what Angelina hated the most.
So, Claude suggested that there was no need to make a big fuss about it. All he needed to do was to vacate a room, such as the one he was currently staying in, and turn it into a new house.
As such, Claude was immediately scolded by his mother and sister. That's too sloppy! Marriage is the most important thing in a woman's life, yet you're trying to make do with it just like that …
Even Kefnie didn't give Claude any face this time. Even though she agreed with Claude's idea of not letting his mother, sister, and brother find somewhere else to live, Claude's idea of making do with a simple house really hurt her.
Back then, when her brother-in-law, Gerrard, married her sister, Kathlyn, they had to buy a house in the new district of the naval base as a wedding home.
In the end, Claude could only sit in the dining room and listen to the three women's discussion. As for Booke, he tactfully used the excuse of doing his homework to go back to the attic.
Myjack and Gum tactfully said that they were going to the wargod shrine for a stroll before leaving.
Claude had to put up with his mother, sister and Kefnie's nonsensical chatter. From time to time, he would bring the topic back to the main topic. Most of the time, they would end up talking about something else. They could even argue about a new style of clothing for half a day.
Fortunately, in the end, his younger sister Anna had her own ideas and decided on the final solution.
We have our own land. Can't we just build another two-storey building?
The big red brick house used to be a commercial and residential apartment. Other than the Field family's house on the left, the second and third floors of the three floors next to it, plus the three attics, were all rented apartments. The first floor was a shop.
After his mother and sister moved back from Normanley Wood, the lease on the shop hadn't been renewed. Coupled with the lack of security, Angelina went to Tomas's construction firm and hired workers to build a wall to enclose the entire red-bricked house.
That way, the shop on the first floor would be useless. So, Angelina decided to convert the first floor into an apartment similar to the one above, albeit a little smaller.
There were three suites upstairs, and the first floor upstairs had been converted into six small suites, which were suitable for a couple or a single person to rent.
So, as soon as the renovations were done, they were quickly rented out.
Now that the red-bricked house was surrounded by walls, Angelina had her eye on the empty space within the walls. The distance between Claude's apartment and the wall was around ten to twelve meters. Back then, it was used as a place for Morssen's carriages to park when he entertained his friends.
Now that it was surrounded by walls, it became a huge empty space.
Angelina said that since we don't lack money and we have empty space, we might as well build another two-storey apartment from the wall and tear down the wall.
When Claude got married, his mother, her brother, Myjack, and Gum could all live in the two-storey apartment, leaving the apartment on the other side for Claude and Kefnie to use as their bridal chamber.
When Claude returned to the royal capital, she, her mother, and her brother could move back there. The two-storey apartment on the other side could be rented out to others for use as shops.
That plan was approved by everyone present. Then, they moved on to the second topic: which floor should Claude and Kefnie's wedding room be set up on.
That was decided by his mother. She gave up her own room on the third floor and all three floors would belong to Claude and Kefnie. One of the two rooms would be the master bedroom and the other would be the child's room.
When Claude returned to the royal capital, his mother would move back to Arbeit's room on the second floor and set up the study room next to it.
The attic could be for Little Booker to stay in. As for Angelina, she decided to stay in the two-story building that was about to be built. She wanted to set up her potioneering workshop there, or perhaps she could go there to keep Kefnie company …
That was how it was decided. Claude was given a lot of work to do. He had to design the two-storey apartment that he was going to build. Depending on the length of the wall, he could build eight rooms connected together or four independent double-storeys.
That was his specialty and he couldn't shirk it.
Apart from designing the two-storey apartment, Claude also had to renovate the entire red-bricked house. At the very least, it couldn't look too shabby. Naturally, he couldn't just renovate the building on the left, either. So, he decided to renovate the entire red-bricked house. He had plenty of money at the moment, so he didn't have to be stingy in that regard.
That was only the beginning. After he was done with those two things, he still had to go to the wood and design his residence there. He also had to plan out the entire plot of land according to Angelina's request so that the family could develop the wood better in the future.
Claude could only smile bitterly. He didn't think that he would be so busy just to visit his family.
But he had no choice. He couldn't run away from those things, nor could he shirk them. He had no choice but to accept his fate and work hard.
On the 12th of the 9th month of Year 581 of the Sacred Light Calendar, Claude and Kefnie were officially married in the moon goddess' shrine in Whitestag.