Claude laid on the grass and closed his eyes in satisfaction, as if he was sleeping.
The three little ones were playing around him. From time to time, they would use Claude's body as a mountain to climb and climb up and down. They even kicked Claude's face with their bare feet.
Claude endured it until he finally couldn't take it anymore. He pulled the three over and poked their faces with his beard stubble, making them cry for their mothers to save them.
Angelina and Sheila came over to carry the three children away. Only then did Claude have time to relax.
Sheila handed Claude a glass of iced blueberry juice and looked at the three little ones being taken care of by Angelina and the maidservant. She said enviously, "They're so cute …"
"We can work hard. You can be a mother too," Claude said.
Claude was currently taking refuge in Angelina's ranch with Sheila. Ever since he forcefully took his eldest son, Tesoray, away from Ferde Manor and forced him to enlist, he became the most unpopular person in Ferde Manor and the enemy of Kefnie and his mother.
Since that night, Kefnie hadn't spoken to him at all. She didn't even let him come into contact with her second son, Bayergassi, or her precious daughter, Amerissa.
As for his mother, there was no need to even mention her. She was bedridden once more and cursed Claude for being unfilial and heartless for throwing her beloved grandson, Tesoray, into the camp without the slightest bit of father-son love.
She would rather have a clean death for such a son. Otherwise, his poor mother would die of anger one day.
It could only be said that these two women were brainless. They had forgotten what was the root of their current identity and status.
Just like how her mother cursed Claude to die a horrible death, she didn't understand that if something happened to Claude, Tesoray, who was forced to enlist, couldn't leave the army and return home. Instead, he would lose Claude's care and be in an even worse situation.
Angelina rushed back from the ranch to check on her mother. In the end, she came out with a cold expression and told Claude that the old woman was strong and healthy. It would be normal for her to live another twenty to thirty years.
She was lying in bed half out of feigning illness and half out of embarrassment.
The heir she had painstakingly raised was thrown into the army by Claude. She felt ashamed to see anyone.
Since his mother was fine and his wife Kefnie was treating him coldly, Claude naturally wouldn't stay in Ferde Manor any longer.
So, he simply sent a guard to pick up Sheerah, and they went to his sister Anna's ranch for a walk to lighten his mood.
One of the three children was Angelina and Myjack's son, Leo. The other two were Bloweyk and Adele's twins.
After Adele passed away, Angelina adopted the two children. The boy was called Mil and the girl was Betty.
These three children were already more than three years old. They were at their most naughty, mischievous, and adorable age.
When they first saw Claude and Sheila, the three children felt a little unfamiliar and scared. After all, Claude had only returned after two years of fighting in the kingdom and was a complete stranger to them.
When they first met Claude and Sheila, Angelina sat down beside Claude and asked him to send her a letter to thank her for the herbalism notebook Claude gave her. She promised to study it well and not let Maria down.
When the three of them got tired and went to sleep, Angelina finally had the time to sit beside Claude and ask him to send a letter to thank her for the herbalism notebook. She promised that she would study the notebook well and not let Maria down.
"You don't want to go back to the magic lab in Blackstone Firearms Workshop?" Claude asked curiously.
Angelina nodded and told Claude that she didn't want to and couldn't help Claude with his new weapons anymore.
Firstly, her mechanical knowledge wasn't as solid as Sonia's and she could only be an assistant there.
Secondly, with the three children around, she wouldn't be able to help them in the near future.
For the next few years, Angelina would have to stay at the ranch to take care of the three children. Not to mention, the three children would get sick from time to time, leaving her in a fluster. Coupled with the fact that Claude brought back Maria's notes, Angelina decided to pick up herbalism again and strive to become a mid-rank herbalist as soon as possible.
Since Angelina had decided to become a herbalist again, Claude wouldn't object. Instead, he felt quite apologetic for forcing Angelina to work on new weapons and holding her back.
However, Angelina didn't mind. She told him that most of the magically gifted orphans and orphans she took in had grown up and reached the level of a first-circle magus. Their loyalty to the family was confirmed, and it was up to Claude to decide what to do with them in the future.
There were a total of 14 youths. Apart from Claude's illegitimate son, Mallex, who had reached the level of a three-ring rune magus, the other 13 didn't have much of an outstanding talent. They were barely passable at best.
Even becoming a first-ring magus required two to three years of hard work. The remaining nine didn't have their basic spells set and Claude had to consider what kind of magus they wanted to become in the future.
Mallex had wanted to join the military, but he was brought along by Liboyd and became his grandfather's right-hand man.
Liboyd hoped to pass all his life's work to his precious grandson so that he could inherit the Milosky family's knowledge and property and become another outstanding master of mechanical invention.
The other four apprentices were girls, who had been tacitly divided between Madame Sonia and her younger sister Anna as their experimental assistants.
As for the other nine, Claude would decide whether to make them rune magi or combat magi based on his needs.
Claude asked about the situation and heard from Angelina that two of the boys were quite talented in magic experiments, so he decided to let them follow Sonia and become rune magi.
The remaining seven would naturally be combat magi.
They would become a shadowy force under Claude's control.
Sheerah was very interested in this and volunteered to train the seven teenagers.
Claude agreed to her request.
He decided to have Sheerah build a stronger magic foundation for the seven youths, and when they became two-ring Battle Mages, he would send them to the army to polish their skills. Bloweyk would lead them and train them so that they could become the family's magic shields and blades.
After that, Angelina asked Claude why he insisted on letting Tesoray join the military, even if it meant falling out with his mother and Kefnie. Claude smiled bitterly.
Claude smiled bitterly. Every family had their own problems.
Logically speaking, men were the ones in charge in Faslan. Of course, there were also cases where men were afraid of their wives or their mothers were the ones in charge.
Claude could only blame himself for being so busy that he didn't have time to take care of his family. Living conditions improved, his status rose, and the people who fawned over him made his mother and Kefnie forget how to conduct themselves. They only wanted House Ferd to be a noble family that everyone envied. Even Bloweyk had to leave the family because of Adele's death.
But Bloweyk's departure wasn't enough to teach his mother a lesson. Instead, Kefnie coveted the position of head of the family.
Claude had always had his own way of thinking and wouldn't be swayed by others. So, the stubborn mother and Kefnie decided to groom Claude's eldest son into a noble they were satisfied with and become the head of House Ferd.
Claude had always been dissatisfied with his eldest son, Tesoray. Because of his mother and grandmother's doting on him, Tesoray was a little devil at home with a nasty personality.
Claude wanted to teach him a lesson many times at home but was stopped by his mother.
After that, he went on campaigns all over the world and didn't have time to educate his eldest son himself. In the end, he could only let his mother and Kefnie discipline him, but he was disappointed in his son.
Even though Claude wasn't home for a long time, he still kept an eye on everything.
Ferd Manor's Steward Svenson, the other servants, and the guards were Claude's eyes. Tesoray's every move would be reported to Claude in detail after he received the so-called noble education.
It was because Claude knew the truth that his mother and Kefnie didn't know that he decided to throw his eldest son into the army. If he couldn't get enough training, he'd pretend he never had a son.
Given Claude's authority and status as the kingdom's marshal, he could legally exempt his family from military service.
That was why Tesoray never thought he'd have to serve one day.
After receiving the so-called aristocratic education and training, he had thoroughly learned to act one way in front of others and another way behind their backs. In front of his grandmother and mother, he was always a sensible, well-behaved, humble, and studious child. The only problem was that he seemed to be a little lecherous …
Usually, it wasn't a problem for a man to be lecherous. All he had to do was control his desires.
But after Tesoray came of age, he used his status to do whatever he wanted to the maidservants. Claude knew of seven cases where he forced himself on them. In the end, Kefnie had to settle the matter with money and dismiss the maidservants.
While Tesoray was chubby and well-mannered, he became a frequent customer of the taverns in Lanu because he couldn't vent his desires in Ferd Manor. He even used his family's money to keep a maidservant at the tavern.
It wasn't until the maidservant got pregnant and wanted to take things a step further that the matter was brought to Claude's mother.
Tesoray said that he was tricked and had sex with the maidservant because he was drunk. Now that he was being threatened by the maidservant, he didn't know if the child was his and pushed all responsibility away.
So, Claude's mother decided to be ruthless and used a potion to abort the child in the maidservant's womb before giving her a large sum of money to never appear in Lanu again.
Due to Claude's influence, the maidservant had no choice but to leave Lanu.
That incident showed that Tesoray was a coward who liked to shirk responsibility. All he learned was the hypocrisy and cruelty of nobles.
When Claude found out about that, he decided to throw his eldest son into the army. The army was a huge melting pot, after all, and only steel would come out of it. Those who couldn't be tempered would be nothing but trash and would naturally be eliminated.
However, Claude was busy with military affairs and before he could think of a way to get his eldest son to join the army, his mother came out of nowhere and told him to go home. She also suggested that he bring Tesoray back to the kingdom to take over the land Claude was granted as a count by the king.
Since when did his mother and son have the right to make decisions for him? He immediately turned hostile and conscripted Tesoray into the army, causing his mother and Kefnie's plan to go down the drain.
Sometimes, he found it amusing that his mother actually said that Tesoray would inherit everything if something happened to him.
Kefnie and Kefnie would never understand that if something happened to Claude, only Bloweyk would inherit everything to ensure the safety of House Ferd.
If Tesoray were to inherit, House Ferd would be reduced to ashes.
When Claude slowly finished his story, Angelina's expression darkened. Her mother wasn't like that, but she became more stubborn as she aged.
Back when their father passed away and their mother was bedridden, Claude was the sole pillar of support for the family.
Later on, Claude joined the army and Angelina helped out at home.
No matter how much their mother spoiled Bloweyk, life was tough and Angelina was there to discipline him. Bloweyk didn't go astray and instead became a sensible child.
It wasn't until Claude returned as a lieutenant that things started to look better. After Kefnie married into the family, their days grew more comfortable.
After Kefnie gave birth to Tesoray, her mother began to shift her attention and pampering to her precious grandson …
"Is Tesoray doing well after entering the camp?" Angelina asked.
Claude shook his head. "He's average. He got beaten up by someone the day before and is still lying in the infirmary.
It's his own fault for thinking he's a pushover when he sees a skinny recruit smaller than him.
He didn't expect the recruit to be so stubborn and fight with no regard for his own life. So, he got taught a good lesson. Oh, he's called Terecli now. It's got nothing to do with me. "
Angelina rolled her eyes. If it's got nothing to do with you, why do you know so much about him being in the infirmary?
Claude explained, "I didn't interfere. I just had someone keep an eye on him to see if he'll be able to make some sense in the camp.
I didn't ask him to be like Bloweyk and I. I just hope he can at least reach the standard. I don't need him to be a tiger or something, just a guard dog. That way, he'll at least be able to protect the family business I left him. "
"What about Byergassi?" Angelina asked.
Byergassi was Claude's second son. He was five years younger than Tesoray. He was 15 and a first-year student in Lanu Junior High.
"Byergassi is different from Tesoray. He's quieter and likes to read and write. He's also a liberal arts student. When he graduates, I'll see if I can send him to the royal capital to study at the royal liberal arts academy."
Claude sometimes wondered why his two sons weren't as robust as he and his brother had been when they were young.
Perhaps that was what it meant to be pampered. Bloweyk and his transmigrated body studied physical sciences when they were young and were invincible in their junior high school.
Tesoray and Baergassi, on the other hand, were both well-mannered and scholarly.
Tesoray was faking it, while Byergassi was really weak and quiet.
This was probably because their living conditions were too good. For example, in his previous life, the children in the countryside were stronger, more mischievous, and more resistant to beatings than the children in the city …
Claude stayed at Angelina's ranch for about ten days. He received news from Lanu's military headquarters that Bolonik, President Henderman and most of the councilors had returned to the region. Along with them were Myjack and a dozen other generals.
Currently, General Skri, Speaker Bennett, and thirty other councilors were left in North Bay. They were in charge of the development of the Dominion's hereditary family territory in North Bay, along the coast of the Plains of Canas.
General Eiblont, the acting chief of Thundercrash, was in charge of social order and security in the Great Plains of Canas. The Monolith Corps, led by General Birkin, was stationed in the capital of Polyvisia.
As for the return of Myjack and the other generals, there was nothing they could do about it.
Last time, when the Ministry of the Army was discussing the merits of war, they promoted 22 major generals from the two corps of the autonomous region. The original eight major generals were promoted to lieutenant general, and the original lieutenant general was promoted to general.
In the end, Monolith and Thundercrash didn't have enough space to accommodate so many generals. Most of the field corps were already major-generals.
Fortunately, eight major-generals and three lieutenant-generals were retiring. Bolonik was also going to be transferred to the region's local administration. Claude decided to reform the military and recalled a few capable generals to serve in the region's headquarters, reducing the awkwardness of having too many generals in the two corps.
Myjack returned to manage the daily affairs of the region's headquarters. His promotion to lieutenant-general gave him the right to manage the affairs of the military headquarters.
The generals he brought back would also serve in the various departments of the headquarters. Some of them would also become Claude's senior advisors to plan and implement Operation Wildfire against the colonies on the west coast.
Claude had no choice but to bid farewell to his leisurely life at Angelina's ranch and return to Lanu.