Chapter 11: The Legendary Family

The convoy traveled for a whole day. Apparently, the newly joined female knight had drawn the special attention of her colleagues. Of course, this was not only because she was the only female among those traveling together that day, but also because of her relationship with the young master. Last night, she had walked out of the young master's room. And overnight, she had come to pledge her loyalty on her own initiative. And this kind of attention actually also contained a layer of... a bit of jealousy. That's right, jealousy. Because this woman had actually obtained the true title of "knight"!

It must be pointed out that the so-called "guard knights" of the family are not actually considered real knights. The family guard knights are actually just a title, a title with the word "knight" in it. Just like a seahorse, although its name also has the character "horse", no one really thinks that a seahorse is the same as a steed. In essence, they can only be regarded as a group of "cavalry". They are a group of guard cavalry, not the knight class in the true sense.

A woman who had only been known for a day, a woman with third-rate martial arts skills, suddenly obtained something that these men had long dreamed of. This inevitably made them jealous. It was already unlucky enough to be exiled to a remote place with this incompetent young master. Their only hope was that one day this master would suddenly show favor to them and recruit them from guard cavalry to honorary knights - that was all they could hope for.

Everyone knew that this young master was unlikely to inherit the count's title. At most, he would be a baron in the future, and a baron was only legally entitled to recruit ten knights... Now, in just one day, a precious quota had been occupied by a woman of unknown origin! This was enough to make these people feel a bit unbalanced.

The most reasonable explanation was that this thirteen-year-old young master probably didn't know what a "knight" really was. He simply regarded this precious thing as a child's game and casually gave it to someone else! Moreover, more importantly... who made that girl pretty and have a pair of plump and beautiful thighs? Just accept it!

Jolene had already felt the disapproving glances from these new colleagues around her. Even her two original companions seemed a bit confused. However, Jolene still decided to trust her own judgment! This new master, this young master named Dwayne, would definitely not be an ordinary person in the future! Choosing to pledge loyalty to him should not be a wrong decision!

When the sunset glow once again filled the sky, Dwayne's convoy had just crossed a large river. The bridge built with round boulders was nearly a hundred years old. The stones near the river were covered with lush green moss, which reflected a beautiful emerald color in harmony with the clear and flowing river water. And the name of this large river was exactly the "Emerald River". Of course, it also had a more official name: the Rollin River!

This river was named after the Rollin family. The Rollin River ran across the Cort Province in the south of the empire, dividing the rich Cort Province in the south of the empire into two parts. Using this river as the boundary line, as long as one crossed this river, one had already set foot on the family territory of the Rollin family! The southern half of the Cort Province, south of the river, belonged to the Rollin family!

South of the river was a flat plain. Considering the mainly hilly terrain in the south, the area of this plain was quite considerable. There were fertile lands, verdant forests, numerous farms everywhere, a warm climate, abundant sunshine, and appropriate rainfall. This was one of the most prosperous lands in the empire and also an important place for the empire's grain production.

This plain, which was exactly half the area of the Cort Province, also had an official name... the Rollin Plain! Yes, this was also named after the Rollin family.

This peculiar naming method began about two hundred years ago. Two hundred years ago, the Roland Empire had experienced a great war of national defense. According to historical records, at that time, the foreign tribes from the north of the continent invaded southward, dragging the entire Roland Empire into the quagmire of war. Moreover, there were rebellions within the declining empire, and the empire had once been on the verge of collapse.

During the war, a group of outstanding people emerged, including a general of the Rollin family. That general accumulated many achievements later and finally became a marshal of the empire (this was also the only imperial marshal in the history of the Rollin family for more than three hundred years). It was also worth mentioning that, in order to win over this marshal with outstanding military achievements, the emperor at that time married his sister to him.

Just before setting out for an important decisive battle, in order to encourage his brother-in-law to fight bravely, the emperor pointed at the south bank of the Emerald River with his whip on the spot and announced: "If you return victorious, then from now on, using this river as the boundary, I will bestow all the lands south of the Cort Province to you! And in the future, this river and this plain will be renamed after your family! This is to show the extraordinary nature of the Rollin family and its outstanding contributions to the empire!"

Such encouragement boosted the marshal's courage. He commanded that decisive battle excellently and finally won the war, saving the fate of the empire! At the same time, he also won the agreement with the emperor! After that, the Emerald River was renamed the Rollin River! And this plain in the south was also renamed the Rollin Plain - two hundred years had passed, and now people had even forgotten what the original name of this plain was! Because, in all the official documents and local registers of the empire, it clearly stated "Rollin River" and "Rollin Plain".

Although two hundred years had passed, as members of the Rollin family, even these low-level guard cavalry couldn't help but feel excited in their hearts when they crossed the river and set foot on this plain land! This was a sense of belonging and honor to the family! Look! This was the land of the Rollin family! It was the place where the great ancestors of the Rollin family had left their mark! Here, the great Rollin family had engraved their name in the history of the empire! And also on this land!

Dwayne, who was sitting in the carriage, felt the carriage slow down, and there were also some movements outside. Dwayne opened the carriage window and saw that the knights in front couldn't help but take off their hats and cheer. Their faces were free of the dejected look of the past few days on the road, and everyone's face exuded genuine joy and a sense of honor! And... admiration!

"We're home! The Rollin people are home! Back on our own land!" These cavalrymen cheered, and some even forgot about discipline and galloped their horses back and forth. Let the horses' hooves happily trample on the black soil. Even their officer didn't mean to restrain these excited subordinates at the moment. Instead, he sat on his horse and watched all this with a smile on his face!

Unlike other families in the empire, the Rollin family had maintained a very ancient tradition! That was: the knights and warriors in the family were only recruited from the people of the family territory! Among these guard cavalrymen who had returned with Dwayne, a considerable number of them were born on the Rollin Plain! They were the true people of the Rollin family, people who had lived here for several generations!

According to the traditional practice, the private soldiers of the Rollin family's territory, the family's guard cavalry, and even the personal soldiers of the family head, every guard, were all selected as much as possible from the "family members" of the Rollin Plain! Because every family head believed that this approach could ensure the loyalty of their subordinates and their sense of unity towards the family!

For example, the captain of the guards of the current family head, Count Raymond, and the enlightenment martial arts teacher of the second young master, Gabriel, the swordsman Alpha, was a native born on the Rollin Plain.

These guard cavalrymen who had been exiled from the imperial capital with Dwayne were unhappy because they had been driven out of the empire. However, fortunately, at this moment, the joy of returning home finally dispelled the depression in their hearts.

Dwayne sat in the carriage and looked at those cavalrymen who were galloping and shouting joyfully. He pondered for a moment and immediately understood the reason. Then he smiled and said: "Mad, have we already crossed the Rollin River?"

"Yes, my master." Mad immediately rode his horse to the side of the carriage. There was also a trace of joy on his face: "We're home."

Dwayne looked at Mad and said: "Oh, Mad, tell me, were you also born in the Cort Province?"

"Yes. Although I grew up in the imperial capital, my father was a native of the Rollin family." Mad also raised a smile on his face: "My father worked as a coachman for the Rollin family all his life, and I inherited his job."

After a pause, Mad carefully glanced at the young master and lowered his voice: "My master, I need to remind you of one thing... Hmm..."

"What?"

"Your words just now, your statement, I'm afraid there's something inappropriate about it." There was actually a rare seriousness on Mad's face!

"What's inappropriate?" Dwayne smiled and said: "You can point out my mistakes."

"You asked me just now if I was born in the 'Cort Province'. Such a statement is a bit inappropriate." Mad carefully observed the master's expression while saying: "Although the Rollin Plain is within the territory of the Cort Province, when a true person of the Rollin family mentions their native place, we never say 'I'm from the Cort Province'. A true person of the Rollin family, when mentioning their place of birth, will only say 'I'm from the Rollin Plain!' A true person of the Rollin family will feel proud and honored from the bottom of their heart to be a Rollin. My master, so... when you face other people of the Rollin family in the future, please never say 'from the Cort Province'. Please definitely say 'from the Rollin Plain'! Otherwise, the other party is likely to feel hurt because of such a word from you. And... you are still the eldest son of the family head, and you should never hurt the feelings of the family members with your words."

Looking at this former coachman who could say such a thing with pride on his face, even Dwayne couldn't help but feel a trace of surprise in his heart. Perhaps... I really underestimated this family.

Looking at those joyful cavalrymen, looking at the genuine pride on each of their faces... Only a truly great family could achieve this.

Well, in this case, when the count in the imperial capital saw that his eldest son, whom he had placed high hopes on, was actually an idiot, as a count who bore the heavy responsibility of the family and as a father who was responsible for inheriting the family's glory, his disappointment and anxiety were imaginable.

Although he had previously disagreed with the way his father had treated him coldly, at this moment, Dwayne suddenly understood the count's feelings from the bottom of his heart! As a father, he might be able to tolerate his son being a good-for-nothing! But as the leader of the family, he absolutely could not tolerate the family heir, who was placed with high hopes, being a good-for-nothing! Because he had to take responsibility for the future of such a great family!

In this light, it was excusable that he had decisively abandoned him and been cold to him.

For a moment, Dwayne was lost in thought.

Looking at the dazed expression on the young master's face, Mad was a bit surprised. Because since he had become Dwayne's personal servant, what he had seen was that this young master had always had an indifferent, calm, and unflappable expression on his face since he was six years old! When had the master's face ever shown such a dazed look?

"This... my master, should we continue on our way home?" Mad asked carefully.

"Home... Oh, home." Dwayne subconsciously replied. Then, suddenly, an irresistible thought flashed through his mind! Home! At this moment, a ray of light seemed to finally shine in Dwayne's heart, which had been a bit confused for these years!

Yes, home! For me, who doesn't belong to this world, what I lack the most is a sense of belonging to this world! My indifference in these past few years, my dislike of expressing my inner feelings, and even my deliberate suppression of some inner emotions... In fact, the most fundamental reason is that I haven't really regarded myself as a person of this world in my heart!

Because of this, in many cases, for many things, when I look at this world, it's as if I'm looking at it from the perspective of a bystander, an onlooker... And this kind of mentality has led to the indifference in my heart!

Home... What a beautiful word. And what I lack now is exactly a sense of belonging to this world, isn't it?

Dwayne, who had been in a calm mood towards everything for the past few years, suddenly felt a strange sense of anticipation in his heart for returning to the ancestral property of the Rollin family!

Looking at those proud cavalrymen... Hmm... the Rollin Plain? I wonder if I can find a sense of belonging on this land? I hope so!

Since it's impossible to truly return to my original home, then... it's reasonable to look for a new home in my heart to place my hopes on and have a sense of belonging. After all, since I've already come to this world, life has to go on.

Accompanied by a ray of the setting sun's afterglow, Dwayne Rollin pushed the door open and got off the carriage. He walked out of the dark and enclosed carriage, out of the shadow, and stood under the beautiful setting sun. The glow of the setting sun shone on his face, as if dispelling all the haze.

A smile finally appeared on the young man's face... Moreover, there was finally a trace of long-lost emotion in his expression. This emotion was anticipation!