When Marin and his two companions appeared on the main road in front of the Hoffman estate, a sharp-eyed serf had already run inside to inform the Hoffman family.
“Master, Madam, Young Master Marin has returned!”
“What? Marin is back?” Old Hoffman stood up, his eyes first filled with joy, but then his expression quickly darkened.
As for Old Hoffman’s wife, Mary Hoffman, she was overjoyed.
“He’s back? That’s wonderful! I’ve missed him so much over these few months!”
“Miss him for what? That useless brat! I told him to sign up for the emperor’s army, and now he’s back, obviously because he wasn’t selected. How incompetent!” Old Hoffman snapped angrily.
“You old fool, as long as my son comes back safe and sound, that’s all that matters. Why must he risk his life for the emperor? Besides, Marin is only 16, his body hasn’t even fully developed yet. I always said he should wait until he’s at least 18, but you insisted on sending him away early!” Lady Mary was displeased and lashed out.
Old Hoffman, who seemed to be somewhat afraid of his wife, didn’t argue further.
In truth, Friederich Hoffman was a very stubborn man.
However, since he had indeed forced Marin to leave two years earlier than necessary, he felt guilty.
Therefore, faced with Mary’s outburst, he could only remain silent.
“Father, I heard Marin has returned?” Friederich’s eldest son, Adler, rushed into the estate’s parlor with excitement.
He had just come from the training ground in the backyard and, upon hearing that his younger brother had returned, hurried over.
“Yes, he’s back, at the main gate.”
“Shall we go welcome him?”
“Welcome him? I’m his father; since when do fathers welcome their sons? If you want to go, you go!” Old Hoffman said sternly.
“Alright then…” Adler didn’t argue with his stubborn father and headed straight for the gate.
Meanwhile, Lady Mary, who missed her son dearly, followed him outside.
At the estate’s gate, Marin first instructed old Quincy, the gatekeeper, to take his warhorse and the two cows to the estate’s livestock shed.
“Hey, Uncle Quincy, could you please take these three animals to the shed?”
“Yes, Young Master Marin, I’ll take care of it right away!” said old Quincy as he led Kahn and Kohler to tie up the animals.
Just as Marin turned around, a giant, nearly 1.9-meter-tall figure lunged at him like a beast…
Marin was startled and instinctively tried to draw his sword, but then he remembered that he had just left his saber on the ox cart.
Since he was home, he hadn’t planned on carrying a weapon.
In a panic, he resorted to a quick “flying kick” aimed at the approaching shadow…
“Ah!” When the shadow let out a cry of pain, Marin realized he had made a mistake.
Because the voice belonged to his dear older brother, Adler…
“Marin, I came to welcome you, and you kicked me! I’m so angry!” Adler, who had been knocked to the ground, got up and complained.
He had come with open arms to hug his younger brother, but, completely unprepared, had been kicked over. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“Uh… Adler, I didn’t do it on purpose. I just turned around and saw a shadow rushing at me. I thought someone was attacking me, so… it was a reflex,” Marin explained.
He didn’t mention that if he had had his saber on him, he might have slashed at Adler instead of kicking him.
Just then, a familiar, gentle voice that Marin knew all too well came from behind Adler:
“Marin, my dear son, you’re back?”
Marin’s whole body trembled.
That voice was deeply ingrained in the memories of the former Marin.
In those memories, whenever young Marin Hoffman was beaten by Old Hoffman, he would always run crying to his mother for comfort.
At the same time, he would seek protection to avoid being further punished by the strict and severe Old Hoffman…
Then, as if by instinct, Marin rushed into Lady Mary’s embrace.
“Mother, I’m back! How have you been?” Marin said, unconsciously feeling particularly close to her as if this body instinctively responded to Lady Mary’s warmth.
“Good child, I’m fine. I’ve just missed you so much!”
While this touching mother-son reunion played out, the burly Adler stood to the side, muttering to himself:
“Mom always favors Marin. She hardly ever hugged me like that!” In truth, among the Hoffmans’ sons, Mary indeed doted on Marin the most.
Of course, that was partly because young Marin was the most affectionate.
As the saying goes, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”…
Or rather, the child who seeks affection receives the most love.
With his arm around Lady Mary’s, Marin affectionately accompanied her back to the main house of the Hoffman estate.
Meanwhile, Adler, feeling a bit jealous, followed behind them.
In fact, Adler was only 19 years old, still just a big boy.
However, his large frame made him seem much older, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall—significantly taller than Old Hoffman.
Despite his imposing appearance, Marin knew that Adler was still somewhat childish and not yet fully mature.
Of course, in a fight, no ordinary strongman could match him.
Marin reckoned that even two of himself wouldn’t be a match for Adler, despite both having trained in martial arts.
Entering the hall, Marin was greeted by Old Hoffman’s stern gaze.
Out of respect and a lingering fear from his memories, Marin obediently bowed to him.
“You’re back?”
“Yes, Father.”
“You didn’t manage to join the emperor’s army?”
“Uh… not exactly. I made it to Vienna, but the emperor currently isn’t recruiting any soldiers.”
“How can that be? Didn’t the emperor just recruit tens of thousands of men?”
“It’s precisely because the emperor recently recruited over 16,000 men that his finances are stretched thin, and he can’t afford to maintain a larger army at the moment. So, even though I went to Vienna, I didn’t see any new recruitment.” You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
“I see…” Old Hoffman’s expression softened a bit.
“By the way, isn’t Italy about to go to war? With the emperor’s nature, he’s likely to get involved. If the emperor faces off against the French in Italy, he should be recruiting more men.” Mary suddenly interjected.
Marin was startled but quickly remembered that his mother was from a fallen noble family and was quite knowledgeable.
At the very least, she was smarter than his father, who only knew how to solve problems with brute force.
“Yes, Mother, the emperor will certainly get involved in the war in Italy. However, the emperor is short on funds and is currently negotiating with the imperial diet for money. But as you know, those princes and city representatives aren’t exactly eager to hand over funds. I imagine it will take a few months of negotiations. Once the emperor secures the funds, he will likely recruit new soldiers. I plan to return to Vienna in a few months to try again.”
“Oh? Little Marin, you’ve grown more knowledgeable,” Mary said, surprised.
She had watched her second son grow up.
Although Marin was much smarter than Adler, who only knew how to use his muscles, she didn’t expect him to have such foresight.
“Uh…” Marin began to think of how to explain.
He had forgotten that while his father wasn’t very bright, his mother was an intelligent noblewoman.
Trying to fool her would be difficult.
After thinking for a moment, Marin came up with an excuse.
“Mother, when I first left home, I encountered a wandering ascetic monk…”
“An ascetic monk?” Ascetic monks were rare among clergymen.
During the Middle Ages, most European clergy had become corrupt, aligning themselves with the ruling class and oppressing the common people while indulging in luxury.
But despite this, there were still some truly devout clergy who lived in poverty, relying on the charity of ordinary believers and the hospitality of monasteries, much like mendicant monks in the East.
These men were highly respected by the people and were often well-traveled and learned.
“Yes, a learned ascetic monk. I felt sorry for him and gave him the 10 gold coins I had with me!”
“You reckless child!” Old Hoffman, being somewhat tight-fisted, was a little exasperated.
“And then?” Lady Mary was intrigued.
“The monk felt he couldn’t accept charity without repaying it, so he decided to teach me a lot of knowledge in return.”
“Teaching you knowledge? That’s quite fortunate!” As a noblewoman, Mary knew the value of knowledge.
“Yes, this monk had traveled the world, even venturing to the distant East…”
“The vast empire of the East?” Mary exclaimed.
In the Middle Ages, with the publication of The Travels of Marco Polo, Europeans became fascinated with the legendary East, a land said to be filled with gold.
“Yes, he told me many stories from around the world and taught me a great deal of knowledge…”
And so, Marin switched to full “storyteller” mode, weaving elaborate tales of “purely fictional” adventures and recounting the real geography and history of the world.
His captivating stories were as enthralling as an old-time storyteller’s tales, keeping the entire Hoffman family, including his younger siblings who had just returned from playing outside, hanging on his every word.