Luckily, under the influence of his wife and children, Sir Dantes finally pulled himself together a bit, and life for the family wasn't too bad. Especially after Sir Dantes quit drinking and, with some ancestral savings, finally bought a respectable house at 11 Loyalty Street and moved the family to the city...

Days passed like this, and Dantes, who hadn't boasted in a tavern for a long time, almost forgot the glory of his ancestors.

Until the honorable "Imperial Griffin" General Hamoldon heard a legend from five hundred years ago on the Gana Continent and decided to help the honorable Prince Colin find the Colin family's roots in the Empire. The officials at the Port Authority rummaged through everything for several nights and astonishingly found it.

When the official from the Port Authority showed up with a face of surprise, holding the missing information from five hundred years ago, Dantes suddenly realized—

It turns out the ancestors he bragged about half his life, "Fernando," had a real surname called Colin! The name was Fernando Colin!

Everything had come full circle!

As long as that prince nods...

...

At 11 Loyalty Street, the sky hung low with clouds, the weather gloomy, just like the unclear and dark mood of the Dantes family.

Properly speaking, the honorable Mr. Lumi should have arrived early, confirming the genealogical records doesn't take too long. Mr. Colin, however busy socializing he might be, shouldn't have forgotten such an important matter.

Yet, until dusk stretched the shadows on the street, the bustling Loyalty Street still had no carriage bearing the golden rose and scripture.

Clearly.

The esteemed gentleman had forgotten them!

Edmond Dantes paced around anxiously in the living room, his tall skinny frame stooped, complexion pale, beads of sweat on his forehead falling to his nose repeatedly without his notice.

He muttered to himself incessantly, occasionally glancing outside the door, as if he could see through the worn wooden door and discern the fate awaiting them.

"Sit down, Edmond," his wife Anna rubbed her hands forcefully, her voice sharp and anxious, "Pacing around won't change the outcome!"

Her mood was extremely irritable, any faint sounds outside seemed like the neighborhood's piercing laughter in her ears.

She could even imagine how those people would talk about their family—

'Look at that family, absurdly dreaming of being related to Prince Colin! How could such a noble prince have such lowly relatives!'

'Little Margery, my dear little darling, you mustn't play with Emily anymore. None of their family is normal, especially Emily's mother, oh my, how shameful.'

Seeing his wife's worsening complexion, Edmond swallowed, forcing a few traces of regained dignity into his stiff face, mumbling with a smile.

"I'm just... a bit hot, wanted to walk."

He just wants to meet that gentleman.

He doesn't ask for anything else, just a meeting, it was Fernando Colin and Mrs. Margaret Dantes' regret five hundred years ago.

And it is his kin!

His wife kept muttering, chastising him that he should have arranged relations with the Port Authority earlier, that way they might join the welcoming party for Prince Colin... might even connect with the big figures of the Hillfin family, solving Sofia's admission into the Royal Art Academy.

Edmond lacked the strength to retort his wife, nor did he want to, so he could only soothe her, letting her vent her frustration.

Solving Sofia's school issue doesn't need the Hillfin family's connections? No one needs to know them, just a simple nod from Colin, and others will ensure it's sorted.

Even today, he remembers the Port Authority official's courtesy... that servant-like care and attention was something he only experienced when dining in a restaurant.

As for his eldest son Lucian, this usually defiant rascal, now sat despondently in the corner of the room, like an eggplant beaten by frost.

His eyes hollow and puzzled, the grand words he'd often speak seemed swept away by the wind, leaving silence in waiting.

Is he really destined to be a Knight Follower?

He didn't want to spend his days feeding horses until thirty, then find a noble needing knights to showcase, chasing after goblins or staring at windmills in the countryside or flirting with village girls.

How is this different from being an Adventurer?!

The Royal Knight Order is where he belongs!

Sofia held her young sister Emily on the worn sofa, her expression gloomy as she gazed out at the gray street scene.

Before Mr. Colin arrived at this port, she had many fantasies, including an accidental encounter in the garden, hearing him talk about adventures on the Gana Continent, playing piano just for him in an empty music room...

However, now those romantic expectations eventually turned into bubbles, disappearing into the melancholic evening breeze.

In the end, not a single word exchanged.

Finding no one to play with her, little Emily, sitting in Sofia's arms, pouted, humming songs to entertain herself.

She wanted to go to Holy Mother School, Lady Agnes would sing with them, and her good friend Margery would secretly bring her homemade nougat. But Daddy insisted, Mr. Colin might come anytime, the family must neatly welcome the gentleman, then introduce themselves in rehearsed order, and Mr. Colin would give her a lifetime supply of candy...

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