51: Chapter 51 Elise Delivered to My Doorstep! Points increased?!

The routine lecture and encouragement were finished.

Rowan personally distributed the Rock Potions.

His gaze swept over these young and excited faces, and he sighed slightly in his heart.

Perhaps giving them hope, only to have them face deeper despair in the future, was not a good thing.

But he didn't say anything more, just gave a slight nod to Nolan to signal the training to continue, then turned and walked toward the castle.

Just at this moment—

"My Lord!"

A hurried shout came from behind him.

A sentry responsible for the western watchtower was running over hurriedly, his face showing clear vigilance.

He knelt on one knee a few steps in front of Rowan, speaking very quickly:

"My Lord! A caravan has appeared on the western road and is heading straight for the castle! Four carriages, over a dozen mounted guards, and they are moving quite fast!"

A caravan?

Heading straight for White Cliff Castle?

Rowan stopped in his tracks.

White Cliff Territory was in a remote location; it was neither a major traffic hub nor famous for any special products.

Apart from the occasional merchant coming to the town to trade furs, salt, and iron every spring, outsiders rarely set foot here on ordinary days. Why would a caravan come at this time?

"Did you see the flag or markings clearly?" Rowan asked.

The sentry shook his head: "The distance is too far, I couldn't see clearly, but the caravan is orderly, and they control their horses skillfully. They don't look like guards for an ordinary merchant caravan; they look more like... private soldiers of some noble."

Hearing this, Rowan raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.

Private soldiers of a noble?

This was even more unusual.

White Cliff Territory had no connections with any nearby nobles.

Suddenly, he thought of something, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Could it be the Latour Family?

"Have the guard squad increase vigilance, put archers on the walls, but do not move without orders."

After a moment of contemplation, Rowan instructed Butler Henry beside him, "I will go up to the city wall to see for myself."

"Yes, my Lord." Butler Henry bowed in acknowledgment and immediately turned to make arrangements.

Short, sharp commands and footsteps could be faintly heard within the castle.

Rowan went up to the west wall of the castle and looked into the distance.

He saw wheels rolling and heard the clatter of hooves.

The dust was drawing closer, and the outline of the caravan was now visible.

Just as the sentry had said, there were four carriages, uniform in design, with bodies painted in a low-key dark blue, crafted with exquisite workmanship.

Over a dozen riders were arranged in front and behind the caravan, all wearing dark leather armor, covered by plain cloaks, with long swords at their waists. Their eyes were sharp, and their movements were orderly; they were certainly not ordinary guards.

And on the door of the lead carriage, there seemed to be a small emblem.

It was unclear in the sunlight, but the outline...

Rowan's pupils suddenly constricted!

He clearly saw the slender figure riding at the very front of the caravan.

Her light golden hair was neatly tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, swaying slightly with the rhythm of the horse's trot.

She wore a dark brown hunting outfit suitable for long-distance travel, tailored to fit, outlining her lithe and graceful curves.

Her face was slightly rounder than it had been a year ago, but her features were more defined, and a pair of lively eyes were looking right at him.

Elise?!

Sylvia's personal maid, the woman who had lived in White Cliff Castle for three years.

The shock lasted only a moment; Rowan's face quickly returned to calm, and the corners of his mouth even curled into a faint arc.

It was actually her!

The caravan stopped a few meters outside the castle.

Elise reined in her horse and looked up at the man on the wall.

A year had passed, and he didn't seem to have changed much.

He still had that face, handsome to the point of perfection, and his figure seemed even taller and more solid.

It was just that his amber eyes were deeper and more unfathomable than in her memories.

He stood quietly on the wall, the autumn wind blowing through his short hair, with the vast sky and stretching stone walls behind him.

He was the sole master of this land.

Looking at his smiling yet unsmiling gaze, Elise felt a tightness in her chest for no reason, followed by a surge of resentment.

She gave a soft hmph, making her voice sound cold and impolite:

"Rowan, open the gate! Let us in."

Rowan's gaze swept over her, over the caravan behind her and those elite guards, and finally landed back on her face.

He smiled and waved his hand.

The guards behind him received the signal, opened the gate, and guided the caravan into the outer castle square.

The militia and servants on the training ground looked over with curiosity, whispering to each other.

The caravan slowly drove in, and the well-trained riders quietly dismounted, beginning to assist the drivers in parking the carriages and watering the horses, their movements swift and silent.

Elise also dismounted, tossed the reins to a castle groom who came up to meet her, and brushed the dust off her body.

Only then did Rowan slowly step forward, walking up to her, the distance between them no more than a step.

He was more than a head taller than her and needed to lower his eyes slightly to make eye contact.

"Elise," he said, his voice carrying a smile, "long time no see. What wind blew you back to this countryside?"

Enveloped by his presence at such close range, Elise felt her heart skip a beat again. She instinctively wanted to take half a step back but forcefully stopped herself, lifting her chin:

"What, not welcome? I have come under orders."

"Under orders?" Rowan raised an eyebrow. "Sylvia?"

"Who else could it be?" Elise rolled her eyes at him, then her gaze crossed over him, looking toward the direction of the main castle building, a hint of softness flashing in her eyes. "Where are the children? Mia, Aidan, Finn... are they all doing well?"

"They are all well." Rowan stepped aside and made a gesture of invitation:

"Henry, take Miss Elise to see the children first. Make proper arrangements for the others."

"Yes, my Lord." Butler Henry stepped forward and bowed to Elise. "Miss Elise, please follow me."

Elise glanced at Rowan, bit her lip, and eventually followed Butler Henry toward the main castle building.

Having spent those three years together day and night, and having watched almost all seven children being born, it would be a lie to say she didn't miss them.

Rowan stood where he was, watching her back disappear behind the castle porch, his eyes deep.

He wasn't just making small talk earlier.

The moment Elise approached, he had habitually scanned her.

[84 points].

The rating was actually one point higher than when she left a year ago.

A trace of self-mockery flashed through Rowan's mind:

"It seems that during those three years at White Cliff Castle, I really did a terrible job raising Sylvia and her maid."

At the very least, in the three years they were by his side, their system ratings hadn't increased by a single point.

Leaving the Imperial Capital, leaving the comfortable environment, and being trapped in the frontier to raise children—for a proud daughter of heaven like Sylvia, perhaps it really was a great ordeal.

What surprised Rowan even more was the aura Elise had inadvertently revealed just now...

With his current keenness and perception, he was almost certain that this was the aura of a Life Seed that only a Senior Knight would have!

This discovery caused ripples in his heart.

In those three years, he had never seen Elise demonstrate the strength of a knight.

But then again, at that time he only had the Succubus class and was ignorant of Battle Qi perception; as long as she didn't actively reveal her strength, it was perfectly normal that he couldn't see it.

Thinking of this.

An interesting thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

Earlier, he was still considering that the territory had no one to guard it, and he lacked freedom, having to calculate his time even when going out.

Now, hasn't a ready-made Senior Knight just delivered herself to his door?!

This really is—

Searching high and low, only to find it without any effort.

Sylvia shouldn't be lacking such a maid by her side, right?