'Is there going to be a war? Are they going to kill me?' Joanna thought to herself, her heart pounding.
Justin caressed her head and grinned sheepishly. "This is the Baldwin family's overly lavish welcome tradition… I tried to warn you."
Joanna narrowed her eyes at him. "You should've tried harder."
Finally, she exhaled deeply and grumbled, "They nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought they were trying to kill me!"
"Don't worry, you're a guest of the Baldwin family. We can't possibly murder you!" Justin grinned at her cheekily, then grabbed her hand and said, "Since we're acting, we gotta make it look real. If not, my grandfather will be able to tell we're faking it!"
Joanna cooperatively held his hand and nodded. "Don't worry, I got this!"
The two walked towards the group, holding hands.
Joanna saw an elderly man in uniform standing amid the troops. His outfit was adorned with medals, and he emerged from a tank with a man and a woman.
"Grandpa! Dad! Mom!" Tears of joy welled up in Justin's eyes as he excitedly waved at them. It had been a long time since he'd been back, and he missed his family. He let go of Joanna's hand and opened his arms to embrace them happily.
However, instead of an embrace, he received a smack on the face as the old man pushed him aside. "Move aside, brat!"
Austin impatiently moved in front of Justin and smiled warmly at Joanna." Are you Joanna? William's granddaughter?"
Joanna was stunned by Austin's enthusiasm and nodded awkwardly. "Yes, that's me."
Austin's eyes glistened with emotion as he said, "I've been waiting for this day for 20 years… William saved my life, but because of my arrogance and hatred for the Moran family, I ruined my friendship with him. I even missed out on the opportunity to see him one last time."
"You are definitely William's granddaughter. You look just like him, and your noble demeanor tells me that you were born to lead." The old man studied her with adoration in his eyes.
Justin's parents, Jack Baldwin and Sophia Jordan, admired Joanna too.
"Miss Joanna, you are stunning. You'd be a perfect future daughter-in-law! I have to thank the Moran family for letting go of such a wonderful treasure." Sophia patted Joanna's hand and smiled at her kindly.
"Of course! Miss Joanna's mother is a well-known beauty in the City, after all – tons of men were fighting for her hand back then," Jack said in amusement. "Miss Joanna is just as beautiful as her mother!"
Joanna was so overwhelmed by their enthusiasm that she didn't know what to do. She could only smile awkwardly and glanced at Justin for help.
Getting her cue, Justin instantly pulled her behind him. "Behave, everyone… You're scaring my girlfriend!"
Austin chuckled and said gently, "Don't be scared. You're the future mistress of the Baldwin family. To show you our sincerity, we prepared a special gift for you we think you'll like!"
"Gift?" Joanna instantly shook her head and backed away. "Grandpa Baldwin, I appreciate the gesture, but you didn't have to get me a gift. I didn't even get anything for you! You're all too generous."
Joanna had forgotten what it felt like to be appreciated and loved like this. When the Pierce family went bankrupt and she married into the Moran family, all she got from the Moran family was judgment and glares.
She felt touched, and also a little guilty. After all, this was all just an act.
Austin frowned and said solemnly, "This is nothing. I'm not a generous man, but I mean it when I say that you're the future mistress of the Baldwin family. The gift I prepared for you isn't just any gift, it's more of a dowry."
"There's no need for that…" Joanna felt so guilty that she wanted to run away and hide. If she knew the Baldwin family would be so serious about it, she wouldn't have agreed to pretend to be Justin's girlfriend.
Joanna stared at Justin pointedly, but Justin ignored her and spoke to the old man, "Grandpa, you can't just give her a cheap dowry, okay? You'd make me look bad if you do since the Moran family's dowry for Joanna was a mansion worth billions. What about us? How many billions are we going to spend?"
"Money is too common. Who needs money in this era? Only the Moran family would do such a thing!" Austin's expression was filled with disdain when he mentioned the Moran family of the City.
He raised his chin and proudly pointed at the army who had welcomed her earlier. 'You are William's granddaughter, a general's heir. You were born with the ability to lead. It's a shame your father didn't inherit your grandfather's talent, since he chose to do business instead and failed miserably at it. So, I want to give you this army to help rebuild the Pierce family to its former glory."
"You want to give me… an army?" Joanna's jaw dropped in shock. She thought Austin would offer money, jewelry, or a house but she never expected him to give her an army!
" I trained them myself. Each soldier has their own unique skills, and they are all very accomplished. I named them The Army of the Devil… It's now yours." He took a medal from his uniform and handed it to Joanna, then looked at the soldiers and yelled, "The person who holds this medal will be your general, and you will only take orders from them. From now on, you will fight every battle for her!"
The minute he finished speaking, the five hundred soldiers saluted at Joanna and screamed in unison, "We swear allegiance to General Pierce!"
Joanna initially wanted to refuse, but the fighting spirit she inherited burned in her when she saw the soldiers.
When she was a child, her grandfather often told her stories of the battlefield, and she used to dream that she would one day become a great general who would make her grandfather proud and bring honor to the Pierce family.
Determined, she held the medal high in the air and roared back, "Men, we fight for honor!"