The next day, Josh set out on his return journey.
Compared to when he came, he had far fewer people with him—only Vito, a few newly recruited subordinates from Vienna, and Jiaying remained.
The other bodyguard leader, Brook, stayed behind at the castle with some of the men to act as supervisors. The little puppies were also temporarily left at the castle.
The group first arrived in Paris, handed Jiaying over to Lindon who was stationed there, restocked him with supplies, and only then passed through the UK to return to the United States.
It took three full days of travel before they finally arrived in New York on the morning of the fourth day.
Then, without pause, they took a plane and returned to Chicago that afternoon.
When Josh arrived home, Margot was out in the yard walking and sunbathing with the support of Francesca, her big pregnant belly showing.
Seeing Josh suddenly return home, Margot was overwhelmed with joy.
If it weren't for her condition, she might have broken into a run.
"Careful, careful, take it slow." Josh hurried up to support her.
"Haha, I'm fine, I'm not that fragile!" Margot laughed happily as she held onto Josh's arm.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder—let alone the fact that Josh had been gone for half a year.
Margot had long been missing him terribly.
If it weren't for the special circumstances, they might have already rekindled their passion.
"Mm, you do look pretty good, haven't lost weight. You've really had a hard time these days!" Josh gently kissed her forehead, his voice full of tenderness.
Leaving a pregnant woman at home alone for so long was actually quite irresponsible. If it weren't for the unique situation of World War II ending—something rare even in all of human history—Josh wouldn't have done it.
"Hehe, not really. I ate well and slept well. It wasn't that hard!" Margot blushed a little from Josh's tenderness.
"Let me walk with you. I'll tell you about my time in Europe." Josh supported Margot as they walked, then turned to Francesca. "Leave this to me. Go find Vito—he's in the front yard."
Hearing Josh mention her brother, Francesca's eyes lit up. She thanked Josh and left the yard.
But not long after she left, two other maids came to the yard—not to disturb the couple, but simply to wait quietly nearby. Clearly, Francesca had arranged for them.
Seeing this, Josh nodded to himself. Francesca was indeed reliable.
He then relaxed and strolled with Margot, chatting about his time in Europe.
Of course, what he said was heavily edited. He left out things like Hydra, battlefield horrors, and the postwar devastation of various countries. After all, pregnant women are emotionally sensitive, and Josh didn't want to upset her.
So he focused on how successful the military campaigns were and how much wealth he had gained.
In short, he cherry-picked the good stuff to talk about.
"Hearing all this, maybe I really should have supported you going into the military. Who knows—you might've become a general!" Margot joked, after hearing about Josh spearheading the Eagle's Nest Reoccupation Plan, ending the war early, and liberating his "homeland" Austria in advance.
"Haha, you're giving me too much credit. If I had really joined the army, I'd probably have struggled to even become a low-ranking officer. Who would've listened to me, let alone let me near any big decisions?" Josh laughed heartily.
This was the harsh reality of capitalist countries—an ordinary officer's voice was worth far less than that of a big capitalist, let alone a soldier.
"You're right." Margot nodded and smiled, then changed the subject. "That Neuschwanstein Castle—was it really as beautiful as the rumors say?"
Before Josh left for Europe, she hadn't really believed him when he said he would buy Neuschwanstein Castle. A world-class historical landmark wasn't something you could just buy with money.
But to her surprise, Josh had actually done it.
"Yes, it's extremely beautiful, and the scenery is breathtaking in every season. But it's not completely finished yet. According to the engineers, it'll take about a year to fully complete. But that works out too—by then, our baby will be one year old, and we can go vacation there as a family," Josh said, describing the beauty of Neuschwanstein.
After all, times were different now. In King Ludwig II's day, technology was backward, so the castle wasn't finished after decades.
But now, with the main structure already completed, plus modern construction technology, machinery, and plenty of free labor, the timeline wouldn't be as long.
And there was no worry about the POWs slacking off.
In this era, prisoners of war basically had no human rights, and few people cared about their fate.
The so-called Geneva Conventions were practically worthless once the Axis built concentration camps so Josh didn't need to have too many scruples.
Of course, Josh didn't plan to exploit the POWs mindlessly.
On one hand, there would be the threat of force; on the other, ample food, decent living conditions, and the promise that finishing the castle would let them return home sooner.
A carrot and a stick. As long as the POWs weren't idiots, they'd work with all their might.
"I'm really looking forward to it!" Hearing Josh describe Neuschwanstein, Margot's eyes sparkled.
After all, very few normal women could resist the allure of a fairytale castle like that.
Josh looked at the woman beside him, her face glowing in the setting sun, and smiled gently.
Perhaps the luckiest thing about coming to this world was meeting this woman.
…
In the days that followed, aside from occasionally contacting Dix and the European front via phone or telegram, Josh went nowhere else and stayed by Margot's side without leaving.
Two weeks later, outside the delivery room of Prentice Women's Hospital at Northwestern University Medical School in downtown Chicago, Josh paced back and forth anxiously.
Vito and the other bodyguards stood like wooden posts in the distance, not daring to disturb him.
Not until a nurse came out to say both mother and child were safe did Josh finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But just as he was catching his breath, another nurse came running out and pulled the first one back in.
Turns out Margot had another baby inside.
Her first pregnancy turned out to be twins—a boy and a girl.
Josh hit the jackpot in one go, with both a son and a daughter.
Fortunately, Margot's health was good, and there were no complications. Both babies were born safely and smoothly.
"Josh, Mike and Carol are really ugly…" Once the mother and babies were moved to the recovery room and Josh came to her side, Margot looked at the two swaddled infants and said that, nearly making Josh burst out laughing.
The children's names had been decided before birth by Josh and Margot.
The boy was named Mike Kelly Kane.
The girl was named Carol Kelly Kane.
The middle name, Kelly, was Margot's maiden name.
Now that they had both, it worked out perfectly.
"Newborns always look like this. They'll be better looking in a while. Don't worry—they'll definitely grow up to be as handsome and beautiful as their parents!" Josh said with a smile, trying to comfort her.
Chapter 102: Dragon and Phoenix Twins