As the setting sun dipped below the horizon, Talvey led Gael through the luxurious corridors and stepped into the banquet hall inside Iser Tower.
Upon seeing Gael, Visenyra immediately stood up, took Gael’s small hand, and had her sit by her side.
Talvey sat on the right side of Iseorn, with Orion sitting opposite him.
A young girl of around sixteen stood behind Visenyra, wearing a heartfelt smile as she watched the heartwarming scene before her.
“Sophia, stop standing there, sit down quickly!”
Visenyra looked at Sophia, who was still standing, and immediately urged her to sit down.
“My lady, I… I…” The young girl waved her hands repeatedly with a flustered look.
Talvey, on the other side of the table, saw this and spoke up, “Since Mother told you to sit, just sit down. She has always regarded you like a daughter, and Gael is no outsider either. Sit down.”
“All right, Sophia, sit down!” Duke Iseorn also spoke up at this moment to let her sit.
“Yes, Lord Duke!”
Only then did Sophia timidly sit on the other side of Visenyra.
“Although Gael and Talvey are not yet married, I believe that day will come very soon, so let us welcome Gael to House Valthorn!”
Seeing Sophia sit down, Duke Iseorn raised his goblet and said loudly, his voice filled with uncontainable joy.
“Welcome, Gael!”
Everyone raised their goblets to welcome Gael’s arrival.
“Thank you, Grandfather! Thank you, Father, Mother!”
Gael also raised her goblet to toast everyone.
After putting down their goblets, the family began to enjoy the warm family banquet with smiles on their faces.
On that side, the three grandparents and grandchildren were communicating about Bloodstone and the conditions of the territory, while on the other side, Gael was blushing as she whispered quietly with Visenyra and Sophia. This chapter was taken from novelping(.)com without permission.
“Grandfather, Father, I plan to return to Bloodstone in a few days and come back after everything stabilizes there.”
Talvey was still somewhat uneasy about Bloodstone; with him overseeing it, Bloodstone could stabilize much faster, while here in The Arbor, with Iseorn and Orion present, development could proceed step-by-step.
Duke Iseorn put down his knife and fork, pondered for a moment, and then spoke, “Do you already have a detailed plan for Bloodstone?”
“Grandfather, a thorough plan was already formulated before I left, and it is currently being jointly implemented by Sir Richard, Sir Azel, and Sir Ricken.” Talvey confidently introduced his plans to Iseorn and Orion.
“In that case, just decide for yourself. House Valthorn will be yours to command sooner or later. In the future, you don’t need to ask me for instructions on matters within the territory; just decide for yourself. As for me, I just hope to have the fortune to see your descendants be born, and that will be enough.”
Iseorn had actually started delegating power long ago, and general affairs, big and small, within the territory were usually handled by Orion.
Although Talvey’s father, Orion, had disliked wielding weapons since childhood and had even less interest in tournaments, often provoking Duke Iseorn’s anger when he was young—Iseorn was renowned throughout the Seven Kingdoms for his valor, yet his son was a scholar-like figure, so naturally, he could not catch his eye.
It wasn’t until Talvey gradually grew up and displayed extraordinary physical talent that Iseorn began to spare no effort to cultivate his grandson, and his relationship with his son began to ease.
However, when it came to handling the complex affairs of the territory, Orion was exceptionally adept.
Even Duke Iseorn had to admit that in this regard, he could not surpass his son, which was why, long ago, he had entrusted all affairs within the territory entirely to Orion to handle.
“I understand, Grandfather.” Talvey nodded solemnly, and then turned his gaze to Orion, “Father, how has the development of the territory been recently?”
“Talvey, those blueprints and planning documents you gave me are truly breathtaking. If all the plans above are fully implemented, I have the confidence to make the strength of House Valthorn multiply tenfold. Sometimes I really wonder where you got this knowledge from. Could it really be as your grandfather said, that you awakened the ancestral heritage of House Valthorn?” Orion truly admired his son now; from whichever perspective, he was exceptionally outstanding.
This was true.
Whether it was the effect of the system or not, after activating the system, Talvey gradually began to awaken the bloodline magic of House Valthorn, which could not be faked.
As for those blueprints and planning documents, they were simply the knowledge Talvey had learned in his past life, having nothing at all to do with bloodline heritage; it was merely using heritage as a pretext to cover up his abnormalities.
Talvey did not directly answer his father’s doubt; instead, he stood up, extended his palm upward, and instantly, a red flame appeared out of thin air.
This scene was simply too shocking; the few people present all stared blankly at the flame in Talvey’s hand.
After extinguishing the fire in his palm, Talvey turned his gaze to his father Orion and smiled, “This is the bloodline power I recently awakened. Father should finally believe me and Grandfather this time.”
“Hahaha, excellent! Talvey, this is the Heart of Fire recorded in the books, right?”
Duke Iseorn slammed his hand heavily on the table. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Compared to Orion’s suspicion, Iseorn had always firmly believed in Talvey’s awakening, because in the surviving records of House Valthorn’s ancestor Iseorn, it was clearly stated that their family was a Dragonlord family with a purer bloodline than House Targaryen, and among the forty Dragonlord families of the Fourteen Flames at that time, their ranking was also an extremely prominent existence.
In the Valyria Empire, the ranking of Dragonlord families was not based on whose political ability was stronger, whose wealth was greater, and other such factors; rather, it was much simpler and cruder: whoever wielded stronger power naturally had a greater say, and only then would the family rank higher.
As for the power of a Dragonlord family, it was nothing more than the number of dragons and the blood magic they mastered.
As for other things like wealth, territory, armies, and politics, once you had absolute power, these things were naturally within easy reach; conversely, without power, you could not hold onto these things either.
Talvey replied, “That’s right, Grandfather, it is indeed the Heart of Fire.”
Orion only just recovered from his shock at this moment, murmuring softly, “I believe it, but why didn’t I awaken?”
Iseorn glanced sideways at his son, “Even during the ancient Valyria period, not every Valthorn could awaken the inherited bloodline.”
Sophia widened her eyes in disbelief; she had never seen the young master display such miraculous magic.
At this moment, Gael’s eyes lit up as she hurried over to sit by Talvey’s side, “Talvey, you’re amazing! Is this the legendary magic? I want to see it again! I want to see it again!”
Talvey smiled and nodded, “Yes, it’s a type of bloodline magic, and I only mastered it recently.”
Everyone was also amused by Gael, and the dining table was filled with laughter and joy as Gael pestered Talvey to demonstrate it once more…
In the days that followed, Talvey took Gael sightseeing all around The Arbor, their footprints covering almost every corner of the island.
On the rolling hills of the northern part of the island were continuous vineyards and wine estates; this was the core region of The Arbor, where the exported wine alone could bring in a net profit of over three hundred thousand gold dragons to The Arbor each year.
Talvey and Gael also personally participated in the harvesting, sorting, and brewing process in the golden wine-producing region, fully satisfying Gael’s curiosity.
“Talvey, I never knew the winemaking process was so complicated.” Gael let out an exclamation.
Talvey teased, “Otherwise? Did you think wine could grow directly on grapevine branches?”
“Humph, if you hadn’t grown up in The Arbor, would you know?”
“Even if I weren’t in The Arbor, I would know.”
“You’re just bragging! Blah, blah, blah!”
“Hahaha!”