"Young Master, his name is Grasshead. He served the master's mother—an old woman who firmly believed in pure-blood supremacy. She passed away five years ago. Before that, the master didn't have much room to change the family's beliefs," Aldridge explained.
The "master" he referred to was, of course, Gideon, and the old woman was his mother—Adrian's grandmother. Adrian had never shared this part of the family history with Sean. In fact, he had avoided discussing much about the Bulstrode family at all.
Adrian glanced at Sean, who had turned to look at him. He sighed helplessly, then nodded and said, "When I was young, my grandmother loved me very much. She truly cared for me. Even after it was discovered that I was a Squib, and though she was clearly disappointed, she still treated me kindly. So, I don't resent her—and I didn't want you to think poorly of her."
But Sean thought to himself: If she truly loved you, she wouldn't have treated you differently just because you weren't a wizard. She only cared about descendants who could perform magic—as if that's the only thing that mattered.
Of course, Sean didn't say any of this aloud. He saw no need to shatter his father's image of the woman who raised him.
"I understand, Father. Let's go inside."
"I'll take the lead," Aldridge offered.
As a member of the Bulstrode family himself, Aldridge knew the manor's layout well. Though Adrian had grown up here, he'd been away for twenty years—too long to remember the finer details.
Led by Aldridge, the group stepped into Bulstrode Manor. As soon as they entered, Sean saw Gideon, Barnabas, and Miles already waiting in the hall. Standing with them was another elderly woman, about Gideon's age. As soon as he saw Adrian, the old woman stood up quickly and hurried over with clear excitement.
"Adrian, my boy—after all these years, I finally see you again!"
Adrian stepped forward immediately and embraced the old woman.
"I missed you so much, Mom."
"I missed you too—so much," the old woman replied warmly.
Mother and son embraced for a long while. Then, with a gentle smile, the old woman turned her attention to Sean and to Caesar in Margaret's arms. She walked up to Margaret and whispered something softly. Then, she looked at the sleeping Caesar, reached out, and gently stroked his tiny cheek. Finally, her eyes settled on Sean.
She gazed at him carefully, her eyes resting longest on his own. A flicker of recognition flashed across her face—an obscure but unmistakable look of understanding.
Sean noticed it immediately. She knows about Seer's vision.It was clear now: she understood the meaning behind his light gray eyes. In contrast, Barnabas and Miles—father and son—had shown no such recognition. If they had known about the Bulstrode family's spiritual gift, they certainly would have reacted when they saw Sean's eyes before.
"You must be Sean, right?" the old woman said warmly. "May I hug you?"
Seeing the hopeful look in her eyes, Sean couldn't refuse. He stepped forward and embraced her. The old woman hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "You were so small when you were born. I never imagined you'd grow up to protect your father and mother like this. You've done so well. Stay the night here. Later, come to my room. I have something to give you."
She pulled away from the hug and took Margaret by the hand, leading her aside. The two women sat down together, speaking in low tones. Though Sean couldn't hear their conversation, the way they kept glancing over at Caesar made it easy to guess the topic.
From what she'd just whispered, it was obvious: the old woman had always cared about Adrian. She remembered Sean's birth—perhaps even attended it more than once. So why hadn't she appeared openly in her son's life until now? What had held her back?
Was it really just the so-called "family rules"?Or had it been Gavin's own mother—the matriarch who had only passed away a few years ago?
"Sean. Adrian. Come over," Gideon's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Hearing his grandfather's summons, Sean and Adrian immediately stepped forward. Aldridge quietly retreated to the side, waiting for Sean's call if needed.
Barnabas and Miles were already standing next to Gideon. They stood stiffly, as if Sean and Adrian weren't even there. Sean returned the favor and ignored them just as completely—as if they were nothing more than a pair of ornamental plants, one tall and one short.
Adrian moved to Gideon's right, opposite Barnabas. It was clear he was feeling a bit emotional. Sean looked around the hall, then spotted a chair near a table in the distance. With a flick of his finger, the chair flew toward them and landed neatly behind Adrian. He flicked again, summoning a second chair to himself, and sat down without hesitation—completely ignoring the stares around him. He yawned lazily.
Halfway through the yawn, Sean suddenly noticed something odd.
The room had gone silent.
He snapped his mouth shut and glanced around. Everyone was looking at him. Coughing lightly, he said, "I was up late last night. My apologies."
"Of course you were up late," Barnabas said in a deliberately loud voice. "You're a rising star in the magical world these days. Two articles in The Golden Crucible within two years! Your most recent one has potion merchants lining up. I imagine you were working on another paper late into the night, hmm? Quite the scholar."
Sean chuckled. "You know, Uncle Barnabas, normally your compliments sound like insults dressed up in formalwear. But this time, you're actually spot on. I was writing a paper—but not on potions. It's about Transfiguration. I'm nearly finished. I'll be submitting it once the school term begins."
Barnabas's smug smile faltered. He forced a grin, but didn't reply.
Seeing the look on Barnabas's face, Sean smiled faintly. How could someone like that ever inherit the Bulstrode family?His so-called grandfather would never hand over the family legacy to someone as unimpressive as Barnabas.
Of course—if someone were to suggest that Barnabas was only pretending to be ambitious but incompetent, all as part of a ploy to lower Gideon's guard and seize power over the Bulstrode family more quickly...
Well, in that case, Sean would have to say: I never said a word.
Gideon looked between Sean and Barnabas, but didn't comment. He simply smiled, as if the exchange between them meant nothing at all, and carried on the conversation without pause.