Chapter 543: The Dragon Mark Ceremony

Every foreign alliance was also carefully controlled so that another family could not gain too much influence inside the Vorhelm structure.

The Pendragons?

They seemed to see outside alliances not as a threat, but as a tool to expand their influence.

Two great families with completely different philosophies, it was impossible to say which one was right and which one was wrong.

It made sense to think that the Pendragons had the right idea, but the Vorhelms were not behind them in terms of power, and their family name had much more reputation.

"That is why you support your heirs’ marriages." Lian said.

"It has almost become a tradition." Aurelia nodded.

Then they walked silently for a few steps.

"But Seris is different, before this, many of the elders even thought it would be better if she never married."

"Why?" He was a little surprised.

"Because she is the jewel of the family."

The answer was simple, but there was logic behind it, and Aurelia explained.

"We never wanted to marry Seris into another family and then have them act as if the greatest talent of our generation now belonged to them too."

"And of course, that girl herself never showed any interest."

This part matched more with what Lian knew about Seris, for that girl, fighting and becoming stronger seemed to be the most important reason for her life.

"We all thought the only thing that girl wanted was to reach the top."

He said nothing, he could completely believe such an image of her.

Aurelia gave a mischievous smile.

"But who would have thought that girl..." But she left the sentence unfinished.

Lian waited for a few steps, but no continuation came.

"What about that girl?"

"Forget it."

"You started it yourself."

"I made a mistake." Aurelia laughed casually.

"Anyway, tomorrow she will probably receive many marriage proposals again."

She shook her head with regret.

"Many people still think they have a chance, but Seris? From what I know about her? She’ll tear all of them apart." She did not even need to think about it.

They walked a few more steps, and then the woman added very quietly without looking at him.

"Except one."

At that exact moment, she stopped without giving any further explanation.

An independent building stood in front of them, a two-story house with an old stone exterior, tall windows, and a small garden around it.

"We’re here." Aurelia said with the same completely innocent expression.

Lian only looked at her for a few seconds, the woman knew exactly what she had done.

She had stopped the sentence exactly where she thought it was most likely to make him think about it, unfortunately, this woman had misunderstood him a little.

Such things could not occupy any part of his mind, and he could understand what she meant in advance.

Aurelia held out the small piece that served as the building’s entry permission toward him.

"As long as you’re a guest of the family, this place is yours, I’ll see you tomorrow." ℴ

She turned around and walked away along the path with the same light steps.

"This family is really strange." Lian watched her back for a few seconds and then said quietly, he had thought only the Vorhelms had problems with their intelligence level, but it seemed that was not the case.

Inside, the accommodation was more like a complete house than what he expected from a guesthouse.

The first floor had a small living room with a kitchen, a study room, and a bathroom.

The upper floor also had several bedrooms and a balcony facing the eastern part of Verendal.

Lian sat on the edge of the bed, it had been a long day.

In the morning, he was in the capital and a few hours later, he was in Verendal and had managed to meet a Celestial, Rhaenar Pendragon.

He rested his head slightly against the wall, that man was interesting to him, more than he had expected.

Not because he was powerful, the existence of other powerful people was nothing strange to him, what had caught his attention was his personality.

That man’s personality was completely different from his father’s.

After some time, he stood up and walked to the window.

Night was slowly falling over the city, the lights had turned on and guards were moving along the walls.

Different groups of forces were moving through the main streets.

The great guests of the world were already within a few kilometers of him, the six great families, the twelve ancient associations, and probably many of the strongest people in the world.

The Pendragon Patriarch was also nearby, yet a small feeling would not leave him, he did not know why, but he had a bad feeling.

He felt that the next day was not going to go peacefully.

He looked at the quiet streets for a few seconds, maybe after spending so much time in the Ruined Realm, his mind had become too used to danger.

Maybe the prophecy of Region One was still keeping his mind busy for no reason, or maybe everything he had heard today had made him analyze things too much.

But this did not make him lower his guard, his instinct had not been wrong even once during all this time, so if he had a bad feeling, something was definitely going to happen.

He slowly breathed out.

In any case, this was Verendal, the home of the Pendragons, one of the most protected private territories on Earth.

Almost all the great powers of humanity were here for the ceremony.

And one of the few humans who had completed all five Evolutions lived nearby.

In such a place, what bad thing could exactly happen?

He had no answer.

The next morning, the sound of the first bell spread across all of Verendal before the sun had fully risen.

Daaang.

A few seconds later, the second bell answered from another part of the city, then the third, and soon the different towers woke up one after another.

Lian opened his eyes, the morning light had entered the room through the curtains, he got out of bed and walked to the window.

The city was different from the night before.

Pendragon flags had been lowered from all the towers, and the main streets were decorated with dragon symbols.

Official carriages had been moving toward the center of the city since the early hours.

Family members in formal clothes could be seen in the streets, and the security forces were twice as many as the night before.

He changed his clothes and left the accommodation.

The moment he stepped onto the stone path outside, one of the tallest towers in the central part of Verendal lit up with golden light.

A calm light that moved from the base of the tower to its highest point.

Then a sound spread through the city.

It was so close to the roar of a huge dragon that several birds flew up from the nearby rooftops for a moment.

But Lian did not see any creature in the sky, it was only an old echo.

A few seconds later, the official voice of the city’s public network was broadcast through the different towers.

"To all members of the family, guests, and representatives of allied powers—"

The dragon flag opened in the morning wind.

"The Dragon Mark Ceremony will now begin."