65 Bill Vallauris (1/2)
- Veturia -
A blonde man grumpily alighted from a red sports car in front of a castle like mansion. He walked past all the servants that had lined up in the entrance to greet him, not even bothering to return their greetings. As he stood at the entrance of the mansion another servant approached him and respectfully walked him inside.
The mansion was decorated in baroque style making it look like a palace of a royalty. The ceilings were filled with war paintings where the red of the blood and the gold of the armours was predominant. The central hall, which could be considered as the living room, was not much different in its style from the rest of the halls, except for the added effects of mosaic windows.
In the middle of this extravagance sat a man with white hair and a straight posture. If one didn't look at his face, his trained body alone would be enough to create an impression that he was only in his 40s, when in actuality, he was in his 70s.
Seeing that his grandson had arrived, the old Vallauris nodded his head in satisfaction. He would have preferred to meet Luke a day earlier, but his grandson was as stubborn as him: refusing to abide until extreme measures were taken. Not only did Luke remind him of his own youth, but he was also much more ambitious and capable than his son and Luke's father: the current emperor. This is why the old Vallauris had called him here to give him a helping hand in the selection.
Disregarding any ceremonies Luke directly went and sat on the leather sofa in front of his grandfather. Taking the glass of wine that was prepared beforehand especially for him, he calmly took a few sips and then looked apprehensively at his granddad with his eyebrows slightly raised.
Seeing the impatience and the inquisitiveness in the young man in front of him, Bill Vallauris sighed helplessly and got straight to business.
”You realise that the vote of the Vallauris might as well be the decisive one, right?”
Luke scoffed at his question. Of course he did, why else would he bother to accept the trial that was meant to be so disadvantageous for him. Currently both him and Cain had secured three votes each and though the Herondales preferred the Dragon, being the neutral party they had to provide equal opportunity to test their true prowess.
Thus, without any unnecessary words he nodded his head, waiting for the old man to continue. After all, he wouldn't have called him only to tell him something so obvious.
Excluding the judges from the Greydale and Vallauris families plus the current emperor, the other four judges had to share the details of their trials, if any, with the other judges on the day of handing them to the two candidates. Therefore, the old Vallauris already knew about the first task given by the Herondales. Deciding to probe the capabilities of his grandson on his own, the old man inquired,
Knowing full well about this fact, Luke's expression still turned solemn hearing it coming from his grandfather. In this world, there were few people he respected, but his grandfather was the one he respected and admired the most. Even though he was stubborn towards the man's requests from time to time, he still would eventually always follow his advice and orders. He was someone Luke looked up to, so he was also the last person he ever wanted to disappoint.