An Understated Dominance by Marina Vittori

After a brief discussion in the meeting room, Austin invited Jovian to tour the West Lucozia castle.

The castle was enormous, equipped with imaginable facilities. Unfamiliar visitors could easily get lost in its vastness.

Jovian prided himself on being well-traveled, yet as he toured the castle, even he couldn’t hide his astonishment.

Unlike the ostentatious displays of wealth seen in luxurious estates, this castle could only be described as grand, majestic, and awe-inspiring. Everything in his line of sight conveyed a sense of grandeur and majesty.

What stunned Jovian the most was the House of Heroes inside the West Lucozia castle. The structure was nine stories high and looked like an ancient monument.

The walls were lined with memorials of fallen soldiers. The place was packed with thousands of tablets, each engraved with the hero’s name and a detailed account of their life stories for future generations to honor and remember.

The Ballard family had a family tree that recorded a few notable figures, but their archives seemed utterly insignificant compared to the House of Heroes. No wonder the West Lucozia cavalry was unmatched. It turned out the root of their strength was there.

By the time they completed the tour, the sun had already set.

Austin had prepared a special dinner and invited Jovian to join him. Despite the 30-year age gap between them, they got along remarkably well.

Jovian quickly realized that Austin, the so-called hellraiser, was far from the reckless scoundrel people claimed him to be.

On the contrary, he was highly educated, capable, and brilliant, excelling in both civil and military affairs. In many respects, Jovian-despite his years of experience-felt inferior to him. Indeed, the Rhys family had no shortage of talented individuals.

their dinner inside the castle, another scene unfolded outside

stationed at the gates. They had made repeated inquiries throughout the day, but there was no response from inside. Still, none of them seemed ready to leave, worried that someone else might seize the opportunity if

sweat. He couldn’t help but tease, “Mr. Wentworth, the sun’s about to set. Are you planning to

physically strong, so waiting under the hot

life of comfort and luxury. He had never

own limits, Sir Thatcher. I don’t

his attendants had somehow procured a pair of leaves and were frantically fanning him to

like this isn’t getting us anywhere. Why don’t we find a place to sit and grab a bite? After all, people need

stomach and looked tempted by

since early morning, and his hunger was becoming unbearable. The only thing holding him together was his

He turned to Warrick instead of answering

goal. If he was resting with Huxley and

nodding in agreement. “Judging by the situation, they won’t open the gates again today.

impatience had long since

there to repay Matthias a favor, with the intention

at least shown his sincerity-no matter what happened, Matthias would know he had put

Since Mr. Prescott has spoken, I’ll join you for

silent understanding passed between