"Young master, his name is Thistle. He was always with the master's mother, who was an old lady who firmly believed in the pure-blood philosophy. She passed away five years ago. Before that, the master didn't have much of a way to change this pure-blood ideology within the family."
The "master" Aldrich spoke of was naturally Gavin, and the old lady was, of course, Gavin's mother, which would be Yard's grandmother. Yard had never mentioned this to Sean. In fact, Yard had never actively told Sean anything about the Bulstrode family.
Yard looked at Sean, who had turned his head, sighed helplessly, and nodded. "When I was a child, Grandma did love me very much. She was also genuinely very good to me. Although it was later proven that I was a Squib and she was very disappointed, she was still decent to me, so I don't hate her, and I didn't want you to know about this."
If she truly loved you, she wouldn't have treated you differently just because you weren't a wizard. What she loved was a blood descendant who could perform magic. Any descendant who could do magic would have been fine.
Of course, Sean didn't say these words out loud. He had no need to shatter his father's image of his own grandmother.
"I understand, Father. Let's go in then."
"I'll lead the way."
Aldrich was originally from the Bulstrode family, so he naturally knew its layout. Although Yard had also grown up here, he had been away for twenty years after all, and many things were no longer clear in his memory.
Under Aldrich's guidance, the group walked into Bulstrode Manor. At this moment, Sean immediately saw Gavin, Borell, and Marcellus waiting in the main hall. Of course, besides them, there was an old woman of similar age to Gavin. The moment she saw Sean and the others walk in, she stood up somewhat eagerly and walked quickly toward Yard.
"Yard, my son, I finally see you again."
Seeing the old woman approach, Yard also immediately went forward, and the two embraced.
"I missed you so much, Mom."
"Me too, me too, I missed you so much too."
The mother and son embraced for a long time before the old woman turned her head to look at Sean, and at Caesar in Martha's arms, a smile appearing on her face again. She first walked to Martha, said something in a low voice, then looked at the sleeping Caesar, gently stroking his cheek before turning to look at Sean.
The old woman looked at Sean, examining him carefully. Finally, her gaze fell on Sean's eyes, and a very subtle look of understanding appeared on her face.
Sean noticed the expression on the old woman's face and immediately knew she was aware of the Spiritual Vision ability. Borell and Marcellus, the father and son, were clearly unaware of this ability's existence. Otherwise, when they had seen Sean before, it would have been impossible for them not to notice his eyes.
"You must be Sean, right? May I hug you?"
Seeing the old woman's expectant expression, how could Sean possibly say no? He stepped forward and actively hugged the old woman. At this moment, the old woman also hugged Sean tightly and whispered in his ear, "You were just a tiny thing when you were born. I didn't expect you to be able to protect your father and mother so quickly. You've done very well. Sleep here tonight, and then come to my room. I have something for you."
Having said this, the old woman separated from Sean, took Martha's hand, and the two women sat down to one side, whispering to each other. Although he couldn't hear their words, from the way they kept looking at Caesar, Sean could generally guess that their conversation inevitably revolved around the child.
Additionally, from what the old woman had secretly said to him just now, it was clear she had been paying attention to his father. Otherwise, she couldn't have seen him when he was born. If there was a first time, there was a second. Sean just didn't understand what was restricting the old woman from openly meeting her own son. Was it just some ethereal family rule?
Or was it that mother of Gavin's who had just died a few years ago?
"Sean, Yard, come here."
Hearing Gavin's words, Sean and Yard immediately walked forward. At this time, Aldrich stepped aside to wait quietly for Sean's call.
Borell and Marcellus were standing beside Gavin, acting as if they hadn't seen Sean and Yard at all. Sean and Yard, in turn, completely ignored them, treating the father and son like two potted plants, one large and one small.
Yard came to Gavin's side, visibly excited. Borell was on Gavin's left, while Yard stood to the right of the seated Gavin.
Sean followed behind Yard, looked around, and spotted a chair by a table not far away. With a flick of his finger, a chair flew over and stopped behind Yard. Then Sean flicked his finger again, and a second chair flew over, stopping behind Sean. Completely ignoring the others' stares, Sean sat down directly and gave a bored yawn.
Halfway through the yawn, Sean suddenly noticed the surroundings had become quiet.
Closing his mouth, Sean looked at the others and found they were all looking at him. He cleared his throat and said, "I went to bed a bit late last night, my apologies."
"Of course you slept late. Sean, you're quite a celebrity in the wizarding world recently. Two Golden Cauldron papers in two years, and the most recent one is being pursued by numerous potion merchants. You must have been writing your thesis last night, right? So hardworking."
"Uncle Borell, your sarcasm has a peculiar way of sounding like praise, though you usually miss the point entirely. This time, however, you're not wrong. I was indeed working on a thesis last night, but not a potions thesis. It was transfiguration. The work is nearly complete, and I'll likely submit it once the new term begins."
Hearing this, Borell's mouth twitched. He gave an awkward, forced smile and said nothing more.
Seeing Borell's expression, Sean smiled indifferently. How could such a person inherit the Bulstrode family? His grandfather would absolutely never hand the Bulstrode family over to someone like Borell.
Of course, if you were to say that Borell was deliberately pretending to be ambitious but untalented to lull Gavin into a false sense of security before swiftly seizing power of the Bulstrode family, then consider my words unsaid.
Gavin looked at Sean and Borell but didn't say much. He just smiled, as if completely unconcerned by their conversation and behavior, and continued the discussion.