"Boss! The twelve elders are all here!" Lei Shuangcheng hurried over to report.
Renault finally woke up from his trance and looked at his watch. It was already 20:55.
There are only ten minutes left until the agreed time.
He took a deep breath and put away the pocket watch Eric gave him. "Let's go to the ancestral hall."
Renault strode into the ancestral hall, and the twelve white-haired elders looked at him in unison.
Just as the oldest elder was about to speak, Renault held up his and Lina's marriage certificate.
"We completed the mission two minutes early. Fernando and Eric are out. Now, who else has any objections?"
The elders looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.
At this moment, the door of the ancestral hall opened again.
To everyone's shock, the old butler William walked in pushing the "unconscious" old master.
And Lina actually followed behind!
The two looked at each other.
"Lina?" Renault opened his eyes wide in surprise, "Why are you here?"
Lina also looked bewildered, “Not long after you left, the old butler William personally came to the capital to pick me up here.”
The old patriarch, sitting in a wheelchair, looked at Renault with a complicated look, "I brought Lina here because I wanted her to witness you ascend to the position of patriarch with her own eyes."
His voice was weak but full of authority. "After all, from today on, she is the matriarch of the Lasers family."
Renault walked quickly to Lina and held her hand.
Lina hugged him with her backhand, her delicate body trembling slightly.
She had been worried about Renault's safety all the way, and now seeing him safe and sound, she was so excited that she was speechless.
Renault hugged her tightly and looked at his grandfather with gratitude.
As far as he could remember, the old man had never smiled at him.
From the day he entered the castle at the age of eight, strictness was the only impression his grandfather had on him.
He once thought that his grandfather looked down on him as an illegitimate child just like everyone else.
But at this moment he finally understood that his grandfather and father's deliberate indifference was to keep him away from the attention of his five older brothers.
Only in this way can he survive to this day.
The old patriarch continued, "I set up this trap to test whether you are worthy of the position of heir."
"But I didn't expect Eric to choose to atone for his sins by dying together with Fernando."
A flash of pain flashed in his eyes, and then he regained his determination. "But this is good. It saves me from doing it myself."
Yes, if the two of them had not destroyed themselves, I would have sent them to their doom with my own hands.
This is the iron rule of the Leathers family - never leave any hidden dangers for the new head of the family.
"You've proven yourself to be capable and trustworthy."
The old patriarch's gaze fell on the two people's clasped hands. "Lina's willingness to marry you proves that you understand true power better than Eric and Fernando."
He slowly raised his hand, and William came forward holding a dark blue velvet tray.
In the center of the tray lay a silver signet ring, with the flat face of the Leathers family crest:
A scepter surrounded by an olive branch.
The outside of the ring is inlaid with a circle of tiny sapphires, like stars guarding a scepter.
"This is a token that has been passed down in the Leathers family for six hundred years. Twenty-six family heads have used it to sign countless documents that determined the fate of the family."
Under the ring was a yellowed parchment with the signatures of the previous twenty-six heads of the family.
Renault took the quill handed to him by the old butler and wrote his name stroke by stroke:
【Renault Rexroth】
At this moment, he seemed to truly accept this family and felt a sense of belonging.
As the ring slowly slid onto the ring finger of their right hand, the twelve elders simultaneously slammed their scepters to the ground. The sound of the silver rods hitting the marble floor was like thunder. "Witness!"
The old patriarch stood up with the help of the wheelchair armrest and placed a box of fresh ink in Renault's palm.
The old man's dry fingers touched the deepest indentation on the ring face. "Your father left a crack here when he last used the seal. Now, it's up to you to write a new mark."
After the ceremony, the old patriarch looked at the two of them and smiled gently, "Now, you should consider adding an heir to the family."
Lina's ears turned red and she looked down at her clasped hands.
Renault calmly held her hand and said to his grandfather solemnly: "We will do our best."
The two returned to Renault's room on the west side of the castle.
Lina stood in front of the French window in a daze.
The power changes and identity transformations she experienced that day left her in a daze.
"What are you looking at?"
Renault behind him had already changed into a silk nightgown, with water dripping from the ends of his hair.
His slender fingers untied the pearl clip in her hair, and each strand of hair was carefully gathered in his palm.
"Does it still hurt?" His fingertips brushed the gauze on her chest.
Lina shook her head, but he held her waist firmly when she turned around.
Only then did she realize that his palms were incredibly hot and his breathing was heavier than usual.
"Don't move." He said in a low voice, his thumb gently rubbing her waist, "The wound will open."
Lina looked up at him and raised her hand to trace the man's taut jawline.
The new head of the Leiss family, who shocked the entire clan in the ancestral hall, now only had himself in his eyes.
She deliberately stood on tiptoe, her lips almost touching his Adam's apple, "Are you worried about me, or are you worried about..."
Her fingers slid down his collar, "...your self-control?"
Renault suddenly grabbed her rebellious hand and his breathing became heavier.
Next second.
She was picked up sideways and gently placed on the bed.
The man just leaned over her, his arm muscles stretched into sharp lines.
"I'll only do three things tonight." He bit her earlobe and said hoarsely, "Kiss you, put you to sleep, and..."
His fingertips unbuttoned the first button of her nightgown. "...We'll settle the score after your injury heals."
Lina hooked her arm around his neck and pulled him down, "Mr. Renault, you talk too much."
As soon as she finished speaking, she went to pull his nightgown.
Renault suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed it against the pillow, "If you keep moving, you won't be able to stop."
She saw the sweat on his forehead and suddenly chuckled: "So the head of the family is also afraid?"
"I'm afraid." He lowered his head and kissed the gauze on her collarbone, his voice muffled by the bandage, "I'm afraid your wound will hurt."
Lina's eyes flashed with cunning, and she suddenly rubbed her knee against his inner thigh, "But I'm not afraid."
Renault's breathing suddenly stopped, and there was a dark current in his eyes.
He suddenly lowered his head and kissed her lips fiercely, but stopped abruptly at the last moment.
He rested his forehead against hers, "One last warning, don't play with fire."
Lina took the opportunity to untie the belt of his nightgown and ran her fingertips over his strong abdominal muscles, "Then don't endure it..."
She tilted her head back and whispered in his ear, "I...I want you."
This sentence completely shattered Renault's rationality.
He growled, and his hot palm just touched Lina's waist.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The rapid knock on the door was like a bucket of cold water.
"Boss! Oh no! Something big has happened!"
Lei Shuangcheng's voice came through the heavy wooden door.
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