Pat, pat, pat…
A gentle hand rubbed Oli's unoccupied shoulder.
"My wife isn't the only one to feel this way, Oli. I know you're a fine young man with a phenomenal future ahead of you.
"If anything, the greater the obstacles that may impede you, the more prosperous the future will be on the other side of those obstacles. And I, your grandfather, will help you surpass all obstacles however I can."
Oli's arm hugged Lord Treeda a bit tighter. At the same time, he pulled his newest master of cultivation into the group embrace.
"Thank you… I'll make sure to protect our big family."
"Big… family?"
Lord Treeda fought back another sniffle as she pulled her head back. She longed to look the youth in the eye.
But it was Trada's ethereal claw that caressed her cheek and turned the prefecture lord's attention elsewhere.