The Mistery of Belicena Villca required by us . But , either way , she must definitely disappear as member of the House of Tharsis . Therefore , I also announce that Valentina de Palencia , Dominican nun of the Fanjeaux convent , for all intents and purposes passed away that night the Plague struck the House of Tharsis : her death is recorded in the minutes and she owns her own grave in the cemetery of the Order . While we prepare her future , she will remain hidden in a farm that we own in Saint Félix de Caraman . Such property belonged to a Noble of the Raymond ' s lineage , which was burned by Simon de Montfort during one of his advances to Toulouse : the only living heir , a confessed heretic , was forced to enter for life in one of the cloistered monasteries of the Order of Preachers . After his death , the rights passed to the Order , which has now decided to sell them to a Roman Knight eager to live in these regions and possessor of much gold to pay . That Knight , " Arnaldo Tíber ", is no other than our relative who has just arrived from Bologna , here present : his mission will therefore be to carry out the farm ' s production and rebuild the Castle , which today is in ruins ; he must also marry a Lady chosen from among the families of the Domini Canis . Valentina will have to pass as her sister , or her niece , until her situation is resolved . Momentarily , the Man of Stone who comes from Toledo will stay there , and will support in everything the supposed Roman knight . Keep in mind that you will be vassals of the Count of Toulouse and , therefore , of the King of France ; but , as the Order of Preachers will reserve the religious rights of the donation , your sword will be in reality at the service of the Pope and the Church . And I suggest that you accommodate in the castle , as head of the garrison or steward , the widowed Knight who has accompanied you from Spain : I have no doubt that he is a trustworthy person .
Things happened as Rodolfo had planned , with a single exception that did not alter the objectives , as will be seen immediately .
The King of Portugal granted the request of the Catalan Knight , strongly supported by the Order of Preachers , and granted the County of Tarseval . This occurred a year after the Plague caused the extinction of the House of Tharsis and by then the Golen had inspected the Villa de Turdes and the Manor House in detail . They would leave convinced that there were no Lords of Tharsis left alive , despite they would extend the search to all of Spain and then to the rest of Europe . But those inquiries would give negative results ; or positive , depending on their point of view , for in all the places where the members of the doomed Lineage dwelled , they verified that the passage of the Plague had left no survivors .
The brand new Count of Tarseval repopulated the Villa de Turdes with five hundred families from Barcelona and settled a garrison in the Manor House of three hundred Catalan soldiers . Where the Chapel was , at the foot of the Sierra Candelaria , he ordered the construction of a small fortress composed of a tower and wall : henceforth , that place would always be under the observation of the County sentries . With no Noyos or Vrayas to guard in the Secret Cavern , it would be best to keep watch over the Sierra to drive away curious or potential suspects . Three years later , the Count of Tarseval traveled to Austria and linked up with Vrunalda , now transformed into German lady . The Manor House , remodeled and fortified by the Catalans , then received that shy Lady , who had never finished learning the language of Alfonso X and she preferred to spend the hours praying in the church of the Grotto rather than enjoying courtly customs .
The family was prolific in sons and daughters , thus the continuity of the Lineage of Tharsis was to some extent secured . For the rest , the County enjoyed relative tranquility for the next several years , due especially to the care taken by the Count not to let himself be carried away by struggles of interests sustained by the monarchs of Portugal and Castile . When King Sancho IV reincorporates the region of Huelva , and grants its dominion with life character to Don Juan Mate de Luna , the County of Tarseval passes without problems to the crown of Castile , who confirms the rights and arms of the Catalan Count . The same respect would show Fernando IV and the successive owners and Lords of the country of Huelva . In short , the family that developed
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