'Who can this be?'

Yvonne's body felt like a huge boulder whose weight was being borne by her little feet.

'According to my knowledge, no one of higher status should be attending this party. I made sure to double-check my hit list!' She clenched her fists as she followed behind her mother.

'The obsessive Queen won't allow her darling son to leave the palace and that asshole of a Grand Duke is out on a mission.' She tried to mull over the characters in the story who attended the Royal Academy.

'Hilda and Glennis Brodie are out of the picture because… Well, because they are girls.' She rolled her eyes when she recalled the patriarchal nature of this society.

No boys, no entry - That was the basic criteria to be invited to this party.

'Then who could it be?' She was trying to force her brain to remember whether she had missed out on any important characters when she heard her mother's voice calling out to her.

Yvonne glanced up and met the scornful eyes of three young women.

"I told you we shouldn't believe in such rumors." One of them blatantly scoffed at Yvonne while she spoke to the woman beside her.

"The child genius of Amarthea? She looks rather dull to me." The other covered her mouth with a paper fan as she chuckled mockingly.

While Yvonne was lost in her thoughts, Raylene had introduced her and Howard to these women.

Howard had greeted them in the proper way and was waiting for Yvonne to open her mouth but she never did.

She just stood in the same place with a blank look on her face which was why one of the women had called her 'dull'.

"I wonder who spread such vile rumors in the noble society?" The last woman glanced at Raylene, her eyes filled with disdain.

'What are these rude women trying to say?' Yvonne's eyebrows furrowed when she heard such derogatory words that were being aimed at her and her mother.

She had already accepted Raylene and Rutherford as her parents, colleagues to be more exact. Therefore she would just not stand by and watch them being mocked.

Yvonne had already guessed that these women were of a higher status than the St. Claire family which was why they could look down at them without any restraint.

Not everyone in this place was the same, for example, Marquess Sullivan Samed was also of a higher rank but he did not look down on the others who were below his social standing.

But it could not be denied that people like Marquess Samed were a minority in this land where status meant everything.

"My sister may be many things but dull is not one of them!"

Yvonne's train of thoughts was derailed when she heard the boy standing beside her speaking up for her in a serious tone.

Howard's fists were clenched and his brows were scrunched together when he heard how they had insulted his family members.

'His face is just like the time that I had seen his fall while practicing!' She gazed at this little guy who was trying to play a hero for his sister.

Howard could feel the amused gaze that Yvonne was directing at him but he chose to ignore her.

'I am not doing this for you but for my family's pride!' He chided her in his mind.

His actions, however, were quite the opposite.

He protectively took a step forward and stood before Yvonne, successfully shielding her from their mocking eyes.

"How many of you can claim that Marquess Samed comes to your house to personally teach your daughters?" He questioned them with a half-smile on his face.

The women's faces changed colors when they heard Marquess Samed's name.

Of course, they had invited him to come and tutor their daughters but the man had rejected them without any thought.

'I only teach people who can keep up with my pace.' He would give them all the same answer as a response to the letters that would arrive at his house every year.

'Brat isn't a complete brat after all.' Yvonne felt a warmth in her heart when she saw how he had valiantly stood up for her in front of these women.

"My, my, Countess St. Claire. Have you not taught your children any manners?" The woman who looked like their leader spoke after her momentary daze.

She stressed the word 'Countess' to show that Raylene was below them.

"I have taught my children well, Marchioness Yona. They know how to stand up and raise their voices when they see something unfair happening." Raylene uttered those words with a gentle smile on her face.

'Is this what they mean when they say the phrase kill them with kindness?' Yvonne tilted her head and stared at her mother.

The meaning of her words was completely different from how she had said to them.

'Trying to bully a child and wants to lecture me about manners?' That was what Raylene actually meant.

These women always tried to remind Raylene that no matter how much money her family had, she would always be a step lower than them.

"Oh, all of you are here? Let me introduce you to our special guests!" The excited voice of Marchioness Kiron instantly cooled down the tense atmosphere around them.

Raylene and her kids turned to face the woman they had greeted before walking with another woman and a young boy by her side.

"Greetings, Duchess Tanner." Raylene was the closest to them so she was the first to greet the newcomer.

'Duchess? Tanner?' Yvonne's eyes alternated between Raylene and then at the woman who returned the greeting with a pleasant smile.

"Countess looks good in this new style." She praised Raylene generously.

"That was exactly what I said!" Patrina Kiron cheerfully exclaimed.

Yvonne would have retorted sarcastically in her mind if it was not malfunctioning right now.

'How could I forget about the second Ducal family in this Kingdom?' She felt like facepalming herself.

She recalled what Marquess Samed had taught her about them.

The Tanner family, the caretakers of the Red Scorpion Knights. The knights that were in charge of peace and order among the commoners.

She had been so bothered with the main characters from the story that she had forgotten about the others that existed in this Kingdom.

'I need to stop thinking of this place as just a world setting in a story. This is a real world that has real people living in it.' She berated herself for her careless and disrespectful attitude.

Coming back to her senses, she looked at the happy faces of Raylene, Patrina Kiron and Duchess Obinn.

Then turned her head to the other three women who had just mocked her.

'Looks like only you were so crazy about status! There's someone else who doesn't care about it.' She gave them an innocent and sugary sweet smile when her eyes met with the woman called Marchioness Yona.

'Yona, right? I'll remember that name for later.' She then turned away and looked at the young boy who had entered with the Duchess.

'If that is Duchess Tanner then this can only be…' She gave him a look over and was sure about his identity.