Rutherford observed in silence as his wonderful wife carried their child away.

He continued gazing at them until they turned around the corner and disappeared from his sight.

Now that they were out of the hearing range, Rutherford turned around and glared at his friend.

Captain Desmo Reel smiled at his old friend as he raised his hand and patted his shoulder.

"You invited me to your place after so many years and it was all for training that little child?" He shook his head in disappointment.

Rutherford jerked the hand on his shoulder away and glared with his brows scrunched together.

Desmo raised his brows in surprise at this subtle rejection from his previous comrade.

"I call you here to teach my Vonna because I trust that you would be the best tutor for her and you reject her straight to her face?" Earl St. Claire growled in seething anger.

Desmo flinched, hearing the loud scream that collided with his sensitive ears which in turn made him take a step away.

He glared at his friend who was yelling at him the first chance he got. He did not want to be the only one getting yelled at so he began his retort.

"Why should I teach a brat who can't stay on the horse's saddle for the life of her?" He scowled when he recalled the rumors about the child's fall.

Rutherford's already annoyed heart became infuriated when he was reminded of what had happened back then.

"You have no idea how I felt when I saw my child unconscious on the bed!" He glowered at the Captain whose mocking smirk froze in its place.

Desmo realized that there was more to the story than what was being spread in the rumors throughout the capital and hence he said nothing in return.

"I do not want a repeat of that to ever happen to her again." Rutherford sighed in defeat that as a father he was not capable of saving his child from trouble.

This was when the words Yvonne had mentioned echoed in his mind.

'I want to learn these so that I might protect myself when Papa and big brother are not around.'

Her childish voice speaking those words now seemed wiser than those of her age.

Knowing that he did not want to disappoint his lovely daughter, he took in a deep breath and turned towards Desmo.

"I am asking you a favor, please teach my Vonna." He requested and went as far as bowing his head.

Captain Reel's eyes widened when he saw the gesture that his proud friend, Ford had done without a moment's thought.

"She means so much to you, Ford? That you would bow your head for her?" He asked with wonder and bafflement at how much this man had changed since their youth.

Rutherford in answer glanced in the direction that the mother and daughter had left as an indulgent smile appeared on his face.

"Des, they mean the world to me and I would do everything in my power to keep them safe and happy." He declared with such resolution that it made Desmo smile as well.

The Captain then shook his head at the man who seemed so different yet so mighty and noble now in his eyes.

"I will teach her… " He began and a brilliant smile formed on Rutherford's face.

He gave his friend an appreciative pat on the shoulders but this time Desmo shrugged him away.

"Let me finish!" He scowled at the doting father who seemed deranged when it came to matters pertaining to his child.

Rutherford paused and suspiciously gaped at the man who had brought his plans crashing to the ground once already.

"I will teach her if she can complete the first hour without giving up." He repeated the same condition he had given Yvonne.

Rutherford, unaware of the dangers up ahead, nodded his head in agreement to the condition placed before him.

"My Vonna is very hardworking and diligent. There is no way that she would give up midway when she herself was the one who proposed the idea of learning these skills." He proudly revealed.

Desmo gave an uninterested nod and then followed the Earl towards the practice area that was built for Howard when he had first started his sword training.

On the way, Rutherford continued to sing praises about his Vonna who was adored by every single one of her tutors.

Desmo had no other option than to suffer in silence and decided to make sure that Yvonne felt the pain that he was feeling while listening to this nonsense the entire time.

'Excelling at studies is different from excelling at swordsmanship and other such skills.' He expressed his contradictory opinions in his heart but did not dare to provoke this man who behaved like a Papa bear.

'Anyone with books can become smart but not everyone with a sword can become a swordsman!' He scowled as he walked along.

___

A few tens of miles away from the St. Claire Estate, a man holding a big thick book whose pages looked dusty and old sneezed out loud.

"Are you feeling sick, Marquess Samed?" A man inquired of the other man walking by his side.

Marquess Sullivan Samed immediately extracted a handkerchief from his coat pocket and wiped his nose.

Looking at the piece of silk cloth in his hand, he was reminded of the handkerchief that he had offered to his prized pupil when she had cried.

'I should ask her to return it today.' He reminded himself and then shoved the silk cloth back into his pocket.

He was wearing an extravagant black and white prim and proper attire that matched his status in society.

"I am doing fine, Duke Brodie. Thank you for asking." He answered the man who had inquired about his health.

Duke Maldock Brodie nodded his head and led the Marquess in a certain direction.

Today was the day that Marquess Samed had planned to meet his Majesty, King Ophire Rosenhyde before his classes with the Royal Princess, Felicia, and her playmates.

He had arrived ahead of time and was asked to wait in the Royal Parlor until the King was available to meet him.

He was given tea and refreshments while he awaited the King's arrival and finally now, Duke Brodie was leading him towards the Throne room.

'I hope I am not as flustered as I was when I first ventured inside the throne room.' He prayed as the room was right around the corner.

The last time he was here, he had been summoned to take over the position of the Royal tutor from Governess Bloom who was assigned another job.

The job to be the caretaker of Prince Draco Rosenhyde or most commonly known as Grand Duke Draco Roschester.

Sullivan's thoughts came to a halt along with his feet which stopped before a large door that was still shut.

The wooden door was carved to form intricate and beautiful patterns of birds on it.

On taking a closer look, one would notice that the birds were the bodily forms of two important divine forces in the Kingdom.

Asmodeus Del Ovin, God and creator of this world along with his faithful disciple, Theo, the messenger of the gods.

Yvonne would have scoffed and rolled her eyes at the depictions carved on the door if she ever saw them.

This was not because they were carvings of the God whom she hated but instead because the man who had carved the doors had failed to capture the essence of beauty that laid in the bird's majestic appearance.

Having seen him in his real appearance of the blue bird, she was well aware of how he looked, and seeing this image on the door would come like a joke to her.

However, she would certainly have the chance to take a look at this door with her own two eyes and mock it without remorse sometime in the future.

Duke Brodie glimpsed at Marquess Samed who had been silently staring at the door for the last few seconds.

"We shall enter now." He informed which brought the young man back to his senses.

'I almost got lost in my thoughts.' Sullivan cursed his free-flowing brain and gave the Duke a fervent nod.

Maldock Brodie chuckled when he saw the nervous appearance of the young man and patted his shoulder.

"You will be fine as long as you don't get yourself into a mess." He comforted him but those words made Sullivan panic further.

'I am going to tell the King that his deceased father's plans were a mess and that a 5-year-old child could find faults hidden in it. Will that be considered as getting myself into a mess?' He sobbed for his sorry state.

Yet he would still have to go through with it since the fate of the Kingdom laid in his hands if ever such an unfortunate situation like a third plague arose in the future.

With that thought in his mind, he strengthened his resolve and calmed his nerves as the large wooden doors were pushed wide open.