Once the journey began, Yvonne made herself comfortable as she stretched her limbs while reclining on the cushioned seats.

Raylene watched her daughter's actions but did not chide her as the journey would indeed be a long one.

Not facing any objections, the little girl smiled as she glanced around the inner side of the carriage.

'This is so much better than the carriage we had used while returning to the Capital.' She shuddered while recalling the memory of the journey they had made back from their fief.

Compared to that carriage, she would prefer this one at any time.

'Worth the money!' She exclaimed as she had already assumed that this one must have cost the Earl a pretty penny.

Glancing out of the window, she watched how the view was changing from the greenery surrounding the estates of the noblemen to the concrete buildings of the Commercial District.

'Oh, there's Baron MacIntyre's cafe.' She gazed at the store which seemed to have customers even though it was a warm Sunday morning.

As time passed, the little girl noticed the silence pervading in the closed space of the carriage and turned her eyes to the woman who was seated on the other side.

She did not mind journeying in silence, in fact, she would enjoy it.

However, the disturbed face of her mother made her wish to strike up a conversation.

"Mama, Miss Paula will be fine." She asserted with confidence while staring at her mother who had also looked up at her.

Raylene chuckled at the childish confidence she noticed in her daughter's eyes and nodded her head even though she did not truly believe it.

After all, she knew that she had been giving her maid excess chores these last few days due to the uneasy sensation in her chest.

So now, she was blaming herself for overworking her maid which had caused her to trip and fall after getting lightheaded.

If Yvonne could hear the assumption that her mother had made about the incident that took place before they left then she would have laughed until tears rolled down her eyes.

This was because even if Raylene had assigned a few additional chores to her maid, the cause of her fall was due to her fatigue.

It was rather the treacherous intentions in her heart that made her injure herself.

She tripped on purpose by stepping on the hem of her uniform and hence she fell forward.

'She did what she did for the sake of finding an excuse to stay back at home and here this lady is worried about that same maid.' Yvonne sighed when she realized that her truthful words weren't being taken seriously.

Thus, she did not try to make her mother understand the truth hidden behind her words and focussed on the scenery outside the window.

During their short conversation, the carriage had already moved out of the Commercial District and now they were on narrower roads that led them outside the Capital.

The roads were surely uneven and jagged but the two sitting inside did not face any problem as they traveled in this new carriage.

'Papa said that we would reach within two hours.' She recalled what he had said before and decided to entertain herself by gazing out the window.

Raylene smiled when she looked at her daughter's cheerful appearance and realized that she should not remain gloomy any longer.

'I cannot spoil the atmosphere for my children.' She corrected her mood so as to not wreck her day out with her daughter.

Glancing at Yvonne, her smile was gentle as this little girl was the reason why they were heading towards the Royal Academy to meet Howard.

'I had been sulking like a child while my daughter was thinking of how to solve the issue at hand.' She was both proud and ashamed.

Proud that she had such an intelligent daughter who sought to find solutions rather than mope over the problems and was ashamed as she was the polar opposite of her child.

The one who had been sulking like a child was the mother who should have been the stronger and more understanding person in this situation.

Raylene was having a moment of self-realization during this journey that there was so much that she had yet to learn in life.

Learn to stand up for herself, learn to demand what she desires, learn to search for solutions rather than waiting for someone to help her in her time of need, and learn to be the person whom others could depend on.

These were the few things that she wished she could learn by following in the footsteps of the people around her.

And one day she would definitely learn to do each one of those things because she was confident, not only in herself but also in the people around her who inspired her to be a better person.

Yvonne had no clue that her simple gesture of demanding to see her older brother would bring out this change in her mother.

But it was a change for the better so there was no way that she would not be pleased with this.

With various thoughts in their minds, the pair of mother and daughter continued their journey onward the path that leads them to the Royal Academy.

___

Back at the St. Claire's Mansion,

In the office room, the Butler was busy preparing the paperwork that his Master had wished to take a look at.

He was arranging them in proper order before he could hand it over to the Earl when he heard the man speaking.

Rutherford sat behind his large mahogany desk and tapped his finger on the sturdy wood, a trait that his daughter had also exhibited as her symbol of impatience this morning.

The two were alike in more ways than others but they were only beginning to figure out these similarities as time went by.

"Get me the folder on the carriage as well." He added to the task that his Butler was already fulfilling.

Limo nodded his head and scanned the large shelves on the wall with numerous ledgers containing the accounts of various purchases made by the family.

Soon, a large pile of folders for different accounts were placed on the Earl's desk, and having completed his task, the Butler bowed as he took his leave and went back to his duty of guarding the room.

Rutherford gazed at the huge pile and rubbed his forehead, picking the one placed at the very top.

The amount that had been spent to build and customize the carriage that his wife and child had used for their trip today was mentioned at the very end of the folder.

A chuckle escaped his lips when he thought of the reason why he had asked for this special carriage to be built.

__

A few months ago,

The day the St. Claire's had returned from their fief, the little girl was still pale due to the journey which had caused them to consult their family physician, Mr. Toone by means of a letter.

This man had explained that the uneven roads and the rocky ride back to the Capital were the cause of the child's sickness.

Since he could not change the roads that their Kingdom used as that was out of his jurisdiction, he decided to do what was still within his capacity.

That very day, the construction of a new carriage was ordered and the task was handed over to the best carriage makers in their fief.

One that was comfortable enough to travel long distances without feeling uneasy or restless.

The men in charge of this task were given the freedom to design the carriage which would achieve this goal and they were free to choose from the best woods and equipment that the St. Claire family had to offer.

'Finally, after three months, the carriage was delivered.' He shook his head at the amount of time they had taken to complete his order.

But thinking of the result that had been achieved after this long wait, he decided to forget about the time taken and appreciate the end product that he was more than satisfied with.

The comfort of his wife and child were above everything else and he had ensured that by this carriage.

Therefore, he was reassured about both their comfort and safety as he resumed his work of looking at the other files placed before him.