The little girl's eyes were fixed on the beautiful mansion before her, surrounded by trees on all sides.

'A mansion hidden in plain sight.' Yvonne used the first words that came to her mind to describe the place where the carriage had come to a halt.

She heard shuffling sounds coming from behind and was sure that they belonged to her Butler who had also gotten down from their means of transport.

The cloaked man whose identity and face was completely hidden bowed as he gestured for her to follow after him.

Jax's eyes were scanning the mansion so when he saw this gesture, his back straightened as he wondered what the little girl would do next.

'Will she enter this strange man's house?' He questioned himself and received the answer when she raised her foot to step in the direction the man was pointing in.

However, the moment Yvonne had raised her foot to move forward, she almost slipped and fell to the ground.

If it weren't for Jax's quick reflexes which had held onto her shoulder, she would have planted her face on the grassy ground below her.

Once she had steadied herself, she turned her head to the left.

The cause of her accident was now standing right in front of her.

Her eyes widened at the sight once again but this time it wasn't to appreciate the beauty of the hidden mansion.

The two boys standing before her with grave expressions on their faces made her almost slip and fall once again.

Just earlier, when she had taken a step forward, her foot slipped because of a loud cry which had come from her left.

Now that she was looking in that direction, she could see the source of the sound, her two brothers whom she had believed to have deceived and had sneaked away without suspicion.

However, their presence here proved that her plan had gone awry somewhere along the line.

"Vonny!" Howard ran forward and held her shoulders to check her.

Finding that she was alright, he lifted his head and glared at Jax with menace overflowing from his eyes.

Taylor stepped in their direction, however, he wasn't as hostile towards Jax.

Instead, his vigilance was directed towards the man in a cloak who was giving out a mysterious and dangerous aura.

"Why are you here?" He interrogated as his eyes turned towards the little girl standing before them.

"B-Brothers… How are you here?" Yvonne muttered, confused about where she had messed up.

Noticing the dazed bewilderment apparent on her face, Howard narrowed his eyes while Taylor filled her in on the details.

___

When Yvonne and Jax had just turned around the corner in search of a cafe nearby.

Howard dragged Taylor into the blacksmith's store and hurried to pick everything needed in haste.

Since the sword junkie knew his swords and equipment too well, it did not take them long to finish their work in this store.

Taylor was aware of the reason for these hasty actions so he did not disapprove and he too did the same.

Soon, they were done purchasing their requirements here and decided to meet up with their little sister after paying the bill.

As they knew that Yvonne had walked down the street with Jax behind there, they deduced that she might not have gone too far.

Therefore, they chose to follow the same path on foot to ensure that they did not pass her by along the way in case she stopped to visit any other store.

However, just as they had turned around, they found that the little girl and the Butler were stepping out of a store at the very end of the street.

Howard recalled that this was the same commoner cafe that his little sister had visited with Paula last summer.

Their feet slowed down as she should be coming back towards them.

Sadly, their predictions were wrong as the girl and the Butler entered a stranger's carriage which began moving away right in front of their eyes.

"Hurry!" Taylor smacked his shoulder to snap him out of his daze.

The boys rushed to their carriage and ordered the driver to follow the one rushing ahead.

As the distance between the two carriages was considerably large, it took them a while to catch up to them.

When the carriage they were pursuing had come to a halt, their carriage stopped soon after and they rushed out.

At that moment, they found their little sister following a stranger in a cloak which frightened them to no end.

"Vonny!"

They called out at the same time and watched in horror as the child was about to slip after being startled.

Thankfully, the Butler did his job of protecting her but this did not lessen the fury burning in their hearts.

Right now, the two boys were standing before them with anger, confusion, and a whole lot of questions in their minds.

Yvonne gulped in panic as not only had her plans failed but she had also been caught red-handed before she could complete her task.

"Why did you follow someone blindly!?" Howard growled in anger at his sister's naivete.

She could have gotten in trouble if they had not followed after her and come all the way to this place hidden deep in the thick trees.

The location was perfect to maintain secrecy which only increased his vigilance as to what kind of person would reside in such a place.

His eyes were narrowed and his fury, visible for everyone to see.

Yvonne shrunk her neck and looked down now that she had been caught.

'What should I do now?' She groaned inwardly while trying to find a plausible explanation for sneaking away without informing them.

Taylor had been observing her and found that she was hiding something from them.

"Did you come here on purpose?" He inquired in a calm tone, unlike his best friend whose emotions were flaring at this moment.

Earlier, he too had been worried about her safety but he had calmed down now that they had reached her.

'We can keep her safe.' He assured himself, confident in their skills.

If that was not enough, the carriage that they had arrived in had the driver and his servant who were both trained personnel of the Red Scorpion Knights.

His father, Duke Tanner made sure to train every single servant of their mansion so that they might protect their Masters if situations like this ever occurred.

Therefore, he was not worried and only wished to know why someone as witty and smart like Yvonne had chosen to follow an obviously suspicious-looking man.

"I… I…" Yvonne muttered, trying her best to avoid Howard's scary eyes.

'He's just like Mama!' She found similarities between their appearances and auras when they were mad at her.

Her words which were difficult to utter came to a halt when the sound of a loud squawk was heard.

Looking up, they saw a huge golden eagle swoop down and perch on the carriage that Yvonne and Jax had ridden in.

"That's the etcher from last time." Howard muttered while alternating his gaze between his sister and the bird.

The last time, Yvonne had said that the etcher belonged to her friend and this brought one conclusion to his mind.

"You're here to visit your friend?" He inquired and this time he wasn't as annoyed for her previous actions.

'If she wanted to meet someone she should have just said so.' He narrowed his eyes when he saw her nodding her head after a few seconds.

'How can I tell that my friend is a grown man?' She averted her eyes as she was guilty of lying to them.

"Young Miss, Young Masters, please come in. Our Master is waiting for you." A new voice was heard which made them turn in its direction.

While the cloaked man stood next to them, watching everything in silence, this new person was wearing a Butler's uniform and had a kind smile on his face.

While Howard and Yvonne had seen him for the first time, Taylor narrowed his eyes as this was a familiar face to him.

'Does this house belong to…' He wondered and glanced at the little girl, trying to find a connection between her and the person in his mind.

No matter how much he tried to figure things out, he came up with a blank.

'What have you gotten yourself into, Vonny?' He pursed his lips with confliction surging in his heart.