Rutherford was lost in his reminiscing thoughts and hence had failed to catch the look of surprise that had flashed across his daughter's face.

'What does he mean by that?' Yvonne wondered, trying to decipher if her father knew more than what he should.

A stifling silence took over the room before the Earl realized that their conversation had died as he had been lost in his thoughts.

Shaking his head to push away those thoughts, the man who had turned thirty last year glanced at his daughter.

"Why do you ask, Vonna?" He inquired, confused about the reason this topic had been chosen.

He recalled a conversation similar to this in their past where she had questioned if he hated his father.

At that time as well, he had spoken the truth for he did hate his father in the beginning but later changed his mind.

'She said that she would hate me if I did the same to Howard.' He remembered another part of their discussion that day.

She had come to ask if Howard could become a knight and she could take over the responsibilities of the heir until he fulfilled his dreams.

She even went on to say that she would hate him if he forced Howard to give up on his dream like what had been done to him.

However, that matter had already been sorted out by finding a new solution.

Howard could continue to become a knight and later come back to take on the role of the heir.

"Vonna, if this is about Howard's dream…" Rutherford narrowed his eyes, suspicious about why she had initiated this conversation.

He did not have a problem with her founding her own company and even running it as she would be doing it from the shadows.

Contrary to the secrecy in CLOVER's matters, the heir of the St. Claire's family needed to be present before the eyes of the public and there was no way that she could step into that role.

His son and he had already vowed to keep her safe and away from the sinister plots of those seasoned men of the other noble families.

Therefore, no matter how she tried to convince him, he was stern to never allow for such a thing to take place.

Yvonne was about to speak about her grandfather but her words were interrupted by what her father had just said.

By the look on his face and the stern words he had used, she had already grasped that there was a misunderstanding budding between them.

She had already given up on her plan to take over as the heir until Howard could become a knight.

This was thanks to her father stepping in to continue as the Earl for a longer period of time.

There was a spark in her eyes when this memory reappeared in her mind.

Looking up, she had found the perfect method to figure out if he was already aware of what she had heard just today.

"Papa, I am too busy with CLOVER and have no desire to burden myself anymore." Her resolute statement assured him that he need not worry about her having any other thoughts.

Rutherford nodded in silence as running a business wasn't an easy task and might be harder for a child her age.

However, the next words she had uttered made him freeze.

"So Papa, why did you not think of waiting for Brother to become a knight before he became the next Earl?" She tilted her head as she shot this question at him.

If Rutherford had just said that he would stay as the Earl until Howard returned after becoming a knight, she would not have taken the trouble of trying to convince him.

She also would not have had that heart-to-heart with Howard, explaining her plans for their future and how she was just trying to help him out.

'Though I must say… After that incident, I feel that we got closer as siblings.' She nodded and was glad that she had spoken to him at that time.

However, the question remained the same.

Why did Rutherford not think of doing this from the start?

Why was he planning to let Howard give up on his dreams in the beginning but changed his mind later on?

Did something change since their initial conversation?

If so, then what had caused this change and how did it impact them?

Being a thorough analyst all her life, Yvonne had numerous questions in her head and she knew that her father could answer them all.

Her eyes were fixed on the man seated before her and she waited in silence, hoping to receive some explanation for the events of their past.

Rutherford did not hide from her gaze as he stared back at her.

Her question was a valid one as in the past, he was set on doing what had been done to him.

He was ready to hinder his son's dreams of becoming a knight as that had been done to him.

He was immensely saddened but that was what needed to be done to lessen the pain that Howard would feel if he was allowed to dream about being a knight all through his teenage and adult years but later wasn't allowed to do so.

Even the conversation he had with his son, explaining that the young boy needed to give up and resign to his fate, was a painful one for him.

Watching his son's tears being shed for the dream he was giving up on was not something he wished for.

But that was what needed to be done.

He had reassured himself that this was how things were done in their family.

How he was taught and how he should teach his heir as well.

However, everything changed on one fine day.

The despondency he felt after killing his son's dreams with his own two hands intensified each day after the conversation he had with his son on that rainy day.

Both he and Howard were not willing to let Yvonne take on the role of the heir and Howard had also accepted his fate of never becoming a knight.

Things had been going well after that and no one brought up the matter anymore.

He thought that this was their life now and there would no longer be any more changes done to it.

"I learned something that made me change my mind." Rutherford muttered as he looked into his child's eyes.

His daughter had suggested that new clinics be constructed in their fief and he had returned to this fief to inspect how things were progressing on a regular basis.

During this time, he had often interacted with the man he would later put in charge of the three large clinics to operate in his fief.

Mr. Toone, the family physician, was a great help during this time and he had learned a lot from the old man.

"Did you know that around half a day's journey from here, there is a greenhouse that had been built solely for medicinal herbs?" The Earl questioned his daughter who most certainly had no clue about it.

In fact, before that day, even he had no clue about its existence.

Neither did he know that this greenhouse was a possession of the St. Claire family.

"My father built that greenhouse but there was never any record of its existence in my memories." He muttered as his fists clenched.

On that day, Mr. Toone was surprised to hear that the Earl had never seen the place and was kind enough to bring him to visit the place.

There, Rutherford not only found a greenhouse but also found a villa that was larger than a regular house but smaller than their mansion.

"My father used to stay there often but I never had a clue about it." He revealed that he had been ignorant about many things in their past.

Upon inquiry, he had later found out that this place served as a retreat for the Old Master and he often stayed here to recover from his illness.

The shock that Rutherford had felt on that day was enough to shake him.

The father had been sick for many years before his death but the son had never heard a word about it so how could he be alright after hearing this startling news?