"Vonny!"

A loud cry of joy was heard which attracted everyone's attention towards the one who was now running in a certain direction.

Earlier, the St. Claire had been escorted out of the Throne room by the Royal Steward who later led them to the room they had just entered.

The moment the doors were pushed open, the little girl had not even taken a peek to see who was inside when she heard someone calling out her name with such excitement.

'Only one person could do that.' Yvonne giggled and turned towards the figure who was rushing towards her at full speed.

The last time she had seen this familiar and friendly face was when she had gone to visit them at their estate.

Soon after that encounter, everyone had left for their respective fiefs with no chance of meeting until now.

The plague had extended their stay at their native fiefs indefinitely and they were thankful that their confinement there had come to an end at last.

Therefore, when this person caught sight of the little girl who was about to enter the room, he could not get a hold of himself and had thus rushed ahead.

"Big Brother Taylor!" Yvonne's equally enthusiastic voice displayed just how happy she was to see him again.

However, just as the young boy was about to engulf his sworn sister into a bone-crushing embrace, his path was blocked.

"Haven't you missed me too?" Howard muttered through gritted teeth as he forced Taylor into a hug to safeguard his sister from it.

Yvonne had been prepared to be hugged but in a split second, her elder brother had stepped before her and counterattacked Taylor with a hug to shield her.

"What are you doing? Let go!" Taylor growled right into Howard's ear, making him flinch but he did not let go.

Training every day for over four hours had made Howard much stronger than Taylor who would slack even during his mandatory training sessions.

Therefore, it was clear to see who had the upper hand in their little scuffle.

The sight of Taylor struggling to get out of Howard's hold which was strong as steel and unbreakable was making the little girl giggle.

Her elder brother was still the same and the other boy too hadn't changed a bit.

'I'm just glad to see that you are alive and fine.' She smiled in satisfaction as she had done her best to keep him from losing his life in the plague and looking at him arguing with Howard, she rejoiced that she had succeeded.

Rutherford had been relieved that he had managed to take his daughter away from the King but the Steward had led them to another dangerous place.

His eyes scanned the room and found a few familiar people present inside.

Finally, he stopped at his son whose vice grip was around the younger son of the Duke.

'Good boy.' He praised Howard's quick thinking and swift actions.

The only time that Taylor had been able to hug Yvonne was on the day that she had asked to visit the Tanner estate after a sleepless night.

She had an ominous dream and wished to warn them about it.

At that time, when she saw Taylor coming towards her, she had instinctively hugged him back so the father had done nothing to pull her out of his embrace even if he was against it.

But it looked like the boy had assumed that he would be able to hug her once again today.

The overprotective father was not willing to see that boy hugging her every time they met and as expected, it looked like Howard felt the same.

His preventive measures were to the Earl's liking and he gave his nod of approval.

Raylene rolled her eyes as her son and husband were back to their usual tactics.

Only they could hug the child and even her sworn brother wasn't allowed to do so.

However, she did not interfere as she was still in a good mood after what she had witnessed in the Throne room and that showed on her face.

With a wide smile, she turned her gaze to the people in this room.

"Greetings, Duchess and Marquess." She curtsied as they rose from their seats and walked towards her and her family.

This statement pulled Yvonne's attention away from the two boys struggling in each others' embrace, Howard holding him tight and Taylor pushing him away.

Turning towards the two figures who had stopped near them, Yvonne's amethyst eyes looked up.

The first who came into her view was Duchess Beatrice Tanner who was ecstatic to see them which was apparent after taking a look at her eyes which glimmered with joy.

Walking behind the happy Duchess was the man whose very thought was making Yvonne's blood boil.

Now with that man standing before her, Yvonne stood upright but her mind was twisted up in knots.

'Who would have thought that I'd see you so soon, Marquess…' The little girl's narrowed eyes were fixed on the man with silver hair.

Oblivious about what the King had done, Marquess Sullivan Samed smiled at his prized pupil before looking away.

By now, Howard and Taylor had gotten out of each others' hold and were back to looking like the proper sons of nobility.

Yvonne and Howard greeted the two elders and Taylor did the same to the St. Claire couple.

"It looks like there has been a mix-up." Rutherford uttered but the Duchess chuckled after covering her lips with a paper fan.

They were supposed to be taken back to the same room where they had rested upon arrival to the Palace while waiting for their turn to meet the King.

However, the Steward had dropped them off at a different room which already had occupants.

While he could not understand how the Royal Steward could commit such a blunder, he was relieved that this family was someone whom they knew would not feel offended by them barging inside unannounced.

"There has been no mix-up, Earl." She corrected his misgivings which acted as a prompt clarification about his misunderstanding.

Giving it a moment's thought, Rutherford had come up with a speculation for what must have happened.

It was Duchess Beatrice Tanner who had asked the Steward to make sure that the St. Claires would be led to the room she was resting in after they were done with their meeting.

'However, I did not expect the Steward to come here himself.' Beatrice marveled in awe as she had caught sight of the man closest to the King as he walked away after leading this family to her room.

This job that any normal palace servant could've done was taken up by the Steward who served the King personally which was astonishing to the Madam of the Tanner family.

Soon realization struck her that there was only one person who could have given such a command to the Steward, causing her smile to widen.

'Hmm… Looks like we will have some new rumors spreading soon.' She prophesied as her eyes swept past the four members of this family.

However, she did not reveal anything now and decided to observe things for longer.

Thus, the Duchess smiled as she held onto Raylene's hand and pulled her to the couch, leaving the men to their own devices.

While Raylene and Beatrice, friends who had met after a long time, were already seated and were catching up, the Marquess was stuck with the Earl.

Rutherford's wife was snatched away the moment they entered this room so how could he be alright?

Unfortunately, Marquess Samed was left stranded with a grumpy Earl who wasn't interested to even look at his face.

The Earl walked to the couch but could not even sit next to his wife as the Duchess had occupied that position.

Therefore, he sat at a distance and stared at his fingers, waiting for when his wife would spare him some attention as well.

Marquess Samed rolled his eyes after taking a look at the moping husband and shook his head.

'Are all married men like this?' He sneered as even his brother-in-law would sulk and groan when he and his sister would take longer to converse, leaving the Duke to sit by his lonesome while waiting for them to finish.

Right now, three adults were seated on the couch and three children were still standing right where they were earlier.

Between the two groups was a man-child who felt that he did not belong to either group.

His thoughts came to a halt when he felt a hole being burned into his back, causing him to turn in the direction from which that heated gaze was coming.

"Hmm?" He tilted his head when he caught sight of his pupil leering at him as though he had just stolen a million gold coins from her.

Yvonne had her eyes fixed on this man who had just smiled at her when she greeted him before looking away.

However, she had not averted her eyes ever since as she glared at the man who had a loose mouth and could not keep anything to himself.

Finally, he had looked at her again but she did not hide her dissatisfaction with him and continued to leer at him.

Howard and Taylor were busy discussing what they had done during their extended vacation while the ladies were muttering among themselves.

This left Rutherford who was silently seated opposite the ladies and the pair of tutor and pupil who were involved in a silent confrontation.

"Is there something that you would like to confess to me?" Yvonne's soft whisper was audible only to Marquess Samed who suddenly had a bad premonition arising in his heart.