Rutherford's eyes were narrowed at the other man who also held the same title of Earl like him.

As soon as Earl Mikren made his way into the garden and headed towards the Queen, all eyes were focused on him.

While Earl St. Claire did not care about the other man gaining everyone's attention, he was miffed that even his wife was doing the same.

Raylene had been standing next to him while the Duchess was on her other side.

Rutherford's arm was around her waist to keep her by his side but he was unable to keep her attention on him as well.

The Countess and the Duchess just like the other women were caught gawking at the good-looking man who was now conversing with the Queen.

The conversation between the royal and the newly appointed Earl was still a mystery but the others were only focused on the handsome man's appearance.

"Ray, eyes on me," Rutherford whispered, leaning close to his wife's ear causing his hot breath to fan over her delicate skin.

Raylene shuddered in his arms and Rutherford smirked when she was no longer looking at the other man but was now blushing in his arms.

She had been caught looking at someone else, however, there was no ill intent in her heart.

She had not seen the new Earl of Mikren for many years now and thus wished to see what kind of man he had turned out to be.

After all, the Mikren fief shared a small portion of their border with their St. Claire fief and an immediate neighbor to her maiden fief, Valente.

Since she never got involved in matters of their fief when she was younger, she only had met the previous Earl, Bryce Mikren who was well into his old age when she had first married Rutherford and arrived at the St. Claire fief.

She has heard that the three Earls of the previous generation were good friends and had planned to become relatives in the future.

Back then, Earl Mikren had three sons and Earl St. Claire had only one son while Earl Blaise had a son and a daughter.

Therefore, it was decided that Earl Blaise's daughter would marry Earl St. Claire's only son as the Mikren boys were all younger than the girl so they weren't a suitable choice.

However, Raylene's arrival in Rutherford's life had changed these plans as she had left no space for Earl Blaise's daughter in his heart.

This led to Earl Blaise's daughter being forced to marry a lowly Baron from the South.

Henceforth, the close friendship between the three Earls started forming cracks.

With the obvious tension between the St. Claire and the Blaise families, the Mikren family did not wish to choose sides in this matter.

The three heads of the families back then had their own opinions about what had taken place and thus began their growing distance in their relationship.

The once close friends then chose to stay away from each other and in their respective fiefs, seeing each other only during official meetings at the Capital.

However, that too was short-lived as a few years later, Earl St. Claire succumbed to the chronic illness that he had concealed until his death from everyone which remained a secret to many even to this date.

A few years later, news was heard that Earl Blaise had perished in an unexpected carriage accident while traveling from the Capital to his fief.

This had led to his only son, the current Earl Blaise to take the reins in his hands and the animosity between the Blaise and St. Claire only intensified since then.

With both of his friends gone, Earl Mikren stayed in his fief with his children.

It was only in recent times that the last remaining Earl of that generation, Earl Bryce Mikren had died due to his old age and now his eldest son inherited the title after him.

Thus, Raylene was looking at the young Earl Brax Mikren to see how the young boy she had seen back when she first visited the St. Claire fief has grown up now.

She wasn't focusing on his good looks like the other women here but was more interested to see if he still remembered her because she most certainly recalled her brief interaction with him in the past.

Rutherford smiled when his wife was no longer looking at that younger man whom he had known for long due to their fathers being good friends in the past.

However, the same could not be said for Duchess Tanner who was appreciating God's handiwork standing on the other side of the garden.

Marquess Samed rolled his eyes at his sister's wayward ways but knew that she was just someone who liked to admire pretty things.

This trait of hers was inherited by her son Taylor who was also much intrigued by beautiful people or things.

"Does my wife think that some other man is better looking than me?" A whisper landed between them, making them flinch at the same time.

The Samed siblings turned their heads mechanically and shuddered upon seeing the darkened face of the Duke who had materialized out of nowhere.

'How did he reach us without making a sound?' Marquess Samed grimaced after seeing the strained smile on his brother-in-law's face.

This was because, while everyone was still focused on Earl Mikren, Duke Tanner had sneaked into the garden.

He had leered at the servant who was about to announce his entry and strode away while that man stood frozen in place.

Thanks to this, he was able to walk in unannounced and even catch his wife ogling at some other man while her brother did nothing but watch.

The Duke narrowed his eyes first at his useless brother-in-law before turning his gaze to his wife.

"My Lord? You have arrived?" She muttered in an embarrassed tone while putting on a bright smile to appease him.

Looking at her trying hard to pacify him, Duke Tanner shook his head in defeat before turning towards the other man who had caught everyone's eyes.

"What is so good about him anyway?" He scoffed at Earl Mikren who had his back turned towards them right now.

Yvonne had been silent as she watched Earl Mikren interacting with a few husbands who had come forward to shield their wives and divert their attention from his brilliant appearance.

After hearing the Duke's question, she glanced up at him for a second before focusing her eyes on the Earl once again.

'Well, are you even looking at him?' She sneered as that man was one of the best-looking people she had seen until this date.

She could not deny that Asmodeus had made almost everyone possess excellent features but this man seemed a class apart in her eyes.

Earl Brax Mikren was around the same height as her father but wasn't as muscular as he was.

This new Earl was on the well-tone but not built side of the scale.

His hair was the color of sweet honey and his eyes were also of the same color.

There was a gentle aura around him and the addition of the gold-rimmed glasses that he wore today, gave Yvonne the impression that she was looking at an experienced high-profile investment banker from her previous world.

Slicked back hair, glasses, and a crisp suit that fit his slender body perfectly.

The precise stereotypical profiling done for a stern male character with a high-paying job in the movies she often invested in as the CEO of Platina Entertainment was what she could associate Earl Brax Mikren with.

As she too could not tear her eyes off the man's appearance, she could understand how the other women were feeling right now.

However, the husbands weren't as understanding about this as they all leered at the Earl in an attempt to intimidate him.

'I do not think that it is working.' She chuckled while watching Marquess Yona staring down at Earl Mikren but to no avail.

While the little girl was observing and enjoying the scene with the jealous husbands ahead of her, her curiosity was mistaken for something else.

'Does Vonny also like the Earl?' Howard wondered with narrowed eyes and found that even Taylor had his brows furrowed, seemingly having come to the same conclusion as him.

Topher rolled his eyes at these two but he too shot an inquisitive glance at the young girl and found her staring at the Earl.

By now, Earl Mikren had completed his conversation with the ladies and had headed in a different direction which finally allowed the men to drop their guards.

Yvonne sighed in regret that he was no longer before her and turned away as well.

This reluctant face of hers was noticed by the three young boys with her and only Topher had an amused look on his face while the others were sulking to no end.

Was it not enough that they had to fight for their sister's attention among themselves?

Now they had to deal with external threats as well?

This disheartening thought was beginning to weigh down on both Howard and Taylor.

Sharing a glance, a glint of determination flashed across their eyes.

'No matter how many people come into Vonny's life, we will strive to retain our position in her heart!' They vowed and it appeared by their serious expressions that they were keen on standing by this vow.

The little girl was unaware of the vow pertaining to her and thus was aimlessly scouring the garden to see who else she could find.