Chapter 687 - Trust And Understanding

'Friendly!?' Taylor scowled at the word his sister had used but did not interfere in this family moment.

However, not everyone was as considerate as he was and there was one such thoughtless and insensitive person sitting right in their midst.

"Yes, Countess. It was supposed to be a friendly match to see how much Miss Yvonne had improved over the last year." Topher Tanner added his piece to what the child had said just earlier.

This statement made everyone turn towards him and the one with the worst expression was none other than Earl St. Claire.

"You almost attacked her!" He growled, annoyed at the youngster's calm words.

Yvonne choked at her father's words while Topher had an awkward appearance after hearing this accusation.

'That is not true… per se…' She averted her gaze from her father.

This action brought her attention back to her mother who had been blaming herself earlier.

"Mama, Young Master Topher, and I were only sparring," She corrected the ensuing misunderstanding.

"He was not attacking me unilaterally." She emphasized the last word, implying that this was a two-person process.

From what they had heard through Marquess Samed, the adults and other youngsters all knew that Topher and Yvonne were tied up in certain moments of the match.

When Topher had been at a disadvantage, his aura had revealed itself, and to keep up with him, Yvonne too had manifested her aura.

Though they were surprised to hear about this, seeing that Topher and Marquess Samed were not ones to lie about it, they could only believe that it was true.

"My aura manifested because I was on the losing end of the match." Topher stepped in and confessed to the events which led to where they were right now.

At that moment, Yvonne had once again surprised him by displaying that she too could manifest her aura just like he could.

They were an equal match for the next few minutes but due to her young age, she had not been able to maintain her aura for longer durations.

"I suppose that she still lacks experience in manifesting her aura," Topher revealed his speculations on why her aura had flickered and faded away so quickly.

At first, he had thought that she had used her entire aura just to keep up with him but after that final attack he had made which she deflected, he knew that he was wrong.

It was a proven fact that an etcher and their etched's powers were interlinked.

If Yvonne was strong then Demon could grow stronger and if Demon was strong then he could aid his Master to grow, that is if she wished to grow stronger.

Therefore, when Rouge explained to him that the power that had pushed him far away from the child belonged to Demon, he knew that Yvonne too was just as capable.

The only explanation for her being unable to use her aura was because she was lacking in experience and judging by what he had witnessed, she would only get better with more practice.

Hearing the high praise made the Earl's brows ease up as those words were applauding his daughter's talents.

"That was only the second time she had manifested her aura." Rutherford disclosed a vital piece of information to the group.

Thanks to Marquess Samed's kindly assistance, everyone had heard about Yvonne's manifestation during the match but to know that this was just her second time attempting it came as a shock to them.

Despite doing the same only once before, she was able to stand against Topher Tanner which was commendable in their eyes.

"No wonder you are my pupil." The child's tutor had an appeased smile on his face as he nodded in appreciation of her capabilities.

Rolling his eyes at the other man, Earl Rutherford revealed the incident where she had done so once before when they were in their fief.

However, at that time, he had asked her to stop immediately as he was worried about her health.

With every generation that gains an etcher and manifests their aura, the physical appearance of aura would get fainter.

"My father's aura was a deep indigo," Rutherford explained the meaning of what he had just said.

Though the people belonging to the same family would have similar hues of aura, the intensity of that hue faded with each generation.

Earl Rutherford's father had indigo while his aura was the color of a vivid and sparkling azure.

"When I first saw Vonny's aura manifestation, it was the darkest color I had ever seen." He patted his child's head while divulging this fact.

Historically speaking, Yvonne should have possessed a lighter shade of blue, either an aquamarine or even a teal yet what he had seen back then was nowhere close to what he had in mind.

Therefore, seeing her aura's strange color frightened him as he had assumed that she had forced herself to manifest all of her aura which had caused it to appear dark.

However, after hearing what the Marquess said and even witnessing Demon's aura assisting Yvonne during the match, he knew that he had been wrong to assume so.

"Vonna's aura is naturally black." He announced his conclusions which Topher agreed with.

Neither of them knew why this was so as no one had ever possessed the colors of black and white for their auras.

Yet every day their perception of the world was changing as new information was coming to light.

Since they already had limited knowledge when it came to etchers, they did not know for sure whether the little girl's aura being this unique color was a good or a bad thing.

However, the one thing that they were sure of was that just like the aura's color, this child too was unique.

Not only was she the only female known to them who had formed a bond with an etcher and manifested her aura but she was also the wielder of the never heard before black aura.

"Even Miss Yvonne's etcher is too mysterious." Topher brought their attention to another matter which he had discovered today.

As per what he knew, it was common knowledge that predatory etchers were stronger than the rest.

Therefore, those who had such etchers were well-respected in their society as it was a given that they too were powerful as they had been able to form a bond with such an impressive etcher.

However, today Demon's aura had succeeded in pushing him far away while his master, that little girl, had gone neck-to-neck with him in the match prior to that incident.

This gave Topher the confidence to say what was on his mind.

"Only someone who had trained to strengthen their body and mind could manifest their auras." He muttered something that most of them here knew.

Yvonne too had learned this from her father and it was true as she had been training every day with the Captain earlier, then with her father during the plague.

What she did not know was that the feat which she and Demon had pulled off today was something that required a great deal of trust and understanding between the Master and the beast.

Etchers would only share their power with their masters after their bonds were strengthened indefinitely.

For this to happen, etchers needed to stay by their master's side for a long time, perceiving how their bond was before they shared their powers with them.

"Yet you managed to use Demon's powers back then without much effort." He added, both amazed and confused by this phenomenon.

Even he and Rouge were only now beginning to achieve this feat of sharing their powers as they had not been together for too long.

Therefore after learning that it was Yvonne's second time manifesting her aura, it was understandable that he was unable to stomach the idea of what had taken place

'Even if Demon trusts her to no end, they still need to practice it before succeeding in it.' He mulled over what he was experiencing with his own etcher these days.

However, it was undeniable that Yvonne and Demon had done it even without practicing beforehand, implying that they had beaten him and Rouge to it.

If that wasn't enough, another incident had also caught his attention earlier.

"What surprises me even further is that Demon's aura had overpowered me back then." He muttered, sounding slightly puzzled and aggrieved by the sudden defeat he had faced in the match.

It was certainly unbelievable for him to accept that Demon's aura which had enveloped Yvonne in that crucial moment had blocked his attack and also pushed him so far away from her.

He, Topher Tanner, was the master of a predatory beast which meant that he should be stronger than both Yvonne and Demon yet today he was proven wrong.

He could argue that Rouge was still young in order to appease his heart but so was Demon, which shot down any hopes of redeeming himself from his defeated thoughts.

Thus he remained silent after revealing those thought-provoking discoveries to the rest of the group.

In his silence, he mulled over what he was truly feeling after everything that he had seen and experienced in the St. Claire estate today.

'I do not know whether to be happy that she has progressed to such an extent that she could defeat me or be annoyed that she is so much better than what I had expected?' Topher Tanner wondered while looking at the little girl who was at the center of his attention for quite some time now.