Soon after Yvonne's conversation with Jax had come to an end, they headed straight to the room which was meant for her class with Marquess Sullivan Samed.
Her tutor had not yet arrived but he would be there at any minute so she chose to use this time to revise what he had taught her yesterday.
The envelope containing the modified contract was placed on the table, ready for him to look through it before signing when he gets here.
All that was needed was for the man to arrive and they could accomplish this task first.
Thus the little girl sat comfortably as she perused through the notes she had made after her lesson with him the last day.
As a force of habit, her back was straight as lowered her head and focused on the sheets of paper in her hand.
Her violet hair tied into a ponytail fell to the side as her head tilted a little while she skillfully twirled the pen around her little fingers.
This was the sight that Marquess Samed had walked in on after instructing Jax to simply open the door for him without announcing his arrival.
The tutor wished to see what she might be up to but was left in a stupor as he watched this pleasant sight.
Her fingers were still stubby but she was moving that pen around so effortlessly that it made him admire her talent for this skill which not many her age possessed.
Yvonne frowned when she sensed someone entering the room without permission and raised her head to take a look at who this rude person was.
'No wonder…' She rolled her eyes when she caught sight of the man who was staring at her with awe-filled eyes.
"Greetings, Marquess. Mind taking your seat." She inquired soon after greeting him.
The man was of a higher status and was her tutor so she could only overlook his intrusion and asked him to sit with her instead.
He was already a few minutes late for her class and did not wish to delay any longer.
Marquess Samed snapped out of his thoughts and hurried to his seat before placing the practice test sheets he had brought over with him.
Yesterday's class wasn't a good one as he had realized just how much she had been slacking over the last year.
Therefore, he had stayed up the entire night in order to prepare test papers for her to practice on and refresh her memory as well as make the future lessons easier for her.
"These are the same lessons the Royal Princess and her playmates are learning this year." He revealed while patting the pile of papers he had dumped on the table between them.
Yvonne was smarter than most children and had managed to complete her syllabus faster than most.
For this reason, she was currently following the same syllabus that little girl's a year older like the Princess and her playmates were learning right now.
"If only you had joined the Princess as her playmate." He muttered to himself, expressing his regret that she had opted out of that helpful offer.
At first, Yvonne was surprised to see the pile of papers as it implied that he had worked hard to prepare them at short notice.
The dark circles apparent on his pale face only proved that she had inferred right.
However, this last sentence coming out of his mouth made her scowl and dismiss the ounce of pity she had just felt for him.
'No thanks to you for that!' She scowled while remembering how he had tried to convince her to accept the offer.
It was her quick thinking which had helped her in escaping the path which could have led her straight into the role she played in the script written by the Bird God.
Therefore, now being reminded of it, she wasn't as appreciative of her tutor as she had been just a few moments ago.
Marquess Samed's eyes had been fixed on something else placed on the table and hence had failed to catch the shift in her emotions.
"What might this be?" He questioned, hesitation clear in his tone as he already had an inkling as to what it might be.
However, he still waited to hear the answer from her to confirm his deductions.
"The new contract. Please look through it and sign it." Yvonne revealed without appearing even the slightest bit guilty for what she was doing.
Marquess Samed's troubling speculation had been confirmed, making his shoulders stoop in defeat.
She had told him that she would get the new contract ready when they next met but he had not expected her to work at such a fast pace.
'Isn't she too eager to gain that money from me?' He sulked while picking up the envelope before him.
He had already agreed to the terms she had stated yesterday so all he had to do was look through the contract and ensure that everything was right before signing it.
Yvonne waited patiently for him, her earlier annoyance fading away as she watched him flip through the pages.
When he was on the last page, the man looked around to find a pen and the little girl was more than happy to help him out.
Sitting in the same place, Yvonne extended the hand which had been playing with the pen and Marquess Samed leaned forward to accept it, albeit a little regretfully.
With a heavy heart, the older man signed his initials onto the legal and binding contract before handing it over to her.
"Happy cooperation, Marquess." She grinned as she took away the signed contract from him.
'Does she think that I will snatch it away?' He scoffed at how eager she was to create distance between him and that contract.
Yvonne did not mind him but chose to start their class once she set the contract aside.
Marquess Samed's eyes lingered at the contract for a few more seconds before he let out a loud and exaggerated sigh as he retracted his gaze.
Shaking her head at the dull and gloomy aura now all around him, she did not attempt to cheer him up as this was what he had brought upon himself when he kept her in the dark for so many months and years.
The silence was broken when the Marquess finally resigned to his fate of losing money to regain the close relationship he had with his favorite pupil in the past.
Thanks to his initiative, the room was soon filled with sounds of papers flipping along with a back and forth between the two.
Sometimes it was Marquess Samed who tossed questioned at her and at other times, it was the child who cleared her doubts by asking him the matters she could not grasp right away.
In this way, the little girl was finally regaining the momentum she had lost during the plague as a result of her slacking attitude.
___
While Marquess Samed and the only daughter of the St. Claire family were busy with their questions, another group of children was discussing the same questions in a different place.
In the pavilion of the Rose Palace, Princess Felicia chuckled at the sight before her.
Glennise Brodie was trying to comfort the youngest daughter of the Kiron family who was currently gripping her beautiful hair in frustration at what had happened during their class earlier.
"Miss Rika, I hope you could stop doing that. You might pluck out your hair and turn bald before you even debut into high society." The kind words coming from the old lady standing at a short distance made Rika Kiron choke.
In the next instant, Rika stopped tugging on her hair and sat upright like the little lady she was supposed to behave like.
Governess Lester smiled and nodded at this response and stopped interfering with what the three little girls were up to.
Her job was to accompany them and watch over their studies after the Marquess was done for the day.
It was her responsibility to make sure that they were doing well in their studies and also impart important lessons that they needed in life.
Thus she smiled when the young miss of the Kiron family had applied the lessons she had taught them in the past.
For many minutes now, Rika Kiron had been lamenting what had taken place during their class that had just ended earlier but hearing that she might lose all her hair gave her another fright.
Her horrified expressions made Glennise and Princess Felicia bite their lips to stop the chuckle that was desperate to leak out.
Rika was the most innocent girl they had ever come across.
Her expressions were so clear for them to decipher, making them like her and wish to protect her at all costs.
During their class with the Marquess, the man had brought along with him three huge bundles of papers, explaining that these were the practice tests he had prepared for each one of them.
Usually, it was the Governess who was strict with their studies while the Royal Tutor would allow them to work at their own pace.
However, today the roles seemed to have been reversed as that man had disclosed that they would have to make up for the time they had lost during the plague.
"No more slacking!" He had declared which confused them as they had been diligent in their studies even when they weren't studying together.
Thus they had looked at the Governess seeking help but found her nodding with an ecstatic smile as she too agreed with what he had just said.
'Poor Rika has been panicking ever since..' Princess Felicia sighed while recalling what had taken place ever since the Marquess had left the Palace after his class with the three girls.