Chapter 206 - The Boundary

Yvonne was clueless to the protective thoughts that were overpowering every other thought in her father's head.

She continued to hide her bright pink cheeks as she ate her fill with the food on her plate.

Raylene had said her piece and after watching her daughter nod in admittance, she did not bother her any longer.

Marquess and Rutherford continued to speak about the noblemen and their businesses, following which the lunch came to a peaceful end.

"I shall practice my piano lessons." Yvonne announced once they had completed their meal.

The parents nodded at her diligent attitude to learn and get better at her piano playing skills.

'She always puts on an irked face when I give her more work but this she does willingly?' Marquess Samed frowned as he watched the little girl curtsy at them and leave the room with her maid.

Yvonne did not witness his gloomy expressions as she was busy thinking of how to improve her skills in order to reach the end of the Piano classes with Governess Lester as soon as possible.

The Governess had notified her that their last class would be on the day that she could play every single one of the scores in that folder she had received.

Now all she had to do was try her best and impress the old lady to the best of her abilities.

'Work hard now so that I get that extra hour's worth of break!' She cheered for herself as she made her way to the piano room.

The ones who were left in the dining room had also completed their meal and had no reason to remain in here any longer.

While the Earl and Marquess moved to the Parlor to continue their discussions, the Countess bid them farewell as she went back to her room.

Raylene followed by Paula, her maid, went on their way to the room adjoining the Master's bedroom to get her changed into comfortable home clothes.

In the Parlor, Butler Limo served the two men tea as they sat on the couches on the opposite sides of the table.

The fragrant tea wafted into their nostrils, making them appreciate the excellent tea brewing skills of the Butler.

The two men were enjoying the warm and soothing hot beverage while the Butler stood behind his Master and waited on them.

"Do you think he will be able to reach the Palace and meet the King before the appointed time?" Marquess Samed inquired as he sipped his tea.

Rutherford looked up at him and gave a relaxed and lazy nod.

The 'he' that they were talking about was none other than Baron Quinn MacIntyre who had left them in a hurry to reach the Royal Palace.

"The Palace isn't too far from here anyway." He reminded the higher nobleman of the distance between the two places.

Sullivan rolled his eyes at the observation made by the Earl as things weren't exactly as he had made them out to be.

'He is speaking as though the Palace is right next to his mansion and all Baron MacIntyre needs to do is walk next door to reach it.' He mocked the big man for the lazy words he had said.

It was true that the Rosenhyde Royal Palace was not far from the St. Claire Estate.

After all, the woods behind the St. Claire estate was connected to the woods which separated the Royal Palace from the outside world.

The Rosenhyde Royal Palace was the name of the main Palace where the King and Queen resided.

There were also smaller but equally beautiful palaces in the vicinity of the Palace grounds.

They belonged to the other Royal family members like the Prince, Princess, and the Grand Duke.

The Rosenhyde family owned the entire grounds where these Palaces were built.

Technically, they owned the entire Capital of Amarthea as that was the first fief belonging to their ancestors which later grew with time and political agreements.

Every land in the Capital that was now belonging to the other nobles on which they had their estates were given to them by the earliest Kings as a gift for assimilating their fiefs into the Rosenhyde Kingdom.

While the nobles were still in charge of the fiefs under their family's name, they were accountable to the King and had to report to him when asked for it.

The statement that Rutherford had made was regarding the boundary of the Palace grounds that the Royals owned.

The thick woods that acted as a barrier for the Palace grounds from the outside world connected to the woods that was behind the St. Claire estate.

If one would venture deep into the woods from the outside world, they could sneak into the Palace grounds with ease.

However, they could only do it after managing to stay safe from the vicious predatory animals and the Royal Knights that kept a watch over it.

This was exactly how Demon, Yvonne's etcher had escaped the Palace grounds and appeared at the grazing field behind the St. Claire estate.

An etcher of his caliber could easily escape from his shackles and sneak outside the grounds with no one noticing him.

The only kind of knights, the Black Shadow Knights who could have hindered him were busy protecting the King and his little brother, and keeping an eye on the horse was not in their list of responsibilities.

When they had managed to find the etcher, the beast already had its owner and nothing could be done about it.

"It takes about 15 minutes to reach the Palace gates from this place, Marquess. You should know that better than I do." Rutherford added when he saw the cynical look on the tutor's face.

'He usually comes over from the Palace so he should know about it.' He scoffed at the man who asked questions which made people doubt the title of 'smartest man' that the public had bestowed on him.

While the distance between the two places was short, one would still have to enter the Palace through its proper entrance which would appear after they passed multiple Estates.

However, this was easier to achieve than trying to use the shortcut through the woods which was a death trap for anyone who tried it. 

Sullivan found meaning in what the Earl said and nodded his head.

"I, however, worry whether he would be able to present the dessert before the King on time." Rutherford's mutters made him look up.

Reaching the Palace was not the problem here but reaching with the dessert prepared and in hand was the main issue.

As Baron MacIntyre had spent most of his time here, Rutherford was concerned whether the treat reached its destination on time.

Hearing his doubt, Marquess Samed chuckled while shaking his head.

"I had forgotten to mention this." He remarked while placing the now empty teacup back on the table.

Rutherford looked at him with curiosity and waited for him to continue.

"The Baron had the desserts ready and waiting at the Palace gates with his Butler. He was only here to sign the agreement." He revealed what the plump man had disclosed when he had gone to see him to the carriage.

'He must have met the Royal Steward by now.' He inferred after giving it a moment's thought.

Rutherford blinked at the man who had withheld this information causing him to worry about the success of the deal that his daughter had made with the Baron.