Chapter 217 - Howard Would Be Back

The next morning, the little girl was sprawled on her bed without a care in the world.

The man and woman who had come into the room to take a peek at her were met with the angelic face which was not awakened from her sleep even when someone had entered the room.

"She must have been tired." Raylene whispered to her husband while making sure to keep her voice down.

Usually, at this time their daughter would be training with the Captain but today they had no classes.

It was her big assessment day and the trainer had asked her to rest up after making her practice well yesterday.

Rutherford glanced at the tiny figure on the bed who was letting out soft snores.

Yvonne's violet tresses were scattered all over the white pillowcase, her cheeks were bulging with baby fat as she rested on her side, pushing her cheek into the pillow.

Her entire body was tucked inside the warm and cozy blanket and her head was the only visible part of her.

Rutherford smiled as his arms wrapped around his wife's shoulders.

Their daughter was going to face the first, big challenge in her life and they had come over to see whether she was fine or feeling jittery about it.

Upon arriving at the door, the Earl could hear steady breathing coming from inside which prompted him to tread lightly.

He advised his wife to remain silent as they sneaked into her room to take a look at her.

Now, they were watching her snoring away without any issues or fears and the worry in their hearts lessened as well.

'Do well, my Vonna.' He blessed her with his kind words and escorted his wife outside the room to let their daughter get her fair share of rest.

Once they had exited the room and had moved a distance away from her room, Raylene and Rutherford glanced at each other and nodded at once.

The day was just beginning but the work they had cut out for themselves was enormous.

"We should get everything prepared before Howie gets back." Raylene declared with vigor and enthusiasm laced in her voice.

Rutherford chuckled when he saw her energetic face and was willing to comply with her wishes.

Having come to a mutual decision, the partners soon separated from each other and went their own ways to finish the tasks that they had assigned for themselves.

Raylene was in charge of making sure that the mansion and everything inside it was perfect for when her child returns.

While the Earl was put in charge of seeing to the preparations of the assessment test that Howard would be conducting once he arrived at the mansion.

Their son was the one who had asked to hold this assessment when Yvonne had demanded to learn how to wield the sword.

He was sure that she was making these demands on a whim and she would quit sooner or later.

However, contrary to their beliefs, she had stuck to her word and the first month of the training period had already come to an end.

Today, Howard would be back after staying a month at the Royal Academy and the first thing he would do was assess her progress.

If Yvonne deserved to continue her classes or whether she was being lazy with her work and only wanted to have a change of routine, he would make sure to check this thoroughly.

'I hope he still does not hold grudges against Vonna.' He shook his head upon recalling the bad blood between the siblings.

Even after Yvonne had stopped pestering him and making trouble for him ever since she returned from the Summer estate, Howard remained vigilant against her and refused to let her get close to him.

The father was hoping that this assessment would change the current relationship between his children.

'If there was one thing that my son loves then that is his sword.' He declared as he was just the same at that age.

If Yvonne could succeed in impressing the grumpy young boy then the chances of them getting closer and on speaking terms was high.

This gave him hope as he had heard from Yvonne that she was progressing quite well in her training.

He had never taken a look at her while she was in training so he could only trust her word for this and prayed that everything worked out in her favor.

'The light of joy in her eyes when she talks about her training with Des proves that she is doing her work diligently and she loves what she is doing.' He recalled how every meal they had together was spent in her rambling about her day.

Hope and courage filled his heart as he chose to trust his daughter's words that she would succeed in this test her brother, Howard was preparing for her.

All he had to do was make sure that everything was set up and well for the test when he arrived at the Estate.

While Mrs. Jacinth and Paula aided Raylene to look after the matters concerning the mansion, Butler Limo was serving Rutherford as they prepared the training grounds for the assessment.

It was only an hour after sunrise hence they had ample time before Howard reached the St. Claire Mansion at noon.

The Royal Academy would have early morning classes following which the students could leave the Academy premises.

Young boys who had their homes in the Capital city would journey back home to visit their family for the three-day break.

While the ones whose homes were in far off fiefs would stay back at the dormitories or accompany their friends to their homes.

Howard would arrive before lunch and that was when Yvonne's assessment would take place.

This late timing was also why Captain Desmo Reel had asked Yvonne to sleep for longer as there was no use in overworking from early morning when the test would only start at noon.

With this thought in mind, Yvonne had asked her nanny to wake her up at the usual breakfast time which was at 8:30 AM instead of her everyday routine of 5 AM.

She could have asked to be woken up later as well but the little girl decided to finish a couple of other tasks as well before Howard could assess her capability and progress.

This gave Raylene and Rutheford a few hours to prepare everything to not have any inconveniences when their son arrived.

Demon stood at a distance and watched the busy and lively atmosphere of the estate.

His master had explained to him that his support would be needed for a test to which he neighed readily as it was an etcher's duty to follow their master and keep them safe.

She had also mentioned that she would be meeting him later than the usual time.

Therefore, the etcher was waiting for his master to arrive and decided to watch the show in the meantime.

People running in and out of the mansion, workmen setting up canopies in different parts of the estate, and the Butler yelling at them to work faster.

This was his view when he was standing near the training grounds.

Upon venturing to a different part of the estate, his sharp nose was assaulted with sweet fragrances which made him drool.

Sadly, it was coming from the kitchen within the mansion, a place where he had never been to and never would because of his massive size.

Thus, a hungry and drooling beast turned away and returned to his stable with a gloomy air surrounding him.