Yvonne glanced at her brother's reaction from the corner of her eyes and was pleased with the look of surprise that was prevalent on his face.
'Still think my pet is a tiny pony?' She rolled her eyes while mocking the previous assumption he had made.
From the far end of the grazing field, the 'tiny pony' was making his way towards the small crowd which had appeared there.
The etcher had caught the scent of his Master long before she had called out for him.
Demon had been waiting eagerly for the instruction from his Master and when he finally heard her voice uttering his name, he didn't waste any time and rushed in her direction.
Among the people whom he had already met on multiple occasions was one such person whom the horse had never seen or smelled before.
This raised his vigilance as he increased his speed to reach the Master who was waiting for him.
Howard, the new person among the crowd was stunned to see the huge horse that was galloping in their direction.
His ears had heard the little girl calling the horse which implied that the beast was her new pet but his mind could not comprehend this information.
Following his instincts, his eyes narrowed as he pulled the child behind him and stood before her in a protective stance.
Even he was not aware of the reflexive action that his body had taken until it had already been done.
The elders' eyes were on the boy who had shielded his sister behind his back even when there was no absolute need for it.
'That is my etcher so what exactly are you protecting me from?' Yvonne rolled her eyes at the boy whose back was right before her face.
Through her eyes rolled in mockery, her heart warmed as his behavior exhibited the protective instincts he had for this little sister.
Demon slowed down by the time he had neared the group of people who stood in the same place.
He began walking towards his master who was being hidden behind the boy whom the beast had never met before.
Nonetheless, Demon did not feel wary of the boy as whatever he had, it was to protect his Master.
This same scene had been repeated twice already.
The first was when Rutherford tried to hide his daughter from the beast, the second was when Marquess Samed stood between them to protect her even when his own feet were trembling.
Now, this little boy had repeated the same sequence of actions which proved that he was someone who cared for the etcher's master.
This, in Demon's books, made Howard an ally who could be depended on.
Just like the beast, the rest of the people present in the group had similar thoughts about the pair of siblings.
'Howie loves Vonny!' The mother cheered in excitement.
'He acts tough but he cares for her nonetheless.' Rutherford felt relief in his heart when he witnessed this heartwarming scene.
'So brave!' Marquess Samed gulped as he alternated his eyes between the little boy and the mighty horse.
The rest of the people present remained silent and observed the situation ahead of them.
One pair of midnight blue eyes was leering at the crimson eyes of the big beast who surprisingly was the calm one in this instance.
Demon neighed in eagerness when he noticed his master's head peeking through the shoulders of the boy who stood between them.
"How do you like my Demon, big brother?" Yvonne's childish yet gloating voice echoed in his ears, bringing him back to his senses.
Glancing over his shoulder, he found a pair of wiggling eyebrows that seemed to be waving playfully at him.
"Still think that he's a tiny pony?" She giggled while making sure to remind him of the words he had used to describe her pet.
Her words coupled with her teasing behavior proved that he had just been fooled by this little girl who did not correct him when he had misunderstood things.
Howard turned his eyes to the adults, only to find them averting their gazes as they had all been accomplices in the prank that was being played.
He glowered at his parents who had been silent spectators while she was making a fool out of him.
He knew that he could not express his dissatisfaction with the outsiders when his family members had been the ones to mess with him.
After he was done shaking his head in disappointment at his parents, he turned around and finally took another better look at the huge horse who remained standing before them.
Demon was an obedient boy and he did not make any fuss as he waited for the next instructions from his master.
Yvonne was now standing beside her brother rather than her earlier position where she had been shielded behind him.
"Demon, this is big brother Howard. He is someone close to me so be a good boy and greet him." She introduced the boy who was with her to her etcher.
'Like a dumb animal can understand such complex orders.' Howard mocked her childish attitude for expecting too much from a mere beast.
The young boy who had been away from the house for the entire month was never informed about the big horse which was his sister's mount so there was no way that he had knowledge about the horse being an etcher.
Howard was waiting for the child's words to fall on deaf ears but to his astonishment, the horse followed her every instruction.
Demon neighed softly while nodding his head at the new person who had appeared at the mansion.
This was a shocking sight for him to behold as he was not expecting the horse to understand and follow Yvonne's orders.
Yvonne knew what must have been going on in his mind and she was more than willing to explain the truth of the matter to him.
'Enough of the fun. Now it is time to introduce Demon to him.' She decided and then turned in his direction.
Her hand was placed on the horse's muzzle, who seemed to have been enjoying this skinship with his master as he bent further to give her better access.
"Big brother, this is Demon." She uttered as she looked him straight in the eyes.
In response, Howard blinked at her as though she was an idiot.
"You have said that already and my memory isn't that weak that you have to repeat yourself." He scoffed at her, gone was the protective instincts he had earlier and now all that remained was an annoyed expression on his face.
"I see… Then you must also know that Demon here is… My etcher?" She raised her brows as she tossed this question over to him.
The young boy was about to nod his head as he was sure that she would only be repeating herself.
However, once he heard what she had just said, he froze as his eyes widened.
'What did she just say!?' He sneered at the girl who was thinking too highly of herself.
The boys in his grade had been taught what an etcher was so he was well aware of the existence of special beasts that were unlike the others in their species.
Not too much information was known about them other than the fact that they were rare and only worthy men were capable of gaining an etcher.