Chapter 241 - The Second Trial Requires...

Howard looked at Yvonne and found that her entire attention was now focused on what he was about to say.

This caused him to nod before he turned around and pointed his finger at something that was placed at a distance away from where they stood.

Yvonne followed his gaze and turned in the direction that he was looking to figure out what he might say next.

'Those look like…' She squinted her eyes to get a better look at what was the subject of their conversation.

The part that had caught their eyes were the three large items that were covered under the bright red cloth draped over them.

The concealed items were in three places, at an equal distance away from each other were right ahead of them.

"That… Is your second trial for the assessment." Howard announced as he raised his hand.

Receiving the signal from the Young Master, three servants rushed ahead and pulled away the cloths that had been used to conceal whatever it was that Howard had planned to utilize in her trial.

"Targets." Yvonne blurted out as she knew exactly what was revealed after the cloths were taken away.

'You made me practice with these as well!' She exclaimed as her sparkling eyes turned towards her trainer.

Her trainer had been strict with his classes and never allowed her to move to the next lesson unless she could hit the bullseye multiple times.

'Just yesterday he made me practice well with them.' She recalled and her smile widened.

Noticing her cheerful appearance, Captain Desmo rolled his eyes and pointed his chin towards her brother.

'Pay attention.' He reprimanded her through his actions which she had understood right away.

'Yea yea, I know!' She dismissed his worries with the shake of her head and turned away.

Facing her elder brother Yvonne St. Claire waited for his instructions about the second trial.

The Captain also waited for what this young boy might speak further as he did not wish to get ahead of himself and celebrate a victory before it was achieved.

The last trial may have seemed easy as Yvonne and Demon were used to venturing into the forest with him and Precious.

However, Howard had not only asked her to do so alone to fetch the token, their St. Claire's family's crest embroidered handkerchief but he had also asked her to be back within a set time limit.

The time limit had increased the difficulty level of the task by a large percentage.

Hence he did not wish to give her any chance to have false hope only for it to be thrashed after listening to the complete requirements to pass the second trial.

Thinking of how the first trial had come to an end, Captain Desmo Reel had an amused smile on his face.

'That boy has an eye to make things difficult for her.' He glanced at Howard and praised him.

The young boy's efforts to make sure that he was not going easy on her was the main reason that Captain Desmo had made a big discovery today during the first trial.

A discovery that he needed to discuss with Rutherford before he could explain the matter to his pupil as well.

'If it wasn't for him then we never would have realized it.' He credited the boy who had helped them out without his realization.

Howard was unaware of the kind deed he had done by increasing the difficulty level for the first trial by placing the time limit.

As of right now, he was busy checking whether the instructions he had given to the servants had been followed down to the smallest detail.

Once he was sure that everything was according to his orders, he turned around and faced the group of people standing behind them.

"The second trial requires Yvonne to…" He began speaking and his eyes turned back towards the little girl who was now standing beside him.

'There are three targets and we are testing my archery skills so there is not much to explain.' The little girl rolled her eyes as she gazed at the targets away from them.

The targets that had been unveiled were colorful and reminded her of the target back in her previous world.

She could make out ten concentric circles drawn over the sheets which had been pasted on each of the targets.

Two consecutive circles had the same color before a new color emerged which also followed the same pattern.

The two outermost circles were white followed by two black, two blue, two red, and finally, the innermost circle was divided into three circles which were all yellow.

In this way, the ten circles were painted onto the sheet which would be used to measure the score value of the arrows she would shoot.

Howard and the others were used to using this type of target but for Yvonne and the women present, it was supposed to be the first time they had seen something like this.

'Wasn't as easy as you had thought, was it now?' Captain Desmo sneered as he shot a glance at his student before looking at the targets.

The targets that he had brought over to teach her were the basic modules which only had three circles.

However, the ones which the young boy had managed to procure for the assessment were the same that was used in the Royal Academy and also for the knight training.

If he had known that Howard would score her shooting skills by using the highest methods then he too would have made her practice on these.

But there was nothing that could be done other than to hope for the best and that his teachings were enough for the girl to score well.

Yvonne did not realize that she was being pitied by her trainer as she waited for Howard to continue speaking.

'I cannot behave as though I know what those lines on the sheet are.' She decided and turned towards the boy.

With curiosity brimming in her eyes, she tilted her head and tossed a question over to him.

"What should Vonny do, big brother?" She inquired while fluttering her lashes at him.

She knew that he wasn't as cold as he pretended to be but at the same time she was still not sure whether he wished for her to succeed in these trials.

The main cause of her skepticism was the absurd height at which the handkerchief had been tied for the first trial.

'Does he still want me to fail?' She wondered but snapped out of her thoughts when she saw the boy looking into her eyes.

"You will have three arrows for each target." He began his explanations while pointing his finger at the targets.

"They will be placed at different distances and your skill will be assessed based on how many arrows can strike the target." He elaborated with patience as he had expected that she would not know much about this.

'So the targets will be increasing in their level of difficulty as I move ahead.' Yvonne nodded in understanding as this was what she would have done if she was in his position.

Howard then went on to explain how each color would gain her a certain score to pass the trial.

The scoring was based on the color of the circle.

White was one point, black gave three, blue awarded her five, red was seven points and the two yellow rings gave her a nine.

"If your arrow can hit the innermost circle then that would be considered a bullseye, garnering you an instant win in that target." Howard ended his monologue about the scoring module.

'Though I doubt that you will be able to achieve that.' He added in his heart and knew that if he ever uttered those words then a certain son of a Duke would pounce on him and tear him apart.

Thinking of Taylor, he scoffed further and decided to wash away his thoughts in order to not infuriate himself.

That bold boy had called himself Yvonne's elder brother just earlier which was still a thorn in Howard's chest as he was the real and only brother to the little girl.

'She only has me as her elder brother and cannot call others with that name!' He demanded and his eyes glinted in anger at his impudent friend.

However, when he recalled how his sister had continued to call Taylor as 'Young Master Taylor', a wave of relief filled his chest which made him toss a satisfied glance at her.

'You did good!' He praised his sister and nodded, leaving the little girl confused after witnessing his actions.