Chapter 264 - The Toast

Glasses were raised towards the Earl whose face was brimming with pride as his eyes alternated between his two children.

Smiling at his lovely family, Rutherford proposed the toast.

"To Howard's return from the Royal Academy." He smiled at his son who had been away for a month.

"To Yvonne's brilliant performance in the trials." He gushed over his daughter's capabilities which he and everyone here had witnessed.

"To my beloved wife for everything she does, including this banquet she organized." He appreciated her hard work and effort.

Captain Desmo Reel and Marquess Samed could not help but roll their eyes at this man who was making them feel awful for not having a family of their own.

'He doesn't have to rub it in my face like that!' Desmo sneered at his friend for boasting about how happy and great his family life is.

Fortunately, he wasn't alone in thinking so, as he had his immediate neighbor, Marquess Samed who shared similar thoughts as him.

'Father and daughter are both alike! One makes me feel terrible for not having an etcher and the other boasts about his family in my presence.' Sullivan sulked at his pitiful fate.

The children, however, did not have any such feelings as they waited for the long speech to end which would permit them to begin their meal.

"To the tutors who aided in Vonna's studies and training." Rutherford continued as he glanced at the two moping men on his right.

This lessened the blows they had received earlier and satisfied smiles could be seen emerging on their faces.

The little girl whose hand was tired after holding the glass for too long could only look at her mother for help.

'Can we eat already?' She pouted her lips and blinked her wide watery eyes at the lady sitting next to her.

Whether it was a psychic connection between the mother and her child or she was excellent at reading facial cues, Raylene understood what her daughter was trying to convey through her wordless protests.

"Ahem" She signaled her husband to put an end to his excessively long speech.

Ever the wife-pleaser, Rutherford swallowed half the words which he had in store for his toast.

"Let us have many more such occasions to celebrate in the future!" He announced and then raised his glass higher.

"Cheers!" Everyone toasted at the same time and took a sip out of the glass in their hands.

The four boys however gulped down the entire contents of their glasses and let out satisfied sighs.

"This is so refreshing and cold!" Taylor exclaimed while cupping his cheeks.

For someone who loved aesthetically pleasing things in life, the way these drinks were served combined with the delectable taste was making this an unforgettable experience for him.

'That's right! Fall in love with it enough that you wish to drink it every day!' The little imp sitting on Yvonne's shoulder prayed that these boys may get addicted to these drinks.

She needed loyal customers for her business and where else to start than from these young boys.

Once they got used to drinking these beverages whenever they visited this estate, they would be happy to patronize the business she would open in the future.

'Their noble pride will not allow them to leech off the St. Claire's when they can purchase it with their own money with ease.' She lowered her head and hid the smirk.

However, she did not have to hide her evil glint as no one was paying attention to her.

Everyone had begun eating after being starved during Rutherford's long speech and Yvonne did not waste any further time as she too began eating.

The meal which began with tranquility was soon disturbed by the man who could not remain silent for too long.

"How are your injuries? Do they hurt a lot?" Marquess Samed questioned as he cut the piece of meat on his plate.

The little girl who had just scooped spicy mashed potatoes into her mouth could not speak until she chewed and swallowed it.

In the meantime, Captain Desmo shot the man a nasty glare following which he rolled his eyes.

"Did we not discuss this earlier?" He scoffed at the tutor who seemed to forget what had just taken place.

'And he dares to call himself the smartest man?' He shook his head in disbelief about the title the populous had bestowed on him.

In response, Marquess Samed harrumphed and looked away after witnessing his doubtful gaze.

Yvonne was confused when she heard this interaction between the two tutors and tilted her head to the side.

"Discuss what?" She expressed her curiosity regarding this matter.

Rutherford scoffed at the two men who were beginning to squabble like children again.

Then the doting father turned his head and glanced at his children who sat on either side of his wife.

"Don't the two of you feel refreshed? No aches in your body even after undergoing that fast-paced duel?" He investigated while bringing out his 'Proud Papa' smile once again.

Damien and the Tanner siblings understood where the Earl was going with his questions as they were now aware of the matter of the men's discussion.

Yvonne and Howard shared a glance and looked down to contemplate what they had heard from their father.

'I do feel lighter than usual.' Howard clenched and released his fists only to find that there was no soreness which was a common occurrence after holding the sword for too long.

The younger sister was not looking at him as she had her own investigation to do.

Tilting her neck from side to side she discovered that she could feel no rigidity in her muscle and the soreness was almost negligible.

'Even the places where that brat hit me don't hurt as much as they did while we were battling it out.' She frowned at this discovery.

The people sitting at the table watched as she raised her hand and began poking her forehead repeatedly.

Taylor, the one who sat next to her turned his body towards her to watch what she was trying to do to herself.

'Now, I can't poke my calf and my ribs right before so many people so this is all I can do to test it.' She shrugged and carried on with her experiment.

Marquess Samed was present the last time when she had only slapped her forehead and the area had gotten red and swollen.

Today, however, even after withstanding Howard's blow there was no redness, no pain, and absolutely no swelling.

'How could this be?' Yvonne realized that something was out of the ordinary.

After her warm bath, she had just attributed the soothing water for relieving her soreness but now she suspected that this might not be the case.

Looking at her brother, she could find traces of understanding peeking through the veil of confusion shrouding his face.

'What does he know that I do not!?' She growled and turned towards her tutor.

At this reaction, Marquess Samed shrugged all responsibility away from himself and turned his eyes to the Captain.

'This falls under his curriculum, not mine!' He tossed the figurative hot potato over to Captain Desmo Reel.

'Has he no shame to shirk away all responsibilities?' Desmo sneered at the other man.

However, the petty fight between the two had come to an end when they felt the Earl's glares.

'My daughter asked about something!' His facial expressions clearly depicted what his thoughts were.

The two men hired to train and tutor her let out dry coughs and turned their sights towards the girl.

"I did not explain this matter to you since you had already found your etcher by the time we had our first class." Captain Desmo revealed why he had not taught her about their topic of discussion.

"I did not know that girls could even use this… So I never bothered to speak about this to you." Sullivan justified his reason for never mentioning this matter to her.

'Can someone explain what 'THIS' is!?' Her glowering face resembled her father's earlier annoyed face.

All she had information about was that 'this' was something related to getting her etcher and also that girls could not utilize whatever it was they were talking about.

Yvonne was beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together but she still had no clue about what they were trying to say to her.

"You've awakened." A voice at the end of the table was heard which answered the queries written all over her face.

This prompted the little girl to turn her head towards the source of the voice and froze when their eyes met.

"Both of you." The boy with forest-green eyes broke eye contact with her as he faced Howard.