Chapter 575 - Through The Grapevine

"Is the Lord satisfied with this lesson?" King Ophire's eyes were fixed on Rutherford.

However, in the next second, the King raised his brows after taking in the sight before him.

Instead of answering the King, Rutherford turned to his daughter who had been wronged, and waited to see if she was pleased with this outcome.

Yvonne's heart warmed at her father's efforts and did not wish to make things difficult for him.

After all, she knew that the King was being fair with the punishment he had given to the Crown Prince.

The Royal Library had over two hundred thick books written about the rules of etiquette followed for every single occasion.

No matter how much of a genius the Prince was, he was still a mere human.

To complete his punishment which was to read every single book, it would at least take him somewhere between one or two months.

It depended on him if he could complete it in just one month or it might drag on to the second month as well.

Until this punishment was completed, he would not be able to roam around freely inside or outside the palace.

Prince Fritzen could only alternate between his daily duties as the Crown Prince and the Royal Library in order to fulfill the King's commands.

With such a time-consuming punishment he would face for the next many weeks, Yvonne could not help but snicker inwardly before nodding at her father.

The King had found the perfect solution to punish the Prince so Yvonne did not wish to drag this topic any further.

Therefore, she revealed her acquiescence through that nod.

Only after gaining her acceptance did Rutherford turn towards the King and bow his head, thanking him for bringing justice to what his daughter had suffered on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony.

King Ophire chuckled, impressed with how much this man doted on his child.

They would soon have to end this meeting but not before accomplishing one more task.

"I'm sure that the Crown Prince has something important to say." King Ophire announced as his gaze landed on his son.

Prince Fritzen's back straightened at the stern words of his father and grasped what he meant.

Gritting his teeth, he nodded obediently before turning his attention to the members of the St. Claire's family who were present today.

"I apologize for the troubles I might have caused you, Miss St. Claire." He uttered insincere words under his father's stern gaze.

He might be the Crown Prince but he was still below his father.

As he respected his father, he would never refuse his commands and hence could only apologize even after receiving that tedious punishment.

Even now, he believed that Yvonne St. Claire was the one in the wrong and he had only tried to protect a timid maiden who had been tormented by someone misusing their power and status.

However, he still had the time to prove his innocence and would also reveal that his father's doting was leading these three girls down the wrong path.

Yvonne did not speak her mind as that could reignite this matter and that was not something she wished to deal with right now.

Therefore, she only nodded her head as she accepted his insincere words which were obvious to everyone around them.

King Ophire sighed after observing this and decided that having a proper conversation with his son was an absolute necessity.

However, right now, other matters of the court needed his attention and thus, everyone else was dismissed from the Throne room.

Only those who were connected to the official matters could stay behind while the rest had to take their leave.

Thus, while Rutherford, Earl Howard, and the three best friends exited the room, Duke Tanner with Grand Duke Roschester and Prince Fritzen remained.

After stepping outside, Rutherford and Howard chose to return to their mansion but the girls decided to spend some time in the Rose Palace which belonged to Princess Felicia.

"Be back soon." The worried father patted her head as though she was still a child before turning around leaving with his son.

Thus, Yvonne along with her friends waved goodbye to the two men before heading in the direction of the Rose Palace.

It was a short walk to their destination and the moment they entered the Rose Palace, their tutor, and mentor, Governess Bloom welcomed them with a wide smile and snacks.

The coming-of-age ceremony indicated that the education of a girl had come to an end and thus was old enough to debut into society. 

While Yvonne was a year younger and had not yet celebrated this ceremony, she had completed her education along with her peers.

Hence, the three girls no longer had to attend classes and were free to do as they pleased in their free time.

"Miss Yvonne, you should be careful." Governess Bloom muttered just as the girls took their seats around the table prepared in the garden.

Yvonne glanced up at the old lady who was like a grandmother to her and nodded, understanding what she had meant by those words.

The Crown Prince must be thoroughly infuriated with her right now.

Not only did she 'attack' the lady he had asked for a dance, but she had also gotten him in trouble with the King.

Therefore, it was a given that she might be in trouble, targeted by those who favored the Prince.

The people trying to curry favor with him could go to any extent in order to please him.

If the Prince was upset with her then by targeting her, they could gain favorability from the one who would sit on the Throne next.

Not to mention that even the Prince might also act against her due to the obvious bad blood that was now between them.

"Don't worry, Vonny! I will ask Father to punish big brother again if he tries anything sneaky!" Princess Felicia proclaimed in a stern voice as she too had been irritated with her brother's behavior.

Yvonne smiled at her friend and nodded, accepting her words as she might need them in the future.

After all, many things had taken place in just a few days that had passed after the Coming-of-age ceremony.

The days were few yet many had already heard the news about the Crown Prince's ridiculous behavior.

Everything about how he had asked that Lady to a dance after ignoring the Princess, created a scene with Miss Yvonne, and finally, in the few days that had passed, he had tried to get closer to that Lady already.

Everywhere the Crown Prince went, everyone's eyes followed him.

Therefore, it was obvious that rumors would begin to fly when he had gone to visit the Lady on the very next day after the ball.

The news of the Crown Prince chasing the daughter of a Baron was already circulating in the Capital after someone had caught sight of his carriage entering a well-known nobleman's estate.

"She doesn't even have an estate in the Capital." Glennise scoffed at the news that had reached her through the grapevine.

The daughter of the Baron had to stay at a relative's place as her family had no property in the Capital.

Despite her family's impoverished state, the Crown Prince trying to remain in contact with her was what everyone was gossiping about.

{The Crown Prince falling in love at first sight}

This was the talk of the town and for the few days that had passed after the coming-of-age ceremony, even Yvonne could not deny this piece of gossip.

After all, the Prince's actions spoke on his behalf, and right now, they screamed of blind love which desired to blossom despite the odds against them.

Rolling her eyes, Yvonne disregarded these nonsensical thoughts and turned to face the one seated next to her.

"Are you alright?" She inquired while grasping her friend's hand in hers and gently patting it.

Glennise's lips formed a wry smile but she could not answer as gossip about the Prince and that Lady had truly affected her.

She had been upset ever since she had seen that man holding another woman in his arms and these rumors were only making her feel worse.

Yvonne sighed after taking a look at Glennise's dull face and once again felt sorry for her.

'That foolish Prince spoke up in that lady's favor today as well.' She grimaced as her friend might have felt awful while witnessing that.

Therefore, she once again cursed the stupid Prince but her hands patting Glennise's hand never stopped.

On the other hand, Princess Felicia narrowed her eyes while staring at her friend.

"Don't tell me you are upset that Brother got punished?" She interrogated with her brows furrowed.

Everyone present here, Yvonne, Princess Felicia, and even Governess Bloom who was standing a short distance away from them, were all aware of Glennise's feelings for Prince Fritzen.

In the past, whenever the Prince was hurt during training or sick, Glennise would fall ill as she got excessively worried about his condition.

However, the clueless Prince never knew of these matters and went about with his life without a care.

He would recover in a few days but the frail lady took longer to get back to her feet.

Therefore, Princess Felicia wished to know if something similar would take place this time as well.

The Prince was the one who was punished but Glennise would be the one who was hurting for his sake.

She did not wish for anything of this sort to take place as she desired her friend to stay strong instead of getting bedridden due to her troubled mind.

Yvonne nodded after realizing that such things were common in the past.

However, much to their surprise, Glennise did not display any emotion of worry for the Prince.

"It would be better for the Prince to utilize this time to discern what was truly good for him and what wasn't." She declared as this was what she wholeheartedly yearned for.

If this was an instance in the past, then she would have spoken in the Prince's favor but his actions and even his words had hurt her heart which loved him dearly.

She hoped that he would soon realize that the only one who could stand next to him without putting him to shame was her.

Therefore, she wasn't saddened when the King had punished the Prince as this could be the chance for him to realize what was the right thing for him to do.

Princess Felicia and Yvonne raised their brows in surprise at her reaction which was different from usual which was standing up for the Prince.

However, they only hoped that her wish would come true as they did not want her to be disheartened over the Prince who had total control of her heart.

Now all they needed to do was wait and see if the Prince would change after the duration of his punishment…

Or would they have to brace themselves for the worse?