'Master, your child is about to do something stupid soon.'
A word of warning echoed in Rutherford's mind as he was looking through one of the storage rooms in his mansion.
The Earl frowned as he knew who this voice belonged to but he could not decipher which child he was talking about.
'Speak clearly, Fryght.' He scowled at his etcher who let out a low whimper before explaining what he had just seen.
The sight of the little girl riding her etcher and their disappearance into the woods behind the mansion was promptly explained to the Master of this household.
Butler Limo had been standing at his Master's side in silence until now but could not help but shudder when an ominous aura began to emit from that same man.
He did not know what was wrong as just earlier, the Master was busy looking for an appropriate present for the King.
However, without uttering a word the Master had now stormed out of the room leaving the Butler no choice but to hurry up and follow after him.
'Make sure that she is fine until I get there!' Rutherford did not care that Limo was left behind as he rushed in the direction of the grazing field where his etcher had last seen his child.
___
Inside the woods, Yvonne and Demon were seen galloping at a high speed in one particular direction.
'What if you get hurt, Master?' The worried etcher's query reached his Master's ears.
The little girl could understand that he was concerned about her well-being but right now, doing this was absolutely necessary.
'That is the whole point of doing this, Demon.' She explained while rubbing his long neck, trying to assure him that she knew what she was doing.
However, her etcher knew nothing about the reason for her dangerous actions.
All he knew was that his Master had given him a task to fulfill and he had to complete it even if he was reluctant right from the start.
Therefore, he nodded as he hurried to the place that she had asked him to take her.
Yvonne sighed as she could sense Demon's anxiety because she too felt the same way.
However, that was the only option she was left with.
Since none of her other excuses had worked on her father, the little girl had come up with something ingenious but at the same time, it was risky as well.
'If I can pull this off then I can get out of meeting the King tomorrow.' She cheered for herself as well as strengthened her resolve to go through with this deed.
Her eyes were fixed on what was ahead as they were nearing their destination.
As they entered deeper into the woods, the distance between trees began to grow apart.
They weren't too close together because these were trees of a larger size which needed vast space for their roots under the ground and their widespread branches up in the sky.
She had ventured into these parts with Captain Desmo in the past and she recalled that he had explained something fascinating to her.
The space on the ground between these trees was where a special type of grass grew.
Yvonne's hands clenching the reins to secure her position on the saddle loosened just as Demon got closer to this area.
'Are you sure, Master?' The etcher inquired one last time to make sure that she had not changed her mind midway.
However, the little girl had already made up her mind and nothing could stop her from doing what she had decided.
Therefore, she gave him a positive reply which made the horse slow down gradually as he ran in that direction.
Yvonne's amethyst eyes were fixed on her destination and just when she had reached a particular spot in that area, the little girl leaned sideways.
Her petite body slipped off the horse's saddle and in the next instant, she could feel her body slide downward.
'Master!' Demon cried out in fear even when he knew that she had for this planned all along.
With her eyes shut, she waited for her body to land on the ground and for the pain to arrive.
There was a deafening silence in the few seconds that it took for her body to reach its destination on the grassy ground.
*PLOP*
Demon had already come to a screeching halt a few steps after his Master had slid off his back.
Turning around, he was fretting the sight that he would behold but what he saw made him widen his eyes in surprise.
'When did he…' He thought to himself but shook such thoughts away as he rushed back to where his Master was.
Yvonne still had her eyes closed after she had landed on the grass.
'Huh?' A frown formed on her lips as the pain she had been waiting for never did arrive.
She was sure that she had fallen off of Demon's back so how was she not in any kind of pain?
This situation was giving her a sense of deja vu as the same turn of events had taken place numerous times in the past.
Every time she fell, she waited for the pain to manifest but every single time she was saved by a certain someone which allowed her to steer away from experiencing pain.
The little girl shook away thoughts of unnecessary people from her mind as she was in the middle of something important.
This time, she had been expecting the pain as that was what she was going for.
But even after going through such extents of slipping off of Demon's saddle, she was now unharmed as not even a single part of her body displayed any signs of distress.
'Did I do something wrong?' She wondered with her eyes still shut.
Opening her eyes, the bright sky covered with the branches above her came into her view which was what she had expected.
The little girl then turned sideways when a shadow cast over her and saw that her etcher was looking at her with troubled eyes.
He had been hesitant all along but upon her insistence, he had agreed to her plan but now even that plan had failed.
Therefore, Yvonne wished to speak a few words of apology as well as reassurance to ease his anxious heart.
She parted her lips while trying to sit up but before she could utter a word, a whimper echoed in the silent air around them.
However, the whimper had not come out of her but someone else.
Unfortunately, before she could investigate what had made that sound, loud sounds of galloping were heard coming in their direction.
Yvonne's head whiplashed towards it and she grimaced at the sight before her.
On a horse sprinting towards her was her father wearing a dark expression on his face.
'I'm dead.' She gulped as she tried to sit up properly only to hear another whimper coming from below.
She had heard the same sound earlier so Yvonne lowered her head to see what had caused it.
If everything had gone according to her plans then she should be laid on the lush grass right now but that did not seem to be the case.
Instead of the color green, Yvonne's eyes were fixed on the dark grey-hued substance she had landed on.
"Fur?" She blinked her wide eyes while trying to decipher how the grass had turned into fur.
However, she was not given this chance as she was lifted off this grey-hued fur and engulfed in a warm embrace.
"What do you think that you are doing!?" Rutherford growled, his chest rumbling in anger while glaring at the child whom he had secured in his arms.
Yvonne grimaced again after noticing the anger radiating from his body which made her lower her head, unable to look into his eyes.
"If Fryght had not been here then…" He did not continue but his heaving chest declared just how mad he was at her actions.
'Fryght!?' The little girl's eyes widened, finally realizing what must have broken her fall.
Hearing the name of the etcher, Yvonne's head shot up as she glanced at her father's stern eyes before turning towards the place that she had fallen earlier.
Even if she was still a child, her bodyweight could have crushed the little pup whom she now realized was the dark grey fur she had seen earlier.
Troubled with this thought, Yvonne's shaky eyes fell on the creature laid in the same spot she had fallen.
"W-what is that?" She stuttered with her eyes still widened in shock.
However, now the shock was not for the pup whom she was scared to have squished under her body's weight but for the image before her eyes.
Nowhere was the cute little puppy found, instead, she saw something else entirely.
The fur covering the creature's body was the same as Fryght's but Yvonne could swear that this was not the same puppy she was used to seeing scurrying around the mansion and chasing Howard everywhere he went to play with him.
Rutherford let out a defeated sigh when he saw the startled look on his daughter's face.
Covering her gawking eyes with his palm, the anxious father turned towards the creature laid still on the ground even now.
"How long do you plan on being that way?" He snarled at his etcher, unexpectedly making Yvonne's shoulders flinch.
The little girl could not see what was taking place any longer but she was able to hear the whimper coming from the direction the beast was laid.
"Transform already." This time Rutherford's voice was gentler so as to not startle the little girl anymore.
'Can someone explain what is going on?' Yvonne grumbled as nothing had gone according to her plan and she was even confused after what she had just witnessed.