Chapter 644 - The Duke's Interrogation

Seeing the little girl's nod, Duke Brodie nodded as well before he got right to business.

"Can you confirm the words being said?" He inquired if she truly was the one who had suggested those changes.

Everyone knew that it was Marquess Samed who had brought that matter to the attention of the King.

However, their previous knowledge was proven to be wrong today after hearing that Marquess Samed was only the messenger, unlike what they had been believing in the past.

It was this child who was the true benefactor while Marquess was the mediator between her and the King.

Until now, everyone's attention had been shifting from one man to another and this was the first time they had looked at the child in question.

Yvonne could sense everyone's ardent gaze on her but she did not find any need to shy away from it right at this moment.

She had seen the King, conversed with the Princess, and even had a secret rendezvous with the Prince..

Therefore, what could happen now that could harm her any further than what had already taken place?

'Technically, I was kidnapped to meet the Pig Prince.' She corrected the minor mistake she had just made.

Everything that could have gone wrong had already gone wrong.

There was no further need for her to fret, thus with a fearless attitude, she looked right into the Duke's eyes before nodding to answer his first question.

Gasps were heard around them as they had not expected this child to be so bold as to accept it.

Even now, a few of them were hoping that Marquess Samed was being generous by giving his favored pupil the credit for something he had done.

However, now all those hopes had been quashed as she had admitted that she was the one who had suggested those changes in everyone's presence.

Prince Fritzen was one among them as he had not known that this child was brilliant enough to do something like this.

Though he had heard about her intelligence, he had not paid much attention to it as he knew that girls and boys were judged on different standards.

What was considered to be extraordinary for a girl could only be mediocre for boys.

This was what most thought whenever they would hear the Marquess praising his pupil but now their misunderstanding had been corrected.

"Can you explain to us how you came up with the ideas about those suggestions you made?" Duke Maldock questioned again without expressing his thoughts on what she had claimed.

He was still suspicious about certain things and only after gaining answers to his questions would he make his stance known.

Yvonne blinked her wide eyes at the man who was the Main Villainess's father in the script.

Duke Brodie was the reason why Glennise had grown up to become an insecure and submissive woman who could only seek love from others around her.

Her own father refused to love her and acknowledge her worth which had become a dark and twisted stain in her mind.

The only times he approved of her was when she could be of any use to him.

When he learned that his daughter was interested in the Prince, he gave her his blessings and for the first time, sought her out to initiate conversations with her.

Glennise had never seen him behave this way and was overjoyed to see that her father was actively trying to get closer to her.

In truth, he was only utilizing this method to see how much she had progressed in getting closer to the then Crown Prince of this Kingdom.

'He is one of the reasons why she could never give up on that Prince and even fought for him until her death…' Yvonne's jaw clenched when she thought of this man and his repressive ways.

However, now was not the time for her to dwell on things that had not yet happened.

Therefore, she once again nodded at that same man before she revealed what had taken place in the past.

"It all began when Marquess Samed started the lesson about the past plagues." Her clear voice rang in the silent hall with everyone's ears perked up.

She revealed how she and her tutor had discussed the lesson and later headed to the part about the policies created by the Previous King.

King Ophire had also not heard this story so he too paid attention to her.

"Once we completed the lesson, it took only a few moments to notice that some things were odd." She explained exactly what had happened in the past.

She did not mince her words nor did she fumble in nervous anxiety.

She retold the incident and also how she and her tutor had engaged in a back and forth debate before they came to the same conclusion.

'She is doing it again…' Marquess Samed shook his head when he saw her giving him more credit than what he was due.

This brief action was caught by the Duke's sharp eyes.

"You do not agree, Marquess?" He interrogated, wondering if what the child had said had some fallacy hidden within it.

Marquess Samed choked when he heard his name being mentioned which made him shake his head eagerly all over again.

Taylor hurried to pour him a glass of water to help calm his choking uncle.

"Thank you," he muttered to his considerate nephew before facing the Duke.

"I shook my head because she was the one who guided me in the right direction." He clarified the misunderstanding that his gesture had caused.

The other nobles were hoping to see a reversal where Marquess Samed would deny the claims the child was making but were left disappointed to hear this.

"I have known those policies for years and even taught them numerous times to various children yet she was the one who first brought to my attention that there were places where these policies could be improved." He announced now that he had been given a chance to speak.

With this, he took over the narration and explained how he had gone to visit the King the next chance he got and brought these discoveries before him.

"I remember." King Ophire chimed in after his long silence.

Marquess Samed bowed before returning to what he was saying.

"The King asked me to prepare a proper proposal and present it before him the next morning." He added with a sorrowful look on his face.

The King's urgency in this regard proved that he was worried about this matter and wished to remedy the mistakes made in the past.

"When I returned to the St. Claire estate…" He continued with his recollection.

He explained in detail how the child was in bed, sick, when he arrived at her house and despite her ill health, she had stayed up to work on the proposal.

'I was tired after my first class with the Captain and you threatened to fail me in your class if I did not help.' Yvonne recalled the truth behind the embellished story he had revealed.

However, she did not interrupt him as it was better if the others did not know about her classes with the Captain.

His narration continued up to the point where he had met the King once again and this time in the presence of the Council of Ministers, including the Duke who all sang high praises of the proposal he had brought forward.

"That proposal was written through me but everything in it belonged to this child." He declared before glancing at Yvonne who sat at the same table with him.

Duke Brodie's question had received a thorough answer so all that was left to do was clarify one last thing.

"Why did you refuse to come forward as the one who thought of these suggestions?" His eyes narrowed at the child who had used the Marquess as a shield to let her thoughts reach the King.

Yvonne wasn't affected by his leer, instead, she had an answer already prepared for this.

"Would my thoughts even be heard before the King? And not snubbed ruthlessly just because I am a girl?" She tilted her head and retorted with a question of her own.

She knew that she was being disrespectful but this was something that she needed them to hear right now.