n

n

n

"Yvonne - 3 and Rika - 2.

" Damien announced their score and asked Topher to continue with the next question.

nYvonne was pissed that she had lost that point so she conveniently blamed it on the stupid prince who couldn't wash his hair properly, making it look murky and dark.

n

"Moving on to the next one. Who owns the territory that is at the southernmost border of Rosenhyde Kingdom?

" He asked a basic question about the geography of the kingdom.

nRika seemed excited when she heard his question and before Yvonne could even open her mouth, she yelled out her response.

n

"The territory belongs to the Wesley family!

" She nodded her head in confidence after answering him.

n'Nope!' Yvonne shook her head in dismay and then opened her mouth.

n

"That territory belongs to Baron Wescott.

" She answered in a poised manner without the hot-headedness that Rika had displayed earlier.

nThe reason why she was so calm and confident was that this was an important place that was mentioned in blue bird's plot.

n'The land of our leading lady, Hilda. How could I forget that?' She was about to go into a flashback when Topher's words dragged her back.

n

"Yvonne is correct. Baron Wescott owns that land.

" He approved her answer which made Rika glare at her.

n

"Wesley… Wescott… They are the same anyway.

" She pouted and batted her eyelashes at her older sister but she did not receive any comforting words from her.

nAleena was overjoyed when she thought that Rika would be on the same level as Yvonne but her answer was rejected by Topher sama so she rolled her eyes and looked away.

nTopher had heard her indignant words but chose to ignore them as he decided what to ask next.

n

"There is a rare species of rose in our kingdom. Name it and where is it found?

" He was pleased with the astonished look that he had received from Damien.

n'I can ask serious questions as well!' He rolled his eyes and looked at the two children trying hard to remember it.

n'A rose? What's so rare about them? Our house has an entire garden filled with roses.' Yvonne tilted her head and glanced at Howard.

nHoward was sure that Yvonne would not know about this because she had never ventured outside the mansion hence there was no way she would be familiar with this well-known piece of gossip.

n

"The Royal Bloom Rose that is only found in the Royal Palace.

" Rika's eyes shone when she thought of the words of praise that she had heard about this rare species of rose.

nTopher nodded his head and then glanced at Yvonne who looked confused about what this rose was.

n'She keeps losing points in questions whose answers could be found by socializing.' He surmised but he couldn't bend his own rules to help her out.

nEvery question that Rika answered correctly had nothing to do with the knowledge gained from books but by mingling with others and exchanging information.

nSomething that Yvonne had not done since she had taken over this young body.

nThis Royal Bloom rose that Rika had mentioned was known for its rich blue hues that made it look like a sapphire under the sun's light.

nBut what was more important about it was that this was cultivated by none other than Concubine Yuliza when she had been indirectly banished to the new palace that King Greggor had built for her.

nThe beautiful garden and the grandeur paintings that adorned that palace were the proof for the number of lonely days she had spent there.

nThe atmosphere around them became depressing when they thought of the concubine's sad life and tragic demise.

nDamien clicked his tongue and smacked Topher's shoulder.

n

"Can you stop trying to depress everyone here?

" He scowled at him.

nHis earlier shocked look was misunderstood by Topher as a look of praise.

nTopher scratched his neck and glanced at everyone's sad face.

n

"Forget about that and let us move to the next question.

" He spoke in an animated way to cheer them up.

n

"This is a question that I am sure you may not know.

" He smirked at them.

n

"Name the Dean of the Royal Academy.

" He smiled victoriously after he saw Yvonne's dumbfounded face again.

n'How would I know about this when blue bird never mentioned much about their academic life!?' She felt like thrashing that annoying bird.

nThis was because he had only shown glimpses of Fritzen's school life and that was to show the great bonds he formed with his peers which would help him in the future.

nNever was a Dean mentioned in it so how was she supposed to know who it was?

n

"Dean Aramis Brodie.

" Rika looked at Yvonne in a gloating way as she answered the question.

nShe could easily answer this because her family had two older brothers who had graduated with flying colors from the Royal Academy and the third one was in his final year.

nTo say that the Dean had good relations with the Kiron family would be an understatement because her oldest brother was right now a professor who was working under the Dean.

nTopher realized his mistake after seeing Rika's smug face.

n

"Yvonne - 4 and Rika - 4 as well. Topher, give them a tiebreaker and finish this silly game.

" Damien instructed him in a lazy voice and rolled his eyes when he noticed Howard's scowling face.

n'How dare this small fry try to boss my idol around!?' He was seething in anger when he saw how disrespectful Damien had been.

nHoward had already been pissed when he saw Damien with Yvonne and now his hatred just increased.

nTopher was also planning the same thing so he began to contemplate what to ask for the final question.

nHe wanted to ask them something that they would struggle to answer because by now he had understood that looking at their grumpy faces was just too much fun for him.

nNoticing the troubled face of his best friend, Damien sighed and leaned closer to him as he whispered something into his ears.

nTopher's eyes brightened when he heard his friend and then smirked at the little girls.

n'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?' Yvonne narrowed her eyes and stared at the two boys who were grinning from ear to ear.

n

"So for the final question… Who do the Royal knights answer to?

" Topher declared the final question which made everyone's jaw drop.

n'Has he gone insane? Of course, the Royal Knights answer to the King!' Rika stared at him as though he had a problem with his brain.

nExcept for the Tanners and Damien, everyone else had the same reaction.

n'I see that he is trying to trick us once again.' Yvonne was smart enough not to fall for the same trick a second time.

nJust like the previous question of the King's unofficial Prime minister, this time as well Topher had used different words to confuse them.

nIf he had used the words 'Black Shadow knights' then everyone would know the answer to it.

nBut since he had used the word 'Royal' everyone thought of the first thing that came to their mind.

n

"They answer to King Ophire.

" Rika answered without a doubt about it.

nYvonne glanced at her and then rolled her eyes.

n

"To Grand Duke Roschester.

" Her answer this time was what made them all pause and stare at her.

nDamien and the Tanners were amazed that she had correctly answered their tricky question.

n'How can I forget about this when the story spoke in great lengths about how Draco Roschester pledged his loyalty to the King and managed those shadow knights?' She grimaced when she thought of the name which belonged to that scum of a man.

n'God forbid he ever appears before me! I will make sure to kick his balls into oblivion!' She gritted her teeth.

nHer tiny and innocent face could not harmonize with the filthy words and deeds that she was imagining right at this moment.

nThen thinking of something from the storyline, she heartily chuckled.

n'Not that he would be needing them anyway, since he died a virgin!' She scoffed at his pitiful love life which only comprised of staring at Hilda from afar.

n