Earl St. Claire had his eyes narrowed while trying to make sense of what his daughter had just blurted out.

She confessed not wanting to attend the event tomorrow and sent him down a spiral of questions that had popped up in his mind.

Thinking back to their interactions this last week, he soon realized that she had been trying to make up excuses for skipping this event all along but was unable to succeed as he had rejected them all.

Meeting the King was an aspect of prestige and fortune that he did not wish for any of their family members to miss out on.

Thus, he had refused every time she said that she would not be able to attend while using some invalid excuse.

However, the reason she had just given also wasn't making sense to him which made him want to dig deeper.

'There should be a reason why she doesn't want to meet our King to the extent that she willingly jumped off Demon to land on sticky grass.' He frowned, worried that there was something bigger at play here than what he was assuming it to be.

Yvonne bit her lip, wondering how to answer this man who would not let her go if her reason wasn't satisfactory.

"I'm scared…

" She muttered and raised her head to look into his eyes.

The father and daughter were facing each other and a moment of silence took over them.

Rutherford's attention was fixed on her face as he tried to gauge her expressions.

What the little girl had said revealed the true feelings in her heart.

'If I meet the King then who knows how I might get pulled back into the script.' She grimaced, not wanting to get close to the main characters of the script.

Those characters only meant doom for her because she knew what would happen in the future.

The path the three best friends chose would lead them to their destruction and she did not wish to follow them down that route.

Therefore, there was real fear and worry evident in her eyes for what might happen to her once she got sucked back into the way things worked out in the script.

The efforts she had put into until now would go down the drain and she was only trying to escape that fate.

Her plan from the beginning was to stay away from the main characters until the 'main arc' of the story began.

This main arc focused on the lives of Hilda and Prince Fritzen after they reunite in the Capital.

However, the premise of the main arc began from the childhood of the main characters and their interactions with each other.

If she could avoid interacting as Yvonne St. Claire with the rest of the characters involved, then she would be free from the plot of the script.

The playmate position of the Princess was the beginning of 'Yvonne's' association with the others which continued until she would eventually die in the script.

After possessing the character with the same name as her, Yvonne had deviated from the plot by refusing that position.

Until now, she had steered clear from interacting with those people unless it was absolutely necessary.

The only characters she had met briefly were Hilda back when she was still the gardener's daughter, a disguised Prince Fritzen whom she saved from the shallow stream, and finally, Miss Glennise Brodie whom she met by coincidence while visiting the Commercial District.

While these were the main characters, Yvonne had brief interactions with them which would not leave lasting impressions on their young minds.

Right now, they were just passersby in each others' lives and the little girl wished to keep it that way.

However, meeting the King implied that she would initiate interaction with the Royal family members and she was against this.

She feared for her life and privacy which would become endangered if she were to get too close to them.

Therefore, the anxiety she was displaying stemmed from her innermost troubled thoughts about her future existence.

This worried look on her face fell into the eyes of the doting father and he could not help but sigh.

The child whom he had been holding away from his body so that he might leer at her, forcing her to answer him was now pulled closer as he enveloped her in his strong arms.

"Vonna, Papa is here to protect you so there is no reason for you to fear meeting the King.

" He coaxed her in a gentle voice.

In the father's eyes, the girl was fretting about meeting the King because she was scared to be in his Royal presence.

Not many met the King due to his reticent attitude and people considered him to be a stern man who did not like meeting others.

Rutherford had come to the conclusion that his child had believed the information about their King and thus was worried about seeing him up close.

After all, meeting that man could be intimidating even for him at times so he could comprehend why his usually composed Vonna was behaving in such a petulant way.

However, all he could do was coax her and help her calm her anxious heart as there was no way that she could get out of this meeting.

'That is not the reason!' The little girl was buried in her father's chest and hence he could not see the glowering expression taking root on her face.

She was worried about things that even her father could not control but he had misunderstood the implication hidden behind her words.

Yvonne wasn't fearing meeting that regal man because of his stern face and his scary aura, she was more concerned about what would happen after this meeting.

Would she be able to continue her life as she had done before, without coming into the sights of the main characters? Or will she have to witness her plans going awry every step of the way?

This was something only time would tell, however, she was sure of something else.

'It is decided then…' She lowered her head, coming to terms with what would happen tomorrow.

Seeing how even her last attempt had been thwarted, all she could do was resign to her fate and go through with what her father had planned.

Meeting the King seemed like an inevitable event in her life and there was nothing that she could do to avoid it.

'What will happen to my 'staying away from the leads for twelve years' plan?' She sulked as the first-ever plan she had made in this world was beginning to crumble right before her eyes.

A defeated sigh escaped her lips which only made the father shake his head at her over-dramatic behavior.

"Vonna will be fine, I promise!

" He vowed and was ready to make sure that she did not face any discomfort during tomorrow's event.

At his declaration, Yvonne raised her head and gave him a weak nod, half worried and half anxious while thinking of everything that could go wrong after tomorrow's meet and greet.

Rutherford then looked up and found two horses and one puppy standing nearby.

Demon's eyes were fixed on his Master as he could sense her gloomy aura while Fryght had just regained composure after rolling around in the sticky grass.

Finally was the horse whom the Earl had ridden here.

Not wanting Yvonne to ride with Demon again, he carried her onto his horse and rode away while the two etchers stood in the same spot.

Coming back to his senses, Demon hurried to catch up with the father-daughter pair while Fryght decided to stay back and play in the sticky grass for a little longer.

As the horses neared the stables, Rutherford pulled the reins to let his horse slow down and Demon, who had been following them at a short distance away, had done the same.

The etcher watched as his Master remained in the arms of her father even after they had gotten off the other ordinary horse.

"I will keep our conversation a secret.

" Rutherford declared while staring at her.

Yvonne looked up only to find that now her father was glaring at Demon who was a few steps away.

"However, you will be punished for what you tried to pull today.

" These words were for both the etcher and his Master.

However, he did not reveal what punishment he had decided for them and began walking away from the stables with Yvonne secured in his arms.

'Rest for now, Demon. I am fine.' The little girl reminded her etcher to not worry too much about her as she wasn't hurt in any way.

Demon had watched how the child had fallen right on top of the puppy who transformed into that scary hound.

Therefore, he did not object and only gave her a grunt as a positive reply.

Just as Rutherford and Yvonne were about to enter the mansion, the father looked down and patted her head.

"I'm sure that you will like the Palace once you see it.

" He smiled as he tried to speak in favor of the place they would be visiting tomorrow.

'I doubt that.' Yvonne's mind was screaming no but her head bobbed as she accepted his words.

"You will not regret going there.

" He muttered before entering through the doors, leading her back to her room so that she might change and rest for a while.

Having no words to refuse his optimistic statements, she laid languidly on his chest and waited to be taken back to her room.

However, what Rutherford did not know was that more than Yvonne, he would be the one regretting the decision he had made today.