Marquess Samed gulped his saliva to moisten his dried-up throat.

He did not know what this little girl was talking about but his instincts warned him that something was wrong.

'We haven't met for almost a year now and the first thing she asks me is if I have something to confess?' He narrowed his eyes back at her, ignoring the instincts which were trying to alert him.

Yvonne raised her brows after noticing the annoyed look on his face.

However, before she could utter another word to commence the myriad of accusations and grievances she had against him, she halted in her ways.

Her brothers had completed their short interaction and were now looking at her and similarly, her father too had diverted his attention towards her.

The ladies were too deep in their discussion that they had not noticed that the children and the Marquess had not yet taken their seats.

It was only Rutherford who had realized this and turned to reckon them to sit with him and this was when he found that his daughter was staring at her tutor.

The boys and the Earl were curious to know what was on her mind which was also the reason why Yvonne had to put an end to her raging thoughts in her mind.

'Now is not the right time.' She gripped her dress as she tried to calm herself down.

There would be plenty of chances for her to meet the Marquess and discuss this matter in great detail at a later date.

After all, now that they had all returned to the Capital, her classes with this man would resume in no time.

Therefore, pacifying her blazing heart that she needed to speak to the Marquess in private without so many eyes on her, she succeeded in pushing down her dissatisfaction with him for the moment.

However, Marquess Samed did not realize that he was poking a vicious bear who was trying to go back into hibernation.

"What were you talking about earlier?

" He questioned without noticing that he was sinking deeper into the quagmire that he was already stuck in.

Yvonne's lips curved into a smile but behind those curved lips were two rows of teeth that were gnashing against each other.

"Did you not miss me, Marquess?

" She spoke through gritted teeth as she made up a plausible excuse for what she had said earlier.

Surprisingly, Marquess Samed did not hesitate before associating the confession she had mentioned with what she said now.

'She wants me to confess that I missed her too?' He chuckled while shaking his head at her behavior.

Since he was in a good mood today, he decided to go along with her whims.

Raising his hand, he stretched it out to pat her head as his lips parted.

"Of course, I missed my favorite pupil.

" He admitted that he too had missed having conversations with her and looking at her frustrated face whenever he teased or annoyed her.

While he had acknowledged that he had missed her, he wasn't able to place his hand on her head in order to pat her.

This was due to the Earl whose fierce aura held him back without allowing his palm to come in contact with the child's head.

'Enough people have touched her for today.' Rutherford glowered in his heart as his aura continued to restrain the Marquess.

But the other man was a notch higher than him in the social circles and even held the title of the Royal Tutor so the Earl was self-aware and knew that he could not keep this up for much longer as it would appear disrespectful.

Since he had already achieved his goal of sending Marquess the message on what he could not do, there was no need for him to continue restraining the other man.

Coming to this conclusion, Rutherford began pulling his aura back from Marquess Samed; however, just then, he sensed something which made him raise his brow.

On the other hand, the momentarily frozen man retracted his hand without letting it touch even a strand of his pupil's hair.

Yvonne was pleased with her father's actions because if he had not done so, then she most probably would have displayed her true feelings when he touched her.

The protective father had helped her stop her inner thoughts from blurting out due to his actions which were done with a whole different agenda in mind.

However, she did not care about the reason why her father had restrained the Marquess and was glad that thanks to his efforts, she had been able to conceal her glowering expressions without letting any of them out.

'Later…' She repeated like a chant that could help her calm down.

Marquess Samed wasn't paying attention to Yvonne who was regulating her breathing but had his eyes fixed on the Earl.

'Did he notice it?' He fretted as this was supposed to be a secret but looking at the surprised and slightly smug expression on the Earl's face, he knew that his secret had been exposed.

"When will we be summoned?

" He raised his voice and spoke in an exaggerated tone before sighing out loud.

His scheme was to divert the Earl's attention lest he brought up the topic that he was trying to conceal.

To his fortune, this scheme worked excellently as the women who had been murmuring amongst themselves had now turned in his direction.

'He is up to no good.' Yvonne had her eyes on her tutor ever since she had found him inside this room.

Therefore, she had noticed the brief eye contact which he had with her father.

His pupils were flitting constantly and the droplets of sweat forming on his forehead were the biggest indicators that he was nervous about something.

His awkward body language was the only evidence she needed to strengthen the theory she had come up with.

While both Yvonne and the Earl were trying to decipher what it was that he was trying to hide from them, the Duchess remembered something.

"Topher hasn't returned yet?

" She muttered out loud as a frown formed upon her face.

This diverted everyone's attention to the lady and soon realized that the heir of the Tanner family was, in fact, not in this room.

"He said that he would be back soon,

" Taylor added before shaking his head for he too had no clue why his brother had not yet returned.

Noticing the look of confusion forming on Howard's face and Yvonne's curious eyes, Taylor chuckled and explained what they were talking about.

After the Tanner family had met with the King, they had returned to this very room to rest.

The King had summoned a few families to whom he wished to express his gratitude for all the aid that they had lent during the tough times of the plague.

These few families would have their name etched into the Records of the Rosenhyde Royal Family which was a great honor for them.

Therefore, the King had not only invited them to meet him but also arranged for the other families to meet each other as well.

The higher families could rest while the King continued to meet every one of them before a short tea party followed by lunch in the Main Palace would be held.

The responsibility for organizing this tea party and the follow-up lunch was given to the Queen which made it even more special since this was a rare opportunity for them to make acquaintance with their evasive Queen.

Thus, most families who had completed greeting the King had not returned to their estates but remained in the resting rooms provided for them.

However, after the Tanners had met the King, Taylor's mother had requested the Steward to have someone send the St. Claire's family to this room and that was exactly what had taken place.

As the Tanners were a Ducal family, the room allotted to them was larger and much more luxurious compared to the room where Yvonne's family had rested earlier.

This made it possible for both the families to stay in it without any issues.

While they were waiting for the St. Claire family to arrive, the Duke declared that he had some task to complete while he was here in the Palace and excused himself.

Quite some time had passed and the young heir of the Tanner family had announced that he would go look for their father and would also check when the tea party would begin.

The two men had disappeared one after the other and had not yet made their return which was what Marquess Samed had grumbled about earlier.

Listening to what had happened, Yvonne glanced at the Marquess for a quick second before fixing her attention on her sworn brother.

"How long has Young Master Topher been gone for?

" She inquired, wondering if he was alright.

There were so many noble families in this Palace today which made her worry for his well-being, after all, not all the families were on good terms with each other.

Noticing the worried look in her eyes, Taylor rolled his eyes before sneering.

"As if someone would be able to have an advantage over his sharp tongue and vile heart.

" He scoffed at his brother's rotten personality which he had been bearing with for so many years now.

There was no way that Topher would be harmed by someone, especially considering how he would be the one harming others.

"My little brother has a lot to say about me when I'm not around, huh?

" A soft mutter was heard right next to Taylor's ear, sending countless shivers down his spine.