"Almighty and merciful Lord Asmodeus…

" King Ophire's voice ran out in the silent hall.

'Merciful? You wouldn't say that if you knew him as I do.' A little girl's mind had thoughts varying to that of the King.

Yvonne's head was lowered which allowed her to roll her eyes without any fear.

"You have protected us all from the dreadful plague that has afflicted your beloved Kingdom for so many months.

" He continued with an earnest tone of gratitude evident from his words.

'However… He is also the one who wrote the plague in the first place.' Yvonne retorted with the softest scoff that even Howard and Taylor who were on either side of her could not hear.

"It is through your mercy that our people have been kept safe from the plague.

" The King preached as a soft smile appeared on his face but due to everyone's lowered heads, no one had noticed it..

'If only you had read the script that I had.' The child once again had something to say in response to the King's words of gratitude to the God he was praying to.

After all, in the script, Asmodeus had only written a few lines to state the happenings of the plague in the past.

What mercy could he have when he didn't even bother to explain about the plague for longer than a few sentences?

To make matters worse, those lines were all connected to the female lead, Hilda, who lost her parents and had to struggle during those years while trying hard to survive in the world with no one to call her own.

Every mention of the plague had been about her struggle and how her experience in the past had made her the person she was.

A kind soul who understood the pain and sufferings of others and wished to share in their pain.

This also explained why she wished for the well-being of everyone around her no matter who they were.

Yvonne once again rolled her eyes as the god that King Ophire was praying to with all sincerity was the one who had caused the plague in the first place and turned a blind eye to it.

"May we continue to be protected by your blessings that you bestow on us.

" He completed his prayer with a bow of his head before silence engulfed the hall.

'Well, that is the one aspect of the prayer that I can agree with.' The child, for once, couldn't come up with a cynical retort to what the King had said.

The ones who had suffered the most in the plague were the commoners while the main characters of the script or those who had any part to play in it were all kept safe.

Only Hilda was affected by it because that event was used as a means for her 'character development' in the script.

From a shielded and naive child that lived with her parents at their inn, enjoying her days with the guests who arrived and left, to someone who had seen a different kind of life after the plague hit them.

Her parents were gone, she had no way of returning to the inn her father had built and run, and she saw the dark side of society when she was all alone.

Starvation, fear, shame, and desolation were something she came in touch with only after she was left orphaned due to the plague.

These experiences molded her into the young lady she would later turn into.

Pure, kind, and forgiving were the virtues that defined Hilda, the one whom everyone came to love after interacting with her.

'Though you cannot deny that she isn't all that pure…' Yvonne recalled how Hilda had lied in the dream that she had about her and Prince Fritzen's first meeting.

However, contrary to the script and the dream, Prince Fritzen had not mistaken Hilda to be his savior nor had she confessed to being the one who saved him.

He now knew that it was the daughter of the St. Claire family who had rescued him.

Thinking of this anomaly, Yvonne was left confused about what was true and what wasn't.

'Maybe… She is pure and kind?' She wondered since Hilda had not claimed to be the savior this time.

Regardless of whether Hilda was pure or not, Yvonne could not bring herself to like her.

There was a deep-rooted dislike for Hilda inside her very being which she did not wish to change any time soon.

From the dreams that she had witnessed, she knew that behind that kind face was someone whose single word could bring ruin to her, Princess Felicia, and Glennise Brodie.

There were people who would put aside all rationality just to do what she asked for.

Therefore, Yvonne decided to steer clear of that lady now and forevermore.

"Vonny, why won't you start?

" A whisper reached her ear which made her turn in its direction.

To her right sat Taylor Tanner and next to him was his uncle, Marquess Sullivan Samed.

Just like she had done earlier, Yvonne did not even bother to look in her tutor's direction and only focused her eyes on her sworn brother.

Taylor had a confused look on his face and had his brow raised while looking at her.

Giving her surroundings a quick scan, Yvonne realized that the King's prayer had come to an end and people had already begun eating their meal.

This made her cough in embarrassment for being lost in her thoughts and she soon nodded at Taylor before picking up her cutlery.

Howard rolled his eyes at his best friend then served his baby sister a few items that he knew she would love to taste.

This made the little girl smile at him before she thanked him and focused on her eating.

While their lunch was mostly silent, every now and then, people would converse with the others seated at the same table.

Raylene was busy speaking to her brother and sister-in-law while Marquess Samed was making small talk with the younger son of the Valente family who was on his other side.

As it would be rude to be too loud, they could only murmur to the person at their side or speak in a controlled volume to another at their table.

The same went for those seated at the tables around them.

At the table with the Kiron family, Marquess Jace Kiron and Old man Syrac Carter were both members of the King's Council of Ministers.

Therefore, they had a lot in common to talk about.

However, Marquess Yona, the other man seated with them was left out of the conversation as he did not have anything to contribute to it.

"Though, I must say, Miss St. Claire managed to surprise us thoroughly today.

" The old man chuckled lightly before placing a slice of meat into his mouth.

His statement was akin to a stone tossed into a calm lake, bringing about ripples of disturbance to the serenity it earlier possessed.

Those who had been eating in silence at this table had by now whiplashed in the old man's direction, staring at him in hopes of gaining more information out of him.

As though he had not noticed their blatantly evident curiosity, he continued to eat his meal.

Marquess Jace Kiron who sat next to him chuckled with him before taking a sip of the wine from his glass.

Unable to curb his interest in what had been said, one among those seated at this table had finally asked what the others also wished to know but had held their curiosity in.

"What about Miss Yvonne, Grandpa Carter?

" Jacob Kiron inquired while looking at the old man with intrigue apparent in his eyes.

The Kiron family's boys were close to Old man Carter despite the Carter family being in Duchess Brodie's faction.

After all, this decision to support Duchess Brodie was made by the current Marchioness Carter and had nothing to do with Old man Carter, her father-in-law.

Therefore, the children were close to him as he often visited their estate to speak to their father, a fellow minister.

Old Man Carter's eyes glinted with victory as his plan had worked out exactly as he had anticipated.

Their King had handed over a task to them so how could they not act upon it?

Seeing how his plan of initiating this conversation had worked out just fine, he went ahead just as he had planned.

"Oh, we just heard about this from our King.

" The old man muttered before shooting his neighbor a glance.

Understanding what he was hinting at, Marquess Jace Kiron gave his son a nod of admittance.

"That's right. I was there when it happened.

" He added before handing back the limelight to the old man.

Noticing that this table's topic of conversation seemed to be something valuable, the others from different tables also paid attention to it.

They had not heard what had brought this topic up but their inquisitive nature had been piqued nonetheless.

Therefore, they lent their ears closer to the table with Marquess Kiron and Old man Carter to eavesdrop on them.

To help them out further, the two men were deliberate in raising their voices which allowed the rest to listen in.

'I wonder what new gossip I get to hear today~!' Marquess Samed was at the edge of his seat in order to catch every word being said.

After all, how could he let the chance of obtaining precious pieces of gossip slip out of his hands?

Therefore, he had his eyes and ears zeroed in on what the two members of the King's Council were about to reveal.

"Did you know that it was Miss St. Claire who suggested the changes that had been implemented in the Previous King's policies?

" The old man's robust voice was clear for everyone to hear.

At the mention of his pupil's name in association with the policies, Marquess Samed almost fell off his seat.