Yvonne cringed while recalling the awkward small talk that 'Yvonne' had attempted to make.

She knew that her elder brother was quite close with the young master of the Tanner family, however, she had nothing in common with him.

Yet she was forced to engage in conversation with him until her brother returned after finishing the task that had caused him to leave her alone with some man she did not know too well.

___

The little girl glanced at her appearance in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction as she admired the way Roselie had tied her hair.

Now that she was ready, she headed out of the room where she found Jax already waiting for her.

Ever since Jax had become her Butler, it was his duty to escort her to the training ground and sometimes he even stayed with her and learned a few techniques by watching her lessons with the Captain.

Thus as always, the maids left the Miss in his care and would return to this room only when she got back from her training with Captain Desmo Reel.

With Jax now walking next to her, he did not speak up as he had found his Boss to be lost in her thoughts.

This was a common occurrence so he did not mind it and chose to follow her in silence.

The little girl who trudged along was reminiscing the events that took place after 'Yvonne' and Topher had engaged in that awkward small talk in his bedroom.

Since the Young Master was heavily injured, the physician had instructed him to not move unless it was absolutely necessary.

While he laid in bed, Yvonne was served a cup of warm tea which she enjoyed on the chair the Butler had pulled up for her right next to the bed.

The conversation that took place between the two unlikely acquaintances lasted for a few minutes before Howard had rushed back.

Thanks to his hurried efforts, the work had ended earlier and thus he returned to pick his sister up.

Topher had been silent and Yvonne was reticent which did not move their conversation too much by the time Howard had come back.

As a result, they parted ways without even gaining a better perspective of each other.

However, since that day, Howard would visit the Tanner Mansion repeatedly as he had promised to help the Young Master out.

He and the other three men who were in that room with him had kept their promise and diligently worked together to sort out the matter which had caused this mess.

For the first few days, Yvonne had gone about with her own life, putting the interaction with Topher to the back of her head.

However, rumors about his grave injury, the immobility of his hand, and the permanent disability he might face were spreading throughout the Capital.

What was worse was that he was the only Master in the entire household where the rest were the servants and the knights who trained there.

The Duke was busy in the fief which left the Young Master to his own devices in that injured state.

While he might have so many people around him, Yvonne recalled that indifferent face, making her wonder if he was truly alright.

She was the only daughter of the Earl, who doted on her and even the slightest injury she sustained would make the entire household panic.

This vast difference in the treatment of two people of the same society, one of a higher status and the other of a lower one, made her invoke feelings of pity and worry for that Young Master.

She had tried to forget about this matter and continued to visit her friends, attend tea parties, and do things she usually would.

However, even while she did that, she would often hear about the seriousness of Topher Tanner's injury which was the talk of the town.

Through her sources which mainly consisted of the gossiping young ladies and even their maids, she had learned the details of the incident that had caused him to get injured.

While trying to break up a fight of mercenaries in a tavern on the outskirts of Amarthea, the Head Knight had stepped in when things were beginning to escalate.

Unfortunately, he was intervening in a fight and had even broken it up when out of nowhere, another intoxicated man had lunged at him with a sharp dagger in his hand.

The subordinates yelled, asking him to watch out for the attack coming from behind but they were a little too late.

Those who had witnessed these events had been quite vocal about it which allowed the rest to hear these details as well.

According to these eyewitnesses, the Head Knight had tried to glance at his attacker and then lean sideways to dodge the dagger but he did not make it in time.

Though he had managed to safeguard his vital organs, the dagger still pierced into his back.

The rumors they had heard were that the stab had caused a tear in the muscles of his shoulder, threatening severe damage to the mobility of his left hand.

While he used his right hand to wield the sword, he might still have problems if his left shoulder did not heal entirely.

Everywhere Yvonne went, all she heard were discussions of what the Duke would do if his only remaining son was now deemed unfit to inherit his title.

They all knew that the Duchess and the youngest son had perished in the plague so to hear that he might not even have the heir he trained his entire life was heartbreaking.

However, not everyone was dismayed by this as there were a few who were rejoicing secretly at this news.

For two whole weeks, Yvonne had tried to discard these thoughts of pity and concern but finally changed her mind.

She had seen how her elder brother had been devastated when he heard the news of his best friend's death which reminded her that Topher had lost his younger brother too.

Now to be reminded of that fact during this difficult time could have burdened his mind further.

Thinking of it in this way, she had decided to visit him, to ensure that he was feeling better and remind him that he need not bother about what the others said.

__

'She was kind-hearted.' Yvonne sighed while coming out of her thoughts.

They had reached the training grounds where Demon stood waiting for her but her trainer was nowhere to be found.

"He's late again.

" She grumbled before petting her etcher's head who had come close to greet her.

Jax shook his head as he had not heard any news about a delay in this class which meant that the Captain should be on his way here and would reach at any time.

While she waited for that man to arrive, the little girl thought back to the aftermath of the single decision 'Yvonne' had made after a long wait.

Since Howard and the other men were busy with whatever their task was, 'Yvonne' and Topher were left alone for the most part.

At first, he had insisted that she need not come over or even pity him but she only smiled and said that she was here to give him company for a few minutes before she would leave.

Only then did Topher accept and allow her to stay with him.

After the initial awkwardness had faded, Yvonne was able to speak freely with him.

As promised, she stayed only for a few minutes and left soon after but she would always come back to accompany him every few days.

Many people of their society had come to visit him so her repeated appearance did not turn too many heads, after all, even Howard was entering the Tanner Mansion with her most of the time.

Yvonne kept him company, taking his mind off the injury while the other men would help him with his tasks as the Head Knight of the Red Scorpion Knights.

She did not forget her other obligations but planned her schedule in such a way that she could visit him at least a few times a week.

Due to her repeated interactions with him, she could learn a lot about the man whom she had earlier known only from what other people said about him.

'And that is where things started to go wrong!' The little girl who was still waiting for her trainer to arrive scoffed at what took place next in her dreams.