Jax paid attention as his Boss spoke about the sight which she had witnessed where her father had hurried over to her mother's side, almost ignoring Earl Blaise who had not yet finished speaking.

Since Taylor and Howard had not attended this party, Yvonne had spent the short amount of time she had been there with the Kiron siblings.

Rika was with them for the first few minutes before heading over to mingle with Miss Glennise who was with the Carter sisters.

Since Cecily had chosen not to appear at the party, Klay did not pay much attention to Jacob which allowed them to be at ease.

Aleena was explaining how, after leaving the Tanner tea party, she had sensed a heated gaze on her and upon turning in its direction, found it to be coming from her archnemesis, Elna Leopold.

Following the advice she had received, Aleena simply smiled at Elna before averting her gaze, knowing full well that it was something the other girl would often do to her.

To find that Aleena was no longer scowling at her, Elna grit her teeth then harrumphed and looked away.

For the very first time, some of the elders had witnessed the delicate and obedient daughter of the Leopold family throwing a tantrum while the Kiron girl was being courteous.

This came as a surprise to them but they did not have time to discuss this change in their demeanors and left soon after.

When Aleena described the excitement she felt after infuriating Elna, she proclaimed that she would follow this same method every time she saw that other girl.

Yvonne was happy to see that for once, Aleena had come out as the victor but reminded her not to go too far because then she would become just like Elna.

The other girl choked at these words but nodded nonetheless, promising to keep this in mind.

The child then focused her attention on her parents who were now conversing with the new man.

Since her parents had assured her that they could return early, she decided that it was time for them to head back home as they had already greeted everyone present there.

When she made her way to her parents, she overheard a tiny piece of the conversation taking place between the three adults.

"Who would have thought that you would marry Brother Rutherford out of nowhere.

" The man spoke, his tone was teasing but his face did not reflect the words he had just said.

Instead, his expressions were stern as always and he did not even flinch when Earl St. Claire glowered at him.

"I was still under the belief that you would marry the daughter of the Blaise family.

" He muttered while shaking his head.

Yvonne widened her eyes, shooting a worried gaze at her mother as this was a sensitive topic for her.

However, Raylene chuckled as though she wasn't affected by his words in the least bit.

In fact, it was Rutherford who had a sullen look on his face as he spat out,

"As if!

" while glaring at the other man.

The lively atmosphere around them had surprised the little girl who had now reached their position.

___

"So Earl Mikren is close to the Earl and Madam?

" Jax inquired to which he gained an affirmative nod in reply.

From the looks of it, the three had known each other for a long time and the cheery air around them proved that they did not have a bad relationship.

Though Rutherford had a grumpy expression the entire time, he wasn't against interacting with that other man who happened to be Earl Brax Mikren.

__

When the young Earl had noticed her presence, he uttered something which further strengthened her speculations.

"You look much cuter than your mother did when she was around your age.

" He chuckled when he saw her wide amethyst eyes blinking in confusion.

It was then that Raylene stepped in to explain how the three knew each other.

The three Earls of Rosenhyde, Blaise, St. Claire, and Mikren had a close relationship in the previous generation so it was understandable that their children were acquainted with one another.

However, it was the ladies that connected the Mikren and the Valente family.

Raylene and Brax's mothers had met each other after they married their respective husbands and since the two fiefs were neighbors, they had become good friends.

After the previous Viscountess Hannah Valente had died, Brax's mother would still bring her children over to the Valente fief every summer which allowed them to become close over time.

Raylene was just a few years older than Brax but she was the big sister of the group.

This was how Raylene and Brax had known each other as they were childhood friends.

Whereas, Brax was well acquainted with Rutherford through their father's close friendship.

Rutherford, Brax, and Tobit Blaise were the heirs of their families so they often met when their fathers gathered together.

Tobit Blaise was the oldest of the group but never cared for them while Rutherford appeared to be cold and unapproachable yet looked after the youngest, Brax.

This led Brax to have a favorable opinion about Brother Rutherford.

However, when he was away at the Royal Academy, he was shocked to hear that his Brother had married his childhood friend Raylene.

He too had assumed that the Blaise and St. Claire family would be joined together in marriage but fate had different plans.

He was happy for the newly-wedded couple who had found happiness with each other and at the same time, his annoyance with the Blaise siblings rose higher.

After all, due to their schemes, the St. Claire couple was being painted as the villains in their society.

However, he was still powerless back then to deal with Tobit Blaise.

Unbeknownst to everyone, ever since he had succeeded his father to inherit the title of Earl, he made it a point to suppress the man whom he did not like one bit.

Yvonne heard about the past from her mother but still had no clue about what was going through Earl Mikren's mind thanks to his expressionless face.

That man was adept at controlling his emotions so even if he disliked someone or liked someone, it would never appear on his face.

Thus the child could only smile at the compliment she had received from him earlier.

___

"He said that he would like to meet the children of his close friends someday,

" Yvonne repeated the words that man had spoken before he went ahead to greet the other guests.

As her eyes had been following that man, she observed how Earl Blaise had hurried in the other direction when he saw Earl Mikren heading towards him.

This was sufficient proof for her to infer that the two men did not have a good relationship despite knowing each other for a very long time.

This sight pleased her so did not think too much about it and informed her parents that she would like to leave.

__

"We stayed around for a little while longer before returning.

" She concluded narrating what had taken place this evening.

Jax nodded and now that he had heard everything that he needed to, he picked up the tray he had brought and after bidding her goodbye, walked out of the room.

Yvonne had just eaten so she did not lay back down, instead headed to her study desk and began working on a few assignment sheets that she had to submit before she left for the Valente fief in the coming week.

___

At a distance away from the St. Claire estate, two young men were seated on the fresh green grass, not caring about their clothes being stained.

A fluffy little animal was seen next to one of them while they each stared at the night sky, twinkling with bright stars.

The light from the partially visible moon illuminated their surroundings and the boys sat in absolute silence, enjoying the pleasant summer breeze blowing across the grassy field they were in.

"Would it truly be alright? Bringing him out like that?

" One of them broke the silence that had been present until now.

The other looked at him from the corner of his eye before humming in response.

"He has a way.

" The second muttered before averting his gaze once again.

Gaining this answer caused the first boy to heave a sigh of relief and he too chose to focus on the sky, not knowing when they would get this chance again.

Soon they would be flooded with too much work that they would not have the time or the opportunity to admire this spectacular sight so they chose to focus on the brightly lit sky above them.