Chapter 781 - The Pairs Of Eyes

The maid looked perplexed when she heard the child sighing once again even though they had already reached the entrance of the Princess's Rose Palace.

Yvonne was just glad that she had arrived at her destination without encountering anyone whom she had no interest in seeing and who could ruin her mood on this beautiful morning.

Thus the second sigh had escaped her lips which the maid had caught with ease.

Not knowing how to explain this unladylike gesture, the child only displayed a strained smile while glancing down at her silver shoes.

The maid followed her gaze and after noticing the pretty shoes had inferred that they were uncomfortable for the child to walk in.

Hence she returned an apologetic smile before gesturing to enter the Palace.

Yvonne did not explain any further and nodded as she walked into the place where she would find the host for today's tea party.

As she walked along, her eyes fell on the shoes she had used as an excuse, and a slightly evil smirk formed on her lips but her face reverted to the blank expression before the maid next to her could notice it.

Her father had gotten these shoes prepared especially for her after she had once mentioned in an aggrieved tone that all the shoes purchased from the stores in the Commercial District made her feet ache.

The soles of those shoes were rigid and the heels hurt her ankle after walking in them all day long.

To solve this problem his child faced, the Earl had commissioned talented shoemakers from the St. Claire fief and promised to pay them well if they could create footwear that was easy to wear and did not hurt after a long day of usage.

He had gotten a few pairs made, not only for Yvonne but also for the Countess as well.

The incentive of gaining both the Earl's praise and the extra income had encouraged these shoemakers to work harder and the results were spectacular.

During the year when they were locked in their fief, Raylene and Yvonne received numerous pairs of shoes which were stylish yet did not cause them any discomfort regardless of how long they wore them.

Thus, even though the child felt no pain while wearing these shoes, she had lied in order to wipe away the confusion that the maid had after hearing her sigh twice.

'No one would ever know.' She shrugged since only she and her mother owned these shoes at this moment.

No outsider had worn a similar pair as they had been made solely for the women of the St. Claire family, by the artisans of their fief.

As the child walked with the maid, she pondered if CLOVER could venture into other spheres of the industry, branching into different markets as well.

However, she soon shook her head, recalling that the launch of CLOVER in the noble market would be her top priority for the moment.

Though she had chosen to not get distracted from her main goal, Yvonne kept this thought in the back of her mind and decided to look into it at a later date.

Just when she had reached this conclusion, the maid revealed that they were about to enter the garden of the Rose Palace which was also the venue of Princess Felicia's tea party.

___

At a place not too far away from the Palace Yvonne had just entered.

"Uncle, you do not have to watch over me." A grumbling voice rose in the silent atmosphere, bringing a certain someone's attention to the speaker.

A pair of emerald eyes turned towards the voice and fixed their gaze on the boy who was standing right next to him.

Prince Fritzen sulked in silence but did not dare to go against the older boy who was now staring at him.

Ever since he had heard that his little sister had planned on hosting a tea party, this young prince had been curious to see who would be attending it.

Though he would never accept it, he had been waiting to see if that girl who had humiliated him in the past would be arriving as well.

After the last conversation that they had in the backyard of this same palace, Prince Fritzen had asked his men to keep their ears open and pay attention to any chatter in the noble society related to him.

He was wondering if the daughter of the St. Claire family would be foolish enough to spread the word about what had taken place when he had visited their fief under disguise.

While he had warned her when they had met on that day, he was not yet sure if she would pay heed to his words.

However, even after more than a week had passed, his men had heard nothing, no rumors, no whispers concerning his time at the St. Claire fief making the rounds in their society.

This had given him a sense of relief but at the same time, he had asked them to continue observing the usual gossip going around.

Thus, he had heard about the child and her contributions to their Kingdom but no mention of him and his humiliating incident was found.

Thanks to this, he had lowered his guard just a little.

His warnings had worked so he had thought that meeting that girl today would only work as a reminder of the deal they had made in the past.

However, who would have thought that before he could even wake up this morning, his uncle would appear at the Sycamore Palace?

The uncle whom he both respected and feared had dragged him to train with him soon after he had woken up and only recently had they completed their practice.

The older boy had not even returned to his Palace but had freshened up right here which had baffled him once again.

Only a few moments ago did he realize what had led his uncle to behave in this manner.

The two princes had been enjoying tea on the balcony of the Sycamore Palace which was close to the place where the girls' tea party would be held.

The portion of the balcony they were seated at this moment gave them an overview of the paths leading to the different Palaces while the other side faced the garden of the Rose Palace.

He had been grumbling about how strenuous their training had been when he noticed his uncle's lack of attention to their conversation.

Following his gaze, his ocean-like blue eyes landed on the child who was being escorted by a maid of the Rose Palace.

Getting up from his seat, he stood next to his Uncle who was by the railing of the balcony, and narrowed his eyes at the child who had not sensed their presence in the least bit.

Even after she had disappeared from their sight, the older Prince did not avert his gaze from the path the child had just taken.

He stood still without uttering a word until Prince Fritzen had broken the silence with his grumbling complaints.

When he saw the child, he had understood why his Uncle was keeping an eye on him from early this morning.

"I won't play any tricks on her." He mumbled, knowing that what had taken place the last time when he had tricked her into entering the Sycamore Palace was the reason for his uncle's overly vigilant behavior.

He had noticed how his father, the King, was impressed with that child and if word about his deeds had gotten out then he might have been reprimanded.

For this, he was grateful to his uncle who had not revealed what had taken place on that day.

Not to mention that he had learned his lesson thanks to the punishment his uncle had given to him, dragging him along and training together relentlessly for the last few days.

Thus he had not planned any such tricks this time and all he wanted to do was remind her of their deal by only seeing her from afar.

He had also not made any specific arrangements for this meeting in any way.

Prince Draco glanced sideways at his nephew and finding no trace of falsity on his face, nodded in acceptance before looking away.

The pairs of eyes that had been focused on Yvonne earlier belonged to these two princes of the Rosenhyde Kingdom.

However, there was one other pair who had been watching from a silent corner located in a different portion of the Palace.