The three St. Claires rejoiced when they heard her obedient words and wide smiles appeared on their faces but those smiles faded when they heard her next words.

"I wish to learn those skills so that I might take care of myself if I found myself in dangerous situations where you weren't around." She expressed her point of view and this made them pause.

What Yvonne had just mentioned had struck a chord with them. They certainly could not be with her at every moment of the day.

"This is true." Rutherford muttered as he glared at the table before him.

'What if Yvonne was bullied by other girls? Or worse by someone older and bigger than her? She will be in a disadvantageous situation and we cannot do anything because we aren't there!' He gasped and shook his head.

He was aware of how treacherous the society was and he would never want anything untoward to happen to his Vonna when she was in a place where they weren't around.

Seeing the changes in her husband's face, Raylene knew that she had to be the voice of reason here and stop him from making any rash decisions.

"Vonny, you are still so small, how can you manage everything? Your studies and now this?" She questioned with worry laced in her voice.

'I just succeeded in coaxing one of them and the other is here to wreck my plan.' Yvonne cursed this powerful duo in her mind.

She had come prepared to answer their questions and hence she did not panic.

"Mama, I just want to learn the basics to keep myself safe until help arrives." She blinked innocently at Raylene and this made the older woman ponder.

"If it is just the basics…" The mother whispered as she gazed at her child's face.

Being a mother, of course, she wished for the safety of her child. Now the proposition placed before her was tempting to be approved.

Seeing that even their mother had fallen for her tricks, Howard knew that he had to step in.

"Will you be able to complete your training sincerely or is this just a whim which will fade in a couple of days?" He sneered at the little girl who pouted after hearing his snarky remarks.

'I once trained under the open sky even when hail storms were terrorizing the city! I can stick to anything if I set my mind to it!' She scoffed inwardly and gave him a positive nod.

"Not a whim. Big brother Howard I wish to learn these things with all my heart." She exclaimed in a slightly hoarse voice which made it seem as though they were ganging up on her to bully her.

Rutherford sighed when he realized that they had just pounced on her when all she did was to mention her desire to learn something new.

"Vonna, though our gracious King has given women the freedom to learn what they desire to, these are not things that girls usually would opt for." He patiently tried to change her mind.

However, Yvonne was not one to give up on what she had decided on.

"But Vonna wants to be different from every other girl in the Kingdom!" She stubbornly stuck to her demands.

Rutherford turned to Raylene for help who promptly raised her hands in defeat.

Turning to the other side, he witnessed a sly smile on Howard's face and found a glimpse of hope that his son would be able to convince his sister to give up.

As he was praising his son for being so wise and talented, he heard what his firstborn had to say in this regard.

"Okay…You can begin your training from the day after tomorrow." Howard's announcement came as a shock to everyone.

Before Yvonne could rejoice or their parents could yell at him, he continued his words.

"But only on one condition." He smirked evilly which made Yvonne's brows scrunch together.

She gave him a hesitant nod while wondering what he might be planning in that devious little mind of his.

"You will have to pass my assessment test when I come back at the end of my first month at the Royal Academy." He proposed and turned to his parents.

Hearing the condition that Howard had placed for Yvonne, Rutheford was beyond impressed.

'Good good! This way, Vonna can experience firsthand that these things are tough for girls to endure and she will give up in the first month itself.' He surmised and patted his son's shoulder in appreciation.

Seeing the conflicted look on Yvonne's face, he felt guilty for hoping for her failure but this was all for her wellbeing and so he steeled his heart.

'Day after tomorrow is the day that Howard leaves for his first day at the Royal Academy.' Yvonne recalled the information she had obtained from the big-mouthed Taylor Tanner.

The students of Royal Academy both had the option of either staying at the dormitories provided for them or they could travel back and forth every day.

This year, Howard had decided to try using the dormitories to experience this new feeling of staying away from home.

The children who chose to stay in dorms would get to visit their families every weekend.

Hence Howard had given her this time limit of one month from the day after tomorrow.

'If she can pass my tests after one month's worth of training then I would be willing to teach her myself and even think about forgiving her.' He raised the stakes without her knowledge.

Yvonne took a moment to gather her thoughts and then looked up into Howard's eyes with determination.

"I accept your condition." She boldly declared in her childish voice.

"Remember, if you fail my assessment then you can never bring up this matter ever again. I do not like people who take training, especially sword training as a joke" He sternly warned her.

'And forget about gaining my forgiveness in this lifetime.' He added in his heart.

To which Yvonne answered with a confident smile, raising Howard's expectations of her.