A loud scream echoed in the silent passage that Rutherford had entered after leaving the room he had been in earlier.

However, the Earl felt no pity for the man whose shouts of anguish had now died down.

He had dared to act against his Master's child so how could he deserve any kind of remission for his crimes without having to bear their consequences.

'To scheme against my child is to scheme against me!' He gritted his teeth as he continued to walk ahead in the direction that would lead him to the exit of the Lower Hall.

The fact that he had not hesitated to use the nobles of the society as a shield for his excessive behavior was causing the Earl to lose his cool once again.

However, he soon realized something, something vital and frightening.

'The nobles are much worse than that petty servant…' He inferred as he had dealt with them several times during the course of his business transactions.

'They also hold more power and resources when compared to a mere servant.' He recalled and worry took root in his heart.

He could punish the servant and send him far away from the Mansion to keep his daughter safe but what could he do if this was a higher noble instead?

This brought him great anxiety as he was well aware of just how regressive certain men in their society were.

The thought of his precious child getting schemed against by those vicious hyenas made him clench his fists.

Shaking such disheartening thoughts away from his head, he clenched his fists tighter but this time in determination.

The urge to protect her from every harm was overwhelming his heart as he paused in his steps.

'I will keep her safe!' He proclaimed and would do everything in his power to fulfill this vow.

Yvonne St. Claire was the only beloved daughter of the St. Claire family.

If someone wished to attack her then they would have to face the mountain named Rutheford before they could reach her.

With this newfound conviction in his heart, he began walking with renewed vigor.

As he strode ahead in the long passage leading him toward the exit which was also the entrance of the Lower Hall, his eyes constantly flitted to the side.

Though he continued moving without expressing that he had noticed something strange, his eyes kept looking in the same direction.

"You can come out now." He uttered while lowering the speed of his steps.

However, there was silence in the passage as no one other than him was seen.

A smirk appeared on the tall man's face and he did not give up even when there was no answer heard.

"If you want to come along with me then all you have to do is say so. Stop sneaking around." He chided while looking to his right, in the same place as before.

Rutheford rolled his eyes when he heard a whimper followed by a figure which began appearing out of thin air.

Earlier, there was nothing present in the corner that he had fixed his eyes at but now something was beginning to appear there.

First, a soft head filled with fur was visible followed by the torso and then the four limbs on which the figure was standing.

The Earl scoffed while looking at the pitiful creature who was blinking his big wide eyes at him.

"That would work on my children but not on me." He sneered and heard the beast whimper once again.

A pup of a wolfhound, his etcher, Fryght stomped his feet when he heard his Master's deriding words.

"Stop throwing a tantrum and follow me if you want to come along." Rutherford chastised as he began walking again.

Hearing his permission to follow him, Fryght did not disobey as he ran to catch up with the man's large strides.

Thus the etcher and etched pair began walking towards the exit while the Butler took care of the person being punished in the Lower Hall.

This little beast had been present here ever since the servant had been brought over by the Butler.

He sat in his silent corner and watched how the man's wrists were shackled and then the lever was pulled to suspend his body from the wall.

The wolfhound pup gave them a lazy glance and did not make his presence known as he waited for his Master to arrive which happened soon after.

He then continued to watch the show of the servant being taught a lesson as he did his job in silence.

After all, Fryght was the Guardian of the Lower Hall.

It was his duty to keep an eye on the people being punished here and to make sure that no one was courageous enough to sneak in or out of the dungeon under his watchful eye.

Thus he had the front row seat to watch how his Master and the Butler punished the wicked servant.

Being an etcher meant that he had a higher level of intelligence when compared to his counterparts of the same species.

Therefore, he could understand why the servant was being punished and felt that the Master was being lenient as in his sight, the servant wasn't punished severely for wanting to harm that little girl.

She was his Master's child which meant that he had a sense of responsibility towards her as well.

Her safety was important to his Master which implied that it was also important to him.

However, his disgruntled complaints about not punishing him faded when he saw how Rutherford had aimed his pressure, causing the servant to vomit blood.

This had induced a sense of satisfaction in the beast and he enjoyed the show in silence.

Then when he watched his Master leaving after giving out his verdict, he decided to follow his Master who headed out.

Unfortunately, his sneaky attempt to follow the Earl was caught by the sharp man but his Master had allowed him to come along so he was satisfied with the outcome of his little sneak operation.

Fryght wagged his tail while running after the man as they exited the Lower Hall from the hidden entrance and ventured into the Mansion.

___

When Rutherford with his etcher reached the garden by the lake where the evening tea would be served, he found that most of the guests had already arrived.

Howard stood with his friends and spoke while making animated gestures about a certain incident in the Academy.

The two tutors were seated at the pavilion nearby and their conversation also seemed to be exciting from what Rutherford could make out from his position.

'Looks like Des has to bear with the Marquess' excessive jabbering for now.' He snickered at his friend's unfortunate fate.

While he began looking around to find his wife, his etcher was wagging his tail after noticing someone familiar.

"Ruff!" Fryght barked while running towards Howard's direction.

The Young Master of the St. Claire family looked at the source of the bark and smiled widely at seeing the little puppy running towards him.

"Fryght!" He yelled and squatted to hug the little pup in his wide-open arms.