The next morning,

The day of the grand event which would be held to celebrate the birthday of the only Princess of the Rosenhyde Kingdom had arrived.

While the Palace was busy with the final preparations before the guests would start to arrive, there was one girl who was sleeping till late in her bedroom.

It was the last day of her long weekend so the parents had asked the maid to not disturb her sleep.

Therefore, Yvonne St. Claire was still in bed even after the sun was high up in the sky.

The little girl continued to catch up on her sleep but the rest of the household had already begun their day.

Rutherford had taken this rare chance to venture out to the horses' stable with his son where they found their horses and decided to take a horse ride in the woods behind the estate.

"Why are we stopping here, Father?" Howard inquired when he noticed his father's horse coming to a halt after they had ventured deeper into the woods.

Rutherford sat on the back of a chocolate brown horse which was huge enough to bear the weight of his muscular body.

He looked down at the young boy who had stopped next to him and smiled before turning his head in a certain direction.

Though confused, Howard followed his gaze and found that they were now looking at a tall tree.

"Hmm?" He wondered why they were standing here.

"That was the tree used for your sister's first trial." The Earl disclosed while pointing his finger at the branch used for this purpose.

His motive for bringing his son out today was to bond with him and also to explain the truth of the matter that his Butler had discovered.

The shock on Howard's face proved that he had no clue that this was the tree used for the first trial.

'I had asked the first servant I found to tie the token on a random tree in the woods.' He reminisced and narrowed his eyes at what he was hearing now.

Rutherford did not hide a word as he narrated what had also happened down in the Lower Hall.

His eyes kept watch over his boy's face and the anger written all over it was similar to what he was feeling right now.

"Where is he now?" Howard questioned through gritted teeth.

'He dared to act against my sister!?' He glowered while his eyes flashed anger and menace with each passing second.

However, he was yanked out of his murderous thoughts when he heard the chuckle coming from the big man.

"What is so funny here, Father?" He interrogated, not pleased that the big man was laughing while he was doing his best to not lash out.

Shaking his head, Rutherford took a few minutes to calm himself down before he could speak again.

"Just yesterday, you hated your sister, and look at you now." He explained the reason for his laughter.

If their horses were closer then he would have patted the embarrassed boy's head but he would have to wait for another time to do so.

"That is not important right now!" Howard exclaimed, flustered out of his wits.

His attention was on the wicked servant but his father was instead bothered about unnecessary information.

"He has been taken care of." Rutherford revealed as his eyes flashed with menace just like his son's had done earlier.

He did not explain further but Howard knew that his father must have done just as he had said.

This was true, as Butler Limo dealt with the servant according to the St. Claire family law.

{Deal with the servant as he has dealt with you.}

The law laid down by the earliest of the St. Claire's ancestors was as simple as that.

Since the servant had used his hands to harm the young miss, his wrists and later his shoulders were dislocated by the Butler, the one in charge of punishing the servant.

Then, according to the Master's commands, the servant was sent away to the mines that the St. Claire's family owned and operated from their fief in the Northeast of the Kingdom.

These mines were a major source of income for Earl's family and the way this business was run was even more unique.

No outsider or newcomer could enter the place without the Earl's permission.

What was even more unique was that if ever a servant was sent over to that place, it meant that they were there to be punished.

Any traitors of the Earl's family were treated as enemies in that place and no matter what their reason for going against the Earl might be, they would not have a good ending once they were sent there.

Such a place was where that servant was heading right now and would reach the mines before the sun sets today.

Rutherford smirked when he recalled his trusted servants who ran the place according to his instructions.

'They will take care of him.' He reassured himself and felt relief wash over his body when he recalled how brutal life could be for the traitors of their family.

After all, the St. Claire's did not become the richest family in the Kingdom by being lax and half-hearted in their way of dealing with things.

The children of this family were taught from the days of their youth that people needed to be treated in accordance with how they treated others.

Rewards for the loyal and hardworking ones while punishment and sometimes death awaited the ones who dared to scheme and deceive them.

The father then glanced at his son who was lost in thoughts of his own and sighed.

'He would learn about everything, sooner or later.' He realized and had faith that his son would do a much better job at being the heir than what he ever was or could be.

Howard on the other hand had no idea about the proud and loving thoughts swirling in his father's mind.

Here, his mind was filled with remorse that he was the cause of his sister almost getting injured because he had not paid enough attention to the commands he had given.

If he had never handed this task to that servant then he never would have had the chance to scheme against Yvonne.

Self-blame was rising in his heart as he gazed at the tall tree along with fear that he would have been the cause of the mishap where that little girl might have fallen from her horse.

"You did not know…" Rutherford's soothing voice was like a light shining on the darkness of guilt that was consuming him.

He was troubled about what might have happened due to his careless behavior.

"You did not know that the servant had ill feelings for Vonna nor did you know that he would act in such a way." Rutherford continued to speak words of comfort to stop his son from spiraling into endless guilt.

'They have only now started to mend their relationship and I do not want anything or anyone to become an obstacle in this attempt of his.' He proclaimed that all he wanted was for his children to stand with each other, not against each other.

Now that things were moving in the right direction, he did not want anything to hinder it.

"Promise that you will protect her from now on." He glanced at the boy with uncertain eyes.

Howard paused for a moment before he nodded his head repeatedly.

"I will protect her from such people!" He vowed and would make sure to work hard and achieve his goal.

With this, the two rode their horses back to the mansion when Howard informed him that he no longer wished to continue their ride.

"How was your ride?" Raylene asked as she was the first one who met them at the door to welcome them.

Her brows furrowed when she saw her son nod in answer and then run into the house.

Rutherford had asked him to keep this a secret from the women and hence he had done just that.

"He must be tired." He made an excuse for the boy's hasty actions and led his wife to the Parlor.

He succeeded in diverting her attention as she nodded and walked along with him.

On the other side of the mansion, Howard pushed a door open and entered in silence.

"I will protect you." He whispered while gazing at the sleeping face of the little girl before leaving just as quietly as he had arrived.

Though the little girl was still asleep, there was a smile that had formed on her lips as though she was dreaming of something heartwarming and nice.