Howard and Yvonne's surprise was apparent on their faces but the twins smiled, indicating that they were already aware of this information.

They had collaborated with their father who had requested them to bring the siblings here under the ruse of the horse ride outside the estate.

"Our present was to take you to the lake further away from the Plantation but when Father asked for our aid, we decided to make a halt here before we head over there next." Roman explained that their present had yet to come.

Since the Plantation was along the way to their destination, the twins had accepted their father's words and brought them here.

Earlier, Yvonne had been wondering why they had halted at this old place but now she had grasped the true intention behind it.

"This place will be the factory that you had asked me to arrange for the Hagens." Marcus Valente reiterated his words to ensure that no misunderstandings took place.

His smile widened as his eyes gleamed with excitement at the next words that he was about to say.

"This is my present to Vonny." The Viscount announced and saw the St. Claire siblings' jaw drop in shock.

This massive factory which once was the Valente family's biggest business had been shut down for quite a few years now.

Though the place was in good condition, Marcus had other thoughts about how to run his business which resulted in this place shutting down.

The well-maintained place was now vacant and ready to use after the Viscount had gotten his servants to clean it up over the last two days.

This Plantation was what he had decided to allocate for the Hagen family.

He had asked for his father's counsel on this matter since it once used to belong to the Old man of their family.

When Grandpa Valente heard that it was for Vonny, he willingly gave his approval and praised Marcus for his brilliant idea.

The place was not being used and could help the little girl out so the father and son decided that it would be best to hand it over to her.

"A present from your Uncle." Marcus declared before handing over a bundle of papers to her.

When Yvonne glanced down, she found that this was the legal document of handing over the ownership of this piece of land to Yvonne St. Claire.

Thankfully, women could still have land deeds in their names as property was considered to be appropriate for them to own.

However, if she were to run a business on this land, a man's supervision would be needed.

Yvonne was both surprised and impressed with how quickly her uncle had managed to complete the legal formalities within the last two days.

"Thank you, Uncle, but wouldn't this be too much for a birthday present?" She inquired after expressing her gratitude.

After all, this piece of land, even if it was left unused, was valuable and the Valentes could use it later in the future.

However, Marcus did not hesitate to shake his head at her troubled thought.

"I failed to be there for the two of you for many years. Let me make up to it in my own way." He justified the reason for handing over this land to his niece.

Yvonne and Howard glanced at each other then at their uncle's gloomy face which succeeded in melting them.

Smiling while she hugged the file he had given to her, Yvonne nodded in acceptance of the present she had received from him today.

"Then I shall gratefully accept it." She added to which Marcus nodded along with the twins who had been watching this scene in silence.

Once Marcus had completed explaining how the Plantation had a building at the back which could be used as a residence for the Hagens, it was time for them to leave this place.

Yvonne glanced at the place one last time then at her uncle who was observing her to see if she was pleased with his present.

Her wide smile and grateful eyes were enough to wash away any doubts in his mind and was satisfied with what he had planned for her in the spur of the moment.

Since she would have to go along with her brother and the twins to the next destination, carrying the legal documents with her would be inconvenient.

Hence, the task of safekeeping the land deed of the Plantation which was now in Yvonne's name was handed over to Viscount Marcus Valente.

He waved at the four children who began riding their horses once again and decided to head back to the Estate where he would wait for their return.

'I want to see that man's face when he discovers what I gave to Vonny as her present.' Marcus snickered, anticipating the look of shock and disbelief on Rutherford's face which would be a delightful sight for him to behold.

While he returned to the estate in his carriage, the children were headed towards a beautiful lake close to the Plantation.

'I wish I could take a picture of this!' Yvonne yearned to capture the beauty of the lake which was something she had not witnessed in this world until this day.

She had thought that Lake Poliza in Amarthea was the most beautiful lake she had seen but this one had snatched away that accolade from the famous lake in the Capital city.

The trees around this lake had bright red leaves which reminded her of maple leaves in autumn.

When the wind blew over them, the trees surrounding the lake swayed before their leaves shed and landed on the surface of the water.

The four children stood next to their horses as they enjoyed the view before them.

In complete silence, they basked in the serene atmosphere present here as no one other than these four could be seen around the entire area.

This was thanks to the residential area being too far away from the Valente estate.

Since the Valente fief wasn't too densely populated, the towns were spread out over vast areas and had a large distance between each town.

This distance between places gave the children the opportunity to enjoy the serenity of this destination without being disturbed.

Once they had stayed there for long enough, Yvonne complained that the sun was getting too harsh for them to stay out for much longer.

This prompted them to return to the Valente estate and once again, upon her suggestion, they took the shortcut through the woods.

'Will we see Jax again?' She wondered as this was her purpose for traveling through the same path as earlier.

However, they did not find the boy anywhere along the way and even noticed that the blood on the ground where they had met him had been covered up with soil.

'No traces of him.' She surmised as even Demon had tried to sense his presence in the vicinity but failed to do so.

This proved that Jax had left this area and Yvonne wondered whether she would see him ever again.

Roman, Knox, and Howard had seen through her scheme of traveling through this same path but when they saw that the crook was nowhere to be seen, they sighed and hoped that he was gone for good.

With contradicting thoughts in the three brothers and sister's minds, the four returned to the Valente estate on time for Yvonne's birthday lunch.

During lunch, Marcus took great joy in announcing what he had given to his niece as a present and soaked in the annoyed look on Rutherford's face.

Yvonne was not aware of the sparks of fury flying between the two men as she was too busy relishing the meal which was once again according to her preferences.

At the end of the meal, Grandpa Valente called her to his room where he offered his present to his granddaughter.

A pretty bracelet sat in the palm of her hand where the Old man had placed it.

"This belonged to your grandmother and I would want you to have it. Keep it safe from now on." He explained its importance which made her nod in determination.

The bracelet was too big for her wrist but she knew that she could work around it.

What caught her eye was the precious stone that was at the center of this piece of jewelry.

"Obsidian…" She muttered, making him chuckle as she had guessed it right.