The mansion was silent and the room where the little girl sat was also shrouded in a somber veil.

Amethyst eyes looked outside the window beside which she sat, observing a young boy running at full speed, away from the mansion and into the woods up ahead.

"Ruthy, do you think we should go after him?"

The little girl turned around to look at the person who had just spoken up.

Her scrutinizing eyes fell on her sobbing mother being comforted by her father.

Despite her shortness of breath due to her sobs, she seemed to be more worried about the boy who had run out of the room.

The family of four had come to their summer estate in the St. Claire fief to enjoy the vacation many weeks ago.

However, the news of the outbreak of a deadly disease rapidly spreading throughout the Kingdom had taken them by surprise.

People were seeking shelter right where they were as traveling might increase the risk of contracting the same disease.

Therefore, many were stuck where they were without any chance of returning to their homes.

Similarly, her family too had been trapped inside this mansion for weeks since they had heard about the disease being spread everywhere.

This change in their lifestyle did not matter much to her as she was being provided with everything and she did not have to worry about her burdensome classes or anything else while staying here.

The disease wasn't too prevalent in their fief and her father took all the necessary measures to keep them safe.

She had no reason to worry and had been spending her time doing all the things that she loved here.

Every morning she spent time in the garden behind the mansion, her afternoons with her mother and father, and her evenings were set aside for finding new ways to annoy her elder brother from whom it was too easy to gain a reaction.

It was nearing the end of their second month here and for the first time, someone had been given permission to enter the estate premises.

A messenger had come from the Capital and the letter which he had delivered was the cause of the gloomy aura surrounding the estate at this moment.

Earlier, the little girl and her mother had been lounging in her bedroom, deciding what kind of new dress she would wear for the Princess' birthday which would arrive in a couple of months.

The old Butler had disturbed their alone time and requested that they follow him to the Parlor as the Earl had summoned them.

There she had found her father seated opposite her brother.

'What did he do now?' She narrowed her eyes at her brother after noticing that her father's face was dark and a serious air surrounded him.

She sat with her mother while the men sat opposite each other.

The letter that the Earl had brought out and passed to his wife made her curious as she peeked at it as well.

{Duchess Tanner, Second Young Master Tanner, and Marquess Samed have succumbed to the disease during their travels.}

A single statement written in that letter made her eyes widen.

She knew who the Duchess was as she had met the elegant lady numerous times during tea parties.

She also knew who the second son of the Tanner family was for he was close with the boy seated before her.

Finally, how could she not know the one who was called the smartest man in the Capital city?

She had just read the news that the three people she was acquainted with but not too familiar with had all succumbed to the disease which was terrorizing the Kingdom for weeks now.

While she felt sorry for their loss of life, she wasn't too affected by this news as she did not have a close relationship with any of them.

However, the same could not be said for the boy who was seated before her.

While she was now aware of this saddening news because she had peeked at the letter just now, her parents had yet to inform him about it.

She had always heard from her mother that her brother and the second son of the Tanner's family were too close to each other.

'Would he be alright?' For the first time in many months, she was worried for her brother's sake.

She sat in silence and watched as her father finally managed to reveal the news of his best friend's death to the young boy.

Even when she had irked him and accused him falsely to get him in trouble or even bullied him in the past, she had never seen him shed a tear.

But today, she felt her heart prick when the same stoic boy's eyes brimmed with tears, mourning the death of the one he called his dearest friend.

Feeling her gaze, the boy glared at her with animosity before he ran out of the room as though he did not wish to display any signs of weakness before her which she might use against him in the future.

She could only gaze at the door as he ran away from her for she knew that she was someone he did not wish to be next to right now.

Moving to the window, she sat there and watched as he ran into the woods behind their mansion.

"Give him some time to accept this tragedy." She heard her father's gentle voice, comforting her mother.

'Hope you feel better.' The little girl wished in all earnestness for the big brother she often tormented.

___

Waking up from the trance she had dived into while recalling the dream that she had last night, Yvonne looked at the same man who had died in that dream.

Marquess Samed could notice that she was out of sorts today and now she seemed more frightened than ever.

"Will you tell me what is wrong with you today?" He urged her for some answers as she was beginning to scare him now.

Her absurd demands to not travel anywhere and now her pale countenance was not her usual behavior and he was worried that she was not feeling well.

"Marquess, do you trust me?" The little girl's stern voice arose in the room after he had completed speaking.

Sullivan was stunned for a second due to her question but he nodded soon after.

No matter how they behaved during their classes, with him mocking her and her scoffing at him, this was the beauty of the relationship between this tutor and pupil.

Of course, he trusted her, or else he would not have gone to the King and placed his life on the line by declaring to the Ruler that his father, the Previous King's policies were lacking and faulty.

"I do." He gave his solemn response as he believed her words despite her young age and her poisonous tongue.

"Now will you tell me what is wrong?" He added, repeating his earlier inquiry which she had not yet answered.

Taking a deep breath in, Yvonne looked up at her tutor as she prepared herself to disclose what she had come here to say.

"Marquess, if you trust me then please don't travel anywhere this summer." She pleaded to show that she was being serious about this matter.

What she had seen last night, what she believed to be the 'deleted scenes' from the script Asmodeus wrote, had shaken her completely.

Everything she had seen was completely from the perspective of 'Yvonne' and she had only seen what the little girl had seen and felt.

While the little girl in her dreams felt sorry for the loss of three people she knew, Yvonne was distraught to see the same.

That little girl had never been close to those people but the current Yvonne was close to each one of them.

Duchess Beatrice treated her well, Taylor was someone she considered her sworn brother, and Marquess Samed was her tutor and confidante.

To see in a vision that she was about to lose all three of them due to the plague which would be here soon was enough to cause her to panic.

The little girl in the dream was not much affected by the news and was only worried that her elder brother would be sad about the death of his best friend.

But this Yvonne was jolted awake from her dream as she rushed to her parents, begging to be taken to the Tanner's household so that she might stop them from the travel which might lead them to their deaths.

Thankfully, she had this dream before they could leave the Capital and head for the trip that Marquess Samed had confirmed during their earlier conversation.

If not, the consequences could have been disastrous.