Chapter 221 - Blissfully Unaware
The reason why Prince Fritzen had no clue about Howard's identity was a simple one.
Howard and Taylor were of a higher grade than him and rarely had any interaction with each other.
As the Prince was just like his father and disliked socializing with many people for no productive purpose, his knowledge of who's who was weaker than most.
He was taught about the different families in their Kingdom and their family trees but he had never met them face to face.
This caused him to know almost every noble's name in the society.
However, if he was placed in a room with them he could not pinpoint who was whom as he had never met them before and only ever read up about them in books and heard about them from his tutors.
Prince Fritzen always had limited encounters with people outside his class and the Palace which meant that he had no clue who Howard was.
He had met Duke Tanner's sons at the palace and had brief interactions with them, this was how he knew who the Duke's children were.
But he did not know who their friends were and what they liked to do in their spare time.
He knew that the Earl of St. Claire had one son and a daughter but he had never been introduced to Howard St. Claire in person so he did not know the face that needed to be associated with the name.
If he was given enough time then he might have made the correlation between the two children thanks to the similar features.
The unfortunate reality was that he had run out of time as Howard had left the garden and his attention was diverted to what Damien had to say.
It was as though fate was not on his side today as he was distracted and failed to realize that the little girl who had saved him was the one his mind had been trying to recall with all of its might.
If he had managed to remember the girl then things would have been simpler for him.
A little investigation and he could have figured out that the boy he had seen today was Howard St. Claire.
Once he had this information then it would be child's play to figure everything out.
The fief that he had met her in and the fact that they had similar features could be the biggest evidence that the girl he had been looking for all along was the daughter of the Earl's family.
Yet, the improper timing and the interference of certain forces had hindered him from connecting all the dots that laid right before his eyes.
Not only did he not make the connection between these children, but he had also recently discarded the daughter of Earl St. Claire from the list of suspects in the drowning incident.
The mismatch in the hair color, the one vivid detail he was confident about in regards to the girl who had saved him had only increased his belief that Yvonne St. Claire was not the one he was looking for.
When in fact, she truly was the culprit who had saved and mocked him on that fateful day.
Today, Damien's timely interference and the fact that he had no clue about who that girl was, had saved Yvonne from the storm that might have come her way.
Thus, Prince Fritzen was blissfully unaware of these truths as he journeyed back to the Rosenhyde Royal Palace.
____
Yvonne had no inkling that her identity as the Prince's savior had come close to being exposed.
The boy whom she called 'Pie boy' and later introduced to as Damien was the one who had indirectly helped save her from her impending doom in the hands of the Prince.
She was humming a tune from her piano classes as she stepped out of the mansion.
'I needed those extra hours of sleep!' She stretched her arms out as she walked out.
As per her instructions, Mrs. Jacinth had come over to her room and woke her up for breakfast.
The family of three had a quick breakfast following which everyone went their own way to finish their tasks.
Rutherford went to check the training grounds, Raylene went to check on the kitchen staff while Yvonne headed to the piano room.
There were still a few hours before her brother could return so she decided to use the spare time to practice her piano skills.
Her progress was commendable as she was breezing through each piece with ease for the past few weeks.
'I might be able to finish these classes sooner than I had expected.' She cheered for herself after she had completed her practice for the day.
Once she had finished perfecting a couple of new pieces, she headed outside the house.
Her eyes scanned her bright and lively surroundings as she moved towards the training grounds beside the mansion.
"Had fun?" Rutherford questioned when he noticed the little figure coming his way.
His little daughter was wearing a lavender dress that reached her ankle and covered her skin up to her wrists.
Yvonne's hair was left loose today and the breeze was causing them to fly around which she had to constantly tuck behind her ear.
'I should talk to them about cutting them short.' She scowled and huffed when the strong breeze messed her hair up once again.
Even if she had thought to bring this topic up, she knew that they would throw a fit if she ever expressed her intentions of cutting her hair.
Yvonne was used to having shoulder-length hair but now, her hair was close to reaching her round belly which was a hassle to manage at times.
The father watched the annoyed look on her face and smiled.
He wanted to pick her up but refrained from doing so as he had dirt all over his palms.
'Vonna's dress will get spoiled.' He chided his heart and decided to let her remain where she was.
He was happy with seeing her coming over to accompany him but his dreams were soon thrashed when she spoke up.
"I am going to meet Demon, Papa. Bye!" She waved at him and ignored his sullen face as she trudged ahead.
This proved that she had not come out to meet him but he was only a pitstop on her way to the stables.
'Vonna likes that horse more than me.' He lamented that his place in her heart was now lower than that beast.
He could only watch until the little figure disappeared just as quickly as she had appeared next to him.
Yvonne was unmindful of the pitiful look on her father's face as she rushed to meet her etcher, her Demon.
To her surprise, she found someone else inside the stable that should have only been occupied by her pet at this time.
"Butler?" She called out to the man she found standing with her etcher.
Demon stopped eating the breakfast that he had just been served and began stepping towards his master but her glare stopped him.
"Eat!" She commanded, making the beast neigh as he obeyed her words.
Yvonne smiled as she watched him go back to his trough to eat and went to where the Butler was.
'Just the person I wanted to meet.' She smiled at the old man who was holding a bucket of water as he waited for the horse to finish his meal.