Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

The boys were silent spectators in the conversation between the pair of etcher and etched.

Not once did Yvonne even glance their way ever since she had arrived at this place.

Taylor and Howard were earlier glaring at the twins in the Piano Room and now their anger was diverted towards Demon.

However, the monstrous beast was least bothered as he was in a good mood now and hence he hurried with his Master to prepare for their ride together.

This left the others stranded in their places and only after Demon and Yvonne had disappeared into his stable did they come back to their senses.

"We should hurry too!" Taylor exclaimed, pulling Howard along to the other stable where the rest of the horses resided.

The twins also followed them while Topher stood before his etcher, inquiring what had taken place.

After listening to what Rouge had attempted to do, he was pleased with her attempt and asked her not to get discouraged.

He was just like her, curious to learn more about Demon and his origins but forcing their way towards it would not be useful and only deter them in their path.

Therefore, he advised her to exercise patience and wait until it was the right time.

With their conversation coming to an end, he too headed in the same direction as the other boys to pick a horse from the stable.

___

A few minutes later, Rouge and Fryght were laying on the fresh grass while watching the group from before.

Everyone was mounted on a horse of their choosing and was ready to head out on a short ride before tea time.

Since the two etchers could not accompany them, they chose to stay behind and watch over them from their positions.

Howard had a horse of his own which he had groomed and trained for a long time now so he was seated on it while the other boys had to pick from the docile ones available in the stables.

Meanwhile, Yvonne was seen seated on Demon as the horse galloped in their direction.

When Jax had returned from his break, he heard from Roselie that their Miss was in the Piano Room, and upon reaching that place, he found it empty.

A servant who was passing by had then informed him about the children who were heading towards the grazing field so the young butler hurried there.

Yvonne and Demon had just entered his stable when Jax arrived, in time to help her with the horse's saddle.

The child had grown taller since last year and now could climb onto the horse without the assistance of the step stool and thus had no difficulty in mounting her etcher.

Once they were ready, Jax walked while Yvonne rode on Demon to reach the others.

The butler then stood with the other two etchers while the rest of the children on horses began their short ride.

Demon and Yvonne were taking the lead while Taylor and Howard were following right behind her.

The next row of three riders were Topher, Roman, and Knox who conversed with each other as they went ahead.

Taylor was finally happy now that he was getting to spend some time with his sworn sister and even shot Howard a gloating smile to which he received an eye roll in response.

Yvonne had noticed this short exchange between the two but chose not to interfere and instead, engaged them in pleasant conversation.

"When do you think that the Royal Academy will begin?" She questioned and saw them shake their heads as they had not yet heard any news from the head of their Academy.

Due to the plague, they had lost an entire year of education so it was obvious that most were anxious to see how the Academy would remedy this situation.

Therefore, for now, all they could do was wait for any official announcements coming from the authorities and see what happens next.

When this brief conversation died down, the children all rode their horses at a moderate pace and stopped only when they reached the stream inside the woods behind the St. Claire mansion.

This was the same stream that separated the property of the St. Claires from the Royal Palace grounds.

Any further than this would be the jurisdiction of the Royal family of Rosenhyde so they knew not to cross it.

They did not get off their horses as they did not have enough time to spend here.

Therefore, they simply sat on their horses in silence, enjoying the pleasant sounds of the babbling brook and the birds chirping in the distance.

While Yvonne was brushing Demon's soft mane with just her fingers, she heard a voice echoing in her ears.

'Do you want to resume our conversation now or shall I bring it up during tea time?' A gentle voice entered her mind and she knew just who it belonged to.

Everyone had their eyes fixed on the stream of flowing water but the little girl's amethyst eyes had shifted to someone who had appeared next to her.

Topher Tanner shot her a smile but she knew that it was a sardonic one.

Soaking in this smile and the changes in his personality she had observed today, Yvonne had realized that he had been quite excellent in hiding his true self from so many people until now.

However, it was only the outsiders who saw the facade that he put up but those whom he considered his friends or his allies, he displayed his true self.

Therefore, what Yvonne did not know was that while Topher seemed mean to her now, it was an indication that she had gained the title of either a friend or an ally.

His words and the implication behind them were clear to the child who nodded her head to agree with what he had just said.

'Might as well get this over with.' She acquiesced, not wanting others to hear what their conversation might contain.

Topher had finally gotten his chance after spending so many hours inside this estate hence he did not waste another second and got straight to the point.

'You helped out in the policies regarding the plague,' Topher began while maintaining eye contact with her.

Yvonne did not feel the need to either agree or disagree with his statement as by now, half the noble society already knew the truth regarding this matter.

'That play which you seemed quite prepared with beforehand.' 

'The granaries you advised us to build…'

'Finally… Appearing in our mansion early that morning with an absurd request for my mother and uncle.' 

Topher stated everything that she had done in the past years without looking away from her for even a single second.

What Yvonne had been fearing had now appeared before her.

However, she did not let her thoughts be known on her face and continued to look his way without any fluctuations that might give her away.

'Why does everything I just mentioned make me feel that you knew of the calamity we would face?' Topher finally placed the question which had been on his mind before the child who could give him some much-needed answers.

Yvonne had assumed that the first person who would interrogate her about this matter would be her friend and business partner, Sevenz as he had already made his doubts known to her when they had met earlier.

To her surprise, it wasn't Sevenz but Topher who had come before her with this question.

'What are you implying?' She retorted, without agreeing or denying anything right away.

Topher had already guessed that it would not be easy to get her to open up.

However, he was stunned to see her calm appearance even after facing this shocking query from him.

'As simple as it sounds. Did you or did you not know about the plague that had struck our Kingdom?' He reiterated his question, not backing down even when she seemed unwilling to answer him.

Earlier, all he had known about her strange request to stop the Marquess from traveling and the granaries.

He had found her actions odd from the very beginning and when the plague hit them, he realized that her words had been of great use for them.

The entire time he spent in his fief during the plague, he mulled over how that child had been so accurate about it and finally he had a bizarre and unlikely thought.

What if she knew of the coming plague and whatever she did was after keeping that plague in her mind?