Chapter 462 - The Certificate
Rutherford was observing every expression on his child's face therefore, he was sure what her thoughts might entail right at this moment.
'I know that she will like it.' He declared with utter confidence as he was aware of her hopes and dreams.
Yvonne took her time and continued gawking at the documents in her hands before she finally looked up.
The excitement was clear for everyone to see as she had not made any efforts to conceal it.
"Papa… This is…" She uttered while trying hard not to squeal.
"En." Rutherford nodded, accepting the unsaid words she had meant to convey.
"For Vonna." He added and smiled at her.
Yvonne glanced down at the documents in her hands then at her father.
Without a second's delay, she hopped out of her chair and rushed to his side, throwing herself towards him as she was sure that he would not let her fall.
As surprised as he was by her abrupt movements, Rutherford did just as she had believed he would.
He caught his daughter effortlessly and brought her in for a tight hug.
Yvonne pressed her cheek into the crook of his neck with her lips curved into the widest of smiles that she had ever brought out.
"I love Papa the most!" Her soft whisper of appreciation, this time came from the depths of her heart.
In this world, if she could depend on someone without thinking twice, it was this man who had proved himself to be worthy of that trust through numerous occasions.
Therefore, these words were genuine and from her heart without the desire to manipulate him or curry his favor in any manner.
Rutherford's eyes widened for a second after hearing her confession before a gentle smile formed on his lips.
This child of his used to utter those same words before but he knew that she was often using it as her weapon to get whatever she desired.
Yet, ever since the accident last year, right before her fifth birthday, she had changed.
His daughter had become sensible and even a little mature after her injury.
She became distant and tried to avoid them as much as possible but paying heed to Mr. Toone, the family physician's words had worked like a charm.
They gave her love and support but also her space to adjust to her surroundings.
Now, he could sense that his daughter was back to how she was before yet at the same time, she was different from before.
Her mind still worked in devious ways but she used it for the good of others.
She was willful but her actions never caused anyone harm.
She had also managed to reconcile with her brother which Raylene and he were most worried about.
Finally, right now, she was holding him as she said those sweet words without any hidden agenda behind them.
The father did not know what had changed since last year but he knew that his child was not the same person as she used to be.
However, no matter how much she changed, one thing would always remain the same.
'My Vonna is my most precious person in this world.' He knew very well that after Raylene, his love was divided between his two children but his daughter would always have the softest corner in his heart.
The present he had given to her, she had given a return present right away with this hug.
While the father and daughter were lost in their world, jealous gazes from around the table were fixated on the Earl.
No matter how much he tried to ignore them and focus on his daughter who had taken the initiative to hug him, he could not persist for long.
The first angry gaze he found was the Viscount who was right opposite his seat.
'What exactly did you give to make her pounce into your arms?' His thoughts were written all over his face which made Rutherford let out a sly smirk to infuriate him further.
The next was Old man Valente who was equally annoyed as his grandsons were too old to be embraced and his newly found grandchildren had never done it until now.
Raylene and Trisha too were sulking that they did not get this chance and with them, the three boys were displaying unwilling expressions as they too desired to hug the chubby little girl.
When Yvonne finally came back to her senses, she tried to extract herself from her father's strong hands but he refused to do so.
'I threw myself right into that one.' She pouted at him but he simply smiled and made her sit on his lap.
How could Rutherford let go of her now when he was just beginning to enjoy the look on his brother-in-law's irked face?
Therefore, for the rest of their time here, Yvonne was made to sit on her father's lap.
The moment Yvonne turned around, the family put away their angry expressions and pretended as though they had not just thrown hostile glances at the Earl.
This only made him amused at their acting prowess which most certainly was remarkable.
"What was the Earl's present?" Marcus inquired while pushing down his annoyance with that smug face on the opposite side of the table.
However, before Rutherford could answer, Yvonne did the work for him.
"A certificate of establishment of business." She announced the precious gift that her father had given to her.
In Rosenhyde, noble families operated their business through their family names which had been established generations ago.
The same was with Rutherford who ran the St. Claire's business founded by his forefathers.
However, either noble or commoner, if they ever wished to start a new business that is not affiliated to their family business then they would need the approval of the authorities.
The requirements needed for this certificate were few.
The name of the business owner, the name of the business, and the area of their business was all that the officials needed to prepare this document.
"Papa, got me the Certificate for CLOVER, allowing me to do business anywhere in Rosenhyde." She revealed which elicited gasps from everyone.
To be able to do business in a certain fief, the owner would need permission from the authorities.
For this, they would have to choose the fief where they wished to conduct their business and get a permit which would be mentioned in the certificate.
They would also have to pay an aforementioned toll price which allowed them to enter that fief for commercial purposes.
Depending on the standard of living, each fief had a different toll price which was supposed to be paid at the establishment of the business.
This made the certificate hard to gain as the amount needed to be paid upfront could be exorbitant based on where the businesses chose to function.
Therefore, most of the owners just chose a few fiefs which would allow them to earn enough and then decide about spreading roots in other fiefs.
The business could always expand into new fiefs but they would have to renew their certificate so that it mentioned the new areas as well.
If they disregarded the certificate and did business with other fiefs which were not mentioned in their documents then they might lose the certificate and all rights to the business.
The Royal family would then become the owners of the business and all profits henceforth would belong to them.
While this rule may seem cruel and tyrannical, it was to ensure that everyone followed the law and did not venture into places they were not supposed to.
As for the certificate that Rutherford had prepared for her, it had the rights to engage in business with every fief in this entire kingdom.
'Not even the St. Claire's family business has that right.' She recalled as their family business stretched out from the North to the Central areas of Rosenhyde.
The South was uncharted territory for them.
Yet, her father had paid an exorbitant price for her business which allowed her to spread her wings anywhere inside this Kingdom without bothering about any restrictions.
This single action depicted his trust in her and also wished for her business to spread throughout the Kingdom.
"I will not disappoint you, Papa." She looked up and declared as she would surely bring CLOVER to new heights.
Since Yvonne and Rutherford revealed everything to Marcus, he had done the same by explaining the situation to his family the day he had returned after visiting the Hagen's.
Thus, right now, everyone was impressed with Rutherford's trust in his daughter and also cheered for her, wishing her the best for the business that she now successfully owned.
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