Chapter 499 - Ominous Thoughts
For the past many months, Yvonne had been receiving more letters addressed to VC sent from various fiefs than she had ever received for her real identity as the daughter of the St. Claire family.
Most of them were seeking contracts or requesting to replenish the supplies that had been consumed by their citizens.
However, one kind of letter which arrived almost every week was from someone she did not wish to meet or reply to.
This person was none other than Earl Blaise who was trying to seek an audience with the owner of CLOVER, VC, but even after numerous attempts, he was unsuccessful.
Almost everyone in the Kingdom was now aware of the company named CLOVER and was intrigued by its mysterious owner VC who never made a public appearance even after the business had become a huge success.
The owner, after all, had no purpose or intention of revealing their identity to the public right now.
Yvonne was raking in money which she was circling back into the business to create more soap and was least bothered about meeting the people who were interested in her identity.
The letters being addressed to her were all reaching the Valente estate as most of them had assumed that someone from that family was using the alias VC.
They were not wrong as Yvonne did belong to the Valente family as her mother was a Valente before marrying into the St. Claire family.
After receiving these letters, her uncle, Viscount Marcus Valente was setting them aside before handing them over to the secret guards of her family who appeared once every week.
These guards were already instructed by Rutherford to conceal their tracks at all times and never lead anyone back to their estate in Amarthea.
Therefore, until this date, no one had figured out the true identity of VC, the owner of CLOVER, a booming business that had taken the Kingdom by surprise.
With summer arriving at a steady pace, Yvonne was now busy mentally preparing herself for the first case of the plague that would soon be reported.
In less than a month, there would be news about a mysterious disease spreading in the Southern parts of the Kingdom.
It would take time for the disease to progress and only after noticing the rapid increase in deaths due to this disease would the Royal Medical Association declare it a plague.
'There is still a month before that.' The little girl who sat on the bed, dressed in a white nightgown was seen rubbing her chin in contemplation.
She had done everything that was within her reach and even helped the King indirectly to save the lives of his citizens.
Now it was time to leave matters in the capable hands of professionals.
However, no matter how she thought about it, she felt an eerie sense of unease each time she pondered over the plague which would be here in no time.
"Good night, Miss." Mrs. Jacinth smiled at the little girl which brought her out of her thoughts.
Yvonne smiled at her two maids who had been in the room, sorting out her newly washed laundry but she was so lost in her thoughts that she had failed to notice their presence.
The maids bowed to her and soon left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
In preparation for the plague, she had spoken to her father numerous times about how they could manage the fief if such a disaster ever hit them.
The Earl could not understand why his child was so fixated about the advent of a plague when no one else was worried about it.
However, all of her suggestions could be used in the development of the fief so he never disregarded her thoughts nor did he question her motives.
She often reassured him that preventive measures were better than being caught unprepared and he believed the same to be true.
What he did not expect was that his child had not only convinced him to make new changes in his fief, she had done so with many others.
The first were the Valentes, then the Tanners and Samed, even Kirons and Zavanths were also included in the list of fiefs that she had mildly coerced into implementing these changes.
'I cannot just watch them get caught up in the plague without trying to help them survive using these small tricks.' She sighed as convincing everyone was a tedious task.
It took her many months but she did succeed in her endeavors and these fiefs were relatively more prepared than the rest of the fiefs in their Kingdom.
Tired of the entire day's work that she had done, the little girl rubbed her drowsy eyes as she laid in her bed.
The thoughts of surviving the plague were swirling around in that little head of hers.
Her body yearned to sleep but her mind was keeping her awake thanks to the ominous thoughts popping up every time she closed her eyes.
Finally, in the battle between the weary body and the troubled mind, it was the body that emerged victorious.
Hugging herself, the little girl finally fell asleep when it was way past midnight.
"Hmm…" She moaned as a slight smile graced her face as she began falling deeper into the realm of dreams.
The moon outside shone bright, illuminating the room as well, but Yvonne made no movement of being disturbed by the light entering her room.
Hours passed with the girl first enjoying her sound sleep but this did not last for long.
Brows furrowed, eyelids twitching but not opening up, hair stuck to the cold sweat drenching her forehead, Yvonne seemed to be troubled while asleep.
"N-no… No…" She mumbled while shaking her head from side to side.
Whatever she was dreaming of right now, it was clear that she did not like it one bit.
There was struggle, pain, and a wave of deep anger that had taken over her face.
The little girl's cheek which was now pressed into the pillow was stained with her tears which would not stop flowing.
Her breaths got shorter with each passing second and soon it appeared as though she was having trouble to even suck a single breath in.
Her chest rose and fell as she now laid on her back which was also drenched in sweat due to the terrible dream she was witnessing right at this moment.
Gasping to catch her ragged breaths, the little girl's eyes finally flew open and her amethyst irises were surrounded by red all over.
These bloodshot eyes were a result of the tears which would not stop flowing even after she arose from her sleep.
Sitting up with a start, Yvonne looked around the room as though she was searching for something.
Her nightgown stuck to her body but she was too lost in her thoughts to care about it.
"No… No…" She continued to mumble as though she was in a daze as she stumbled out of her bed.
Twice, she almost fell to the floor but her feet did not stop.
Pulling a housecoat to cover herself with, Yvonne ran out of the room with haste as though her life depended on it.
She did not mind the cold floor as she ran through the silent and dark corridors which were only lit with candles along the way.
Arriving at the place that she had been running to, Yvonne bowed as she huffed to catch her breath for a second.
The large door before her blocked her path, not allowing her to enter.
Therefore, raising her fists in the air, the little girl began banging the door without thinking about the shooting pain that arose each time her fists made contact with the wooden door.
"Papa!"
"Mama!"
Her anguished cries echoed in the empty corridor as she continued to attack the door, hoping that someone would hear her and help her.
Tears were blurring her sight and her consciousness was beginning to weaken due to what she had just witnessed in her sleep.
However, she did not stop her actions until the door was finally opened from the inside.
"Vonna, what is it!?" Her father's anxious voice reached her ears just as she was about to lose consciousness.
She jolted awake when she felt strong arms surrounding her, making her wary body feel a sense of ease.
Fresh tears pooled her eyes and they streamed down her cheeks as her father engulfed her in his strong and safe embrace.
"Ta-Tanner…" She choked one word out before she looked into her father's worried eyes with pain and desperation.
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