Chapter 577 - Interrogation
The sounds of people chattering in the streets did not sound like a nuisance to Yvonne who was hearing this after a very long time.
Living so many months inside the Summer estate at the St. Claire fief, she had only come in contact with the servants who worked there.
The staff was always orderly and silent, almost making it seem as though they weren't even present until they were called for.
Thus, listening to the noises coming from all around her, the little girl smiled pleasantly.
'It's good to see that things have gone back to normal already.' She mused while glancing outside the window.
Right now, she was inside a carriage that was passing through a particularly crowded portion of the Capital, the Commercial District.
However, she wasn't alone as there was someone else inside this large carriage who was her companion for this ride.
"Big Brother, how long do you plan on not talking to me?" Yvonne's straightforward question in a bland voice caused the young boy seated opposite her to look away from the window and towards her.
A pair of midnight blue eyes gazed at her before a harrumph echoed in the closed corners of the carriage.
Once again, the elder brother who usually doted on his little sister turned and looked away from her.
'So moody!' The other person present, Yvonne shook her head at his behavior which was consistent since last night.
Thinking of what had taken place during dinner yesterday, a sigh escaped the little girl's lips.
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Dinner had been served yet her family did not utter a word.
The stifling silence was too much for the little girl to take which caused her to bring out the big guns from her arsenal.
'I thought that I would never have to use them again but here goes…' She prepared herself for what she was about to do.
"D-did Vonny do something wrong?" A soft voice resounded in the silent hall.
Her nasal voice shook the hearts of those who had been determined to ignore her and in no time, the three were looking her way.
Yvonne could sense that her mother was the first to waver as those pink eyes displayed concern for her child.
'A little more,' She decided after which she lowered her head and sniffles filled the room.
This was enough to stop whatever they had planned to do as their eyes widened when they saw her drooping shoulders which embodied her drooping spirits.
"Vonny, don't cry!" As expected, it was Raylene who spoke up first, unable to see her little girl shed tears.
Rutherford and Howard followed as they too were surprised by her abrupt emotional outburst.
"Yes, Vonna!" The father added and there was worry evident in his tone.
Almost immediately, Yvonne raised her head from her former position and displayed her victorious grin to them.
"Now that you are talking to me again… Can you let me know what I did wrong?" She inquired with a troubled look on her face.
The parents and elder brother were stunned after being struck by the realization that they had been tricked.
By pretending to be sad, she had gained their attention and even made them initiate the conversation which they had decided not to do.
Her efforts had toppled their will to continue with the silent treatment from earlier.
Therefore, with grumbling faces, the father and son huffed but did not speak up.
However, there was one more person here, and looking at their expressions, Yvonne knew that they would be willing to help her out of this unforeseen and incomprehensible situation.
"Vonny, do you have something you would like to say to us?" Raylene interrogated, her elbows placed on the table with her chin resting on her interlocked fingers.
For a second, the little girl was surprised to see this posture from her mother as this was something she often did to her employees in the past.
If there ever was a situation where things had gone wrong, Yvonne as the CEO would interrogate her employees to see what had caused the mess.
This particular posture was something she opted for when she knew who the culprit was yet pretended to be questioning them to see if they would confess their sins before she brought out her evidence.
However, what was more surprising was that right now, she was on the opposite side of that posture which implied that she was being interrogated even when her mother knew everything.
'She wants me to confess? But what is it that I should confess?' Yvonne was genuinely oblivious to what had brought about this interrogation in the first place.
The look of confusion was so clear on her face that Raylene sighed before deciding to reveal a little more.
"How about you tell me about the visitor who arrived after you returned to your room, using the excuse of being tired?" She continued her interrogation and was already seeing results when her child's expressions hardened for a split second before they regained their composure.
This interaction was solely between mother and child and the father-son pair were mere spectators, watching everything from the sidelines which gave them the perfect view of what was taking place.
On the other hand, Yvonne gulped a mouthful of saliva to lubricate her dried-up throat.
'How did she know?' She panicked as Tutu's arrival had always been a secret from everyone other than herself and Demon.
Only they knew of the constant visits the etcher paid her while the rest remained blissfully unaware until now.
Back when Sevenz's presence as her friend and later business partner came to her father's notice, he had been furious with that man.
However, he was further saddened that his child had been keeping things a secret from him.
Despite Sevenz's reassurance that he was a good man and not some back-alley pervert, the Earl continued to be wary of him.
Howard shared this same impression of the owner of Ocular Caravans.
Sevenz had only arrived at their mansion a few times during the signing of the contract between them and every time, the father and son kept their stern gazes fixed on him.
Soon after that, he and his caravan set out to complete their task of supplying CLOVER's soaps throughout the Kingdom.
This led to the two business partners not remaining in contact any longer.
The family was pleased with this and just when Ocular was returning to the Capital, they had set out for their native fief.
Thanks to this, Rutherford was able to keep them away from each other.
The plague had further separated them as for more than a year they had not been in contact with the other.
He had been under the impression that the odd pair of friends had lost all forms of contact during this time which had made him release a sigh of relief.
However, today, his etcher had informed him that a bird, more specifically, a golden eagle had entered their mansion and left soon after.
Fryght's report had reached Rutherford as soon as he had spotted the bird flying away from the little girl's bedroom.
The father summoned a secret family meeting to discuss his troubles which surrounded his daughter being friends with that grown man who had signed his letter with hearts.
That simple quirk of Sevenz's had been the sole reason for Rutherford's excessive vigilance against him.
Therefore, when his etcher who often remained underground in the Lower Hall had sensed Sevenz's etcher for the first time today, he realized that keeping Fryght above ground had been a good decision.
The contact between Yvonne and Sevenz had been cut off for too long that he had forgotten all about that man.
Now that they had returned to the Capital, he was sure that the young man of foreign origins would try to initiate contact with her.
This realization displeased him and he was glad that Fryght had reminded him of this troublesome man by reporting about the etcher who had appeared today.
With Fryght outside now, he would not have to worry about missing out on anything.
He could monitor when that weird man would try to contact his daughter and what his next absurd demand would be.
After all, the first time he had met Sevenz was after following his daughter to that man's mansion.
The same daughter who had tried to trick them all to meet the owner of Ocular alone which was something he had asked for.
Therefore, how could the father trust this man who made such demands from a little girl?
While he was happy that Ocular was a good addition to the CLOVER family, he did not wish for them to mingle with each other outside their basic interaction meant for business purposes.
Raylene had displayed her doubts about the unreasonable concerns he was having but Howard was quick to agree with him as he felt the same way.
Rutherford then explained that Yvonne's habit of keeping secrets could land her in troublesome situations.
No matter how mature she was for her age, she was still a child who hadn't even crossed her first decade of being alive.
It was their duty as her family to ensure that she was well protected and safe from all harm.
The talk about her safety had caused Raylene's decision of not supporting their unreasonable thoughts to waver soon after.
Thus the family had decided to give their child the silent treatment to punish her for keeping secrets from them.
Listening to what her mother and father had revealed regarding their reason for behaving this way, Yvonne realized one thing for sure.
Her parents and elder brother were perfectly capable of being petty which was something even she was proficient in.
After all, on numerous occasions, it was Yvonne who had given her father the silent treatment but he had taken things to another level by convincing the rest of their family to give her the same treatment.
While she rolled her eyes at her father's efforts of accomplishing this feat, she also grumbled about another aspect concerning this entire incident.
'His stupid hearts have caused this entire mess.' She scowled at the man who called himself her best friend and the lousy hearts he drew on his letters to her.
The Earl had read the very first letter he had written to the little girl which was the origin of this mess.
That simple act had led Rutherford to dislike Sevenz and no matter how much she tried to convince them that he was a good one, they refused to believe her.
Therefore, Yvonne had no guilty conscience while blaming Sevenz for her family's slightly paranoid behavior when it came to matters concerning her and her well-being.
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