BXBX NOVEL Chapter 371 - "The Messenger"
Chapter 371 - "The Messenger"
While the King continued his conversation with his younger brother, Yvonne St. Claire was seated with her tutor as they were looking over the lessons that would be taught this week.
For the past three months, a large portion of her curriculum for this year had already been completed.
"You are way ahead of your schedule." The Marquess nodded with satisfaction as this was what he expected from her.
\'She is my best pupil after all!\' He raised his chin in pride at having such a brilliant child as his student.
The two were completely unaware of the conversation in the Palace which was revolving around the brilliance of that very same child.
Marquess Samed was glad that King Ophire had not questioned him about Yvonne\'s involvement in the play idea.
But what he did not know was that the King had omitted that inquiry as he was already sure that this was her idea.
In the King\'s mind, Marquess Samed was already pegged as the middleman, "The messenger" between himself and Yvonne St. Claire.
Thus, he had not bothered to place this question forward as there was no doubt in the Ruler\'s mind regarding her involvement.
Sitting opposite her tutor, the equally oblivious Yvonne nodded her head when she heard his statement.
\'You make me work like a mule to finish all the assignments ahead of schedule so what else did you expect would happen?\' She snarled at him in her mind.
The cheerful smile on her face did not correlate with the sneering thoughts in her head.
Ever since she noticed that her father was able to grasp her thoughts just by looking at her face, she had begun practicing how to maintain a cute appearance all the time.
She would sit for hours before the mirror during her free time and practiced each expression to improve her acting skills.
\'When that Bird brain gave me this beautiful face so why not use it to my advantage?\' She had debated when thinking of ways to exploit her adorable face.
While her father wasn\'t as easy to fool anymore, the Marquess surely was.
Thus, he did not realize that his pupil was scoffing at him as all he could see was a pleasant smile on her face as she nodded in agreement with him.
"We still have a few minutes before our class ends." Marquess Samed pondered on how to make use of this time.
Yvonne harrumphed at the greedy man who wasn\'t even willing to let go of these measly few minutes so that she might return to her room earlier than usual.
However, her smiling face expressed its acceptance of what he was planning.
When she saw that even after a few seconds, he remained silent, she decided to help him out.
"Have you heard about the progress of the ideas that the King had implemented?" She inquired with an innocent look on her face with her head tilted to the side.
Having given the perfect conversation starter, Marquess Samed clapped his hands and nodded eagerly.
\'What would you do without me, Marquess?\' She lamented for this man whose quick brain only worked when there were matters related to gossip.
Being the Royal Tutor had its own perks as he was constantly in the Palace which gave him privileges to meet important figures of this Kingdom.
\'But more importantly, I get to hear all kinds of news from these people!\' He exclaimed as gathering information whether big or small was something he was excessively good at.
Thus, it was a given that he had knowledge of the implementation and progress of her ideas.
Yvonne paid attention as he stated about the hospitals which were still in the process of construction.
"They would take another few months to be completed." He recalled and nodded his head that this was the approximate time that he had heard.
"And the roads?" The little girl was interested to know more about this as it affected her as well.
Just the thought of those wretched uneven roads made her stomach churn so when she saw this man nodding his head once again, she was glad that there was a positive answer.
"That was the first of the changes to be completed." He boasted about the capability of their King who knew how to prioritize things.
\'Well, it is common sense to build better roads first as all the materials needed would be transported through those same roads.\' The child kept a straight face though she was mocking the man who had high praise for such a simple concept.
If the roads weren\'t constructed then the construction of the hospitals would be further hindered, so she was satisfied with the King who had thought of this matter.
\'Looks like the King is capable of thinking on his own as well.\' She scoffed as half the ideas implemented were from her.
When Marquess Samed came to the last part of the Three-step plan that she had suggested, there was enthusiasm evident on his face.
"Did you know that Our King had sent his Town criers with the Troupes to announce that he had recommended this play for everyone to watch?" He grinned widely at the excellence of their Ruler\'s mind.
This brought a surprised look to the little girl\'s face as she had indeed not heard about this.
\'I thought that they did everything according to my instructions.\' She was now proved wrong about her earlier assumption.
The more Yvonne heard about the final part of her plan, the more she was impressed with the King.
\'So he basically endorsed the play by saying that he liked it and wanted to share it with the rest of his Kingdom.\' She analyzed what she had just heard.
With the King\'s Town criers going around with the troupes, everyone now knew of the importance this play had in their Majesty\'s sights and only a fool would disregard its teaching.
\'Not to mention that the document signed by the Dean of the Royal Medical Association was another beautiful touch to add weight to the play.\' She was not stingy with her praise for the man.
After hearing about what the King had done, Yvonne St. Claire, as an administrator of her company in her previous life now had respect in her heart for the King who knew what additions might strengthen and aid in the success of a certain plan.
"With these cautionary measures in place, we can assume that if ever we have another plague, it wouldn\'t be as devastating as the previous ones." Marquess Samed muttered as witnessing such a thing would be depressing.
\'I wouldn\'t count on that…\' The little girl maintained silence after hearing his hopeful words.
In the script that she had read, the third plague was devastating enough to wipe out half the population of Rosenhyde.
It took a long time for the Kingdom to get back on its feet after this calamity.
She also remembered that while Rosenhyde was coping with the aftermath of the plague, neighboring Kingdoms were trying to take advantage of the situation and invade them.
\'If it wasn\'t for the Silver Snake Knights who guarded the borders…\' She stopped as there was no more information other than a single line that spoke about these knights keeping the Kingdom safe during these tough times.
Marquess decided to change the topic of their conversation when he realized that he was talking about the possible deaths of numerous people with a mere child.
\'She might be able to engage in intellectual interactions with me but that doesn\'t change the fact that she is just a child.\' He sighed as he kept forgetting about this due to her sharp mind.
"Do you plan on visiting the Poliza Lake for the Festival?" He inquired when this cheerful topic came to his mind.
Yvonne\'s brows furrowed as another certain memory came to her mind when she heard this name.
However, she decided to ask her tutor for more information about it.
"Lake? Festival?" She uttered with confusion apparent in those wide amethyst eyes.
Sullivan chuckled after noticing her oblivious expressions and decided to enlighten her.
"The Festival of New Seasons, as the name suggests, is celebrated when the seasons in our Kingdom change." He began his explanation.
With Summer ending three months ago, the short season of monsoons in Rosenhyde had also passed them by in quick succession.
Right now, it was Autumn in Rosenhyde but that too would end on the last day of the Festival.
"The last day of Autumn marks the beginning of changes in the Kingdom." He narrated while smiling as this was his favorite time of the year.
The days get shorter and leaves begin to fall which in his eyes was a beautiful sight as new leaves would sprout once the next season ended.
Yvonne listened to everything that he had to say and one thing caught her attention.
"The week-long Festival brings huge crowds to Lake Poliza, the biggest lake in Amarthea because soon after, it would freeze and remain that way until spring arrives." He revealed as the beautiful lake was a scenic spot for many couples to visit during this time.
He then spoke about how the arrival of Winter would cause the lake to freeze and no one would be allowed to venture near it until it thawed once again when Winters came to an end.
While he was reminiscing the days of his youth, it finally occurred to the little girl where she had heard the name of this lake before.
\'The spot where that Prince confessed his love to Hilda, the female lead!\' She widened her eyes when she recalled this important scene of the script.