Chapter 871: Recollecting The Ill-fated Encounter
Far from where Hilda currently was,
The Capital of Rosenhyde, Amarthea, had a pleasant atmosphere this fine afternoon.
The summers had gone by and autumn was in full swing.
Another month or so and even this pleasant season would come to an end, ushering in the time of snowfall and chilling breeze.
Therefore, to enjoy the remaining warm afternoons, Countess Raylene St. Claire had ordered the servants to set up their lunch in their backyard.
She had returned from her appointment with the other ladies a while ago and had made sure that everything was prepared before the rest of her family arrived.
Thanks to her timely preparation, when the Earl and the rest returned to the St. Claire estate, the servants were ready to serve them right away.
.....
However, they had returned after spending time outside so everyone hurried to freshen up before they were brought to the backyard where the Countess was waiting for them.
Raylene sat at her usual seat at the table and smiled when she saw her family walking toward her.
Not only did she find her husband and children heading her way but to her surprise, even her father and nephew had made an appearance once again.
They had separated just this morning but had reunited once again which was a happy surprise for the young Countess.
Therefore, when she saw him walking in with the rest of her family, she was overjoyed and this happiness was reflected in her eyes.
“Good to see you again, Father.” She smiled widely while coming forward to hold his hand.
Rutherford, who was right next to the old man, sulked when he was blatantly ignored by his wife the moment he had returned home.
He had already been bullied by his father-in-law and now even his wife was not paying him any attention which he needed the most at this moment.
Therefore, his face had lost all its shine in no time.
Fortunately, someone had noticed this sullen look on his face and had come forward to ease his sadness.
Yvonne had almost rolled her eyes when she witnessed this sight while walking next to her brothers.
However, she did not do anything that might aggravate her poor father’s sadness any further.
Instead, she hurried her feet to walk next to him and even went as far as patting his arm as though she was displaying her sympathy towards the older man.
Though this was an amusing sight for the Earl, he welcomed it wholeheartedly and patted his child’s little head as a sign of his acceptance of her kind gesture.
Walking at the very end of this group were Roman and Howard who grimaced when they recalled that Yvonne disliked it when her hair was messed up.
However, unlike Howard who had ruined her hairstyle previously, the Earl knew how to control his strength and thus had been gentle when he patted her head.
Thus when they saw the satisfied smile that appeared on their little sister’s face, it was a learning moment for the two boys who decided to do as the Earl had just done.
Unaware that Rutherford and Yvonne had taught the young boys something new, the two pairs of father and daughter made their way towards the table that had been arranged under a thick canopy to shade them from the sun’s rays.
Though the sun wasn’t too harsh during this season, the Countess still did not wish to let her family get affected by the heat during their meal.
Therefore, a vast canopy had first been set up and the table was placed under it.
After Butler Limo had learned that the Countess’ father and nephew would be joining them for lunch, he had made sure that the appropriate amount of tableware and seats were organized for them as well.
Shortage of food would never be an issue in their household so even if extra members had been added to the list of people having lunch together, no one would return with empty or half-filled stomachs after this meal.
When they reached the table, they were quick to take their seats.
Though this table wasn’t as big as the one in the Dining Hall of the mansion, it was perfect for the number of people who had arrived.
The Earl sat at the head of the table and this was when he finally got the attention of his wife who smiled at him before taking the seat to his left.
Opposite her was the old man of the Valente family while the three children sat at the other end of the table.
“Why hasn’t Knox come?” Raylene was the first to break the silence, directing this question toward her eldest nephew.
Roman smiled before explaining that his little brother had left home early this morning to find his latest muse in the Capital.
Knox preferred painting landscapes so he was always on the lookout for newer views that he could capture in his paintings.
Therefore, this morning as well, after they had left the St. Claire estate, his younger twin, had decided to head out once again.
“He won’t be back until sunset,” Roman added and shook his head at the thought of his wandering little brother.
However, this made Knox happy so he never forbade him from doing so but only kept reminding him to be safe wherever he went.
Raylene and the rest had heard about this in the past so they did not mind Knox’s absence too much.
“Ask him to stop by some other time then.” She reminded Roman as Knox was also her precious nephew with whom she liked to spend time.
In reply, Roman nodded and even mentioned that he had sent word to the servants at their home, asking them to inform Knox of their whereabouts on the off chance that he returned home ahead of schedule.
Raylene was satisfied with this answer and gestured to the servants to bring out the dishes prepared for their lunch.
While they waited for the long line of servants to appear, she turned her head towards her father before placing her next question before him.
“How did everyone return home together?” She inquired as this was an unexpected sight she had found earlier.
Though she was informed by a maid that her family had returned home, she had been unaware of her father and nephew’s presence on that list as well.
She had been in the backyard ever since she had begun preparing for this lunch so she did not see who had alighted from the carriages.
Therefore, she was under the assumption that her husband and children, who had headed out during her absence, were the ones who had returned at the same time.
However, finding the old man and Knox among those heading in her direction had surprised her at first.
Thus she now wished to know where the group could have met and how they had arrived at the estate together.
When Old Man Valente heard this query, his first response was to glance at his son-in-law before scoffing at the memory of how they had come across each other earlier today.
“It was an ill-fated encounter.” He harrumphed before revealing exactly how he had caught sight of his treacherous son-in-law while he was visiting the Commerce Guild with his grandson, Roman.
Since Yvonne and Howard were also clueless about this matter, they too paid close attention to what the old man was explaining in great detail to their mother.
On the other hand, Roman and Rutherford who had been witnesses of these events could not help but lower their heads to hide their embarrassment from the rest.
Not only did the old man explain what he was doing at the Commerce Guild but he also went on to reveal the sight that he had chanced upon during his visit there.
‘Hmm?’ Yvonne tilted her head in confusion when he heard that familiar name coming from her grandfather’s mouth but the blatant hostility that she had witnessed was something she could not make sense of.
‘Did the two of them have some grudges against each other?’ She wondered as that was the first thought that had popped in her mind when she heard how he had grimaced and frowned each time he mentioned Old Man Leopold’s name.
She wasn’t the only one who felt this way as every single person at the table had formed a similar thought in their mind.
Even the maids and Butler Limo who were trying to lower their presence and doing their best to not eavesdrop on their conversation had reached the same conclusion.
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