Chapter 882: Caught Red-handed
The sounds of metal clashing against each other could be heard in the distance but the Earl’s attention had shifted when he heard a click coming from behind.
Right now, Earl Rutherford was inside a room on the farthest side of the mansion, on a higher floor that wasn’t visited too often.
It wasn’t too large and neither was it used frequently due to its distance away from the important areas of the mansion.
The only reason for the Earl to be in this place was its placement which allowed him to have a perfect view of what was below.
Therefore, each time he wished to take in this view, he would secretly come up to this room where no one would disturb him while he was here.
The time he spent here was supposed to be Rutherford’s time alone with his thoughts so a look of impatience flashed across his eyes when he heard someone pushing the door open from the outside.
He had already asked Butler Limo to not disturb him which further heightened his annoyance when his aide ignored his command and even opened the door without seeking his permission.
.....
“What could be so important-” He scowled at the man who had just walked in through the door but paused when he saw who it was.
Contrary to whom he had been expecting, Rutherford’s eyes widened when he realized that it was his father-in-law who was now walking toward him.
This room was on a higher floor and the old man wasn’t in good shape to have made his way up so many flights of stairs.
Therefore, gone was Rutherford’s annoyance as it was now replaced with concern for the old man’s health.
When Grandpa Valente noticed the Earl stealing glances at his knees, anger flashed across his eyes.
‘How weak does he think I am!?’ He scoffed inwardly at this sight.
Everyone around him was treating him as though he was some fragile existence who would come crashing with a single wrong move.
His two children were also overly concerned about his health despite his constant assurance that he was just fine.
Though he appreciated and respected their concerns, he was capable of discerning what was right for his body.
He could make the decision of whether he was overdoing it and thus did not like being treated like he was incapable of taking care of himself.
“So this is where you go to spy on your children?” Grandpa Valente sneered, diverting his son-in-law’s attention.
Rutherford was just about to inquire about the old man’s condition when he heard those words, making him cough before he averted his eyes.
Only Butler Limo was aware of what he did in this place as even his wife was ignorant of what he was up to during this time.
However, it now seemed that his father-in-law had caught him red-handed.
Grandpa Valente rolled his eyes when he saw the flushed appearance of that young man before making his way up to the window where he stood.
Rutherford was quick to make space for the old man who otherwise would have pushed him aside.
Though the window wasn’t too large, it was sufficient for them to peek out of with ease.
No words were spoken as the two men, one old and another comparatively young silently spied on the youngsters who were visible in the area that could be seen from this window.
This was the same window that Rutherford often used to spy on his daughter while she trained with his close friend, Des.
It overlooked the training field behind their mansion and thus was the perfect spot to keep an eye on what they were up to.
He was often worried that ‘Neo’s spawn’ would push the child beyond her limit and at other times, he was just curious to see what they were training for that day.
Thus he had often stayed in this room which no one else knew about to watch how his daughter was progressing in her training with the Captain of the Red Scorpion Knights.
Today, however, he had come by to secretly watch his two children sparring together.
The sword which Howard had gifted his sister was troubling Rutherford and thus he had arrived here to watch over them.
However, he had not expected to be caught by his father-in-law who seemed to have followed him into this room.
Thankfully, it looked like his secret would not be exposed as the old man too was now busy staring at the children from their vantage point.
Thus he put down his worries and turned his attention to the two who were currently clashing against each other.
Rutherford could clearly see Yvonne and Howard sparring together, advancing and retreating continuously.
By the side, he saw Roman and Jax who watched as spectators while Demon and Fryght were present as well.
It was Rutherford who had instructed his etcher to stay close to the pair of siblings so that he might come to their rescue if something went wrong.
Since he could not be present there personally as he surely would be anxious and rush out at any moment, he had given this role to his etcher who was doing a much better job at containing his emotions.
After all, Fryght was too lazy to move unless it was absolutely required of him.
However, it was undeniable that he was quick and could act at a moment’s notice if he ever sensed something wrong.
Therefore, the worried father had given the task of watching over the children’s safety to his beast who was carrying it out right now.
As he watched them from afar, Rutherford could not help but marvel at how talented his children were.
He could tell that Howard was holding back his strength contrary to what he had said after their lunch.
However, he was still keeping his sister on her toes and she too was doing a good job at giving him a tough competition.
She surely had improved a lot in these past few months and the same went for Howard as well.
Rutherford often received reports from the Academy about his son’s performance so he was sure that his heir was making steady progress.
While he was still admiring the effort his children had put in, he heard the old man standing next to him muttering something.
“So talented.” Grandpa Valente praised his grandchildren and nodded, pleased with his assessment.
Rutherford wholeheartedly agreed with this statement and was about to express his thoughts but did not get the chance as the old man had more to say.
“How could they not be? They take after me and Hannah after all!” He added in the next second with a proud smile on his face.
He was so engrossed in the match taking place downstairs that he had failed to catch the eye roll that had been directed towards him.
Rutherford had the severe urge to call the old man shameless for taking all the credit but had to do his best to hold it in.
After all, going against his father-in-law would only lead to miserable outcomes for him if his wife were to catch wind of it.
___
While the St. Claire family was enjoying their evening in different ways, a household not far from them was shrouded in silence.
The Butler of the Blaise family kept his head lowered while trying to lessen his presence in the room.
Seated on the couch were his masters, the Earl and the heir of the family who had important matters to discuss.
The young master of the family had returned from the Academy a few days ago and had been focusing on his heir lessons ever since.
However, the Earl had something important to discuss with his son and thus had summoned the young boy to this place.
“Why do we have to stay here, Father?” Stanley Blaise frowned while scanning the room they were currently in.
Instead of being called to his father’s office where official matters of great significance to their family would be discussed, they were in the Parlor right now.
This was a place meant to entertain guests and not to deal with crucial issues.
Therefore, the young boy’s query was reasonable as it would be unfortunate if any outsider or someone with a wicked heart heard what they were about to discuss.
Even Earl Blaise knew the severity of this issue yet could only cough when his son had directly inquired of this matter.
“The office needs to be cleaned so let us just stay here for now.” He revealed the truth but did not explain further about it.
The young boy did not think too much about it and nodded, waiting for his father to continue.
If he were to learn what his father had been up to in the office which was the reason it needed to be cleaned so urgently then he wouldn’t have been so understanding of this situation.
However, the boy was still in the dark and would continue to do so for a while in the future as well.
Noticing that his son wasn’t too interested in their previous topic, Earl Blaise hurried to shift his attention to something else.
“We need to do something about CLOVER!” He grumbled when he thought of the report he had received recently.
Even those few fiefs which had been purchasing soaps from him had now moved to form contracts with the new business which was pushing him into a deeper quagmire of financial difficulty.
Though he still had a few loyal Fief Lords who continued to support him, they were far too few in number to help him feel secure.
Therefore, he had summoned his son once he was free to discuss what could be done to remedy their troublesome situation
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