BXBX NOVEL Chapter 386 - Much Like A Battlefield
Chapter 386 - Much Like A Battlefield
For the rest of Sunday evening, the Butler of their Mansion was busy preparing lodging for the twenty men who had arrived earlier.
Yvonne had just bid goodbye to her etcher who had come to her aid when she needed him and after entering the Mansion, she saw her father and brother heading back towards the Office.
Curious as to what exactly her brother was learning, she decided to accompany him to this class.
"You might get bored." Rutherford warned her as these matters he was sure that she had not learned from her tutor.
Yvonne shook her head as she dismissed his worries and chose to follow them.
Raylene sighed while shaking her head as her daughter was a much better fit with them than she was with her.
"We need to get the chefs to prepare extra meals for the men who arrived." She announced her next task and headed towards the Kitchen with her maids.
Thus, the family went their separate ways to get things done before it was dinner time.
As Butler Limo was busy with other tasks, Mrs. Jacinth and Roselie were responsible for guarding the office as the Master and his children entered the room.
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Inside the office, Yvonne took her usual seat as she swung her legs which did not even reach the floor.
Just earlier they had seen what the Earl had prepared as a present for His Majesty, King Ophire so they were still in awe of his thoughtfulness.
'Though I wonder that man will even be bothered to take a proper look at the numerous presents he receives on that day.' The little girl thought and then shrugged as this had nothing to do with her.
However, she could not deny that such a useful thing was being presented to that man who might not even appreciate it properly.
Yet there was nothing she could do about it so she decided to divert her attention to other matters.
Matters such as what her brother and father had been doing all yesterday and today.
Howard smiled at his sister who glanced at him as he went back to revising what he had learned today.
"This… And these too…" Rutherford handed him sheet after sheet which had something written on it in beautiful penmanship.
While the little girl was admiring the smooth cursive handwriting on the paper, she heard her father speak further about what he had just passed to the young boy.
"These are the reports of the latest policy changes we have made and how they were implemented and adopted." Rutherford stated to which Howard nodded.
Yvonne was already made aware of this from her father so she simply skimmed through the sheets that Howard was perusing as he sat next to her.
'Looks like he's a smart cookie too.' She praised him when she noticed how he was done within a few minutes.
Howard looked up after feeling her gaze and was delighted to notice appreciation for him in her eyes.
Rutherford then quizzed him on a few important matters and was pleased when he received all the right answers.
To help him understand some concepts better, especially about the recycling idea, the father appointed the little girl as his teaching aide.
Yvonne did not complain but preached her methods of helping save the environment to her brother which assisted him in grasping the topic better.
Nodding his head, he made a few pointers in the sheets he had received and decided to go over them later at night.
Once their class came to an end, Rutherford used this chance to brief the boy on what they would face on the day of the banquet.
"This year, our King's birthday falls on the last day of the Festival which makes it an immensely auspicious day." He began enlightening his children about what usually takes place on that day.
The first thing that the King would do on the anniversary of his birth was visiting the Holy Church of Asmodeus to pray for the prosperity of the Kingdom and wisdom to rule the land the right way.
'But will that Blue bird help them out?' Yvonne rolled her eyes as she scowled at the god this world worshiped.
A short ceremony would commemorate the blessed beginning of this special occasion.
This would be followed by a long meeting between the King and his Council of Ministers.
'Sounds similar to some sort of budget discussion.' She associated this with the political meetings in her old world where the government apportioned funds to different aspects of administration.
Though she was surprised and impressed with how competent this King was in utilizing his time, she still felt that he was too much of a workaholic.
'Even I would spend the day with my family.' She smiled at the thought of her birthdays spent in the company of Vince and Grandpa Leo.
"Once this meeting comes to an end, the King would only reappear for the banquet at the end of the day." Rutherford divulged something which most men in this land were aware of.
As the King was known to be a private, family man, he always spent the entire day with his family, and only in the night would he leave them to attend the banquet.
With a single sentence, Yvonne's assumptions about the King being a workaholic were shot down.
Therefore, the little girl decided to stop analyzing everything for a while and listen to what was being said.
"For the banquet, we need to be prepared to meet and greet various noblemen and their heirs who will arrive." He glanced at his son as he said these words.
Howard gave a firm nod as he had already begun preparations to not put his family's name to shame on that day.
As this was much like a battlefield where the unprepared one would be trampled by the others, they had to be sure to not give anyone a chance to do so.
"The King uses this banquet to meet every Fief Lord in his Kingdom and assess how the land under his management is thriving." Rutherford disclosed the main purpose of this banquet.
"Showing weakness at this point will only make us an object of ridicule among the other families." His stern words proved that this was a serious matter.
Howard nodded as he would do his best to not let his father down.
"Not to mention that most of them do not like us already." Rutherford added while shaking his head as there was nothing he could do about their personal opinions about him.
When Yvonne heard this, she felt the strong need to guffaw at her father.
'You dominate the market which causes most of the nobles to struggle. There's bound to be bad blood between you and your rivals.' She rolled her eyes while thinking of the obvious.
There was a cost at which everything comes in life, so she empathized with him as she had faced similar situations in the past.
"As for the present, that has already been prepared and we will bring it along with us on that day." He reminded them of the huge carriage that arrived today.
Yvonne and Howard nodded as they had already received an explanation about what this present was.
Rutherford then paused for a moment as he thought about whether he had missed out on any other point that needed to be added here.
"Finally, this next week we will be focusing on the remaining policies and the various families that will be attending the banquet." He stated the agenda for the following week.
The knowledge of the who's who of this Kingdom was a must if he wished to converse with the people attending the banquet.
Therefore, Howard would have to receive intensive training to be able to greet them and not fall silent when asked questions which was certainly something that he would face on that day.
The little girl pitied her elder brother who had to go through such rigorous training to learn the names of each person attending the banquet.
Sadly, what she did not realize was that soon she would also be in the same position as her brother.
However, her state would be much worse as she would not only have to learn the names of the men but also those of the women and children of each of these households in the future.