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Chapter 534 - Yvonne's Seventh Birthday

A month had passed since that day and today was Yvonne's seventh birthday.

For the past month, Howard was back at his usual behavior, hovering around his baby sister and dragging her along to explore the estate in their free time.

Ever since he heard that Lyon Jorbin was safe and fine, his worries were eased so he did not continue to let his sister suffer while sparring with him for hours.

They practiced each day but did it in moderation as that was the right way to do it.

Each morning after two hours of training, the siblings would freshen up and eat their first meal with their parents before returning to their rooms.

While Howard completed his home assignments like a diligent student, Yvonne did the opposite.

She did not even bring those home assignments with her to the St. Claire fief as she knew that the plague would give her plenty of time to finish them later on.

She spent her time either in the library or in the vegetable garden which was a wonderful sight to behold.

The gardener who was assigned the duty of looking after this piece of land was a former farmer who had sold his farmland due to a heavy debt on his family.

Farming was the profession they followed through generations so when the dejected man who was in his thirties heard the news about the Earl looking for someone to tend to his land, he did not hesitate to apply for the job.

Thankfully, the Old Butler had checked on the information he had given and once everything he had said about his background was proven to be true, he gained this job.

He used to be married but his wife left him once the debt collectors had come to take away the small piece of land that he owned to repay the money he had borrowed many years ago and failed to pay it back.

The sad truth of his life was, the money he had borrowed at that time was to treat his wife who had fallen sick for months.

He took care of her while working on the farm during the day which had helped her recover.

Over the years, he never let her go out and work due to her weak constitution.

Her medication wasn't cheap and he had to struggle to make ends meet.

When he wasn't able to pay back the debt and its interest which had accumulated, the debt collector finally decided to take the land away and sell it to get his money back.

One day the farmer was given an offer to either sell the land and pay back the money immediately or continue working on the farm, not as its owner but as an ordinary worker there until he could pay back the money he owed the debt collector.

However, that very night after the debt collector had left, while he was still asleep, his wife had packed up her belongings and ran away with the little money that he had left with him for his survival.

The next morning, the debt collector had come to inquire about his answer for the offer made yesterday.

His wife for whom he had taken that debt in the first place had run away with his money, betraying his trust and disrespecting the love and care he had shown her throughout the years they had been married.

Therefore, the farmer decided to not remain in the place where only bad memories surrounded him.

He sold the land to the debt collector who had some pity on this jilted man and gave him some money in return, to let him move on in his life.

After finishing his work there, the farmer moved from the countryside of the fief to the bigger town where he worked various small jobs to survive.

When he heard about the Earl's mansion searching for someone with farming experience, not many were brave enough to apply as they had never worked on a farm.

Lucky for him, this meant that there was no competition and he attained this job once the Butler looked into his background and made sure that he wasn't lying about his life experiences.

After explaining the rules needed to be followed by the workers of this estate, the man was given a room to stay in the servant's quarters.

Henceforth, he never once had to worry about going to bed on an empty stomach for not being able to earn enough money.

His wife running away was a drawback he suffered heavily from but to escape from those terrible memories, he had ventured to a new place where he received another chance at life.

Therefore, he worked hard each day, and not to mention that the Little Miss who often came to visit him while he worked brought a smile to his face.

If his wife had not been sick then they too would have had a son or daughter around her age, but thinking of the betrayal he faced, he felt glad that they did not have a child of their own.

Being abandoned by his wife was heartbreaking enough and he would not be able to bear the blow if she had taken their child along with her if they had one.

'Though there is a high chance that she might have abandoned our child as well.' This thought made the farmer grimace as his hands gripped the basket that he had been carrying.

"Mister? Are you alright?" A childish voice was heard, dragging the man out of his depressing thoughts.

Looking up, he saw the Little Miss gazing at him with her eyes displaying confusion and curiosity alike.

"Nothing, Miss. Would you like to pick fresh strawberries with me?" He inquired to which she gave an eager nod while turning towards the area with bright red fruits growing healthily.

Today, Yvonne was dressed in a silver gown that ended at her ankles and a clean white hairpin on her head.

She had often come over to spend time in this garden, watching and conversing with the Mister who worked as the gardener.

Therefore, she did not break her routine and appeared here at the same time she did each day.

The gardener had heard about the Miss's birthday and had decided to bring her to pick some strawberries which she often loved to eat as dessert.

When Yvonne had arrived, the Mister was about to place down the baskets he had prepared but had drowned in thoughts of his past.

Finding his expressions to be dull and gloomy, she had inquired if he was alright but found no answer, and her attention was successfully diverted towards the strawberries.

The gardener did not wish to wreck the child's mood with his sad past and concealed it with ease.

He then led her to the creepers with strawberries hanging on them and taught the child the right way to pluck them and which ones to pick.

Once they were done, he informed her that these fresh fruits would be sent to the kitchen and the chef would be preparing something special for her big day today.

"Thank you, Mister!" Yvonne smiled as she waved at him and walked in the opposite direction after spending some time with him.

As she trudged along, she met her butler Jax who seemed to have a disturbed expression on his face.

The young boy was now a full-fledged member of the St. Claire staff and had pledged his loyalty to her.

Therefore, when Yvonne inquired about what had caused him to look troubled, the young boy did not wish to conceal this matter from her.

"Boss, we should find some other place to talk." Jax whispered while looking from right to left as though he was making sure that no one was listening in on their conversation.

With her brow raised, Yvonne wondered what was making him behave like a secret spy worried to not leak information before others.

Amused as she was, the little girl nodded and walked ahead which was a sign for the Butler to follow her in silence.

Reaching her bedroom, Yvonne gestured for him to speak and the Butler nodded before clearing his throat.

"Boss, I found something about your grandfather which you need to hear." He whispered even inside her room, cautious that no one else heard what he was talking about.

'Grandfather?' Yvonne frowned, wondering which grandfather Jax was referring to.