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Rutherford did not wish for anything unexpected to occur once again and thus hurried to bring up the main reason they were here before the King.

Soon a box, much bigger than the ones brought out by the others, was presented before the King.

“Please accept our family’s humble present.” The Earl uttered as he undid the latch and opened the box to display what lay inside.

Excluding the Countess, everyone was eager to see what the Earl had brought this year for the King.

After all, in the last celebration, he had sent an entire lavish carriage for the King as his present so many wished to know how he was planning to outshine his own present from that year.

Even Yvonne had been kept in the dark so she too gazed at the box to know what her father had prepared this year.

.....

Her eyes thus widened when she found three chunks of metals placed inside this box.

If last year Earl St. Claire had gotten an entire carriage made for the King then this year, he had brought something even more precious and eye-catching.

Inside the box were three blocks that were three inches high, three inches wide, and five inches long.

However, it wasn’t their large size that was impressive but the fact that they were made of the three most precious metals in their Kingdom that had caught her eye.

‘Silver, gold, and... platinum?’ Yvonne stared at the three well-shaped metal pieces and was trying to calculate their worth in her mind.

She wasn’t the only one as even the King and Queen were stunned at the gift that Earl St. Claire displayed before them.

When compared to the carriage he had brought the last time, these three pieces of metal combined could be almost ten times the cost of one carriage.

King Ophire had already thought that the carriage was a tough object to surpass but the Earl had exceeded his expectations once again.

However, looking at the indifferent expression on that tall man’s face, it was as though he did not mind parting with these expensive raw materials in the least bit.

When the King thought of how the St. Claire fief’s soil was rich in many precious metals, he realized why the Earl wasn’t too concerned about losing what could just be a very small part of the massive reserves hidden in his fief.

King Ophire was thus both impressed with the Earl’s present but at the same time, his curiosity towards the richest man’s wealth increased as well.

Many years ago, he had sent his son and younger brother to the St. Claire fief in order to find where exactly the Earl’s wealth stemmed from.

However, that covert mission had ended abruptly when both the main protagonists had been injured in one way or another.

Hence this mission had been left untouched for a long time but now the King’s curiosity to know exactly how much wealth the Earl possessed had been revived.

Though he did not plan to take action right away, King Ophire was already thinking of a way to gain the answers he was looking for.

While the King was lost in thought, the two ladies of the Royal family marveled at the precious metals that were in their line of sight.

Whereas, the Prince sat in silence as he stared at one of the members of the St. Claire family.

‘Look at her pretending not to know me!’ Prince Fritzen harrumphed at the sight of the little girl with dark violet hair that had been tied up.

Ever since her family had arrived before the King, Yvonne had greeted the King and Queen.

She even smiled at the Princess who had been gazing at her eagerly.

However, not once had she glanced at the Prince about whom she did not have too high of an opinion.

She had her fair share of dissatisfaction towards the Prince and hence had not glanced his way despite standing right before him for the last many minutes.

This, however, seemed to have earned the ire of the young prince who had been watching her for a while only to discover that she was deliberately doing her best to ignore him.

Sadly, the Prince did not have the chance to continue leering at her as the St. Claire family had completed their purpose of approaching the King and thus had to return to their place.

As Prince Fritzen stared at the back of the young girl, someone stepped forward, blocking her image with their body.

Earl Mikren, the newest Fief Lord to have received his title, was the one who had approached the King next, hindering the Prince who was trying to watch the young girl from before.

It wasn’t known whether the new Earl had done this on purpose or it had just been an accidental maneuver, regardless of which one it was, he had managed to divert the Prince’s attention right away.

The previous Earl Mikren, who had been a member of the Council of Ministers, had a good relationship with the King so his heir, the current Earl Mikren was able to have a pleasant interaction with the King as well.

Many nobles had never seen Earl Brax Mikren smiling despite having a particularly handsome face.

Therefore, they stared in awe upon noticing the subtle smile that had formed on his face when the King had brought up his father during their conversation.

Even Yvonne was dazed while watching this scene, only to realize that her father was leering at both his wife and child who were being enamored by another man.

Raylene, however, did not take his unpleasant expression too seriously as she treated Earl Mikren as a little brother whom she had looked out for when they were younger.

She had watched Brax grow and knew just how the three sons of the Mikren family were attached to their father.

Hence she was glad to see that he was fine when the previous Earl had been mentioned during their conversation.

While they watched this scene, Earl Mikren brought out his present and handed it over to the King.

During the previous celebration, the Earl had gifted the King an ivory piano which was rare and highly sought after.

The Mikren family was a household name in the music industry and was deemed to be the top sellers of the pianos as well as many other musical instruments in their Kingdom so this was an appropriate present for the King who was an avid admirer of music.

This year, however, he decided to send something else that had been prepared in his fief.

Ever since the King had constructed a Royal Hospital in the Mikren fief on the suggestion of the daughter of the St. Claire family, the Earl had also been focusing on this aspect.

Therefore, in the past few years, the Mikren fief had also dabbled in the field of medicine, setting up various research centers within his territory.

“These were some of our latest creations, Your Majesty.” Earl Mikren announced as he handed the box over to the Chamberlain.

The King would never consume anything that had been brought from the outside.

Therefore, these medicines which the Earl presented would first be put through a series of tests before they could be used by the Royal family.

‘What do you think?’ The King initiated a mental link with someone not too far from where he was and received an answer almost instantly.

‘No signs of any poison, Master.’ A low and indifferent voice echoed in his mind, making him nod at the Earl after the present was received and taken away by his Chamberlain.

A moment ago, King Ophire had sought the assistance of his etcher who was resting in a secluded place close to the Banquet Hall they were in.

The etcher whom many, even those residing in the Palace, had never seen had a special trait that came in handy at times like this.

The King’s etcher, who was said to be of the highest status among the etchers in and around the Capital, had the knack for detecting poisons.

Anything that could harm the King or anyone close to him would be sensed by this etcher as long as the item was in the vicinity of his Master, the King.

Therefore, upon receiving the medicines from Earl Mikren, King Ophire had inquired about its condition and received a useful answer right away.

Having completed the purpose of initiating this mental link, the connection between the master and beast was cut off promptly in the next second.

Many near the King could sense the aura which had flashed for a moment and knew that he had just formed a mental link, guessing that it was to contact his etcher.

This realization made them wonder just where the powerful etcher, who was said to be the ruler of the woods surrounding the Palace grounds, was and whether they would ever get the chance to come in contact with it.

Sadly, since Yvonne had suppressed her aura before entering the Palace and the fact that she was not near the King’s position, she had failed to notice what many men around him already had.

Thus she remained clueless about the doubts others had about the King’s etcher.

She wasn’t even thinking about this mysterious beast but this did not mean that the other beast was the same.