Compete Against Each Other

Sitting on the branch of a massive tree, a few feet away from the children were two beings who shouldn't even be there right now.

Asmodeus Del Ovin watched Yvonne's bold move of raising her skirt and almost fell off the branch in his surprise.

"Will this child not learn the ways of this world properly? Where does she think she is right now!?" He snarled at her but there was no way that she could have heard his fierce words.

This was because even if any humans were to pass by the tree and were to hear him, they would just hear the annoying squeaking chirps of a petite blue bird.

"Master, you came here because you felt those fluctuations again, didn't you?" Theo, the tiny white bird who was perched next to him asked in a timid voice.

Asmodeus did not answer his query and just stared at the group of children standing there whose fate was getting jumbled together with every passing second.

Earlier, Asmodeus and Theo were enjoying their time flying high up in the clear blue sky in another world far far away when suddenly Asmodeus felt a tremor inside his body.

He waved his wing around and in an instant, a glowing crystal appeared before them.

Asmodeus frowned when he saw that there were some changes occurring in the crystal that was not a part of his great plan.

In the next second, both he and Theo were inside the crystal and that was how they ended up keeping an eye on Yvonne from a distance.

The moment he arrived, he chanted a few words in a language that was long forgotten by the men of this world and the splitting headache that Yvonne had felt, disappeared without a trace.

The silence from his master was proof that he had noticed certain things had gone awry in his great plan.

Theo was already aware of the answer to his question but he wanted his master to reassure him.

Getting no answer from him, Theo was beginning to panic once again.

"This is not what you had intended to happen… What should we do?" He squirmed around in his place and flapped his wings in anxiety.

Asmodeus clicked his tongue at his annoying disciple and then ignored him.

His eyes were focused on the children talking among themselves.

"Those kids were never meant to meet this early on." Asmodeus sighed while shaking his head.

Theo's eyes widened when he heard those silent murmurs.

His head whiplashed to face his master and then he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

The blue bird just raised his head and looked at the clear sky and then turned to face his disciple.

"I have a mission for you." Asmodeus spoke as he looked straight into his eyes.

Theo's body straightened and he awaited the command that his master would give him.

"Find out why the Tanners had appeared today. They were not supposed to be here in the first place." He turned to look at Yvonne who was standing beside the other girl Rika Kiron while the entire crowd stood opposite them.

'I can't keep popping up here every time she's in trouble.' He grimaced but he knew that she was in this mess because of his selfish desires.

"I'm leaving now but I expect the reports by the end of the day." He ordered while looking at the little girl and then disappeared from sight.

Theo sighed and flew in a certain direction after his master's presence had vanished from this world.

'Why is this happening to master?' He wondered as he flapped his tiny wings to reach his destination, the Tanner family estate.

He had a lot of information to gather and not enough time to do it in.

----

On the other hand, Yvonne was trying hard not to roll her eyes at this boy who was older and also of a higher status than her.

"Why don't we make them compete against each other to find out who is more qualified to be Princess Felicia's playmate?" Topher announced in an excited tone.

He had heard about Yvonne's smart brain from his uncle and now was his chance to test out whether those were just words of flattery or there was any truth in them.

'And who exactly are you to decide whether I am fit to be the perfect playmate of that bratty princess or not?' Yvonne crossed her arms over her chest and displayed in an outright manner that she was against this silly competition.

"Looks like Yvonne is a scared little goose. She is aware that she would lose to Rika which is why she doesn't want to compete." Mae Blaise covered her mouth with a small paper fan as she mocked Yvonne.

Mae was trying to egg her on so that every one may realize that Yvonne was not the smartest girl in the capital.

'I do not care about what a mere child thinks about me. She can taunt me all she wants. It wouldn't bother me.' Yvonne glanced at her with an uninterested look in her eyes.

She was about to refuse the petty challenge when someone spoke on her behalf.

"We St. Claires are not afraid of anything or anyone. She will compete and beat Miss Rika fair and square." Howard announced and then turned to face Yvonne.

"Don't mess with our family's honor. Remember what I said back when we were alone in the carriage?" He whispered in her ears and stepped away.

He walked up to Topher and stood by his side. He was sure that she must have received the message that he had tried to convey to her.

'People already dislike our family. Don't give them any more reasons to hate us.' She recalled the wise words that he had offered her while they waited for Raylene to arrive.

"I accept your challenge." Yvonne looked Topher in the eye and gave her answer.

Then she turned towards the girls and gave them a lookover.

"Remember that I am doing this because you provoked me." She spoke to Mae in particular and then stood in silence.

Mae frowned when she heard Yvonne's words which gave her a weird ominous feeling but she shrugged it off.

'I'm going to ace this! Not only do I have previous Yvonne's memories of her classes, I even have the exclusive information that was in blue bird's script.' She was confident in her knowledge regarding this world.

This was nothing like the time she was confident about the piano classes but fell face first on her first try and the next one hundred or so after that.

She was sure of her victory because she had really been studying hard with Marquess Samed's assistance.

Not only was he tutoring her in history, he was also secretly teaching her about the different business management rules and laws of this kingdom.

Topher was pleased with her acceptance and asked everyone else to stand on his side. 

This way, the entire crowd stood on one side and opposite them were the two little girls, Rika Kiron and Yvonne St. Claire.

While the girls all cheered for Rika, Taylor was the only one cheering for Yvonne.

'You were the one who forced me to participate in this stupid competition so the least you could do is cheer me on! But I guess that would hurt you deep in your soul.' Yvonne glared at her brother and then stuck her tongue out at him.

Howard scowled at her in return and then looked away. 

Topher being the judge did not take any sides and Damien seemed uninterested in their petty games.

"Shall we begin then?" He looked at the two participants and proceeded when he got an affirmative nod from them.

"So the rules are…"