Kiera knew her students better than Julian did. She had no objections to his proposal, so she turned and walked with him toward the large tree he had pointed out. Beneath the tree, a swing chair was installed. “I noticed many swing chairs at the Manor,” Kiera remarked after taking a seat. “There are quite a few, and many were added later. Young Mistress York enjoys sitting on swing chairs, and Young Master York dotes on his wife. I’ve heard they’ve installed swing chairs wherever they reside.”

Julian replied, “So wherever Young Mistress York lives, there are swing chairs for her.”

Kiera said with envy, “Young Master York is truly kind to Young Mistress York; it makes others envious and jealous.” Indeed, there were many legends about Zachary’s affection for his wife.

“Where is Old Mrs. York?” Kiera asked curiously, recalling that she had been with them just moments ago.

“Old Mrs. York oversees all major affairs in the York family. With Young Master York’s wedding approaching, she is busy making arrangements,” Julian explained.

“Ms. Caron, could you stay a few more days?” Julian asked suddenly.

Kiera replied, “I can’t stay any longer. The children need to return to school. While they do learn martial arts at our Caron family martial arts gym, their primary focus is on academic subjects. We can’t let martial arts interfere with their education.”

After saying this, she turned to Julian and asked, “What’s the matter, Mr. Bucham?”

Julian responded, “Ms. Caron, when I mentioned Young Master York’s wedding, I remembered that I received an invitation not only to attend but also to be his best man. Originally, I wanted to return with you to learn martial arts techniques from Master Caron, but now that you have to attend Young Master York’s wedding, I just wanted to ask if you could stay a few days.”

“It’s a longer journey, but I can return after having Young Master York’s wedding wine.” Kiera felt deeply touched by this, but she still replied, “That won’t work; I’m not part of the York family, and Young Master York wouldn’t invite me to his wedding.” Julian smiled and said, “It’s simple. As my female friend, you can accompany me to Young Master York’s wedding.” The term “female friend” can easily be interpreted as “girlfriend.” Kiera still declined the offer. She was grateful to Julian for helping her get to Wildridge Manor today, and she didn’t want to take advantage of him to attend the wedding. She was wary of owing him too much. Noticing Kiera’s refusal, Julian didn’t press the issue.

He mentioned that after Zachary’s wedding, he planned to fly to Yonsburg to learn martial arts from Master Caron. Kiera smiled and replied, “Mr. Bucham, don’t worry about learning from Master Caron. It’s more important that you focus on your business.” She knew her father would never accept Julian; he was reluctant to take in disciples and, at Julian’s age, starting martial arts training would likely yield minimal results—at best, just some exercise.

Julian replied with a hum, “I’ll manage my own schedule.” When he returned and spoke to his father, his dad suggested that he follow Kiera to Yonsburg, indicating that he could take a break from family duties since he had been idle for too long and could use some exercise again.