Chapter 454 - The Greatest Motivator
"Prove to them that you were right."
"Prove that you were innocent all along."
"Show it to the world that you were the true makers of soap and the other person was the imitator."
"Prove your worth, that you are way better than anybody else."
These heavy words echoed in the ears of the three commoner men opposite the nobles.
However, more than the weight of these words, their source had surprised them.
Looking at the little girl who had just completed speaking, the three men were left in shock at her firm words.
Yvonne did not flinch under their gaze nor did she shy away from their eyes.
Seated in her father's lap, she exuded an air of authority, a sense of conviction, and even persuasion from her body and speech.
The commoners and even Viscount Valente with the twins were surprised to see this side of the little girl who had been silent until now.
Yvonne ignored the glances from her cousins and focused her attention on the three men before her.
"Your brother wronged you, he stole the recipe which belonged to your family. Something passed down to you two by your deceased father." She continued mentioning the facts she had learned through her father and uncle.
Hearing her words, the three men were sure that she knew everything, the truth concealed behind the falsity that Earl Blaise had spread among the people.
"The Earl not only bought something that had been stolen from you but even made everyone believe that you were a pack of greedy, insolent thieves who cheated him after accepting his money." She added and the sharp words cut right through their hearts as this was the truth.
Their lives had been miserable as they moved from one place to another, trying to hide the stain of 'thieves' that Earl Blaise had splashed onto their mantle.
They were poor commoners unable to withstand the power of that nobleman and hence could only run away from the place they had grown up in, the place they called their home which held memories of their father.
As Yvonne continued speaking, the air turned gloomy and Howard was worried about what would happen next.
However, Yvonne was not in the least bit worried as she could sense the anger arising from their bodies and that was exactly what she wanted from them.
'The past is the greatest motivator.' She believed that only the regrets of the past could give birth to the will to become stronger and face their problems.
Their past was riddled with pain and misery but they were now about to be given a chance to change the way things have been going on until now.
'If they are smart enough then they will make the right choice… For their future.' She glanced at the young man named Leo.
This man and those girls she had seen playing with dolls were the future of their family.
She now had to see if the elders were willing to make their future better or continue to live hiding and running from their past all through their lives.
"You decide how your future will be." She concluded by saying something she firmly believed in.
When she had been thrown into this world, the odds were against her and she was supposed to live according to the doomed fate of dying an unloved bride of the Grand Duke.
Yet, she chose to change her pitiful fate and managed to avoid getting close to any of the main characters from the script.
That was not something that fell into her lap, she had worked hard towards achieving this goal.
Even to this day, she was striving to maintain the status quo she had attained by staying away from the main characters of the script.
After she was done speaking, she sat in silence as she gave them time to mull over what she had just said.
The three men were lost in contemplation as her voice faded and began to think of how their life had been until now.
They were forced to move out of the home they shared numerous memories in.
They were derided and declared greedy thieves for what was rightfully supposed to be theirs.
The one who had betrayed them was one of their own which had been the most hurtful and hateful aspect of this entire charade.
Timothy Hagen, the eldest son, was supposed to be the successor of a moderately wealthy business that he hoped to bring to new heights with his brother, Joseph.
However, nothing went according to their plans for the future after their second brother, Isaac stole the recipe right under their nose.
They had been mourning the death of their dear father and had no idea about the storm that was about to sweep them away.
Their daughters were too young and Leonard, the boy, was old enough to understand what had taken place after Earl Blaise came to make trouble for them.
Now, through the little noble girl's words, they were reliving the terrible memories of their past.
"You speak as if that is something easy to do." Leo scoffed at the child who had spoken big words.
His behavior towards Yvonne garnered severe glares from every man who had come along with her.
Rutherford's simple leer was enough to make Leo feel suffocated yet he gritted his teeth and stood by his words.
Tim was worried for his son's safety and just as he was about to beg for pardon on his behalf, the little girl spoke up.
"What if we want to make things easy for you?" She replied while patting her father's hand, asking him to stop.
The next moment, Leo felt relief wash over him as the scary aura surrounding him dissipated without a trace.
'I might even tolerate them disrespecting me for once but my Vonna?' Rutherford's thoughts ended there but his stern eyes continued to watch the rude young man.
Tim and Joe were surprised to hear her question which sounded much like an offer.
"How so?" Joe inquired as his curiosity had been piqued.
Tim did not let it appear on his face but he too was willing to hear more about this.
The least interested was Leo as he was against working with nobles after what had taken place in the past.
However, the head of the family was his father and he was an obedient son so he remained silent this time.
Marcus Valente had heard the proposal which Rutherford wished to offer the soap maker and his family but now he was confused as the Earl was letting his daughter do all the talking instead of taking over the conversation.
Feeling his gaze, Rutherford glanced at him and revealed a proud smile almost as though he was gloating but did not say anything to alleviate his confusion.
On the other hand, the twins were also wondering what was taking place and kept shooting inquisitive glances at Howard who never once looked at them.
His eyes were focused on his sister who was about to reveal her grand scheme to this family which was the reason they had traveled all the way to the Valente fief.
Since the Valente men were not getting any answers from them, they turned their attention to the little girl who now had a serious look on her face.
Yvonne was in business mode right now and there was no trace of childishness on her face.
She took in a huge breath before she could disclose her plan of helping the soap maker's family which would also be towards taking the Blaise family down a peg.
"The St. Claire and Valente family will help you bring back your lost honor." She revealed her initial statement and saw how their eyes widened in shock.
She was not done as the most important part had yet to be said.
"However, we will need your help in order to achieve that." She completed her statement as that was the most important part in her eyes.
Without their support, she would not be able to move forward with her plans to act against the Blaise family who surely deserved to be put in their right place.
This plan she had made would mutually benefit each other and thus, she required their full cooperation to achieve the effects she desired.
Once her words came to an end, she did not see elation instead she noticed how their faces fell after hearing her offer.
'Hmm? What's wrong?' Yvonne wondered while observing their wary and hesitant faces.