Chapter 667 - Luck Wasn't On Taylor's Side
The shock of witnessing their little sister's training session with the Captain had dampened the enthusiasm in meeting their idol for the twins.
Howard was already used to seeing this so he could only console their elder cousins and repeat that Yvonne was fine as she was acquainted with his way of teaching.
He then promised to take them out to the sword's store to get their mind off what they had seen this morning.
The twins felt as though their younger cousin was treating them like children who could be easily distracted by placing something shiny before them but nonetheless they agreed to his suggestion.
Once breakfast had come to an end, Yvonne bid goodbye to her brothers and headed for her next classes which were etiquette and dance lessons.
Thanks to this, she was unable to receive the guest who arrived at their mansion an hour after breakfast.
Taylor Tanner had been up all night and even woke up early, excited that he would get to spend some quality time with his sworn sister but those dreams came crashing the moment he entered the parlor of the St. Claire mansion.
There, he found his best friend and the twin brothers from the Valente fief that he had met yesterday.
However, even after looking around, he found no trace of the little girl for whom he had come here.
Without bothering to even greet them, Taylor leered at his best friend who had a smug look on his face.
"Where is Vonny?" He interrogated after sensing that something was amiss today.
Howard wasted no time in revealing to his anxious friend that their sister was, in fact, too busy to even greet him.
"Her classes have commenced from today." He completed his answer which was enough to drain all color and vigor from Taylor's face.
The younger son of Duke Tanner had come over to enjoy his free time with her but never would he have imagined that he would not even get to see her face.
'Maybe I can just take a peek…' Taylor was thinking of what should be done to remedy this situation.
Howard had long been observing his friend so he was quick to sense the calculative look that had formed on Taylor's face.
"You better stay put… Unless you wish to disturb Vonny." He reminded Taylor with a wicked smirk.
Taylor indeed had been planning to stop by during her classes but after being exposed by his friend who seemed to have deciphered his thoughts, he could no longer continue with his plans.
"What do we do then?" He plopped on the couch closest to him as an unenthusiastic air encompassed his entire body.
The sole reason for his arrival was to meet her but what was he to do now that she was no longer available?
This led Taylor to grumble and sigh as his listless body laid on the couch.
The Valente twins who had witnessed this entire debacle shook their heads at the same time while continuing to watch Taylor's over-dramatic behavior.
Howard was already used to seeing this so he paid no attention to him.
'He arrived of his own accord.' He shrugged as this was a choice he had made for himself.
Therefore, the best friend chose to ignore him and focused his attention on his cousins.
Taylor blinked languidly as he eavesdropped on the conversation taking place without him.
'Two more sword junkies?' He sneered when he realized that they were debating on which sword store to visit later on.
Thinking of the other sword junky, his elder brother, Taylor felt a shiver running down his spine.
The promise that Topher had made back when they were at the Palace after he caught Taylor red-handed while badmouthing him, had been fulfilled the moment they returned home.
The heir of the Tanner household punished his impudent little brother by ordering him to train with the squires until they were done for the day.
While this might not seem so bad to the others who knew nothing about how things worked in the barracks of the Red Scorpion Knights, Taylor felt that this was the worst way to be punished.
He was already tired from spending the entire day in the Palace, meeting and greeting people, playing nice all day long.
However, the moment they reached home, he was sent directly to the training grounds.
The squires were the youngsters with the lowest ranks in the squad.
Their work was not only to train to become better but also to clean up after the knights and those with higher ranks.
They were basically made to serve everyone above them with no exception.
This was the punishment given to Taylor, who loved to laze around and gaze at beautiful things rather than training and serving bulky men who reek of sweat after working out all day long.
It was almost close to sunset when the squires were finally let off for the day and that was when Taylor could return.
After a much-needed soak in the bathtub, he sent a letter to his friend that he would be arriving after breakfast to their estate and spend the day with his sworn sister.
However, luck wasn't on his side as even after completing the tough punishment, he wasn't able to replenish his energy by playing with his Vonny whose smile could help him forget about all of his troubles.
Therefore, Taylor sulked in his seat but sadly, was ignored by the other three.
These four boys sat in the parlor while Raylene and Trisha were touring the house.
They had plans to head out after lunch as the stores they wished to visit would be free around that time.
Similarly, Rutherford had accompanied his brother-in-law to the business guild, a place that most of the noblemen who dabbled in any kind of business would be acquainted with.
Viscount Marcus Valente always sent his men to this place as heading to the Capital would tempt him to meet his sister which, back then, he wished to avoid.
However, now that things had changed, this would be his excuse to come over and meet his sister and niece every time he missed them in the future.
Rutherford did not know that he had just thrown a rock on his own foot by bringing this sly man over to this place.
This was for the future, and once again, the Earl of the St. Claire fief would curse the decision he made on this fateful day which led his wife's attention to be stolen away ever so frequently.
While everyone else was busy with their day, Yvonne too was following her hectic and jam-packed schedule.
Her initial classes had finally come to an end and since she had been away from them for too long, there was a lot that she needed to brush upon.
However, they had now come to an end and she waited for the next and last class of the day.
After her first class, Mrs. Jacinth had informed her that her brother, Taylor, and the Valente twins had left the mansion and headed out to spend the day in the Commercial District.
The old lady who had noticed Yvonne's grim face assumed that her Miss was sulking for not being taken along for the trip.
However, Mrs. Jacinth did not know that even if they had waited for her to complete her classes so that she might accompany them, she would have refused their proposal ruthlessly.
Right now, she did not wish to head out and meet anyone, especially those who had been present in the Palace yesterday.
Therefore, the boys leaving her behind and heading out did not affect her in the least bit as this was exactly what she had wished for.
The grave look on her face was for the man who she would be meeting soon but the old maid had no knowledge of the thoughts in her Miss's head and neither did the Miss make any effort to fill her in on these details.
Thus, Mrs. Jacinth could only leave after saying a few comforting words to her Young Miss who was confused after receiving them but did not question her any further.
Instead, Yvonne focused on who she would be meeting soon and how she would deal with the man who had dared to cross her.