Chapter 745 - Good-natured Advice

Taylor stood at the sideline while observing the back and forth conversation between the two girls.

Unlike Howard who did not pay too much attention to the matters of their society, Taylor often attended parties with his mother in the past.

Thus he was aware of the numerous rumors surrounding the haughty and impolite elder daughter of the Kiron family.

Aleena Kiron might put on the act of a prim and proper young lady before her parents and the other elders but he had heard about her rude behavior which peeked through her silent facade when no elders were around.

In his opinion, neither Aleena nor Elna were fit to be his sister's friend and thus he had ignored Elna and leered at Aleena when he reached Yvonne's position just earlier.

However, now things seemed to be quite varying from what he had expected.

The way Yvonne was speaking to Aleena, even going as far as teasing her, made him wonder if he was missing something.

Back when he had spent time with Vonny at Ocular's caravan before the plague had taken place, there he had seen Aleena displaying blatant hostility towards her.

Yet right now, the atmosphere between the two appeared to be amicable and even if Aleena was trying to dispel the claims Yvonne was making, everyone could see what was truly on her mind.

While Taylor was assessing this situation, attempting to make sense of what he was witnessing right now, Yvonne smiled at the other girl whose face had turned beet red.

"As much as I appreciate your help, Miss Aleena…" She uttered while looking straight at the other person.

Aleena was stunned to see the sudden shift in the mischievous face which had now turned serious and waited to hear what she said next.

"You should stop trying to make yourself look like the villain." Yvonne declared her genuine feelings in their presence.

Aleena and Elna were compared constantly from when they were mere toddlers.

Being born in a carefree environment and growing up under the protection and pampering of three elder brothers had morphed her into the wilful and bold young girl that she now was.

Her family still saw the charm in her personality but the outsiders did not think the same way.

Aleena stood out like a sore thumb in the presence of the gentle and kind Elna Leopold who knew how to behave and what to say to please people.

She wasn't inferior in any way as she did what was expected of her at all times.

However, having her non-existent flaws pointed out just because there was someone close to her age in another family who did things better had left a scar on her heart.

People were anyway making her out to be a haughty and stubborn young miss so somewhere along the line, Aleena had decided to play that role and give in to the image people had created for her.

Thus in the sights of the others, Elan became the epitome of grace and elegance and Aleena became the example of how a young miss of any respectable family must not behave.

This only increased the amount of people who looked at her with a disapproving gaze, further intensifying both her distaste and her jealousy towards Elna Leopold.

Aleena had been keeping these things in her heart and even her younger sister, who was the closest to her, had no idea about how she truly felt.

Rika often assumed that her sister was just someone who blurted out the first thing that came to her mind and in the process, offended people without even meaning to do so.

However, Yvonne had realized that this was just another cry for attention from that child.

Since Elna was given all the praises and she was ignored often, Aleena had subconsciously decided to be famous in her own way.

'Infamous, in this case…' She shook her head and knew that she had guessed it right after taking a look at the stunned face of that girl.

"I do not know what you are talking about." Aleena scoffed while averting her eyes which could have exposed what she truly felt.

She had been competing against Elna all her life and now, to behave in a way that was contrary to her rival's had become her very nature.

"Miss Aleena, I know that you too are kind and you too can be gentle." Yvonne elaborated what she had meant by what she had said earlier.

After all, everyone here had seen how she shielded her little sister when Howard and Taylor had glared at her.

She had also come forward to pull Yvonne out of that sticky situation because she had felt that the younger girl would not be comfortable with Elna Leopold.

This was true as the only reason Aleena had come to rescue her was that she too had experienced the same things in the past.

Elna had a knack to shift things in her favor, making the one standing against her look like they are in the wrong.

If Yvonne had been there for a little longer then there was no saying how the daughter of the Leopold family could have harmed her image in the presence of so many nobles.

Aleena thus had rushed forward and in her haste had yelled out loud to gain their attention before Elna could say anything else.

She had no clue that Yvonne could have handled the situation with ease which had led her to act that way and gain the ire of the other nobles.

"Be yourself, Miss Aleena." Yvonne spoke from her heart as this was the best advice she could give the other person.

"Oh, and don't care about that person." She scoffed as well, displaying her dislike towards Elna Leopold.

Aleena was pondering on the same advice she had received numerous times from her family as well but had turned a deaf ear towards it.

However, being called a 'villain' from Yvonne had made her grimace as she did not like the sound of it.

She had always been trying to go against Elna and despite knowing the fact that she was causing herself harm in the long run, she continued to do so without a second thought.

Therefore, she felt conflicted after hearing Yvonne's good natured advice.

However, when she heard the second part of the advice, a chortle escaped her lips before she knew it.

Yvonne smiled at this sight and had a feeling that she had gotten through to her.

"Did you notice how annoyed she looked when no one glanced her way just earlier?" Aleena snickered while recalling that infuriated face.

Just imagining that sight was already making her feel better, bringing her a new realization.

'Maybe I should do just that!' She decided how she would deal with this matter from here on.

Elna might look like a gentle and kind girl but no one knew better than Aleena what she truly was like.

If no one paid any attention to her or if things did not go her way, just like earlier, Elna would surely not be able to keep her cool.

Thus with a sparkling glint in her eyes, Aleena nodded her head, determined to try out this new tactic that she had just learned.

'Why do I feel like I gave her bad advice?' Yvonne gulped at the sight of the evil smirk that was now on the other girl's face.

However, for now, all she could do was wait and see whether this advice will help Aleena or Elna in the future.

Taylor, Howard, and Rika had become bystanders in the heartfelt conversation between the two girls but they had no issues with it.

The two boys had always felt that their sister had no true friends of her own and was now glad to see that there was still someone she could speak freely with.

Rika, on the other hand, was not jealous that Miss Yvonne had gotten close to her elder sister even when they were friends before she had gotten acquainted with Aleena.

She had Princess Felicia and Miss Glennise but her elder sister did not have anyone she was close to because everyone looked at her through colored glasses, judging her before they got the chance to interact with her on a personal level.

Thus she was ecstatic to see her being friendly with Miss Yvonne for she knew that the other girl was not someone bad and could surely be a good friend to her elder sister.