Chapter 746 - Violent Behavior

Once Yvonne had given her free advice to Aleena, it was no longer her concern whether her suggestion was utilized or tossed out.

However, based on that evil grin she had gained from the other girl, she had a feeling that this advice would not only be used but abused in the future.

Once this was done, she turned towards Taylor and greeted him happily now that she finally had the chance to do so.

"Why would brother be late to a party at your own home?" She inquired, curious about what could have caused his delay.

Taylor choked at this query which made him unable to answer but his best friend was more than happy to reply in his place.

"You see, Vonny, your brother Taylor was stu- Argh!" Howard howled in pain before he could even complete his sentence.

Yvonne and Kiron sisters were shocked and stared wide-eyed at Taylor who had just stomped his heel right on top of Howard's toes.

They grimaced at the pain that he might have felt and taking a look at his anguished reaction, they were sure that he was in a lot of pain.

The sheen of perspiration that formed in a second over his forehead and also the reddened eyes which he used to glare at Taylor was proof enough for them.

'What are they trying to hide?' Yvonne frowned and furrowed her brows as the silent glances they were shooting at each other were suspicious to her.

Taylor widened his eyes and shook his head, instructing his friend to keep his mouth shut.

He wished to surprise Vonny at the end of the year with his progress report which in the past only had mediocre results and remarks from their professors at the Royal Academy.

However, this time, he was determined to exceed everyone's expectations and for this reason, he wanted it to be kept a secret from her.

'So not a word from you!' He glared at his friend who was about to divulge his secret preparations for this surprise.

Howard nodded his head in understanding before secretly punching him right in the ribs.

At the sudden but shooting pain that radiated from his midsection, all the way to his head, Taylor stumbled a few steps behind.

"Fool!" The initially injured boy muttered, cursing the boy whom he had now injured.

Howard had used violent means just now because, not only had Taylor stomped on his toes but he had also continued placing half his weight onto those same toes.

For this reason, he had punched him right in his stomach, causing him to finally move away from his foot.

'How much does he weigh!?' Howard glowered in his mind and even though he wished to nurse the injury that he had now sustained, he knew that he could only bear it in silence.

Striking Taylor was already pushing the limit as someone could have seen his violent behavior just now.

Therefore, he would have to ignore the throbbing pain in his foot for now and wait until he could get back home.

Yvonne had noticed him glimpsing at his foot, realizing that he must be in too much pain.

'Can I use this as an excuse to return home?' She wondered and rejoiced that things were working in her favor.

Their mother had asked them to make an appearance here so now that they had acted according to the orders given to them, they should be able to make a quick escape.

Deciding to act on this impromptu plan she had made, Yvonne concealed the enthusiastic glimmer in her eyes before gazing at her elder brother.

"Brother, are you alright?" She inquired while making sure to appear deeply distressed for his sake.

If he saw how worried she was for him, wouldn't he offer to return home and nurse his injury to help ease her mind?

This was the plan that she had formulated right now and was eager to see it through to the end.

"Shall we head home if it hurts too much?" She suggested and kept alternating her gaze between his face and his foot.

Howard's heart was filled with warmth for the concern she had for him but at the same time, he did not wish to disrupt the pleasant atmosphere she had made.

Therefore, he shook his head in immediate rejection of her offer.

While he might actually prefer going home right now, he could not do so now that he had seen her making new friends and having a good time.

'I even dragged that fool all the way here.' He added in his heart that it would be unfair to have brought Taylor here after forcing him to stop studying only to leave soon after.

Thus he had no plans of going along with the concealed plan that his baby sister had thought of.

"This much pain is nothing at all, Vonny!" He put on a brave face while thumping his chest to prove that he was totally fine.

When Taylor heard his assuring words, he scowled from behind.

'Then why did you have to punch me!!?' He grit his teeth but did not voice out his opinions.

He was here now so he did not want either his best friend or their sister to leave any time soon.

Thus he went forward and patted Howard's shoulder, indicating that he agreed with those words.

"We play around like that all the time." He declared to strengthen Howard's claims.

Despite feeling gloomy at the failure of her impromptu plan, Yvonne had to put on a bright smile for the boys who were now looking at her.

"As long as Brother is fine." She muttered, giving in for now as she had other plans in mind.

While this small group of boys and girls were busy here, another group was making their way towards them.

Since Aleena had brought them to a secluded corner of the garden, they had been unaware of what was taking place around them.

"It's so lively here." A voice coming from a short distance made them turn in its direction.

Howard put on a straight face immediately while Taylor's smile from earlier sank.

Rika and Aleena bowed before the one who had approached them and so did Yvonne.

"Oh, it's Elder Brother," Taylor mumbled in an uninterested tone which caused the other person's brow to raise in amusement.

Topher Tanner had been keeping an eye on this group for a while now and had only walked towards them after witnessing the violence taking place here.

He knew that Howard and Taylor did not care about their status and treated each other however they pleased.

Unfortunately, not everyone would understand that this was a display of the strong camaraderie between them.

Instead, they might treat this as insolence on the part of the Earl's son for having struck a Duke's son.

He did not want a scandal to arise here as his mother had spoken to him before the party could begin, revealing to him something that was of great importance.

Thus he had come over here before they could create more gossip for the nobles present here as there was already too much being said about the daughter of the St. Claire's family who was also here today.

However, his little brother with whom he had been spending a large portion of his time each day recently was not too pleased with his appearance, Topher did not care and instead, chose to focus his attention elsewhere.

"Miss Kiron, it appears that Miss Brodie is looking for you." He announced, making it seem as though he had come over here for this purpose.

Taylor's furrowed brows eased when he heard this as it meant that his brother would leave now that he had passed this message along.

The 'Miss Kiron' Topher had referred to was obviously the younger sister as she was the only one whom the daughter of Duke Brodie could be seeking.

Therefore, Rika shot an apologetic glance at her sister before excusing herself from this place.

The group now standing here watched her scurry away in haste as she looked for her friend who had finally arrived at this party.

'Ugh! I want to leave already!' Yvonne groaned inwardly at the news that one of the major characters of Asmodeus's script was in her vicinity.

Thus with renewed vigor, she was now determined to return to her safe abode at the earliest.