Chapter 944

Chapter 944: Hasty Departures

‘Does the Palace lack tea?’ Damien snorted upon hearing the excuse Yvonne St. Claire had used to explain the surprising appearance of a certain prince in her estate today.

However, the moment he had let out that snort, numerous gazes landed on him without wasting even a second.

Only then did he realize what he had done and cleared his throat to alleviate the silence that followed.

He also did not forget to greet the Prince, resulting in the other boys with him doing the same.

Once everyone had greeted Prince Fritzen whose presence here was not something they had anticipated, another round of awkward silence fell upon them.

Howard and Taylor were in no mood to exchange pleasantries with this new person whom they weren’t too acquainted with.

Whereas Topher and Damien were also determined to be silent spectators who had nothing to say right now.

.....

“Ah... I should take my leave now.” It was Prince Fritzen who spoke up, breaking the silence that had engulfed their surroundings.

Even an old man like Butler Limo could sense the awkwardness in the air so it was evident to the rest as well.

Therefore, the four boys who had arrived a few minutes ago only nodded their heads in acceptance of what the Prince had just stated.

They had no clue why he was here and now they would remain clueless about this abrupt departure as well.

However, this did not matter to the two elder brothers who were waiting to see him leave right away.

Prince Fritzen once again sensed their leering eyes landing on the hand he was holding but there was nothing he could do.

‘Can you let me go now?’ He requested the young girl beside him and saw her flashing that same evil smirk as before.

‘Coward~’ Yvonne sneered as she finally eased the pressure she had been using to keep the Prince’s hand in place.

He was the one who had taunted her but he had failed to stand tall against her brothers’ glares and was now planning to run away.

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Therefore, the little girl did not forget to mock him using the same word he had chosen before taking her hand away and placing it by her side.

Prince Fritzen felt the leers vanish the moment his hand had separated from hers so he decided to be the bigger person and not hold her responsible for mocking him without a care.

He did have plans of creating a better impression of himself in the eyes of his new friend’s elder brothers but that changed after what he had just experienced.

Right now, all he wished to do was head to the Palace and reformulate the plan he wished to utilize in order to continue visiting the St. Claire mansion.

‘I’ll come back another day.’ He did not forget to share this thought with the one he had been referring to as his friend until now.

Therefore, as soon as he had completed this step, Prince Fritzen bowed toward the little girl as a form of farewell before striding away.

The four boys who stood in the same place could only watch as the Prince hurried towards the carriage that had been stationed a short distance away from the entrance of the mansion.

They then watched as he got onto the carriage which soon began moving in the direction of the gates of the estate.

Prince Fritzen had appeared and disappeared right before their eyes but none of them could make sense of what was happening here.

To gain answers to the numerous questions that formed in their heads, Howard and Taylor hurriedly fixed their stern gazes on the little girl they had not met in a long time.

The same went for Damien whose narrowed green eyes were trying to figure out what she was up to.

However, Topher was the only one whose face had a radiant smile, indicating that he was enjoying everything that was taking place right now.

Therefore, it was obvious that the others chose to ignore him and focused their attention on the one who would be able to diminish their curiosity with these abrupt turns of events.

“Ah, did I not just say why the Prince was here?” Yvonne tilted her head and repeated her previous words when she noticed the looks of disbelief and confusion being aimed at her.

She wasn’t lying when she had revealed the purpose of the Prince’s visits yet their eyes contained reluctance as though they were unwilling to believe what she had just said.

However, there was nothing else she could do to alleviate their suspicions as she had been truthful right from the start.

Therefore, the little girl chose to initiate a different topic that might lighten up their moods.

“Did Big Brother just use his aura?” Yvonne questioned with a jubilant smile forming on her face as she scanned her elder brother’s physique.

Not only had Howard’s external appearance transformed as he had grown a couple of inches taller since the last time she had seen him but there was something different about him internally as well.

The little girl had made this discovery when she sensed his presence when he had first entered the estate in the carriage.

The last time she had sparred with him, Howard’s presence wasn’t as magnified as she had sensed today.

There was also a thick cloak of aura around him which gave her the explanation she was looking for.

The aura she was well-acquainted with in the past had intensified and grown to this extent in such little time.

Therefore there was only one explanation for this and her assumption was proven right when she sensed that same powerful aura once again.

This time it had moved toward her other brother, Taylor, for a brief moment before returning to its original owner.

Having caught this covert exchange that had taken place between them earlier, Yvonne was confident about the speculation she had made.

Thus she had questioned him about the same in an attempt to distract them from the matter concerning the Prince’s appearance in their mansion.

It seemed that her efforts weren’t in vain as Howard’s face lit up with happiness and pride when he heard her query.

“I sure did.” He nodded his head repeatedly, making the others with him roll their eyes.

Only Butler Limo and Yvonne were excited as the old man clapped his hands and congratulated the young master.

“I shall send word to the Master right away!” He announced before bowing his head and rushing into the mansion.

The awkward atmosphere had been stifling until now so he did not miss the chance to make his swift escape to avoid experiencing the same once again.

Watching him running away, Yvonne envied him as he was able to do what she could not.

There was no way that she could escape without answering their numerous questions so the little girl skillfully continued to keep them distracted.

“Where is he? Or her?” She glanced at her brother and then peeked behind him but found no one there.

Just as Howard was about to explain certain matters to her, Taylor shot a glare at him which caused the other boy to halt in his ways.

“Vonny, we have a lot to talk about.” Taylor smiled sweetly as he reminded the child that they had not yet finished their previous conversation.

With her attempts being ruined, Yvonne forced a smile as she nodded her head.

“T-then shall we head inside?” She inquired as standing outside the mansion and discussing these troublesome matters might get tiring.

Only when she had mentioned this did Taylor take a good look at her and frowned upon seeing the light clothes she was wearing.

Therefore, before answering her, he turned toward his elder brother and the friend who had accompanied them to the Capital today.

“Big Brother and Brother Damien must be tired after the long journey.” He reminded the older boys who had traveled in a cramped carriage due to the unfortunate incident that had taken place earlier.

Hearing his name being mentioned out of nowhere, Topher frowned as a sense of foreboding arose within him.

As though to prove that his instincts were never wrong, Taylor’s next words only caused his frown to deepen.

“You can head back home. I will return when I’m done spending time with Vonny.” The second son of the Tanner family did not mince his words as he expressed what was on his mind right away.

‘How dare they stand here staring at my little sister!’ He growled in his mind when he thought of so many unwanted men seeing her in her home clothes.

His sister was naive so it was his duty as her brother to be more vigilant and keep people with unnecessary thoughts at bay.

He had not noticed it sooner but if he had, then he would have forced the wicked Prince away as well.

Since he had failed to be attentive a while ago, Taylor was all the more adamant about sending his elder brother and Damien away from the St. Claire estate right now.

Thus he did not leave any room for rejection and maintained his stance as he gestured for the older boys to leave.

Topher, who wished to stick around and watch the next scenes unfold, glared back at his brother whose wings had hardened in the last few months.

However, before he could come up with an excuse to stay behind, his uncooperative best friend spoke up first.

“Yes, we should do that.” Damien accepted Taylor’s suggestion and even went as far as dragging his friend along with him into the carriage.

There was a lot on his mind so Damien simply ignored Topher’s flailing arms and pushed him into the carriage before getting in himself.

As the younger children watched in awe, the carriage soon disappeared from their sights as it headed out of the estate at a high speed.