Chapter 422 - They Met And Fell In Love

The moment those words left Howard's mouth, he felt an urgent need to seal his lips.

The words that he had just blurted out without much thought, weren't they alike to scheming against himself?

'If that fool starts working with Vonny then won't he have a reason to hover around her all day?' The worried elder brother widened his eyes when such a troubling thought entered his mind.

Thus he began preparing a list of cons of having Taylor become the Stand-in for Yvonne's business, Clover.

However, his hard work was not needed since his sister had other thoughts in her mind.

'Though Taylor's presence would secure Clover's future and his title as the Duke's son will ensure patronage from the nobles… I cannot bring myself to do so.' The little girl was mulling over the issue in silence.

She knew about the other boy's dreams after spending enough time with him over the last few months.

While Howard's dream was to become a Knight, it was Taylor's dream to live a happy and lazy life.

He knew that his elder brother, Topher, would be in charge of the Dukedom in the future so he chose to live his best life, enjoying it to the fullest.

So how could the little girl whose dream was to become a businesswoman and live a peaceful life, wreck someone else's dream for her sake?

Though she knew that if she pleaded with the young boy and sulked for him to take over the position of the Stand-in, Taylor would never refuse her request.

However, Yvonne did not wish to exploit his kindness towards her in this manner and had thus, already decided what her answer was.

While Howard was still figuring out how to dissuade Yvonne about Taylor being the Stand-in, he heard the little girl finally voicing out her opinion regarding his suggestion.

"Brother Taylor would be an excellent addition to Clover." Yvonne began, which made Howard's shoulders slump in defeat before he could even start stating some facts about the disadvantages of Taylor's involvement.

'If that's what she wants…' He chose to remain silent for his sister's wishes.

If she desired to work with Taylor then he could only watch them get along from the sidelines.

Yvonne had no clue that her initial statement had brought immense grief to her elder brother but the boy had chosen to be mature about it for her sake.

The little girl looked at her elder brother with an apologetic smile as she spoke once again.

"However, Brother Taylor is not appropriate for the role of my Stand-in." She gave them her verdict about the suggestion he had put forth.

It took a moment for her words to sink into the father and son's minds and once they understood what her words meant, jubilation was evident on their faces.

'Why are you so happy about this?' She narrowed her eyes at the pair who were celebrating Taylor's rejection for the position.

While they were still rejoicing in the fact that Taylor would not get a chance to stick closer to her by using Clover as an excuse, their joy faded after hearing what she had to say next.

"However, I do have an important role for him to play in Clover's success in the future." She revealed her big plans for her business.

In fact, not just Taylor, but also Topher, Howard, Silvia and Robin Zavanth, and even Damien would have a role to play in this matter.

'They shall be my ambassadors or spokespersons for various businesses that I would establish under the Conglomerate, Clover!' She grinned, curling her lips which revealed just how excited she was to see this happening in the future.

According to her plans, once she set up her business, she would use their influence in the society to lead the noblemen and their families to visit her stores and to turn them into loyal customers of her brand.

She had many plans which she was sure to accomplish soon and these people, her acquaintances, would have a major role to play in all of her plans.

Rutherford's earlier joy turned into wariness when she mentioned that Taylor was still on her mind but for another purpose.

Unfortunately for him, the little girl did not reveal what it might be even when he kept shooting her curious glances.

Therefore, he could only move onto the next topic at hand.

"If not him then who?" He interrogated, wondering if she had someone else on her mind.

Yvonne shook her head to dismiss his speculations as she had not found the perfect Stand-in yet.

However, she could not let this golden opportunity which was already well within her reach slip away due to her failure to find anyone worthy of filling in that spot.

Before she could convince her father to do things her way, the man sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Before you start planning anything, we need to find a way to contact your uncle and see if he is willing to help us out." He reminded them that their uncle wasn't too fond of their family.

The current Viscount Valente, Raylene's older brother, broke ties with her the day she chose to marry Rutherford St. Claire against his wishes.

This had caused their relationship to get estranged.

Ever since the woman formerly known as Raylene Valente got married and moved to Amarthea to become Countess Raylene St. Claire, the siblings had not been in contact.

'Though the old man sometimes contacted Ray, her brother never once reached out to her.' He sighed as he had become the reason for the rift between the siblings.

The old man he had mentioned was Raylene and Marcus' father, Augustus Valente as he was the only person from the Valente household who continued to keep in touch with his daughter though the letters they exchanged were sparse and rare.

Though he knew that his actions had caused the siblings to drift apart, he could not let go of his love for her and she had felt the same.

When he had first met Raylene, he had come to the Valente fief on business purposes with his father, the then Earl St. Claire.

The two youngsters met and fell in love in no time so when it was time for him to return to his fief, he spoke to his father about his desire to marry Raylene Valente.

His father, however, had different thoughts in mind and had already chosen a wife for him from an appropriate family.

Therefore, he refused to accept the daughter of a Viscount as his daughter-in-law.

This did not sit well with Rutherford and once again the pair of father and son who had just started to regain their proper relationship began to worsen.

The father felt remorse for having killed Rutherford's dream of becoming a knight hence, upon his stubborn insistence, he acquiesced to have Raylene Valente enter his family and marry his son.

Overjoyed, when Rutherford returned to the Valente fief with good news about his father's acceptance, he found his next obstacle, Marcus Valente, her older brother.

Their father, then Viscount Valente was also against this proposal but realizing that his daughter's heart laid with the young St. Claire lad, he decided to follow what his darling daughter wished to do.

However, he threatened Rutherford that if ever, he was to make his daughter cry or hurt her, then he would hunt him down and skin him even if that was the last thing he ever did.

With this warning, the couple received the two elders' blessings for their loving union.

Thus, Marcus did not have a say when the two got married but their relationship strained ever since.

Raylene was disheartened when her brother refused to even look her in the eye when she left their fief after her marriage.

'And ever since then, she has never returned.' Rutherford clenched his fists as he knew that he was the culprit for the strain in the siblings' relationship.

Over the past few years, he had tried to get them together with the help of Raylene's father who wished his children went back to the way they were before this incident, loving and caring for each other.

Though his Ray had given up hope, he had not and continued to try and reach out to his brother-in-law through letters.

Yet, until this day, Marcus Valente never once replied to the letters he had sent.

It was the old man, their father, previous Viscount, who would reply with a negative answer as always.

Therefore, it was not an exaggeration when Rutherford said that he was unsure of whether the now Viscount Valente would be willing to help them out.