Chapter 492 - Pair Of Siblings

In the evening, Yvonne finally got to spend her free time outside her bedroom after her punishment period had ended.

She had come to greet her etcher who was with her Butler Jax as they had bonded over the past few months.

While the young boy was terribly frightened of the horse at first, Butler Limo taught him how to care for the etcher, and ever since then, they became close.

A part of the reason why Demon stopped being hostile to the Butler was their Master who had asked him to get acquainted with each other.

Therefore, right now, they were together as they walked through the back garden while enjoying the soft breeze that drifted by.

The three present heard hurried sounds of footsteps coming in their direction and before they could turn around, they heard a loud voice.

"Vonny, let's spar!" Howard came rushing towards her while holding two wooden swords in his hands.

The little girl chuckled while accepting the sword once he had come to a halt before her.

Since they both were punished for what had happened, they had not battled each other for three months now.

Howard trained in his Academy and Yvonne with Captain Desmo but they did not know how much they had advanced during this period.

Therefore, the very next day after Yvonne was free from her punishment, he sought her out to compare their progress.

For the past two days, Howard was at home due to the Royal Academy's three-day break which would end tomorrow evening.

Thankfully, this break coincided with the last day of his sister's punishment so he chose to demand a duel while he was still here.

"I won't go easy on you!" He declared while narrowing his eyes.

Yvonne's short hair fluttered in the wind and the fitted clothes she wore, courtesy of her mother's careful preparation for her training sessions with the Captain, had allowed her to start the duel without any hesitation.

"I shall say the same, Brother." She smirked and leaped towards him the moment the match began.

While the siblings clashed against each other, Demon and Jax stood at a distance and watched from the sidelines.

'She's becoming better each day.' The young boy with murky green hair mused as he had been watching her practice with Captain Desmo every morning.

The master and butler had their training hours at the same time so while she observed his classes with the secret guards of their family, he watched her train with the Captain.

Thus, he could make out that she was getting better as she grew older.

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While the St. Claire siblings were concentrating on trying to take down the other in their duel, another pair of siblings were also doing something together.

"Brother, are you alright?" A young boy with bright blond hair and emerald eyes that held concern spoke up to break the silence.

The person seated on the other side of the couch looked up and smiled at the young boy who was showing such a worried expression for his sake.

"Yes, Draco. Big Brother is fine." He answered with a smile to alleviate his worries.

The two siblings conversing were Prince Draco and King Ophire as they sat in the parlor, looking over the files concerning their duties to this Kingdom.

The siblings often sat together and completed their work in silence but today, Draco felt that his brother was distracted and hence was not able to concentrate on his work.

The proof of this speculation was the large pile of documents before the King which had not moved for quite some time now.

Whereas, his pile of documents had decreased and was kept aside once he was done with them.

Thus, the young prince had inquired if there was something that was on the King's mind which was holding him back from fulfilling his duties to the best of his abilities.

Feeling the young boy's doubtful and inquisitive eyes on him, the King sighed as nothing could be hidden from his brother for too long.

Therefore, King Ophire decided to share his thoughts with his younger brother.

"Have you heard of the name CLOVER?" He inquired as that company was at the center of his thoughts.

The King then turned to summon a servant, ordering him to fetch them tea as this conversation would be a long one.

Since the King's attention was elsewhere, he had not noticed his brother freezing for a second before he returned to his usual demeanor.

When the King turned around, he found Draco waiting patiently to hear more about it.

Being the good big brother that he was, King Ophire explained in detail how he had received a letter from a certain business owner named VC and his business's name was CLOVER.

This company operated in the Valente fief and he was sure that Viscount Valente was the backer and funder of this company.

However, none of these mattered to him as long as CLOVER fulfilled the promise that it had made in the letter addressed to him.

"I made sure to not let this news reach Earl Blaise immediately." He confessed that he had aided the company since they were doing a good deed and he disliked the Earl's way of amassing wealth.

Draco raised his brow at his brother who had done something unethical for this group named CLOVER.

Yet when he thought of CLOVER's direct competition, that was Earl Blaise, he felt that what his brother had done could not be compared to the unethical deeds of the Earl.

So he nodded his head and asked him to continue as he did not see why the King had been so lost in his thoughts over this matter.

"Did you know that CLOVER managed to sign Ocular as their official distributor?" King Ophire revealed the part which had him baffled.

He knew that Ocular was a prestigious group of caravan traders who traveled from a neighboring kingdom to theirs and started their business here as well.

They paid their taxes on time, were peacefully coexisting with the others in this Kingdom, and never did anything to earn his ire.

This was one of the reasons why he allowed Ocular to set up a base in his Kingdom even when they were foreigners to this land.

Another reason was the young boy seated before him.

"Have you heard from your friend recently?" King Ophire questioned his brother.

Draco knew that the friend that he was referring to was none other than Sevenz Oca, the Master of Ocular and also his close friend for quite a few years now.

However, the young boy shook his head as he had not spoken to Sevenz for months now.

"He has been busy," Draco answered in a calm tone and glanced at the door where the servant was standing with the tea set for them.

The siblings waited for the tea to be poured and once the cups were placed before them, the servant bowed and left.

Silence took over the room as they sipped the soothing warm tea and each had their own thoughts.

'Looks like Draco too doesn't know.' King Ophire sulked as he wanted to find out how this VC had coaxed Sevenz into signing the contract.

On the other hand, Draco bowed his head and focused on the tea without letting his thoughts appear on his face.

'How should I tell Brother that I think I know who VC is?' He pondered on what to do while sipping his tea.

Around three months ago, Draco had decided to visit his friend regarding a certain matter.

However, when he had reached Sevenz's mansion hidden away among the trees close to the Commercial District, he found something unusual and utterly surprising.

Instead of making his presence known before the entrance of the Mansion, Draco had hidden behind a tree to observe what was going on.

Thus, on that day, he witnessed Earl St. Claire with his children and the second son of the Tanner family leaving Sevenz's mansion, and the one who bid them goodbye was his friend's trusted butler.

This revealed that the people leaving this place were invited by Sevenz and thus had enjoyed the butler's hospitality.

However, Draco could no longer stay here lest his presence was detected and hence left that place and returned to the Palace.

'I did not get to meet Sevenz after that because he left for the South soon after.' He summarized that his plan for that day had been thwarted thanks to the presence of the others.