Chapter 580 - Chance To Win Howard Over

"Uncle."

The word explaining the relationship between them was followed by a long pause as everyone who heard the word was trying to assimilate it in silence.

'Do uncles and nephews resemble each other this much?' Yvonne wondered with obvious disbelief written all over her face.

Sevenz gritted his teeth while glaring at his ever silent nephew who wasn't even willing to utter a few extra words to help him out of this embarrassing situation.

'He is just like his father.' He scoffed at the father-son pair who had many traits in common.

Thinking of his brother, he was reminded of certain things which caused his mood to sour.

However, in the next moment, even before Yvonne could catch this shift in his mood, he had reverted to his previous sulking appearance.

Turning towards his best friend who was also displaying expressions of doubt, he decided to once again try and defend his staggering image in their eyes.

"Brat, tell them how old you are!" He instructed his nephew with the determination to clear his name.

His best friend's family already had doubts about him being a pervert and this new false information would make his impression worsen which he most certainly was unwilling to witness.

Therefore, he was ready to prove his innocence to Yvonne and those who had accompanied her today.

The young boy who called Sevenz his uncle was once again the center of attention which he appeared to be uncomfortable with.

However, he did not disobey his uncle and muttered his age.

"Ten… Soon." His words brought repeated nods from Sevenz who was pleased with his answer.

'So he is two years older than me.' Yvonne noted as she would soon turn eight in the next few months.

"He will turn ten and I will turn twenty-three." Sevenz stated with absolute confidence.

Based on the information he had divulged, he was trying to explain that he would have to be around twelve when this boy was conceived, which was not something possible.

'Well, teen pregnancy is a real thing.' Yvonne knew of this matter from her previous world but did not utter a word.

In her old world, children were starting to experiment from an early age due to their exposure to the internet and everything available with it.

This caused a high number of teenage pregnancies being reported which proved that even boys as young as twelve and above could get a girl pregnant.

However, things were different in this world.

Chastity, especially among nobles, played a significant role in their relationships.

Marriages could be absolved if it was proven that the girl was not a virgin but the same could not be said for men.

'Hypocrites!' She sneered as the men weren't bound by the same harsh rules.

They could act as they pleased without facing any of the severe repercussions that women faced.

Since the noblewomen would not risk their future by indulging in intimate acts with anyone before marriage lest they bring themselves troubles upon getting married, the noblemen needed to get creative while finding partners to warm their beds.

Thus, these men often took maids or even commoner women as their companions in bed before their marriages to some other noblewoman their families chose later on.

Some families in this Kingdom were strict in their upbringing and looked down upon such acts while the rest allowed their male members to do as they pleased.

These rules only ensured that the noblewomen were kept pure until tainted by their husbands but the men did not need to abide by these rules of abstinence.

After the boys turned eighteen, they could get engaged then marry a pure maiden from a noble family and settle down.

'Some continue meeting their previous lovers in secret.' She knew of the dark secrets which were not uncommon in their society.

Yet she could not hold Sevenz by the same standards as he was not from their Kingdom.

She did not know where he was from and how they dealt with such matters in his homeland.

Thus, she did not judge him and decided to trust him if he said that this boy was not his son but his nephew.

"Does Sevenz's nephew have a name or shall I call him 'Brat' as well?" She raised her brow while alternating her gaze between the two standing before her.

Sevenz let out a loud sigh when he noticed that she was believing his claims and nodded, ready to introduce this young boy.

However, before he could even utter a single word, the young boy standing next to him frowned as though he was unwilling.

"Sept." He uttered and this time it was a single-syllable word.

Sevenz turned in his direction after hearing that name but did not speak up about whatever had come to his mind.

Sadly, the others were staring at the boy named Sept and had failed to notice this change in the young uncle's behavior.

'Doesn't he treasure his words too much?' Yvonne was the one to frown now after noticing how Sept did not speak in complete sentences.

However, she did not wish to appear rude so she curtsied properly before introducing herself, and the other two with her followed soon after.

Now that introductions were done, Yvonne glanced around only to find that the backyard was filled with all kinds of equipment used for training.

Swords, spears, bows and arrows, and even daggers were placed on tables at a short distance away from where they stood.

Until now, Yvonne's attention was on Sevenz and mini Sevenz whom she now knew was his nephew named Sept.

Therefore, this was the first time she was noticing the excellent and rare equipment present here.

Howard and Jax had already scanned this place and realized that everything here were weapons that were hard to find and highly sought after.

Noticing her gaze filled with admiration, Sevenz raised his chin with pride as his hard work in collecting these items had paid off.

"Sept here has come to visit me for a while and is training with me while he stays here." He announced the reason why his backyard had been transformed into a training ground for the next few months.

Yvonne nodded her head but Howard was excited enough to forget about his former animosity towards Sevenz as he walked towards the tables.

Shaking her head, she watched as her brother glanced around with fascination.

"I heard that Young Master Howard is good at swordsmanship." Sevenz mentioned and chuckled when the young boy gave a hesitant nod.

The owner of Ocular was already aware of the father and son who did not like his presence close to the little girl no matter how many times he tried to assure them that he wasn't some pervert.

Thankfully, today the father had not accompanied them which gave him a chance to bring the young boy over to his side.

Yvonne raised her brow when she saw the sneaky smirk that had flashed across his face before it vanished.

'What is he up to today?' She wondered and watched their awkward interaction in silence.

Taking this chance to win Howard over, Sevenz then patted his nephew's shoulder before nudging him forward.

"You see, my nephew was practicing before you arrived so how about you spar with this kid for a while?" He inquired while leering at his nephew whose face was reluctant to follow his words.

Yvonne still did not know whether Sevenz knew of her skills but she had an inkling that maybe he was already aware of it.

'He helped in procuring that Obsidian blade after all.' She recalled the birthday present she had received from Howard the year before last.

However, she did not reveal anything about her daily routine of practicing sword fighting earlier and she continued to remain mum even now.

Howard, on the other hand, was eager to accept this proposal as he had not been able to spar with his sister the last few days due to their journey from St. Claire to Amarthea.

Today was the first morning after returning to the Capital but Yvonne ruthlessly refused to practice with him as she would start her classes with Captain Desmo from tomorrow anyway.

Therefore, she decided to spend the entire day having fun and not worrying about anything else.

So, when Sevenz suggested that he sparred with Sept, he was more than willing to participate.

Sept was placed in a tough position when Howard was already deciding which sword he would use for their match.

Sighing in defeat, the young boy with the same black hair as Sevenz finally gave in as he too picked up his sword and was ready to face his opponent once he was done.

Yvonne was excited to see how her brother would perform after the practice sessions they had been undergoing in their fief for the last many months.

Sadly, she would not get a chance to witness the friendly match between the young boys who were now ready to begin.

This was due to the fact that the young man standing with her had diverted her attention from them.

"Psst… Psst..." Sevenz called out to her, making her look away from the boys who had bowed to each other, a gesture to initiate the match.

With Yvonne's eyes now on Sevenz, she watched as he put a finger on his lips, asking her not to speak then gestured for her to follow him.

Just as Howard and Sept's wooden swords clashed against each other which indicated that the match had begun, Yvonne and Sevenz disappeared from the backyard.