Chapter 876: The Delayed Present
When the maid returned with an elongated box in her hands, Howard had already recounted a major portion of what had taken place this morning.
He revealed how he had stopped his little sister who was on her way back to her room after her class with Marquess Samed and brought her out to the Commercial District with him.
They had not taken any other servant with them and even Jax was forbidden from accompanying them since he wished to spend some quality time with his sister.
The two had made their way to the place he had in mind and Raylene widened her eyes when she heard that it was none other than the store named ‘Smith’s Smithings’.
This store was quite famous for its equipment and her husband also bought numerous items for their children from that place.
Therefore, she knew just what was sold there but could not grasp why Howard had brought his sister there.
After all, her learning how to wield the sword and other weapons was still a secret from many.
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Not to mention that other young girls from noble families did not prefer visiting such a place.
However, Howard was quick to explain certain events of the past which had taken place before he had left for the Academy.
He revealed the plan he had made for Yvonne’s birthday and the gift he had asked to be made for her.
Sadly, the preparation of this gift had been delayed as the owner of the store had a tough time gathering all of the materials required to complete the item.
Thus he had been unable to present what he had planned to Yvonne when she returned from the Valente fief where she had celebrated her birthday this year.
He soon had to leave for the Academy and thus this matter had been delayed until now.
Previously, when he had gone out with Sept and Taylor, he had visited the store and was glad that the owner had good news for him.
After giving the owner a few instructions on what needed to be done the next time he arrived at the store, Howard had returned home.
He had decided to bring Yvonne out to the store where she could pick the sword for herself.
He had also asked the owner to bring out a simple sword which had nothing extraordinary about it along with the one he had gotten made for her.
In this way, she would surely notice the exquisite one that had been specifically made while keeping her physique in mind and choose it without hesitation.
However, that old man had played a trick on him and had acted opposite to what they had decided on earlier.
Mr. Smith, the owner, had instead brought out five other excellent swords which were of great quality and could easily compare with the one made for Yvonne.
Therefore, the little girl was busy assessing the six swords that were brought forward for her to choose from.
This had made Howard glare at the old man who simply ignored it and was much rather interested in watching Yvonne as she began judging the swords from all angles.
Hearing his narration came as a surprise not only to those who weren’t present in the store at that time but also to Yvonne who had been busy picking the sword she liked back then.
To her, Howard had only mentioned that it was high time that she used the same sword and thus had brought her to this place.
Though he had stated that it was her birthday present which he had not given earlier, she had no clue that he had carefully prepared this for her.
She had assumed that he was asking her to pick any one as her present and he would pay for them.
Therefore, she had not thought too much into it and gotten right to work.
Now thinking of what he had just revealed, the little girl stared at the box that the maid had placed on the table with a worried look in her eyes.
‘Did I choose a different sword?’ She frowned at the thought of hurting her brother’s feelings through her actions though she had no idea about what he had been up to.
The owner had acted out of Howard’s expectations by placing those extraordinary swords before her.
Ignorant of what the two of them were up to, Yvonne had taken her own sweet time and put in a lot of thought while choosing the one which she felt suited her the best.
Back in that moment, she wasn’t aware of Howard’s nervousness but now looking at the box which contained the sword she had chosen, the little girl was apprehensive to open it.
What if she had chosen another sword?
Wouldn’t that ruin the trouble her brother had gone through to prepare this present for her?
This thought made her purse her lips and she also grumbled at the store owner who had deviated from the plan which had caused this entire mess.
While she was lost in these troubling thoughts, Howard who sat next to her was quick to notice the shift in her demeanor.
She had been excited to unveil her new sword before the family earlier but now she was staring at the box with a begrudging look on her face.
Though he had been away for the last six months, he was still someone who knew her quite well and thus had deciphered what could be going on in that little head of hers.
Therefore, imitating his father’s earlier actions, he gently patted her head which attracted her attention.
Yvonne’s train of thought came to a halt when she felt someone touching her head, causing her to turn in their direction.
“Vonny was excellent today.” Howard chirped with a wide smile forming on his face in the next second.
The little girl was confused when she heard this sudden compliment as her mind had been fixed on those worrisome thoughts earlier.
“You picked the one I had asked to be made for you.” He revealed the reason for that praise he had just given her.
This statement caused her eyes to widen and all of those troubling thoughts faded away soon enough.
Worried that she would doubt his words, he was quick to explain that despite those numerous excellent swords placed before her, she had picked his choice in the very end.
When Yvonne noticed the sincere look in his eyes which did not possess any hesitation or deceit, she laid aside all of her worries.
Since he had said so then she would believe him.
Hearing this, even Rutherford was impressed with his son who had gotten something made for Yvonne that turned out to be just to her liking.
This proved that the elder brother was knowledgeable of what his sister preferred which also revealed how close the siblings had gotten over the course of these past few years.
This pleasant realization brought a proud smile to his face and looking over at his wife, he found her with a similar expression as well, as she alternated her gaze between the two children.
Raylene was equally proud as she was sure that Yvonne wouldn’t have picked that sword if it had not caught her eye.
Therefore, hearing that the child had chosen Howard’s present which was placed among many others only revealed that the boy had given a lot of thought to preparing this gift for her.
Yvonne had also come to the same conclusion and thus she gave her brother the widest and sweetest smile that she could bring out.
This sight warmed the brother’s heart and before he even knew it, his hands had stretched forward and he squished those chubby cheeks which were right before him.
Everything happened so quickly that no one had the time to react.
Both Howard and Yvonne froze in the next second at what had just taken place.
She had never experienced such an incident while he scowled at himself for being so childish.
Thus the siblings both had red cheeks as Howard retracted his hands and let out a little cough before he looked away.
“Vonny, why don’t you show us your present?” Raylene, who was the first to come back to her senses, intervened to help her children out of that awkward situation that they had all just witnessed.
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