"You win…"

One of the two boys accepted his defeat while huffing to catch his breath.

Thick midnight blue hair fell over his forehead as he was hunched over at this moment while the one with black hair was still standing upright.

When Howard's breathing returned to normal, he was able to stand straight and looked his opponent in the eye.

'He's stronger than he appears.' He surmised as he had underestimated his opponent at the beginning which had been to his disadvantage, leading him to fall behind.

The match between the two had prolonged and it certainly took a lot of his time and energy to fight this new boy,

Howard had not expected him to be stronger and thus had been taken by surprise once the match began.

The techniques his opponent had used were also not something he had seen ever before, giving him a hard time to defend against those attacks which had led to his defeat.

Howard was still panting but the younger boy appeared to be unaffected by what they had just participated in as he waited for him to recover.

It took a short while but the heir of the St. Claire's family regained his composure after which he stood up straight.

"Good match." Sept's lips parted as he uttered two words which were already one too many for him.

His pale pink eyes were sharp as they focused on his opponent's dark blue eyes.

Howard chuckled at the first words he had spoken after a long time and nodded, agreeing with him.

To him, this was a great match as he had learned a lot just by facing this new boy which only made him excited to see what else he could learn from him in the future.

He had heard that Sevenz was from a foreign kingdom so he wondered whether he could learn sword fighting techniques from this new place while sparring with Sept.

Thinking of this, he was reminded of his usual sparring partner and turned in her direction.

"Did you see that Vonn-" The elder brother's question came to an abrupt end when he saw that the Old butler was the only one watching their match as the others were nowhere in sight.

It did not take more than a second for him to realize what must have taken place.

He was engrossed in his match with Sept and sneaky Sevenz had snatched his sister away the moment he found an opportunity.

"That wily man!" He gritted his teeth and turned to the old man who was still standing there.

The Old butler coughed as he had expected this outcome based on the previous visit of the St. Claire family members.

However, Sept was surprised to see the shift in Howard's emotions as he wondered what was wrong.

A moment ago, he was smiling in exhilaration after their match but that had vanished now as he could only see annoyance and anger.

"Shall I escort you, Master Howard?" The Old Butler's proposal was instantly accepted with an eager nod.

Seeing that Howard was about to leave, Sept decided that he too would follow as anyway he needed to speak with his uncle.

Therefore, with the Butler ahead of them, the two boys walked briskly as one of them appeared to be in a hurry to reach their destination.

Along the way, Howard was gritting his teeth that he had fallen for Sevenz's trick and gotten distracted but at the same time, he was glad that Jax was with his baby sister right now.

They had just turned around the corridor, almost near their destination when their feet slowed down.

"Don't pity him! That will only make him feel worse!" The stern voice of a little girl echoing into the corridor was the cause of this delay.

Howard was confused as he could not make out what could be the context of their conversation but the old man and the young boy had already deciphered it.

The Old Butler turned his worried gaze in the direction of his Master's relative and grimaced when he saw his jaw clench as a layer of ice covered his pale pink eyes.

'Pity?' Sept sneered as that was not something he was capable of receiving.

Hearing the words of the little girl he had met only today, he could speculate that they were conversing about his current circumstances.

However, he could never associate himself with the word 'pity' as that was not something he was privy to.

There were people who were even celebrating the death of his mother so where was he supposed to find someone who would pity him.

Thinking of his mother, Sept clenched his fists and shut his eyes for a second before opening them up.

As though his emotions had calmed down, he exhaled slowly while shaking away all other thoughts from his mind.

Even his uncle was not someone who would waste such an emotion on him so he did not mull over it any longer.

The two boys and the butler were now standing outside the door but it seemed like a bad time to announce their arrival.

However, Sevenz had felt their auras and deduced that they were right outside the door.

"Enter." He permitted from inside and the Old Butler pushed the door open without waiting to see if the boys were prepared.

Howard glared at the old man but Sept had no expression on his face as he walked inside, as though he had heard nothing at all.

The little girl cringed when she realized that they must have heard her as people who could use their auras had heightened senses.

She knew Howard's capabilities and taking a single glance at Sept, she knew that he too was just as capable.

Therefore, her assumption about them unexpectedly eavesdropping on her conversation with Sevenz was right.

"Uncle, you talk too much." Sept uttered an entire sentence for the very first time but it was laced with dissatisfaction towards the man who had spoken more than what was needed.

His eyes then landed on the little girl who had appeared today but his gaze did not linger as he was quick to turn away.

'He must be mad at me.' Yvonne sighed as she had earned his ire by accidentally speaking of something which he was still sensitive about.

Sevenz, on the other hand, was least bothered about his words as he waved his complaints away.

Being the only one who wasn't able to understand what was taking place, Howard decided to focus his glare at the man before him.

"Have some tea, Master Howard." Sevenz chuckled when he felt this angry glare.

As annoyed as the elder brother was, he could not be rude as he had promised both his mother and sister.

Therefore, he nodded and accepted the tea from the maid who had returned after them with fresh tea for everyone.

Since Sept had arrived, it would be awkward to continue their conversation and hence, Yvonne decided to change the direction of their conversation.

The main purpose of her visit today was to discuss the new ideas that she had come up with for CLOVER and how Ocular would lend its aid to it.

Everyone here knew of her identity as VC, owner of CLOVER except for Sept but she did not mind him listening in on their conversation.

"You are related to the Oca family so it doesn't matter if you know about it." She chuckled and wasn't wary of Sept's presence here.

After all, they were members of the same family and Sept would return to his homeland soon enough without causing her any problems.

However, her chuckle came to a halt when she saw both Sevenz and his nephew shake their heads in denial of her words.

"Not Oca." Sept uttered which sounded like a grumble and Sevenz gave a nod in acceptance.

This brought confusion to their eyes and the old Butler was happy to explain.

"Miss Yvonne, Master, and Young Master Sept are from the same bloodline but do not share the same family name." He clarified with a patient smile.

Sevenz and Sept's father were brothers but not from the same mother.

Polygamy was a common practice in their homeland and almost every head of the family had numerous wives.

Thus, Sevenz and his brother were children of the same father but had different mothers.

Later when the elder brother became the head of the family, Sevenz took on his maternal family's name of Oca and left his homeland to travel through kingdoms to expand the Oca family's business, Ocular Caravans.

Hearing this short yet precise explanation from the butler, Yvonne, and the others nodded as they had understood why the uncle and nephew had shaken their heads earlier.

"Not Oca but you won't spill my secrets outside, will you?" Yvonne interrogated the young boy seated among them.

Sept was already a taciturn and silent boy so she did not mind even if he knew of her secret identity as somehow she felt that he would not let it out before others.

'He barely speaks a sentence.' She recalled the few words he had spoken from the time she had arrived here.

However, her words were being misunderstood by someone else.

Noticing her trust in him, someone she had just met, Sept could not help but furrow his brows.

Though, what he was assuming to be blind trust and stupidity on her part was something else entirely in her mind.

'He will leave the Kingdom soon so it doesn't matter to me anyway.' She shrugged as he wasn't too much of a threat in her eyes.

Thus, Sept's lowly observations of her did not hold weight in the least bit.