"Who did you say was a coward?

"

Turning towards the booming voice, everyone's eyes fell on the group of people walking in their direction.

While looking at these new faces, there was a sense of familiarity for many people present here but they could not recall who exactly they were.

However, the same could not be said for a few others.

"Big Brother!

" Raylene gasped in surprise at the sight before her.

The man walking towards their direction smiled at Countess Raylene St. Claire before scoffing at the man who stood beside her.

His eyes then scanned their surroundings before landing on a pair of children who resembled his sister and the former frown turned into another radiant smile.

"Uncle!

"

"Uncle Marcus!

"

Howard and Yvonne left their group and went ahead to greet the group who had appeared a few seconds ago.

When the children reached their position, Viscount Marcus Valente, the man who just arrived, pulled his niece and nephew into a tight hug.

The children chuckled at this loving gesture before they turned to the others with them.

"Aunt Trisha and big brothers Roman and Knox!

" Howard and Yvonne exclaimed before greeting them as well.

Yvonne had not known that the Valente family would also be invited so it was undeniable that she was shocked to see them here.

'Just a few days ago, we spoke about CLOVER's progress.' She recalled but even then, her uncle had not mentioned a word about his plans to visit the Capital.

Seeing the children of the St. Claire family greeting the new family who had arrived, the rest present here were finally able to recognize who they were.

The Valentes were a Viscount family who prefered to stay in their fief and rarely ever came to the Capital.

Even for official purposes, they chose to skip the events and only appeared if it was absolutely unavoidable.

Therefore, it was no wonder that it took the others some time to recognize who they were, and only after hearing the children calling out to them did they remember their identities.

This time, the King's personal invitation urging the Valentes to make an appearance had led this reticent family to arrive here today.

They had completed greeting the King just earlier and when they were about to enter the garden, they heard the latter half of the exchange between Marquess Samed and Earl Blaise.

Viscount Valente had been waiting to see what else this wicked Earl would say in order to taint his niece's company but hearing him mock and taunt his niece was the last straw for him.

Thus, he finally made his presence known while striding towards them.

His beautiful niece and adorable nephew had come to greet him with such enthusiasm that his sullen mood had elevated for a mere moment before he recalled the matter at hand.

Therefore, Marcus glanced at his sons, asking the two teenagers to watch over their cousins before he stepped ahead.

Raylene and Rutherford had also been in the dark about their arrival to the Rosenhyde Royal Palace in the Capital and were equally shocked to see the Valente family here.

For a second, Raylene forgot about where they were as she headed forward to greet her maiden family.

"Father did not come along?

" She inquired once she was done.

Viscount Marcus Valente patted her head, ignoring the watchful eyes of those around them before he shook his head in response.

"The journey would be too cumbersome for him.

" He reminded her that their father's age wasn't suitable for making these long journeys to and from their fief.

Raylene nodded with furrowed brows as her brother was right.

Now that he had spoken to his baby sister, he turned to his brother-in-law and nodded at him who responded with another nod to acknowledge him.

Having completed the greetings needed, the Viscount did not focus on the rest here but on Earl Tobit Blaise.

'We finally meet…' He gritted his teeth as this man had given his family too many troubles for a long time now.

In the past, Marcus had turned a blind eye to everything Earl Blaise did as he was under the false assumption that Raylene had wronged the other man's sister.

He was too engrossed in his hatred towards Rutherford and hence did not lift a finger to protect his sister back then.

This was also because he thought that Tobit was causing trouble for the St. Claires because of what they had done to his little sister.

Though a proper conversation with his brother-in-law and sister had led to all of his misunderstandings being cleared up.

Now he knew that everything Earl Blaise had done was for the sake of his greed and not for his care and concern towards his sister.

They both were brothers who were supposed to be acting on behalf of their sisters, Marcus for Raylene and Tobit for his sister Sophia.

Yet Tobit had done everything he could, not for his sister, but for the sake of his ulterior motives using his sister as a mere excuse.

Even today, he was spewing nonsense just to obtain the upper hand over CLOVER.

Thus, standing before the Earl, Viscount Marcus Valente did not try to conceal his contempt towards the other man.

There was anger burning in his chest and the flames of that anger blazed in his magenta eyes.

"Greetings, Earl Blaise,

" He wished the man, despite the blatant animosity written over his face.

This time, even his wife Trisha did not try to stop him as she too was equally miffed with everything that she had heard after entering this garden.

Thus, the only person who could have controlled Marcus was standing in silence, expressing her support to whatever her husband was doing.

Earl Blaise was flustered to see this tall man looking down on him but that lasted only for a second.

The people around them were all whom he had mingled with and built good relations for years so he was no longer worried that the appearance of this man would change a thing.

He had already brought these people over to his side so no matter what this new man said, they would not believe him.

"Greetings.

" He muttered back with an aloof tone as though he could not be bothered to deal with him right now.

Marcus wasn't offended with the way he was greeted as there were more pressing matters to attend to now that he was here.

His back was facing his niece but he knew that she must have been upset to hear this man speaking falsity about CLOVER.

He also knew that she or even her father would be unable to speak up in CLOVER's defense so he chose to take up that role.

After all, in the sights of the rest of the Kingdom, there were many who suspected that VC was someone from the Valente family.

While this was not entirely true, neither was it entirely false.

Yvonne was his niece and was most definitely a part of his family.

Therefore, the responsibility of an uncle that he had been unable to fulfill all these years, he was willing to take a step towards fulfilling it from now on.

He decided that it was better late than never and with newfound conviction in his heart, he was aware of what needed to be done.

'Protecting my niece and what she loves is the duty of a caring uncle.' He declared as his gaze at the Earl darkened.

"I seemed to have caught the last half of your conversation with the Marquess.

" He stated while reminding the rest that a conversation had been in progress before he had interrupted it.

Duke Brodie had heard about the Valente family making an appearance here today and was nodding in approval as this man could turn the view of the others concerning CLOVER's innocence.

Those who stood around the group at the center of this conversation were all aware of what role Viscount Valente played in CLOVER's administration.

When CLOVER was first introduced to the market, a simple research had brought them information that the new business was situated in the Valente fief and was also using the business contacts of the Viscount.

Even the factory through which it operated was a property previously owned by the Viscount but now under the name of VC, CLOVER's secretive owner.

Thus, if there was someone who could give them more information about this business and how they worked, it was this man who was now standing among them.

Duke Tanner and Marquess Kiron were curious to see how the Viscount would defend CLOVER's innocence and hoped that they had not made the wrong choice in the past.

Viscount Valente was more than happy to reveal the truth so he turned towards the man who had been on his bad side for quite a while now.

"I was under the impression that the Earl would know better than anyone else here whether CLOVER's soaps are made using the same process as yours.

" Marcus tapped his lips as his head tilted to the side.

His words were vague but seeing the shift in Earl Blaise's calm and collected demeanor made the others wonder what he truly meant.

Marquess Sullivan Samed let out a chuckle when he saw the way the Viscount had put forth his statement.

'He looks just like my dear pupil!' He declared in his heart that the similarity in their actions was remarkable.

"Oh, don't mind me, and please continue, Viscount.

" He apologized when his momentary lapse of composure had attracted everyone's attention to him.

'Tsk!' Both Yvonne and Viscount Valente scoffed at him before getting back at the matter at hand.

"So where were we?

" Marcus questioned as his eyes landed on Earl Tobit Blaise.