Marquess Samed had been speaking with Marquess Kiron when he caught the sight of the Brodie and Carter family entering the garden.

He had never been too close with either of the families and the only times he had spoken to the Duke was in relation to the education of the Princess and her playmates as his daughter was one among them.

Thus he wasn't in a hurry to step forward and greet the ones who had arrived a little late to this party.

If they come across each other then he would greet them but if not, he did not mind if they did not meet as well.

After all, he was Duchess Tanner's younger brother and the Carter family did not think too highly of him, not that he minded what they thought about him anyway.

Thus, he stood with the other Marquess from the Kiron family and continued their conversation from before.

However, being a man who liked to keep an eye on what others were up to, his gaze flitted in every direction at constant intervals.

Thanks to his energetic eyes, he had also caught sight of his elder nephew who had been speaking to the sons of Viscount Valente.

The red-haired young man had excused himself and gone to greet the two new families who had arrived at that moment.

Soon after, he had escorted the son of the Carter family to the place where the other boys were, introducing him to them.

However, something interesting had taken place which had garnered his attention.

Marquess Samed watched with excitement as Klay Carter hurried in the direction where the Yona family's daughter was.

How could he be ignorant of the interesting situation between three youngsters who were present at this party?

Thus he excused himself from Marquess Kiron and walked towards his son.

Jacob Kiron looked up to Marquess Samed which made it easy for them to converse.

In fact, they were discussing the home assignments that the Royal Tutor had given to the Princess and her playmates.

His younger sister had come to ask for his help and now, he was discussing the same matter with the man who had created those test papers.

However, Marquess Samed's entire attention wasn't on this topic as his eyes kept fluttering from one place to the other.

Jacob was facing the Marquess and thus had failed to witness what was taking place behind him.

Due to their respective standing positions, Marquess Samed had the perfect view of the eager face of Cecily Yona who was yearning to find any chance to converse with Jacob.

There was also Klay Carter who was trying to build up his confidence before he could approach the young lady he had taken a liking to.

The Marquess was enjoying these two struggling in their own ways while Jacob stood oblivious to what was happening behind him as he continued to have a pleasant conversation with one of his idols.

He was so engrossed with what he was doing that he had failed to notice the amethyst eyes which were looking in his direction.

Yvonne shook her head before looking away, no longer interested to know more about this matter for her tutor could fill her in later on.

'Well, I hope he doesn't forget his promise to me.' She sneered, taking one last look at his enthusiastic visage.

"So that is what Miss Aleena meant.

" She nodded in understanding and even chuckled sheepishly for having misinterpreted her words from before.

She did not forget to shoot an apologetic smile at her cousins after what she had said earlier.

Roman and Knox smiled at her, asking her not to worry too much about it.

Meanwhile, Topher glanced at the child who was wearing comfortable clothes in comparison to the elaborate and heavy gowns that the rest of the young girls here had opted for.

Even Miss Kiron who stood next to her was donning a peach and white multi-layered gown, puffy and pretty to look at.

However, only Aleena knew how uncomfortable she was in that dress but could only suppress her annoyance because letting her irritated expressions appear would make her even more unapproachable.

Ignorant to this truth, Topher was wondering why that child had chosen such a simple attire for this special day.

'Mother has plans for her and she wore this.' He sighed at the thought of how her outfit might affect what was to come.

Yvonne was now glancing around the garden to see who else had made an appearance today.

In the distance, she found Rika speaking to Glennise Brodie and a few other girls whom she had not seen before.

'The daughters of the Carter family.' She guessed as the two families had arrived together, implying that the daughters must have a close relationship as well.

Continuing to scan the area, she found numerous familiar faces she had seen in the Palace recently and also from the occasional parties she had attended in the past.

"Your elder brothers aren't here?

" She turned to Aleena with this query.

She had seen Jacob but had never seen her other brothers who were the first and second children of the Kiron couple.

This had caused her to inquire about the same and saw Aleena nod in response.

"My eldest brother is busy with the preparations for reopening the Royal Academy and my second brother is at our fief.

" She explained the reason for their absence.

They had already informed the Duchess of their inability to attend this party so there wasn't any reason for them to be worried about disrespecting the Tanner family.

Topher nodded as he had heard about this already from his mother while Yvonne went back to scanning her surroundings.

Thanks to this curiosity of hers, she caught sight of a certain someone who had just walked into the garden, not from the main entrance but a discreet corner as though they were sneaking in right now.

Her eyes were fixed on this person who, feeling her gaze, had turned towards her and made direct eye contact with her.

In the past, Yvonne would have feared to look into this person's eyes but now, she could do as she pleased.

While these two were gazing at each other, Taylor and the rest had also caught sight of this person's arrival.

Coming to a halt before this group, the one who had arrived first gazed at his best friend before scanning the rest present here.

"Glad you could make it.

" Topher was the one who broke the silence that had engulfed them ever since this person's arrival.

The sarcasm dripping in his tone got him an eye roll in response that was soon followed by a scowl.

"Not everyone is as free as you are.

" Damien, the one who had made an appearance after a long time, scoffed at his best friend for the 'warm' welcome he had received.

Topher harrumphed, irritated at hearing these words which he had heard numerous times in the last few days.

Ever since he had returned to the Capital, every time he tried to contact this friend of his, the only reply he got was that the other person was busy and could not meet any time soon.

Thus, he had not been expecting his friend to arrive but now that he was here, Topher could not let this chance of mocking him go in vain.

Yvonne stood in silence and watched as the two bickered like little children, quite similar to how Howard and Topher behaved.

Thankfully she had not made her thoughts known or the two pairs of best friends would have scowled and glowered at her for even thinking something so absurd.

The two best friends were now gazing into each others' eyes and displaying a series of different expressions which was amusing for the others who were watching this scene.

'You keep pestering me to meet you and when I take the time to do so, you argue with me?' Damien sighed while conversing with his best friend.

'Heh! You ignored so many chances to come by but suddenly took the time from your oh so busy schedule to come see me today?' Topher scoffed without trying to hide his contempt.

'You think I do not know why you are here right now!?' He added with a sneer before turning in a certain direction.