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* * *
"Are you sure it was an awakening?"
That evening, their father, Diego Inoaden, returned home.
Like Ricardo, he also has dark red hair and golden eyes. Since he arrived before sunset, he seemed to have hurried home as soon as he heard the news.
"Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
Finding it hard to believe, he tried to confirm it again from Ricardo.
Hilise was standing on the stairs, out of their sight, and listening to their conversation.
She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she found them when she was on her way downstairs.
"Think carefully and don't make a hasty judgment. From what I heard, it's possible that it's your power, not Hilise's."
He doesn't know when to give up. Hilise chuckled at her father's words.
(Of course, there's no possibility that Ricardo would have tried to use his power to protect me from that situation. Even Father knows that, but he still had meaningless expectations.)
"Every step she took was followed by a rose that had the same color as her hair."
Ricardo's voice, which was lower than before, flowed into Hilise's ears. Diego's voice was also lowered.
They never thought about this possibility, but now that Hilise was awakened with the heir's power, they must've felt like they lost their footing.
"For now, we must keep this matter to ourselves."
"But Father-"
"You don't think the news has already been spread outside, do you?"
"No... I made sure everyone keeps quiet about it."
Father praised Ricardo for doing a good job. Ricardo, however, seems to carefully think about what Father said.
**Clack- Clack-
Hilise's steps that stopped for a while, continued. Diego and Ricardo were both surprised to hear someone walking down the stairs, not far from them.
Their reactions worsened when they saw her face. Their faces were so stiff that she almost thought they were made of ceramics.
"Don't come here."
Diego, who looked at her with disapproval, turned his head away. Judging from his expression, he seems to think that she has come to greet him after his arrival. But Hilise only glanced at them inadvertently and brushed them aside. Because of that, Diego and Ricardo's faces conveyed embarrassment.
"Wait."
Her father called her. But she ignored him and kept walking.
"Hilise!"
He raised his voice and called her name this time. Hilise halted and looked back at him.
"What is it?"
Diego's face showed embarrassment for the second time.
(This is the first time I've seen him make such a face.)
"What is it?" ~~(note: Kinda like mimicking what she said.)
He asked dryly when he heard her nonchalant reply.
"That's a strange reply. You should not speak to me like that."
"..."
"Then how should I speak to you, Father?"
His face turned funny. Diego and Ricardo stared at Hilise as if she ate something wrong.
('Hilise Inoaden', a girl who was stupidly obedient just a few hours ago, suddenly changed and is now talking back to her father. It doesn't make sense at all. I've been a doll-like girl who never said 'no' to them before.)
Next to her bewildered father, Ricardo's lips parted. But he did not say a word. Then suddenly, Ricardo's expression changed slightly.
(He must've remembered my attitude towards him in the garden earlier.)
Ricardo stared at me as if he's looking at a stranger.
"Hilise, you...Why the hell are you acting like..."
Diego mumbled, but his words were incomprehensible. His daughter, who suddenly acted like a different person, seemed to shock him greatly.
Diego, who couldn't speak properly, soon came to his senses at the sound of footsteps.
"My lords, the young lady Gabriel is looking for you."
It was a maid sent by Gabriel. Diego reacted as if he just recalled something he forgot temporarily.
"Right... She must've been very surprised by today's events. I have to go see her right now."
His composure, which he lost for a while because of Hilise, came back after talking to the maid. There was even a faint worry in Diego's voice.
(Of course, that worry is directed at Gabriel.)
His eyes that looked at Hilise after he spoke with the maid, looked like he didn't remember that she too, had gone through the same thing as Gabriel. His eyes only showed clear concern for his spoiled step-daughter.
Hilise turned to him and spoke.
"From now on, you should make it clear who you are calling. Don't waste my time like you did just now."
"What...?"
"I don't like seeing you either, so stop taking my time."
Then she walked away, leaving the two of them behind.
**Clack- Clack-
The sound of her heels hitting the floor was exceptionally loud.
“Hah!”, she heard her father exclaim behind her.
"What on earth... Did she eat something wrong while I was away?"
His face should surely turn red from anger by now.
"Stop right there! Hilise..!"
"Father, calm down for now. I have something to tell you so let's just go over there."
Hilise heard Ricardo's stiff voice trying to stop his father. Hilise then went to the dining room without a care.
* * *
"M'lady, what brings you here...?"
"What else could be the reason for me to come to the dining room?"
The servants who were setting the table stared at her in astonishment.
"We're going to send you your meal in your room later."
(Father and Ricardo eat in the dining room, while I've been accustomed to eating alone since some time ago.)
"No thanks. I'm going to eat here."
She sat on one of the seats and started eating alone.
(I wonder whose seat I'm sitting on right now? It's been a very long time since I last ate with them in the dining room, so I forgot.)
But it doesn't matter whose seat it belonged to. The servants around her fidgeted while staring at her.
(Seeing that some of the seats are empty, it seems that Father and Ricardo are still in Gabriel's room.)
She expected it would take longer so she reached out for more food and put them on her plate. She kept her hands moving regardless of how the servants stared at her.
(How long has it been since I last ate properly? Ten days? Fifteen days? I'm not sure how much time I spent in prison.)
She was locked up for a while, so she wasn't able to have proper meals before she died in her last life.
Until just a few hours ago, the feeling of suffering from hunger was still vivid.
She didn't have the desire to eat, yet she still felt hungry. It was a contradiction.
The servants' eyes kept darting between her and the table when she reached out for more dishes. Some of them even tried to stop her.
(It seems like it would be difficult to fully load my stomach with carefully prepared foods for those three people.)
"Get me some desserts."
A few moments later, the doors to the dining room opened, and the servants moved quickly to welcome them.
"Gabriel must've been greatly shocked."
"Tell the chef to prepare her favorite dish-"
When she was almost done with her dessert, her father and Ricardo entered the dining room while speaking with serious expressions.
Given Gabriel's absence, it seems like she would be having soup in her room, pretending to be unwell again.
"Hilise?"
Still wearing serious expressions, they finally entered the dining room and noticed her.
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