Hilise's POV
With what happened earlier, it's clear that May understood what I meant.
The moment her eyes met mine again, she trembled as if I just looked into her soul.
"I'm......"
She bowed her head right away and apologized.
"I'm sorry, m'lady. My inexperience has made you upset."
No matter what she's actually thinking inside, she knew it would be better to just act politely.
Since I've been a pushover before, I found out what her strength is through my previous lives. It's that she's able to change her attitude at once after quickly grasping the atmosphere.
The existence of a quick-witted employee who didn't bother me was quite convenient.
"I will prepare the water for you to wash your face now."
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May hurriedly straightened herself up.
The mess on the floor was cleared in an instant. After that, she gave me a moderately heated water.
Unlike from the beginning, May behave obediently this time.
After I finished washing my face, I headed to my dressing room.
I opened the door and saw that the dresses were just as I had expected.
"I don't like them."
May, who was next to me, flinched at my words.
She had a suspicious look on her face that said, 'You wouldn't fling the dresses like you did to the washbasin earlier, would you?'
Ever since my stepmother came to Inoaden, I've always worn dresses that covered my wrists and neck.
In addition, the colors were far from bright colors.
A lady's beauty comes from her frugality and simplicity. That's what I've always heard since I was young.
It was my stepmother who said this to me, and I obeyed her like a gentle little lamb.
However, considering that she only bought Gabriel cute and bright clothes, my stepmother's words were very contradictory.
I didn't realize it when I was young, but now I'm sure my stepmother despised me.
I don't even care about clothes like these anymore.
My nightmare last night only reminded me of my bad memories.
I reached my hand into the dressing room.
**Shrkkk!
The plain, achromatic dresses that hung inside started to get covered with petals.
A sweet scent spread throughout the room.
This is the realization of my will.
My power is not yet fully awakened, so the work I can do with it is limited. Nonetheless, I didn't have any difficulty in performing this task.
The view of the dingy clothes transformed into bright colored petals. Petals fell all over the place as if they were falling from the sky. It was quite remarkable.
I didn't have many clothes in the first place, so it didn't take long. The room was filled with petals.
The scented petals that overflowed outside reached my ankles.
All the outdoor and indoor dresses that I could've worn right now are gone, but it doesn't matter.
Unlike the roses that bloomed in the garden, the roses this time had completely changed the fabrics' nature. The clothes were gone the moment they were touched by the roses.
"M-M'lady, this is......"
"Clean up."
I turned my back after giving her a brief order. May stared at the overflowing petals in astonishment.
I stepped on the carpet of petals and left the dressing room.
* * *
Come to think of it, I immediately fell asleep after eating dinner last night without taking a bath.
It seems that I have become uselessly accustomed to my life in prison in the seventh life.
I asked May to prepare a bath. She looked at me as if she thought I was fickle when I just asked her for some water to wash my face with.
But the moment our eyes met, she was startled and avoided my gaze in a split second.
May's behavior has become more cautious. Perhaps it's because she saw me turning the dresses into petals earlier.
After washing up, I had to wear clothes, however, I had already emptied my dressing room.
So I just took out another pair of pajamas and put them on.
May was horrified, but no matter what other people thought of me, it was none of their business.
I didn't have an appetite yet because of the full course meal I had last night, so I skipped breakfast.
"M'lady, the master is calling for you."
Today is one of the days when my father doesn't leave the estate.
I was sitting by the window, enjoying the sun's heat.
I answered the maid without turning my head.
"Tell him to come in person."
"Pardon?"
"Tell him to come in person if he has something to tell me."
The maid was startled and opened her eyes wide. May, who watched us by the door, caught her breath.
The maid stared at me with questioning eyes, but I didn't repeat myself.
She eventually stumbled out of my room.
* * *
"Have you gone crazy?"
After a while, I faced my Father's stiff expression.
"Leave right now. Your master must've hit her head yesterday."
"Y-Yes, yes, I will!"
May, who received Father's glaring eyes, hurried out of the room.
Seeing that she rushed out immediately after Father dismissed her, she must've also thought that I'm out of my mind.
"The reason you're acting high-and-mighty since yesterday is not because of what happened in the garden, is it?"
His expression looked much colder than ever.
It seems like he's thinking that the reason why my behavior suddenly changed is because of the awakening of my power.
A brat who suddenly turned impudent and arrogant right after gaining abilities by luck.
His thoughts are clearly written on his face.
"What happened to you yesterday was not an awakening, so don't even think of talking about this nonsense outside the estate."
My father seems to genuinely believe that idea.
I'm not Ricardo. He can't believe that I'm the one who awakened to the successor's power. He obviously thinks that something is wrong.
Whether Ricardo and Gabriel were mistaken, or something unusual happened to me temporarily.
The awakening happened to me in the garden yesterday afternoon.
Our family's story is indispensable to explain this power.
The Inoaden family, to which I belong, is one of the four historic families that existed since the founding of the kingdom.
These four families were founded during the golden age. There were people who helped the kingdom's first king, who was a half god, descend to earth and become a ruler. These people had divine powers during the ancient times too.
Their powers were innate within their bloodline.
However, as time passed, some families lost all the glory of their ancestral lineage and could no longer use their abilities.
Fortunately, Inoaden is not one of these families.
The four households referred to the four seasons.
Among them, we, who succeeded the blood of Inoaden, are called the 'Spring Family' or 'The Clan of Flowers'.
Fully bloomed flowers appear every time the Inoadens use their powers.
Among the roses, bright red roses bloom when it is the successor who uses this power.
Moreover, the thicker the blood of an Inoaden, the redder their hair becomes, just like roses.
However, as the ability to pass the powers within blood-related members weakened, the only way to inherit this power is if you're the heir of the Inoaden's direct lineage.
Thus, the awakening is called 'Flowering' and the one who awakened is called 'The Successor of Roses'.
Ricardo had vivid red hair since he was very young, which meant he had thick Inoaden blood. In contrast, mine was a very pale and light color.
It's probably one of the reasons why Father was never interested in me.
I let my father's words slip into one ear and out of the other. My arm was resting on the window frame as I leaned on it.
The sun is very warm right now. I can feel its heat through the open window.
I think it's a good day to take a nap.
Father still kept on saying, 'What you did yesterday was just a simple illusion. You will never awaken, so don't you ever speak of this nonsense to other people.'
My lips parted. I was starting to feel languid because of the sun's heat.
"I don't want to."
"What?"
"Why should I follow such a one-sided order?"
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