Chapter 4
* * *
“Are you sure it was awakening?”
That evening, my 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 not mistaken?”
Finding it hard to believe, he tried to confirm it again from Ricardo.
I was standing on a flight of stairs, out of their sight, and listening to their conversation.
I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I found them when I was on my 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.
I chuckled at my 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 my ears.
Father’s voice was also lowered.
They never thought about this possibility, but now that I 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 had 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.
TTOGACK.
My steps that stopped for a while, continued.
Father and Ricardo were both surprised to hear someone walking down the stairs, not far from them.
Their reactions worsened when they saw my face.
Their faces were so stiff that I almost thought they were made of ceramics.
“Don’t come here.”
Father, who looked at me with disapproval, turned his head away.
Judging from his expression, he seems to think that I’ve come to greet him after his arrival.
But I only glanced at them inadvertently and brushed them aside.
Because of that, Father and Ricardo’s faces conveyed embarrassment.
“Wait.”
My father called me. I ignored him and kept walking.
“Hilise!”
He raised his voice and called my name this time.
I halted and looked back at him.
“Why?”
Father’s face showed embarrassment for the second time.
This is the first time I’ve seen him make such a face.
“Why?”
He asked dryly when he heard my 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.
Father and Ricardo stared at me as if I 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 my 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……”
Father mumbled, his words incomprehensible.
His daughter, who suddenly acted like a different person, seemed to shock him greatly.
Father, who couldn’t speak properly, soon came to his senses at the sound of footsteps.
“M’lords, Young Lady Gabrielle is looking for you.”
It was a maid sent by Gabrielle.
Father reacted as if he just recalled something he forgot temporarily.
“Right…… She must be very surprised by the events today. I have to go see her right now.”
His composure, which he lost for a while because of me, came back after talking to the maid.
There was a faint worry in Father’s voice.
Of course, that worry is directed at Gabrielle.
His eyes that looked at me after he spoke with the maid, looked like he didn’t remember that I too, had gone through the same thing as Gabrielle.
His eyes showed clear concern for his spoiled daughter.
I 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 I walked away, leaving the two of them behind.
TTOGACK.
The sound of my heels hitting the floor was exceptionally loud.
‘Hah!’, I heard my father exclaim behind me.
“What on earth…… Did she eat something wrong while I was away?”
His face has surely turned 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.”
I heard Ricardo’s stiff voice trying to stop him.
I 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 me 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.”
I 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 this is.
The servants around me fidgeted while staring at me.
Seeing that some of the seats are empty, it seems that Father and Ricardo are still in Gabrielle’s room. I expected it would take longer so I reached out for more food and put them on my plate.
I kept my hands moving regardless of how the servants stared at me.
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.
I was locked up for a while, so I wasn’t able to have proper meals before I died in my last life.
Until just a few hours ago, the feeling of suffering from hunger was still vivid.
I didn’t have the desire to eat, yet I still felt hungry. It was a contradiction.
The servants’ eyes kept darting between me and the table when I reached out for more dishes.
Some of them even tried to stop me.
It seems like it would be difficult to fully load my stomach with carefully prepared foods for three Inoadens.
“Get me dessert.”
A few moments later, the doors to the dining room opened, and the servants moved quickly to welcome them.
“Gabrielle must’ve been shocked greatly.”
“Tell the chef to prepare her favorite dish……”
When I was almost done with my dessert, Father and Ricardo entered the dining room while speaking with serious expressions.
Given Gabrielle’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 me.
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────