Chapter 27

“Now…”

Diego’s pale lips twitched in a different sense than before. 

“What the hell did you do now?” 

The restaurant, which had a huge power subsided, was filled with heavy silence that was suffocating.

Only Hilise has remained calm. 

“I was hungry, but I was interrupted during my meal, so I ate something else instead.”

Then, he heard an uninspiring calm voice.

The moment he heard Hilise, Diego moved his legs unconsciously and took a step back. 

“I’d like to finish my meal like this, but if you want, you can give me more of what I ate right now.”

It was clear that the ‘other thing’ that Hilise was referring to, meant Diego’s power that had flowed inside her a while ago.

An instinctive fear froze Diego.

Hilise’s expressionless, serene face that reached the end of his gaze somehow gave him goosebumps.

So he unconsciously took a step back, and Hilise, who saw him, tilted her head.

“Are you just going to leave?”

Her tone and eyes were extremely calm as if laughing at the people who were agitated by her side. Soon Hilise moved his hand as if he were at her disposal.

Diego foolishly stared at the sight of the floral food entering her mouth.

Hilise’s movements were graceful and elegant, like a lady who was enjoying a leisurely dinner.

That irritated Diego.

Diego was overwhelmed by embarrassment as he’d never felt before, and his grudging humiliation was caused by the fact that it was none other than his daughter who had made him feel instinctive terror.

Now, I don’t know exactly what Hilise did to me, but it is clear that it’s all a hoax.

It had to be a delusion for him to believe Hilise had taken away his power.

I’ve never heard of such a thing before.

When the embarrassment and confusion burned down, he was only left with resentment.

“Hilise…!” 

But in fact, Hilise didn’t want to rile up Diego, she just wanted to eat the veal 

in front of her.

t/n: veal is calf meat

It was only fitting for Diego’s character to further refuse to give up.

So Hilise wanted to taste the appetizing dish in front of her before dinner was over.

But Diego’s patience was shorter than she thought, so Hilise ate only two pieces of delicious meat in front of him.

Once again, enormous power flooded his eyes.

Eventually, Hilise sighed and put her hand on the tableware next to the plate.

Ooooh!

It was the same phenomenon that happened a little while ago.

Diego’s power was completely swallowed by Hilise.

“D, don’t be ridiculous…! How did this happen!”

He felt it vividly and was appalled. Again, Diego couldn’t even make a small scratch on Hilise’s body.

Until now, he had forgotten that Hilise also used her power during the Kallikia ball to relocate the venue.

It was impossible for even Diego to do so, including Axion, some of Berzete’s people, or the head of Parvenon and his successor, Christian.

(Q/C: ‘some of berzete’s people’ refer to the previous head of berzete , i.e., axion’s mother)

So, is it true that Hilise’s power is superior to mine?

There was no way he could admit that.

Diego clenched his teeth to the point where his jaw was numb, bringing in more power. 

Kuugng!

“Argh…!”

“Kak!”

The mansion shook, and a strong wind whipped through the restaurant.

Employees in the area were taken aback.

Paat!

Despite the vibrant roses blooming all around Diego, his power was consumed by Hilise instead of being used against her.

Diego realized that his feeling was not an illusion.

My strength has evidently weakened after I  confronted Hillise…!!

At that moment, he became dizzy and his legs felt numb.

At the same time that his concentration was broken, the power that flowed from Diego’s body was scattered in the air.

“Father!”

Ricardo, who had been pushed toward the wall due to the strong winds, saw Diego stumbling and ran quickly and caught him.

Hilise’s hair, which was blowing in the wind, fell on her shoulder.

About half of it turned red.

It was the second flowering she had been waiting for.

When she raised her eyelids, the golden eyes that were hidden in them gave off a cold glow.

Diego’s power, which had poured inside a little earlier, was still not fully fused with Hilise’s power.

But after some time it slowly began to melt under Hilise’s power.

She could feel the stronger power twisting around her heart and screaming.

After swallowing Diego’s power, her ability to become more powerful finally settled in.

Originally, it would have been impossible to take Diego’s power in this way.

But what turned the impossible into possible was the tears of Kallikia, which Hilise swallowed earlier underground.

A rare treasure that made her power stronger than before and helped her absorb other people’s power. The reason she went to save the child today was to get that jewel.

From ancient times, it has been said that among the holy waters of Kallikia, jewels made of tears have a mysterious power.

That’s why Kallikia is called the ‘Clan of Heavy Rain’.

If members of the four largest families had the jewel in their bodies, their strength increased slightly over a period of time, and Kallikia’s ability was treated as a gem by other families.

But the true effect of the jewel made from tears was separate.

By swallowing it with your mouth and dissolving it in your body, your strength not only increases significantly, but it is also possible to absorb other people’s abilities for a certain period and make it your own. Thus, in Kallikia, the fact has been kept secret from the outside for the peace and balance of the four major families.

No relevant literature was left on the real power of Kallikia’s treasure.

Especially today, long after their abilities disappeared, no outsiders knew about its utility. Diego was now pale and speechless, unable to comprehend what had happened to him. Ricardo’s face, on the other hand, was not nearly as pale as Diego’s. 

A moment ago, he knew that there was a confrontation of power between Diego and Hilise, but he did not know exactly what had happened between the two because he did not have the ability.

Still, he could see that the current situation was threatening Diego’s authority.

Klang.

Seeing them, Hilise completely dropped the fork and knife she had in her hand onto the plate.

“In the past, there was a stigma on the body of the person with the most power in the family that gave them the qualification to be head of the family.”

Then everyone in the restaurant stared at Hilise with a stupid face as she lifted a napkin and gently wiped her mouth.

As a result, they seemed to have failed to properly listen to what Hilise said. 

I once read about it in old texts.

It was a record before the ancient blood-flowing powers were almost extinct.

However, as the generation continued, the blood slowly faded, and it was natural that the power in it gradually weakened.

Therefore, it was impossible for the successor to have a power stronger than the current head of the family.

For that reason, the terms of the transfer have changed to where the former head directly appoints his successor and hands over the stigma.

It was a common practice at the time, and it is still followed today.

But there was only one person in this generation who broke that old rule.

“It’s a little interesting. I wonder if Axion Berzete felt this way, too.”

Diego’s eyes shook greatly when Axion Berzete’s name came out of Hilise’s mouth.

A look of disbelief rushed into Hilise. He could tell right away because the clothes she was wearing now were pajamas.

The geometrically shaped stigma shone in a subtle gold color on Hilise’s nape and collarbone. It reached down to the back of her left hand, which was exposed out of her sleeve.

Diego hastily looked down at the back of his hand and called on his power.

However, the stigma that surfaced on the skin whenever he used his power, no longer formed.

“I think I should take back what I said last time. There are times when my father helps me.”

The monotonous voice that echoed over Diego’s head was the reason for his desperation.

“Whatever the people of this house give me is not worth a stone on the side of the road, but it’ll come in handy.”

Finally, she dragged her chair back and stood on the floor, but there was not a single piece of emotion like joy on her face.

“Now that it’s come to this, I’ll keep it until I die.”

With an uncanny indifference and heartlessness, Hilise declared.

“So you guys don’t need to do anything from now on. From today on, I, the owner of Inoaden, will decide everything.”

For Diego, it was a sentence that had the same meaning as the death penalty.