Outside Silvester Palace, two individuals emerged from their mana carriages—vehicles where mechanical engines had taken the place of traditional horses, thanks to advances in technology.
Unfazed by their mode of transport, both figures made their way toward the opulent palace.
“Johan, hand it over,” Adanyl said nonchalantly, her hands folded behind her back. She cast a sideways glance at her butler, raising an eyebrow and subtly indicating his suit pocket, as if urging him to hand over the secret treasure he was concealing.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand what Your Highness is referring to,” Johan replied, mimicking Adanyl’s raised eyebrow and tapping his suit pocket, as if to emphasize that there was no treasure hidden within.
“Are you playing hard to get? Very well, then—you get a raise,” Adanyl said, narrowing her gaze as she turned her head forward, eyes closed. She knew the way to deal with her butler was to dangle something enticing in front of him.
“My Lady…”
“What?” Adanyl exclaimed, suddenly opening her eyes. She shot him a questioning look, sizing him up to see if she needed to increase the amount from her side.
“Please, take as much as you want!” Johan retorted quickly, his experience at her side shining through. With practiced agility, he plunged both hands into his pocket and pulled out a handful of something, kneeling on the ground as though offering a sword. He turned his palm outward, presenting her with a bounty.
“What?! I thought you only had one,” Adanyl clicked her tongue, surprise and delight mixing as she gazed at the mountain of confectionery before her. Her heart raced at the sight of the enormous treasure.
She instinctively lifted her hand, wiping away imagined saliva from her lips, before swiftly snatching the assortment of candies from Johan’s palm, exclaiming, “What luck!”
Johan’s eyes widened in shock. His heart raced as he realized his miscalculation; he had only intended to reveal one chocolate, but in a moment of misunderstanding, he had divulged his entire stash.
The corner of his mouth twitched in frustration as he recognized that this was indeed a grave mistake—one he should never have made.
“Amusing.”
Suddenly, a womanly, smooth voice reverberated through the palace, echoing as it reached Johan and Adanyl, who had just unwrapped one of the chocolates, which was more like a lollipop, and placed it in her mouth, as both of them slowly turned their gaze toward the direction of the voice.
“Huh?” Johan felt his body freeze as he looked in the direction of a woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to Alisia Von Selvius, the one to whom he had devoted his life with unwavering loyalty.
At first glance, she seemed to be the very same person, yet upon closer inspection, he realized that this was not Alisia. The woman before him had the same deep amber eyes and black hair, but there were subtle differences that set her apart.
Beside him stood Adanyl, her expression blank as she gazed at the mysterious woman. The stranger’s facial features stirred something within her—memories of words spoken by her father long ago.
The resemblance was striking, and while it did not confuse her into thinking this was someone she knew, it was enough to awaken echoes of her father’s past words.
:: Ryuk von Selvius is killed by the Devereaux family ::
:: Adanyl, forget about him, he is dead ::
:: All Devereaux members have black hair and amber eyes ::
“Adanyl? What are you doing here?” Ronen, standing there and noticing his daughter’s presence in the palace, could guess that her visit was likely tied to a business deal or proposal. He couldn’t help but sigh, thinking to himself, ‘She’s at it again—eating.’
Observing her familiar habit of munching on something every time he saw her, he shook his head in amusement.
However, understanding the gravity of the situation, he turned his attention to Drishti and introduced her. “Lady Drishti, I’d like you to meet my younger daughter—!?”
Suddenly, Ronen’s eyes snapped in the direction of Adanyl as he felt a surge of killing intent emanating from her.
SWISH
His sharp senses screamed as he noticed his daughter slightly leaning and within a millisecond launched herself towards them, arriving just a hand’s distance from them with her hand recoiling, thrusting and creating a ripple in the air clearly prepared for a forceful punch aimed at Drishti, causing his eyes to widen, screaming, “NO! ADANYL, STOP!”
But it was already too late to even consider stopping the punch, which had just prepared to create a small storm.
Johan, who had once stood at his position, was thrown back, hardly controlling his body due to the thrust.
‘?!!’
Drishti’s eyes widened in surprise but held steady, her calm gaze never wavering as she raised her arm to intercept the punch, her reaction speed nearly creating afterimages of her hand movement.
BOOOOM!
Their fists met with a deafening clash, a shockwave exploding from the impact.
“Kughh!?” Ronen was thrown backward, his body flung by the sheer force, though he managed to brace himself mid-air by channeling mana to stabilize his body. Yet, the blast shattered the ground beneath him as he landed, a crater forming beneath his feet, sending jagged pieces of earth flying.
Never in his dreams had he imagined his daughter would attack someone like this, let alone reveal her strength.
rumble rumble
Crack
The palace gardens suffered the brunt of the blast, guards and attendants scattered like leaves caught in a storm, plants uprooted, and sculptures reduced to rubble.
The shockwave traveled through the air, leaving cracks snaking up the grand palace walls, while dust settled thickly over the landscape.
‘Huh?’ In the midst of the devastation, Drishti held her ground, her hand locked around Adanyl’s fist. Her expression was calm but sharp, her amber eyes narrowing as she glanced at her wrist.
“This?” The fabric covering her wrist had begun to fray, threads splitting apart under the intensity of the impact.
‘Really unexpected.’ She released a slow, measured breath, her gaze calculating as she clenched her fist tighter around Adanyl’s.
“Years,” Adanyl hissed, her voice low and venomous, her fury seething with every syllable. “Years, I’ve waited. And now you—who dared to kill my husband—stand before me?!”
Crack!
The ground beneath them trembled as Adanyl pushed forward, her strength rising in a wave of force.
Crunch
The lollipop in her mouth cracked, the stick snapping under the pressure as her teeth ground against it, her focus wholly consumed by the force she poured into her assault.
“Aaah…! How dare you!” The very air around them grew heavy as if resonating with the intensity of her wrath, and the land itself seemed to pulse, turning the grass and stones to dust, leaving the palace courtyard a ruined battlefield.
Drishti felt the force pressing down on her, the weight of Adanyl’s punch reverberating through her arm and down to her legs, even as her mana anchored her to the ground.
Screech
Her feet slid back an inch before she regained her balance, countering Adanyl’s figure with her own unyielding resolve.
With a smile forming and eyes as cold as iron, Drishti shifted her stance. “Interesting? Aren’t you a hidden gem, Very interesting,” she murmured, her voice low, sending a jolt through Adanyl’s very core. “But, it’s enough.”
‘Good night’
Drishti’s lips parted as two words, as if containing the law of the world, echoed suddenly, causing everything to halt as Adanyl’s body loosened.
Her eyes started to become heavy as if falling asleep, all her anger and rage directed towards this woman slowly losing themselves in her dreams.
She clenched her jaw, tried to maintain her eyes open, but in front of absolute authority, her strength—resulting from her ability to access one hundred percent of the strength and power reserved in whatever she ate—was futile as she fell towards the ground.
Swish
“Adanyl!?” Ronen, seeing his daughter fall, instantly arrived as if he had teleported, catching her body in his hands.
She appeared to have fallen asleep as he glared at Drishti with clear anger, no longer caring about respecting her, given that she dared to harm his daughter.
“What? Are you serious? It was this girl who nearly broke my hand,” Drishti raised an eyebrow, only controlling herself knowing it would be a hassle to deal with these people after seeing such interesting young women here who possessed so much strength that it seemed otherworldly.
Naturally, Drishti could feel her hand still trembling.
The clothes had never once torn, no matter who she fought, given her own strength was superior to theirs, as she always overwhelmed them decisively.
Even though she was caught off guard here, she could still feel that no one had ever shown this amount of physical strength to her, causing her to clench her fist, feeling she had found a treasure in this place. Looking toward Ronen with a smile forming, she declared, “I will take your daughter as my disciple. Give her to me.”
