Darian watched with a gloomy face as Carl left. When their backs disappeared from his sight, Darian looked at the gully in front of him created by the sword energy and suddenly laughed.
"Have you grown stronger again? If I didn't have this fruit, I really don't know where you would have thrown me in the future."
After saying that, he was silent for a moment, and his body suddenly turned into blood, splashing to the ground and slowly flowing into the shadows.
On the other side, Garling sent Carl back to the palace. In that short time, Carl had almost recovered, and the flames behind his neck burned even more vigorously.
With a thought, the wings turned into darkness and retracted into Carl's body.
Seeing that Carl was fine, Garling said, "Go back and rest well. Darian won't come again."
Carl suddenly said, "Uncle Garling, be careful of Darian. The power of the Blood-Blood Fruit is very tricky. If it weren't for the Dark-Dark Fruit's ability to restrain other power users, Darian's strength wouldn't have been limited tonight."
Hearing this, Garling raised his eyebrows and replied, "Do you think Darian, with the Blood-Blood Fruit, is stronger than me?"
"No, Darian's strength is not as great as yours, Uncle Garling. But there's no telling if his Blood-Blood Fruit has other strange abilities."
Carl was confident that Garling was stronger, having fought both of them. Judging from the strength of their Conqueror's Haki, Darian was much weaker.
Carl only felt the aura of a "king" from Garling, something Darian lacked. The strength of Conqueror's Haki relies on one's aura, and the stronger the aura, the more powerful the Haki becomes. Over time, it grows even stronger.
Ten years ago, Garling may have only been slightly stronger than Darian, but now, the gap between their strengths had widened considerably.
But the Blood-Blood Fruit remained an unknown factor, and Carl knew both he and Garling had to be cautious.
Garling nodded. He valued Carl's warning. The combination of Darian and the Blood-Blood Fruit was not to be underestimated.
After exchanging a few more words, Garling headed to his room.
Carl stretched and returned to his own place. As soon as he entered, Lucia, who had been waiting for him, approached.
Seeing her, Carl's face lit up. He took out some food he had brought back from Garling and said,
"Lucia, you haven't eaten yet. These were made just for you. Heat them up, and you can enjoy them."
Lucia hadn't eaten, as she had been waiting for Carl. But she wasn't thinking about food now. She snuggled up to him and softly said,
"Young Master, Saint Garling sent people to seal off the family estate earlier. There was quite a commotion in the central courtyard. I was stopped when I tried to go. What happened?"
Carl didn't hide anything and told Lucia about his fight with Darian. Lucia was furious after hearing it and said,
"Has he not given up on you yet? It's hard to believe there could be such a cruel father!"
Carl smiled, "Don't mention him. Let's eat first."
Lucia nodded obediently and called for the servants to heat up the food.
Once the meal was served, Carl leaned his chin on his hand and watched Lucia finish eating.
After dinner, Lucia dismissed the servants and went to prepare a bath for Carl.
Carl extinguished the flames behind his neck and sank into the warm water, closing his eyes to relax.
The bathroom door quietly opened, and Lucia tiptoed in, wrapped in a white towel. She approached the tub, her eyes gleaming with a strange purple hue.
She raised her hand, and the towel slipped to the ground, revealing her alluring figure.
Carl had opened his eyes by then. He quietly watched as Lucia stepped into the tub, her smile turning seductive as she moved closer to him.
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+86 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg