CHAPTER 305: PRIDE & SMITE.

Leo was sitting in the dining room, he has finished reading everything on the file and had come up with a way to deal with the plots of the two culprits. He leaned back in the chair while his fingers tapped the dining table. After a few minutes, the food trolley arrived, and Lily came over with a skip in her step.

Leo asked, "What made you so happy?"

Lily replied in a cheerful tone, "Today, Kamen beat Yushi and the good prevailed."

Leo smiled, the two mentioned by Lily were the characters of the cartoon she liked to watch. Then he fed her some soup followed by some vegetables, and a dish made from egg. After eating Leo took her to the bathroom where he gave her a wash before tucking her in the bed. As she was sleeping, he thought about it, and finally placed his index finger on her forehead as he said, ’System, impart the skill, calm in chaos to Lily.’

’Ping: Host, this is not a skill but a buff. Would you like to check the system panel? It appears that you have forgotten what your skills are like.’

Leo found a twitch develop on the corner of his lips and he said, ’System, bring up the panel.’

’Ping: System Panel.’

Name : Leo Cardinal.

Age : 24

Level : Intermediate Father

Strength :17

Stamina : 14 (Permanent Augmentation)

Intelligence : 15

Speed : 13.5 + 8 (Locked)

Talent : Ceramic Artisan, Hairstyling, Nurti-Chef, Piano Maester, Chess Master.

Items : Tears Of Athena.

Buffs: Horse Stamina, Calm In Chaos and Brave In Need, Three Vital Recovery chances, Danger Perception.

Leo frowned and he took a moment before he said, "System Impart the Chess Master to Lily."

’Ping: Imparting skill, please place your index finger on the forehead of the target.’

Leo followed the instruction and then he sensed a warm current flow through his body followed by a cold sensation originating from his index finger. All this happened in few seconds before it returned to normal. He checked Lily for any changes before he sighed in relief and asked, ’System, by what time will the skill completely be integrated by her?’

’Ping: Host, it will be settled within twelve hours.’

Leo nodded to himself before he lay down next to Lily and fell asleep.

...

In the morning, Harry Shrine came back from the jogging and he sat down on the couch. Shortly after that, Cram, his old steward appeared next to him with a hot towel and while wiping his sweat, Harry asked, "Any reply from Leo Cardinal?"

Cram sighed and replied, "Young Master, they have declined the invitation as Mister Leo Cardinal seems to have some other engagements."

Harry stopped in his actions and he turned to look at Cram before he asked, "Did they tell you what is this engagement?"

Cram shook his head and replied, "I investigated, and it appears to me that he wants to visit the children’s hospital with his daughter."

Harry clenched his fist and then flung the towel away before he spoke hatefully, "This low level upstart dares to deny me a meeting and visit some ill-fated bastards? I will destroy him."

Leo’s rejection had dented his pride that was always taken care more than his character. Harry Shrine was a well known celebrity in the high class circle, and it was not only the Stag Nation, he even had connections with some bigwigs in the freedom Nation. How could he be shown up by this ’upstart’ who had just started to take flight?

Harry clenched his fists and after cursing for a few minutes, he moved his hand through his hair and calmed down before reaching his hand out to Cram. The old man quickly stepped up and passed a mobile to Harry. The latter made a call, and when the connection was established he said, "Jenkin, I wonder if you and everyone else is attending the Charity Gala tonight?"

The person on the other side replied, "We are coming, Master Shrine, do you need something?"

Harry smiled with a cunning expression on his face and said, "You see... I want you to do something for me."

Then he began to plan things with Jenkins.

...

Leo and his daughter woke up as the son rose, and the former noticed that Lily’s temperament has undergone some change. As she woke up, she looked around and then hugged Leo. The young man brushed her hair gently as he asked, ’System, would the skill impartation cause any changes in Lily’s personality?’

’Ping: Your worries are unfounded Host. The system ensures that the personality of the target would remain unaffected.’

The system assured Leo, and only then did he calm down. Then he took Lily to the washroom, where the two of them brushed their teeth and clicked a few funny pictures and sent them to Snow. Then the two of them washed their faces, and headed to the gymnasium of the hotel.

Ofcourse, they were followed by Kyle and Zeenat. There were other guests who saw three and half a person working out in the gym. Lily was also running on the treadmill and although her pace was slow, she did have a good rhythm. Leo noticed this and smiled proudly.

Following the run, Leo did some calisthenics, and Zeenat helped Lily with her routine and helped her with gloves and shin pads. Then the guests saw a tiny boxer following a tall and lean boxer. They all were wondering who was this little girl. Just then one lady frowned and said, "Excuse me, do you know that putting a child through such training can cause her to develop severe illness? What kind of parent are you? Putting her on a show to gain admiration from the world. Shame on you!"

Leo looked at the lady with an amused expression, while Lily was outright glaring at the speaker. She would let it go had it been herself, but this lady accused his parents and that was her reverse scale.

She looked at the speaker and Leo patted her little head and said, "Calm down, continue with what you want to do. Some people have a limited intelligence and they just wish to act out to cover how they crave attention. Don’t react, and let them bark."

Leo was not a soft spoken person, this lady dared to malign his family, she was going to be given her own medicine back in full. After calming down Lily, the young man turned to look at the lady and said, "Do you see us recording anything? Did I call you to watch? Do you see us torturing her to learn?"

The lady saw Leo approach her with calm voice, but ice cold eyes. He locked his gaze with the lady and said, "My name is Leo Cardinal, and I felt like you just defamed me in the presence of these people. How about you apologize and be on your way before I call my lawyers and have them send you a legal notice, and counter sue you, then you apologize. Please select a method, I don’t have much time on my hand."

His calm voice caused the lady to shiver. Yes, she was a nitpicker, but many times she had gotten scolded by the people, and almost gotten into legal trouble. She clenched her fist and bowed her head, "I apologize, I assumed something unnecessary. It was my fault to disturb you and your child."

Leo nodded and turned around to focus on Lily. Lily was his pride, and if anyone dared to target her, they would suffer the worst fate. After half and hour of workout, the people came back to the suite, and Lily and Leo took a bath, before Kyle came over in a crisp black suit and said, "Sir, the hospital is ready for our tour. Mister Grimm said that someone from the family would help us."

Leo nodded and then he adjusted his cuffs, before Lily came over to scrutinize him. She frowned and replied, "Baba, you are such a child. Why don’t you use the mirror?"

Leo smiled and crouched down before her as he said, "So that my little princess can help me. This is why I don’t use the mirror."

Lily raised her chin proudly, before she reached out to fix his collar, and then ran her small hands through his hair, and inspected his face from all angles before she nodded and then he took his chance to pick a comb and sorted Lily’s hair into braids. His movements were smooth and fluid, and all it took was a few minutes.

Leo was wearing a beige shirt and white pants, while Lily was dressed in a white dress with some beige colored embroidery on it. The young lady raised her hand and said, "You may escort me today, Baba."

Leo chuckled and bowed to her, before he said, "Thank you for the honor you have bestowed upon me, Young Miss Lily."

The two then looked at each other before they chuckled and left the hotel. Today they were using two motorcades. One was a decoy, and the other was the real. However, the enemy was very adaptive as well, they have deployed two teams to stalk them.