The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 61

#61.

Even though I might have overeaten a little, I wasn’t about to cause a scene in a place like this.

“It’s true! Actually…!”

I stopped my internal grumbling and blinked. Zakary, who had been chuckling just moments before, suddenly staggered.

“Lord Zakary?”

It was strange to see the usually flamboyant man leaning against a pillar, gasping for breath. As I took a step toward him, he shouted urgently.

“Stop!”

“Yes?”

“Ugh, there’s no time for this. Go get the Duke… Keuk!”

Zakary couldn’t finish his sentence and collapsed to the floor. At the same time, a dark energy began to swirl around him.

His golden eyes seemed unusually bloodshot today.

Unidentifiable vines bloomed darkly on his pale skin.

It was clear at a glance that something was terribly wrong. As I stood frozen, Zakary shouted, his eyes shining fiercely.

“Keup… Hurry!”

Startled by his words, I turned and ran.

How far had I run? I bumped into Jerakiel, who seemed to be looking for me, and a wave of relief washed over me.

“Jerakiel!”

“What is it? I was wondering where you’d gone…”

“Something terrible happened! Lord Zakary suddenly had red eyes… He told me to call the Duke…!”

My voice trembled, and the words came out jumbled. At that moment, Jerakiel’s eyes flashed.

“What did his eyes look like?”

“R-red…”

I stuttered, intimidated by his fearsome expression.

“Damn it!”

Jerakiel was about to run in the direction I had come from when—

Kwaaaang!

A huge roar erupted from where Zakary was, and a black pillar shot up.

The black pillar soared into the sky, surrounding Zabishee Castle, as if encircling the entire area.

“W-what is this…?”

In an instant, the air felt dry and sharp.

“Has it already begun…?”

Jerakiel muttered with a bewildered expression before running off.

“Jerakiel!”

I followed Jerakiel, my heart pounding. It was a sight I had never seen before, yet it felt strangely familiar.

Something was wrong.

That was the only thought in my head. And when I returned to where Zakary had been, I couldn’t help but scream.

“Lord Zakary!”

Black liquid seemed to be pouring from Zakary’s entire body. The black energy emanating from him devoured the vitality of the area.

Also, a pungent pheromone scent that stung the nose seemed to warn of danger.

The moment I smelled that scent, memories suddenly flooded back. Specifically, the sequel to 『Ella’s Kingdom』.

[Jerakiel recalled the time when he came of age. It was a decision he had to make when he stood at the crossroads of life and death.

It was something that the direct line of Zabishee would have to face sooner or later, and he did not regret his choice at the time. If he hadn’t forced his adulthood, he wouldn’t have been able to stop his rampaging father from killing everyone.

It was the head of the family’s rampage that occurred at an unexpected time, just like during the Great Chaos. Herman, the aide who first discovered Zakary Avron Zabishee, died, and Duke Orban, the chief physician who tried to stop the rampage, was killed in succession.

The rampaging Zakary mercilessly murdered the servants who had been laughing and chatting with him until yesterday with bloodshot, reddish-gold eyes. At the same time, he searched for a successor who threatened him.

Black vines grew like tattoos all over his body, and the darker the color of the tattoos, the more he lost his reason.

When he finally appeared before him, Jerakiel willingly jumped into this damn fate.

As a side effect, he became an adult early, but it was better than another Great Chaos breaking out.

And since that day, Jerakiel had not opened his heart to anyone.

And he made a plan to eliminate the Zabishee family forever. The only way for these cursed souls to be saved was through death.]

‘No!’

I belatedly remembered Jerakiel’s twisted past and screamed inwardly.

I didn’t know why this scene came to mind at this moment.

Besides, I had no memory of reading the sequel to 『Ella’s Kingdom』. There was no way a sequel would come out for a novel that had been discontinued in the first place.

“Ah.”

My head ached as if it would break from the sudden influx of information. I groaned without realizing it.

I had been thinking it was strange all along. The fact that Jerakiel didn’t imprint on Ella or ask her for treatment even after kidnapping her in the original story.

Treatment-type pheromones were related to the cure for madness that the Zabishee family had been searching for for generations. That unique pheromone played a role in preventing the seizures and rampages of other sub-humans [individuals with supernatural abilities or traits].

However, Jerakiel in the original story had Ella, who possessed treatment-type pheromones, but he didn’t actively try to use them.

Rather, he prevented her from getting close and only received as much help as he needed, without even realizing that Ella was misunderstanding his standoffish attitude.

‘He was trying to die. He was trying to eliminate the Zabishee family altogether.’

Ironically, the power of Zabishee was so strong that no poison could inflict fatal wounds. The alluring pheromones they possessed prevented the poison from spreading throughout their bodies.

Of course, things would be different if poison were injected periodically, but what madman would try to commit a poisoning that might be discovered? Especially against Zabishee.

In the end, the only way a Zabishee could die was by murder or suicide.

Now I understood why Jerakiel had incited war so much in the original story. He was trying to destroy the Zabishee family itself under the pretext of war, throwing his own life away as a bonus.

“You idiot!”

I couldn’t help but curse at Jerakiel’s foolishness in the original story. If Zakary went on a rampage and Jerakiel became an adult early, it seemed impossible to rehabilitate him at all.

Jerakiel in the original story was cold and ruthless. Even Ivan, who was always flexible, would hold back his words in front of Jerakiel.

The Zabishee Castle in the original story was bleak itself. It was a place where a powerful monarch who did not give his heart to anyone resided.

‘The Jerakiel in the original story is not the Jerakiel I know.’

The Jerakiel I know is not a tyrant who would inflict injuries even if Ivan said nonsense.

“Wait here. If this barrier seems like it’s about to break, run away without delay. As far away from Zabishee Castle as possible.”

Jerakiel said, covering me with a pheromone barrier. It seemed he was planning to kill Zakary.

Because that was the fate of Zabishee’s successor.

Even in this situation, he was protecting me, so I couldn’t even imagine how cruel he would become afterward.

Jerakiel turned his back to me and drew his sword. Zabishee’s fully released pheromones were much more intimidating than I had ever felt before.

And a similar pheromone was felt from Zakary, who was sitting on the opposite side. The only difference was that it had a more gloomy and dangerous atmosphere.

‘Can’t I stop it?’

I currently possessed treatment-type pheromones. If it wasn’t too late, I might be able to stop Zakary’s rampage.

A thought that others might consider excessive optimism dominated my mind. At the same time, my body began to move instinctively.

“Chelsea?”

Jerakiel belatedly discovered that I was moving and widened his eyes.

“What are you doing!”

At the same time, he was about to stop me.

Swoosh—!

With the sensation of my body being snatched by someone, my whole body was constricted as if it would be crushed.

“Chichi! No!”

Jerakiel screamed as if in despair when he saw this, but it was already too late to stop it.