The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 27

A bomb is somewhere here. Deducing that premise was easy.

‘It must be near or inside something made of wood, paper, or cloth, so the flames can spread easily. If it’s an object, it would be something that suddenly appeared. Or somewhere employees don’t usually check, like behind the stairs.’

But even after asking the maids, there was no sign of a bomb anywhere.

Eventually, I became desperate and reconsidered.

Perhaps it’s something easy to retrieve if things went wrong.

A spacious place, an object that could conceal something.

And something that’s always there, so no one even pays attention to it.

Something that would never be moved, even when cleaning.

There was only one thing that fit all those conditions: the ‘decorations’ placed throughout the Heir’s Manor. And in the end, my hunch was right.

But one problem remained: to prevent the culprit from escaping easily, my welcoming banquet had to be held at the Heir’s Manor.

Of course, if I suddenly asked to change the venue of the banquet, which was almost fully prepared, to the Heir’s Manor, I’d be called crazy.

‘Fortunately, I had a trump card.’

In exchange for finding Lady Ariadne’s video stone, she promised to give me any reward I wanted. With that, I told Lady Inanna that I wanted to have a treasure hunt here.

“Even though you’re still a child, you have such deep schemes.”

“Hehe. Thank you!”

“Your pronunciation seems to have improved too. Have you been practicing speaking alone?”

Huh, how did she know?

A moment later.

I was being showered with affection on Lady Inanna’s lap. I love it when she tickles my tummy!

“How did you deduce that a bomb was hidden just from the gunpowder on your feet? You’re so clever.”

I read it in a book, but I’m shameless, so I accepted the praise proudly.

“If you had announced loudly that you had found a bomb, the culprit would have hidden it.”

“That’s right.”

“Because you insisted on having a treasure hunt, all the employees started hiding things here and there. Hiding something means that you can also find what’s already hidden. Eventually, the culprit became afraid and came to retrieve it himself.”

“Ehehe.”

Why are you praising me so much?

I felt so good that I wiggled my body.

“I will thoroughly investigate who is behind that person, so don’t worry.”

I know who’s behind it. It’s Ritzenvium.

But I didn’t say that. I’m sure she’ll take care of it.

Instead, I did something more useful. Namely, tattling!

“You know, you know. Lady Inanna! I heard that person hit Ian earlier.”

“…What?”

“If you get punished for doing something wrong, do you get corporal punishment?”

He’s the heir to the Duke’s family, though? Probably not.

Weasel must have independently inflicted corporal punishment on Ian.

To see if my guess was correct, Lady Inanna’s brow furrowed slightly.

“While I was neglecting internal affairs, rats have been swarming. Thank you for telling me. I will investigate him as well.”

Lady Inanna’s stern gaze turned to Weasel.

Watching that, I applauded inwardly and looked around to find where Ian was.

‘By the way, where did Ian go? He needs to see this historic moment of Lady Ferret [referring to Inanna, implying she’s acting like a fierce ferret].’

I caught a terrorist?

I wanted to boast about it in a loud voice.

“Ugh, ugh! Ugh ugh!”

The terrorist, who had been gagged to prevent suicide, had been very noisy since earlier.

I glanced at him and clung to the Duchess’s knee, begging.

“Lady Inanna, I’ll go get Ian.”

“Will you? He’s shy and likes to be alone.”

I don’t think he’s shy…….

I didn’t bother correcting the Duchess’s misunderstanding.

“Where is Ian’s room?”

“Second floor, probably at the east end.”

“I’ll be back!”

Even though the Duchess personally ordered everyone to come out to the garden, Ian ignored it. That meant the family relationship was quite distant. Ian didn’t seem to trust anyone.

“Ian! Let’s go down!”

Unlike the first floor, the second floor was carpeted and had a more lived-in atmosphere.

I worked hard with John to head east, gathering my front paws and shouting.

“Ian!”

And that… it burst right at that moment.

Just as I was about to call Ian for the third time, an unexpected moment occurred. A moment no one thought of and didn’t prepare for.

The second bomb exploded with a roar, rushing at me as if to devour me.

KWA-BOOM!!!

“!!”

My fragile body was almost torn apart by the force of the explosion. If John hadn’t hugged me with tremendous reflexes, I would have certainly lost my life.

“Little Madam! Are you alright!”

“John… my, back……”

“You don’t have to worry about me. More importantly, we must find Master Ian!”

John had a serious face that I had never seen before.

As I was being carried by John, I shuddered at the sight of the stairs behind me disappearing.

“N, no. Ian……!”

Pat. Burning pieces of wood fell down.

A series of explosions occurred below, and the floor of the second floor burst out. John easily avoided it, but if he took even one wrong step, it would be a fiery pit ending.

“Where are you! Ian!”

It’s okay, don’t worry, it’s fine.

I knew the loneliness hidden in those rough words. I had those times too. The reason for raising thorns and telling people not to come closer is because you don’t want to get hurt anymore.

Knowing that you don’t have the strength to protect something you own, you stubbornly assert your pride, saying you’d rather not have it than have it taken away.

And I once thought that I could just die without anything.

“Ian! Ian!!!”

So, no.

Even if I hadn’t read the unspoken words in your eyes, now that I knew, I couldn’t forget Ian and live well.

“Master Ian!!!”

It was then. At the end of John’s shout, there he was.

A boy standing blankly in the blazing flames. The boy with hair as red as the flames spreading behind him, strangely… didn’t seem to have any intention of getting out of there. He was just staring at the fiery pit in front of him with unfocused eyes.

‘Is he crazy? Is he trying to die?’

My heart sank.

Thud.

At the same time, the window frame collapsed.

I couldn’t see the people who found us as half the mansion exploded and shouted that it was dangerous, or John holding me tight, or someone running up and shooting water with magic.

‘No. Try to live. I’m telling you to try to live!’

I put strength in my hind legs and struggled, slipped out of John’s arms, and ran towards Ian.

“Don’t, die!!!”

“……!”

“Hwaaaa! I, don’t wanna die! Let’s go!!!”

If I die this time, I’ll be a dung beetle. I’ll definitely be a dung beetle!

I kicked Ian’s chest with my feet, crying. As if he had finally come to his senses, reason returned to Ian’s golden eyes.

“……You.”

I glared back at the eyes that looked down at me as if they were dumbfounded, and grabbed Ian’s collar with my small front paws.

“Let’s go!!! What are you doing!!!”

“You go.”

“I won’t go if you don’t go!”

“……Are you crazy?”

It’s hot. The fire all around seemed to scorch me.

I shouldn’t be standing in this smoky air. I need to lower my body.

I’m small, so I can still endure it, but it wouldn’t be good for Ian to inhale more smoke. Just in time, I heard voices from behind calling out urgently, “Master! Little Madam!”

“You’re my husband, right? Don’t die, live and be my husband!”

“That’s such a stretch… Ugh.”

John forcibly carried the resisting Ian on his back, and I climbed on top of John’s head, sobbing, when I heard a cracking sound from somewhere.

A sound that was so ominous that even my tears stopped—

“It’s dangerous!!!”

As if my scream was a signal, at that moment, the main beam above my head collapsed. And with it, a pure white light exploded around me.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, as everyone took a breath.