The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 111

#111.

“I-I don’t know!”

Ella stated firmly, turning her head away from Cainrich. She kept rubbing her forearm as if she felt uncomfortable.

‘That’s strange.’

As the situation took an odd turn, I focused my thoughts.

Ella said her memories were fragmented. If that’s the case, shouldn’t she be happy to see a Beastman who recognizes her?

Why is Ella so adamant in her denial and trying to distance herself from Cainrich?

Isn’t it as if she’s trying to hide the fact that she was subjected to pheromone manipulation?

But Ella currently has no pheromones, so it couldn’t be pheromone manipulation.

Naaman said she lost her pheromones after birth, could it be related to that?

Meanwhile, as Ella repeatedly denied it, Cainrich spoke in a somewhat angry voice.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know!”

He huffed and approached Ella, suddenly tearing the sleeve of her right arm.

“Kyaa!”

Ella screamed and staggered back. Cainrich grabbed her forearm tightly and shouted.

“Look at this! You have the same butterfly tattoo as me here! Don’t you know that all the guys who have been pheromone manipulated have this tattoo, and you keep denying it?”

There was a butterfly tattoo where Cainrich pointed. Cainrich even showed his own tattoo, getting heated.

“Huh? How do you explain this? If you and I just met for the first time, there’s no way we’d have the same tattoo.”

“T-That’s…”

Ella couldn’t continue, on the verge of tears. She seemed shocked by the sudden accusation.

I stepped in to mediate before the situation worsened.

“Stop it. You’re scaring Ella.”

“But…”

“You said your memories were manipulated back then too. Maybe that’s why Ella can’t remember.”

Cainrich looked dumbfounded, as if he had belatedly overlooked that fact, taken aback by my words.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Ella apologized, tears streaming down her face. Her expression was full of confusion.

I was just as surprised to learn that Ella had been subjected to pheromone manipulation.

A victim of pheromone manipulation with no pheromones.

I didn’t know exactly what this meant yet.

However, I was convinced that there was another reason why Ella was taking a different path from the original story.

But unless Ella asked for help first, I had no right to press her.

As a somber silence lingered, Zerachiel suddenly interjected with a meaningful remark.

“But Chichi doesn’t have that tattoo.”

“Huh? This guy was also pheromone manipulated?”

Cainrich was the first to react to this. Seeing him genuinely flustered, it seemed he hadn’t met me at the lab.

Zerachiel replied calmly.

“It’s just a guess for now.”

He had thought I was pheromone manipulated before. I had also considered the possibility to some extent.

I didn’t expect the existence of the tattoo to become a topic of conversation, though.

‘If I was pheromone manipulated before the possession, which I don’t know about, there’s no way I wouldn’t have a tattoo.’

Then I was a naturally born mutant.

Maybe I was possessed because of such a mutant body.

At that moment, Isla, who had been watching the situation all along, chimed in.

“It would be best to return to the castle and discuss this.”

Everyone agreed that it wasn’t a conversation to be had on the road.

“Let’s go back.”

Zerachiel reached out his hand to me. I nodded, holding his hand tightly.

I felt a strange heaviness in my head.

* * *

The territory of Xabisi, which we reached after many twists and turns, was filled with a desolate atmosphere, unlike before.

Security was tight from the border entrance, and some gates were even closed.

The reason for this was Orban’s rebellion, which everyone was trying to keep quiet about.

It was because they hadn’t identified the person behind Victor yet.

However, Victor, the only suspect and witness, had been brutally murdered.

‘Judging by the skill with which he was killed in one blow, he didn’t seem like an ordinary Beastman. He was also good at hiding his presence.’

Since this was what Ivan, Zerachiel’s direct subordinate, had said, it was clear that the person who killed him was incredibly skilled.

Throughout the journey to Xabisi Castle, Cainrich told me about an organization he knew.

The organization, called ‘Butterfly,’ operated with their faces hidden.

They tried to develop strong powers through pheromone manipulation, mainly taking in abandoned Beastman before they reached adulthood to experiment on.

‘Seeing them experimenting by combining various pheromones, it’s clear that there’s a force systematically distributing pheromones.’

Cainrich seemed convinced that nobles were behind them.

Indeed, in order for high-ranking pheromones to be expressed through manipulation, the corresponding pheromones needed to be injected.

‘And judging by the access pass found in that traitor’s belongings, it’s highly likely that he sympathized with the Butterfly gang. That’s a token the Butterfly gang uses to identify each other.’

Moreover, they learned that Victor was in cahoots with the Butterfly gang through the access pass found in his belongings.

‘Perhaps they were trying to collect pheromones, taking advantage of the Xabisi Head’s rampage.’

They were trying to approach Xabisi more systematically than expected.

As Cainrich said, the possibility that they were after Xabisi’s pheromones couldn’t be ruled out.

Xabisi’s pheromones were said to be the strongest among the Beastman on the ground.

If they succeeded in combining the strongest pheromones with those that weren’t, it was obvious that something unimaginable and terrifying would happen.

As soon as they arrived at Xabisi Castle, Zerachiel immediately had an audience with Zacari.

“Victor Orban is dead.”

Zacari coldly looked down at Victor’s body. His eyes were so cold that one would never have imagined he was dealing with someone he had faced just a few days ago.

Duke was next to him, swallowing his grief and bowing his head. He couldn’t even grieve in front of his son’s cold corpse because he was a traitor.

“On the way here, I picked up a Beastman who was experimented on by a group identified as being behind this.”

“You found a test subject?”

“The guy who kidnapped Chichi without fear was actually a Beastman who had been pheromone manipulated. And the rabbit Beastman seems to be the same.”

Zerachiel trailed off, thinking of Ella. Judging by how stubbornly she denied it, it seemed she didn’t completely lack memories of the experiment.

Zerachiel’s face was quite stern after finishing his report. On the other hand, Zacari was calm.

“Cherchia has done a great job this time too. To be kidnapped by someone necessary to us even when kidnapped. You’re amazing.”

His face was as if he had expected this to happen someday.

Rather, he was only impressed by Cherchia, who brought something every time she went out. Zerachiel said.

“It’s possible that pheromones were collected when Father was rampaging.”

“If they were after pheromones, that would be the case. There was no time when it was easier to access my pheromones than then.”

“The situation may be worse than we thought.”

“Yes. It seems we’ve been seen as too soft all along.”

Zacari’s eyes flashed coldly.

There were many who targeted Xabisi within the territory, but this was the first time it was pheromones. As the matter was serious, special measures were needed.

“We must prevent those guys, whether they’re butterflies or moths, from rampaging any further.”

“I agree. If we form a search party and search the entire continent, we’ll naturally catch their tail. As for the other Beastman’s backlash, we can just suppress them with force.”

“Yes. You can run wild this time.”

Zerachiel smiled coldly at Zacari’s cheerful permission. His father, who always told him to be patient and endure, was now telling him to do as he pleased.

The meaning was clear. It meant that they would not hesitate to invade the territories of nearby Beastman clans to resolve this matter.

Zacari looked out the window and muttered quietly.

“The continent will be noisy for a while.”