The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 115

The Black Lion Family’s Strongest Daughter-in-Law (115)

#115.

Cercia turned and gave Ella a bright smile.

“No, you’ve suffered more on my behalf since I was stuck here.”

“I would do anything for you, Cercia.”

Ella returned the compliment, smiling brightly as well.

After the Hebel Treaty was broken, Ella ignored Isaac’s calls for a long time.

There was no reason for her to stay in Hebel, where she was treated worse than a slave.

However, Isaac wasn’t one to give up easily. His persistent contact ended a year ago, as soon as Ella reached adulthood.

Ella becoming an adult stripped Isaac of his guardianship.

Having 미리 [in advance] left evidence of the abuse, Isaac backed down.

He must have sensed that stirring things up would only tarnish his reputation.

He was extremely conscious of how others saw him, so there was nothing he feared more than social ruin.

Of course, it was Cercia who advised her to do this. When dealing with difficult people, you need clear evidence and the judgment of the law.

As a result, Ella was able to stay by Cercia’s side.

She was also mainly in charge of handling matters outside the South on Cercia’s behalf until she came of age.

Cercia adjusted her earring and said,

“This time, it’s the North?”

“Yes, I found a village in the North where a legend about the Opal of Nothingness is told.”

“I wonder if it’s real this time.”

Cercia muttered quietly, a hint of skepticism in her voice.

For the past three years, Cercia had been constantly tracking the whereabouts of the Opal of Nothingness.

All that was known about the Opal of Nothingness, which Tabi had mentioned, was its name.

So, she had bought all sorts of opals, but she still hadn’t found a gem with a self [sentience or awareness].

Then, she was lucky enough to find a village where a legend about the Opal of Nothingness was told, but it happened to be in the North.

Moreover, it was in a village within Paige’s territory, making entry difficult.

Ella was also registered as a southern beastkin, making it difficult to enter secretly.

There was a risk of being taken hostage.

In a situation where a head-on breakthrough was the only option, the talk of a summit was welcome news.

At that moment, Tabi hovered in the air in the form of a fish, muttering.

― Still, it’s a relief. Your pheromones are still quiet. But you still have to be as careful as possible with your pheromones. You never know when a pheromone clash might occur.

― That is so. You might leave this world before this old man.

“There’s no order when people go.”

― You rascal! You say anything in front of your elders.

“I don’t think Jonathan, who keeps digging through the floor of our house, is one to talk.”

Cercia narrowed her eyes and scolded Jonathan. Unlike Tabi, Jonathan was very active.

He had already created a huge secret tunnel in Jabisi Castle. He was so enthusiastic, saying that we should use it if we ever had to escape from Jabisi.

It seemed that Cercia’s past kidnapping by Cainric had been quite shocking.

Or maybe he just hated Jabisi.

― Tsk, I’m doing this all for you.

“Yes, yes. But please do it in moderation. I don’t want to fall into a sinkhole.”

― I guarantee the safety.

That’s not what I meant, you old man!

Cercia had a lot to say, but she held it all back. She had already understood Jonathan’s stubborn nature over the past three years.

“I’m sorry, if only I hadn’t shown myself to Paige…”

Ella muttered with a gloomy face. In fact, she had already tried to infiltrate the North once.

Since she didn’t have pheromones, it was easy to hide her presence, and she thought she would be fine since she could protect herself with the swordsmanship skills she had learned before her regression.

However, after being caught by Heathcliff, she couldn’t even think about the North. It was because Cercia stopped her.

“It’s okay. Originally, Heathcliff is a child with sensitive senses, so he would have noticed even if he didn’t know your face.”

“Yes…”

Ella still had a gloomy expression. At that moment, her flowing pink hair fluttered in a breeze that seemed to come from nowhere.

The blue eyes visible beyond her drooping lashes rippled wildly like a lake in a storm.

‘Ugh, it’s too dazzling.’

Cercia frowned without realizing it. As if she were the heroine of the original story, her beauty had blossomed as she came of age.

As Ella’s self-proclaimed guardian, Cercia felt a deep sense of responsibility.

There had been a growing number of lion bastards [a playful term for the male lions] targeting Ella in Jabisi Castle these past few days.

Well, it would be stranger if they remained still after seeing that face.

Just by lowering her eyes a little, a 착시현상 [optical illusion] like rain falling behind her suddenly occurred.

When faced with that pathetic face, you would want to ask for forgiveness even if you had done nothing wrong.

But unfortunately, Ella had an ex-boyfriend named Heathcliff.

Moreover, Ella still seemed to have feelings for Heathcliff.

The problem was that her ex-boyfriend didn’t remember Ella at all.

That’s why she was so sensitive whenever Heathcliff’s name came up, making it difficult to read her.

‘She hasn’t been able to pull herself together since she was almost caught by Heathcliff last time. I wonder what happened?’

It was clear that something had happened between them. It was frustrating because she didn’t say anything.

Cercia brought up a problem she couldn’t solve alone and moved on to the main topic.

“Anyway, regardless of the success or failure of this negotiation, we must go. Opportunities to go to the North openly are rare.”

“That’s right. In the first place, we can’t be sure if Paige really proposed the negotiation to prevent war, so we should go as soon as we can.”

“Right. Frankly speaking, if she wanted to prevent war, there was no reason to drag it out for three years.”

“It’s clear that she has other intentions, but it’s up to us to use them.”

“Oh, our Ella. Who did you take after to be so smart?”

“I learned it all from you, Cercia!”

Ella answered vigorously, clenching her fists tightly.

It had been three years since she started educating the naive Ella, who was ignorant of the world.

‘I think I can go down the mountain now [a metaphor for completing her training].’

Cercia felt a sense of pride as she rubbed her nose. Ayla entered the room with a knock.

“Cercia, it’s time for the family meeting.”

“Ah, yes! I was waiting for it. I’ll be back, Ella.”

“Yes, please win.”

“Of course! Who do you think I am?”

Cercia smiled and high-fived Ella, then followed Ayla.

The family meeting was a system created by Cercia to prevent Jabisi’s 독주 [domination or one-sided decision-making], and it required the unanimous consent of the family to decide on important matters.

Generally, Zerachiel and Zakari were on one side, and Rachel and Cercia were on the other.

And this meeting was requested by Cercia, who had already stated that she wanted to be taken to this negotiation.

Perhaps fierce opposition awaited.

‘Don’t be scared!’

Cercia walked bravely, determined.

* * *

When Cercia arrived, all the family members except her were sitting around the table. Zakari said with a solemn face.

“You’re late.”

He was probably trying to intimidate her. But who was she? Wasn’t she the craziest weasel in the Jabisi family?

If you don’t listen to me, the Black Lion and everything else is over.

Now, the number one weasel, who heard the word ‘crazy’ as a compliment, was confident.

“Huh? I’m on time?”

Cercia blinked, pointing to the clock. The family members had arrived early, not that she was late.

Zakari, who was trying to set the mood, faltered.