The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 127

A chill went down my spine. Like a creaky robot, I turned around. The moment I saw Zerachiel, I fell backward.

“Eek!”

Thump.

I landed on my butt on the bed, frozen with my mouth agape.

Why, why is he already here?

“You’ve got a look that says, ‘Why are you already here?'”

Is he reading my mind now?

I trembled, flustered that Zerachiel had seemingly read my thoughts.

Then, Zerachiel rose from the sofa and slowly approached me.

Step, step.

My heart pounded as the sound of his shoes grew closer.

Soon, Zerachiel lowered his head, closing the distance. I leaned back involuntarily, and he trapped me with his arms, saying,

“I strangely wanted to come and see you early.”

What a perceptive guy.

As expected of someone who might be a mastermind, his instincts were incredibly sharp.

Zerachiel’s gaze shifted toward the rug.

“Chichi, who was supposed to be sleeping, has disappeared, and there’s a pit dug in the room.”

“…….”

“You hid it well under the rug. Sounds like a premeditated crime.”

Zerachiel slowly tightened the noose. The circumstances already suggested that I had ulterior motives under the guise of negotiation.

Cold sweat trickled down my back. I was completely cornered, with no place to escape.

Besides, even if I did escape, it felt like I’d still be in Zerachiel’s palm.

Golden eyes, as if carefully preparing for the hunt.

Just as I was contemplating how to escape this situation, he gently tucked my hair behind my ear and said kindly,

“So, where did you go?”

A persistent gaze that suggested he would find out one way or another if I didn’t answer.

I don’t know why his whispering sounds so chilling, even though it’s meant to be sweet.

I really want to faint.

If it were Ella, she would have fainted from the palpable tension.

But unfortunately, I wasn’t faint-hearted enough to faint in such a situation.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to relax my body, but instead of fainting, I only felt shame.

I was putting on a show, even holding my breath to faint.

Suddenly, Zerachiel grabbed me, his face stiff, and asked,

“What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Huh?”

“You’re trembling.”

This is just because I’m scared of you…….

I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth and looked up at Zerachiel. His usually calm demeanor was unusually anxious, which was strange.

He put his hand on my forehead to check my temperature and even turned my eyelids inside out to see if there was a problem.

Normally, he wouldn’t have batted an eye even if I put on all sorts of acts in front of him; he would have simply indulged his curiosity.

Anyone could see that I was feigning illness because I didn’t want to answer, but he didn’t seem to notice at all.

From my perspective, being interrogated until just now, this was a golden opportunity.

I leaned against his chest, pretending to stagger.

I felt like Zerachiel would fall for my act now.

“Umm, I think I feel a bit unwell.”

As expected, Zerachiel fell for it.

“……This won’t do.”

He put his hands under my armpits and then gently lifted me, laying me straight down on the bed.

A careful reaction, as if dealing with a patient. He stroked my hair gently and said,

“I’ll go get Marina. Wait just a moment.”

“Uh, w-wait a minute…….”

Before I could stop him, Zerachiel left the room. I tilted my head with a bewildered expression.

“What’s going on?”

* * *

Zerachiel immediately dragged Marina over and had her examine Cherchia.

When Marina came out after the examination, Zerachiel asked with an impatient face,

“How is she?”

“There’s nothing particularly wrong with her.”

“But she was staggering as if she was about to collapse.”

Zerachiel glanced at Cherchia, who was beyond the room. Marina sighed deeply, seeing his unusually anxious face.

“Um, although it’s presumptuous, Cherchia’s pheromone state is more stable than ever.”

“…….”

“If you’re too anxious, Cherchia will also be agitated.”

At the quiet advice, Zerachiel ran a hand over his face. He took several deep breaths, as if he couldn’t control his emotions.

Marina looked at the overly agitated Zerachiel with pity.

I knew this would happen, so Zakari told me to keep it a secret from Zerachiel.

Well, Marina, who had been by his side for a long time, knew very well what Cherchia’s existence meant to him.

“I will definitely find a way. If I analyze Alr [likely a substance or element], I’ll find some clues.”

“Okay. I’m counting on you.”

Zerachiel grabbed the doorknob with a barely composed face.

As Marina said, he shouldn’t show any signs of agitation. If Cherchia found out about her condition, she might become even more unstable.

Zerachiel composed his expression as if he had never been anxious and entered the room. Cherchia, who was sitting on the bed, saw him and asked,

“What did she say?”

“She said there’s nothing wrong.”

“See? It wasn’t something that required calling Marina.”

Cherchia smiled brightly and patted the spot next to her. Zerachiel sat down next to her as if compelled.

Then, he reached out and gently cupped Cherchia’s cheek, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

He felt relieved only when her warmth reached him.

Zerachiel whispered softly,

“Don’t be sick.”

“……Ricky?”

“I don’t know what to do if you’re sick.”

Cherchia blinked, taken aback by the unusually serious atmosphere. She felt sorry for making him worry unintentionally.

“I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For going out without permission. And for making you worry like this.”

As she mumbled dejectedly, Zerachiel gently stroked her cheek.

“Your worries are always my responsibility.”

Cherchia felt guilty at his reaction, as if everything was fine as long as she was healthy.

The more she hid from him, the more anxious he seemed to become. After seeing his reaction earlier, she was convinced.

Zerachiel had somehow realized that her condition wasn’t good. There were some things that couldn’t be hidden, no matter how hard she tried.

It was time to be honest. Cherchia moved her lips and began,

“You know, actually…… there was something I was looking for.”

“I guess it’s in the North.”

Zerachiel reacted calmly, as if he knew she was trying to say something. He already knew through Ivan that Ella was traveling back and forth to the North on her behalf.

Even so, he pretended not to know. It seemed like Cherchia didn’t want to reveal it.

Cherchia was someone who was awkward at relying on others. He already knew that it was a habit formed from being used to surviving alone.

She was always willing to help others, but she couldn’t readily ask for help with matters related to herself. He was always cautious because he could provoke resentment if he ignored that and tried to help preemptively.

That was also why he was always ready to help but didn’t try to help in advance.

Cherchia stammered and continued,

“Yeah. It turned out that someone who knew about that item was near the negotiation site. So, I secretly went there to find it.”

“So, did you find the item?”

“No.”

A look of dismay flashed across Cherchia’s face. Just as he was wondering about that, she squeezed her eyes shut and said,

“On the way to find it, I encountered an unexpected presence…….”

“Who?”

“……My birth mother.”

“!”

“It seems Page found my birth mother. That woman came to find me without the family’s knowledge.”

Zerachiel’s face hardened as much as Cherchia’s. Come to think of it, there was one room in the Page family’s lodging that was particularly heavily guarded.

He wondered who they were serving with such extreme hospitality.

Now it seemed they had been hiding Cherchia’s birth mother, to bring her along at a crucial moment.

At that moment, he remembered Cherchia hesitating to open Heathcliff’s letter and opened his mouth.

“That was what the letter from Page’s young master was about.”

“That’s right. Still, thanks to Heathcliff, I didn’t panic and ramble. If I hadn’t known in advance, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain my composure like this.”

Cherchia took a photo out of her pocket and showed it to Zerachiel. In it, a woman who looked just like Cherchia and a man with a similar air about him were affectionately photographed.

“My mom and dad.”

“……She looks a lot like your mother.”

“Right? But it seems my eyes resemble my father.”

Cherchia spoke calmly as if it were nothing, and Zerachiel silently focused on her story.

Just after she finished her story, Zerachiel asked,

“So, what do you want me to do for you?”