The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 135

#135.

Just before being kicked out of Hebel, Ebensev came to me, wailing. The sky seemed to mirror her despair, as rain poured down fiercely.

“Larien, what am I going to do? The Divine Beast wants me to leave Hebel.”

“Sister……”

“Please, Larien. Please, persuade the Divine Beast. Please? The Divine Beast listens to everything you say. Please.”

Ebensev pleaded desperately, her body trembling, soaked in the rain.

But there was nothing I could do to keep Ebensev, who had broken the contract, in Hebel.

I let go of my sister’s hand.

“I’m sorry, Sister.”

Upon hearing my refusal, Ebensev retreated, her lips tightly shut.

“……You’ll regret this.”

Leaving only those words, Ebensev was banished from Hebel.

Furthermore, as punishment for breaking her promise with the Divine Beast, she was forbidden from entering Hebel, even in her beast form.

A complete expulsion, indeed.

Since the Divine Beast only stayed in Hebel, it meant Ebensev could no longer meet her beloved.

After that day, naturally, I couldn’t see my sister.

Just as my longing for my sister was fading, he appeared as if by fate.

* * *

On the day of the banquet.

Cersia repeatedly checked her reflection in the mirror, her face etched with fatigue.

For the past few days, she had been having restless dreams, so even when she slept, she didn’t feel rested. It was as if she was exhausting her energy even while sleeping.

She kept having similar dreams, but she couldn’t remember them when she woke up. Only the vague silhouette of a woman lingered.

“Haa.”

As she yawned repeatedly, Ayla, who was watching her with concern, spoke up.

“You don’t seem to be sleeping well these days.”

“It’s just that my dreams are restless.”

“What kind of dreams are you having that make you like this?”

“I’m curious about that too, but I don’t remember anything when I wake up. I think it’s just nonsense.”

“It seems you’ve been under a lot of stress lately, going through all sorts of things.”

“I guess so.”

“You’ll have to stay in the North for a while now, so I’m really worried. What if our Cersia catches a cold?”

“I’ll have to get pheromone transfusions from Zerachiel periodically, I guess.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

As Ayla tilted her head, Cersia also tilted her head in the same direction and asked.

“Huh? What?”

“Why do you need to receive Zerachiel’s pheromones periodically?”

“Ah, Zerachiel can get rid of a cold with his pheromones.”

The pheromones of a Jabesi [a powerful beast race] are usually exclusive and toxic to other beasts, so using them carelessly could lead to the demise of the target.

Fortunately, the exclusivity weakens for the imprinted partner, supposedly because they recognize their mate as ‘me’.

Ayla knew this, so she should have understood quickly, but instead, she wore a puzzled expression.

“I meant, why do you need to receive them periodically? Doesn’t it usually last for more than a day?”

“Huh? No, it wears off in an hour or two?”

“Pardon?”

“Huh?”

We repeatedly questioned each other, not understanding each other.

“The reason I’ve been following Zerachiel around here is because of that.”

Cersia felt that something was wrong even as she explained.

Ayla’s expression was ambiguous, so it seemed that this was not a normal phenomenon.

At that moment, a conversation she had with Zerachiel a few days ago came to mind. Every time she went to him shivering, he often said things she couldn’t understand.

‘It seems like the cycle is getting shorter and shorter. How short can it get?’

‘Isn’t it just that you’re injecting pheromones haphazardly? Try to do it properly~’

‘Is it related to other pheromones?’

At the time, she retorted brusquely because it seemed like he was complaining about being bothered.

He would get lost in his own thoughts, whether she said anything or not.

‘He knew all along that my condition was unusual.’

There was no reason for him to mutter to himself like that otherwise.

Moreover, judging from the fact that he was deliberately gauging the timing of pheromone injections, it seemed like he was conducting some kind of experiment.

Thinking about it, it didn’t seem to be a problem limited to Zerachiel.

The fact that Erhaden turned her into a fox in the past and it was resolved not long after suddenly came to mind.

Besides, the fact that she had transformed into a human in response to the pheromone confrontation between Heathcliff and Zerachiel flashed through her mind.

‘Am I sensitive to pheromones?’

Come to think of it, she had always been quicker than others at detecting the pheromones of other beasts.

Even before living in Jabesi Castle, she had keenly noticed murderous intent and pheromones, often escaping crises from natural enemies.

She had thought it was all just a survival instinct.

Now it was clear that there was something other than instinct.

Perhaps it was a characteristic of pheromones that had not yet awakened.

Zerachiel seemed to have refrained from speaking because he couldn’t accurately define this anomaly.

Just then, Zerachiel, dressed in full uniform, entered with Ivan, along with a knock.

A sophisticated outfit with black suits and gold embellishments symbolizing Jabesi. Structured shoulder lines and diagonal cut lines.

Cersia felt strangely reminded of last night’s kiss when a different atmosphere than usual was felt.

Eyes, body temperature, gestures toward each other.

Everything was vivid in her mind.

Cersia bit her lower lip at the sensation of her heart fluttering again.

She avoided making eye contact because it was somehow difficult, but her eyes met Ivan’s. The quick-witted Ivan grinned, embarrassing Cersia.

“What’s with that look~?”

“Wh, what.”

“No, it’s just that you keep staring at our young master since the last time. I’m curious if you two have done something behind my back.”

His words, drawn out to the end, were full of teasing. Even in the midst of all this, Zerachiel was staring intently only at her.

Just as Cersia’s face turned bright red, Ayla came to her aid.

“Instead of talking nonsense, you should do more push-ups. There are rumors that you’ve been skipping training often because you’ve gotten a little comfortable lately.”

“No, did I skip because I wanted to? It’s because Zerachiel keeps sending me on outside work?”

“You can train after doing that. You’re a useless person anyway.”

“Why not? There’s a lot I can do!”

Ivan puffed out his chest and blustered, but no one knew that he was still single.

Ayla lightly ignored Ivan. Then, seeing that Zerachiel’s gaze was fixed on Cersia and wouldn’t let go, she smiled brightly and said.

“She’s pretty even in the eyes of the young lord, right?”

“Yeah. Excessively.”

“It’s hard to dress up unless it’s a time like this. I put more effort into it than usual today.”

Ayla answered cheerfully, feeling proud.

Cersia wasn’t very interested in dressing up in the first place. She hardly ever dressed up unless it was for an official event like this.

Because of that, Ayla used the excuse of these events to dress her up diligently.

Ayla muttered ecstatically, holding a comb.

“I think I’m living these days for the pleasure of styling Cersia’s hair. There were so many things I couldn’t do when it was short.”

It seemed that she wasn’t eating her fist thanks to the comb in her hand. Cersia kept a close eye on her, lest she eat the comb.

Anyway, she had promised Ayla to grow her hair out when she became an adult.

As a result, Cersia was willingly participating in Ayla’s doll play every morning.

Seeing how much she liked it, she felt sorry for cutting it as soon as it grew, thinking it was annoying.

Zerachiel reached out to Cersia and said.

“Beautiful.”

“You too. You look really cool today.”

Following that, Cersia answered shyly and took his hand, and Ayla and Ivan’s eyes met.

After a while, Ivan muttered in a small voice.

“I think there’s something going on, right? My gut feeling is right, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know. Your gut feeling has always been crap.”

As Ayla retorted indifferently, Ivan clicked his tongue and said.

“Ah, geez. Have you only been deceived by beasts your whole life? I’m telling you, I’m good at other people’s relationships.”

Ayla, looking at him pitifully, commented briefly.

“Yes, Mr. Virgin who learned love from books.”

That’s right. Ivan was a pure lion beast who had never even held a female’s hand before.