The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 145

Ivee paced back and forth, her face etched with anxiety.

The Successor Ceremony was just around the corner, but there was nothing she could do.

She felt like a stray dog, muzzled and dragged along.

‘Come home.’

Had she known that was what those words meant, Ivee would never have returned to Sarvan.

Why did she fall for it again?

After losing the man she loved before her eyes and her child going missing, Ivee had been living a life like a paper doll.

A life devoid of her own will.

To make matters worse, the marriage forced upon her by her father was far from happy. Not only did she endure her husband’s violence, but also her in-laws’ harsh words.

No one was on Ivee’s side. They all wanted only the child carrying her bloodline. In a life no different from that of a stud, her husband’s death was an accidental one.

The day she put an end to her terrible marriage, Ivee tried to give up on life, but the Sarvan Head stopped her.

Now, in addition to a terrible life where she couldn’t even die if she wanted to, she was feeling the fear of losing her child before her eyes.

‘I wish I could have performed the ceremony instead.’

They say God only gives trials that one can endure. It seemed she had no God to protect her.

‘It’s best not to do anything foolish. Unless you want your heart to burst and die.’

Ivee clutched at her chest, gasping for breath. The eerie sensation of bugs crawling inside her body had been gnawing at her mind for a long time.

If she didn’t visit her father periodically to receive the antidote, she would have to feel that pain in its entirety.

“Haa…”

But even receiving the antidote from her father filled Ivee with guilt.

She resisted and protested to her father as long as she could. Of course, her father didn’t seem to care much.

It was when Ivee couldn’t bear it any longer and collapsed to the floor, clutching the rug.

“Mom!”

Someone supported her. Ivee knew it was her child just by the voice.

“Ah…!”

“What’s wrong, are you in a lot of pain?”

Chelsea fussed over Ivee. Judging by the way she was clutching her chest, it seemed to be the bugs again.

The pain could be quickly resolved if she went to the Sarvan Head.

Seeing Ivee foolishly enduring it made her uneasy.

Chelsea used her pheromones without hesitation.

A refreshing energy enveloped Ivee’s entire body. Ivee’s eyes widened at the sudden disappearance of the pain.

The moment Chelsea saw the bug that had escaped through Ivee’s ear, she commanded,

“Ella.”

“Yes.”

Ella quickly put the bug in a glass bottle. Ivee stared blankly at the bug that seemed to have come out of her body.

She had heard that the bug could never be removed until she died. How on earth did Chelsea remove it so easily?

Everything felt unreal. It was only natural, as she didn’t know that Chelsea possessed healing pheromones.

Chelsea spoke kindly to Ivee, who was filled with bewilderment.

“Do you feel a little better now?”

“H-How…?”

“It would take a while to explain… First, I want to hear about you.”

“Ah.”

“What happened with the Sarvan Head? What is he hiding? Can you tell me?”

At Chelsea’s question, Ivee burst into tears. She sobbed and nodded.

“O-Of course.”

* * *

‘There was a man wearing a mask next to my father.’

‘Did the mask have a butterfly pattern on it?’

‘How did you know…?’

‘So the Sarvan Head was also in cahoots with the Butterfly Gang.’

Once we confirmed through the conversation with Ivee that the Sarvan Head was in league with the Butterfly Gang, things surprisingly went smoothly.

Nahid, having regained his senses, didn’t open his mouth easily, perhaps because of the long years he had been brainwashed by the cult leader.

Well, if he had been captured and brainwashed since shortly after I was born, that was no short amount of time.

But that didn’t last long either.

‘Nahid!’

‘…I, ve?’

It was thanks to him remembering his mother.

Merina diagnosed that it was because the two had marked each other.

Marking between beasts is like a mark engraved on the soul, so even if they lose their memories, they can recognize each other.

Thanks to this, Nahid, who had regained some of his memories, realized that he had been used by the cult leader all along.

After that, he actively cooperated with Jabez, handing over quite a bit of information. It was thanks to him having the ‘Blue Pass.’

Upon hearing the news, Zachary narrowed his opinion to capturing the Sarvan Head alive.

This was because the man beside the Sarvan Head that Ivee saw was highly likely to be a cadre [a small group of people specially trained for a particular purpose or profession] of the Butterfly Gang, whom they had been searching for.

‘The beast Ivee met is probably one of the cadres. There is one cadre who only moves under the direct orders of the cult leader. He also controls bugs.’

‘Don’t you remember his appearance?’

‘He’s such a meticulous man that those who meet him are dealt with in one of two ways. If they are no longer needed, he either erases himself from their memories or kills them.’

‘Then the one who killed Victor Orban is likely to be him.’

Three years ago, Victor was brutally murdered by the Butterfly Gang while escaping from Jabez Castle.

The clean skill that left no trace made us think he was a professional assassin.

If he was moving under the direct orders of the cult leader, he must be a high-ranking cadre.

Thanks to Nahid, we learned a lot of information at once, and we decided to capture the Sarvan Head alive at the upcoming ceremony.

He would know more about the opponent.

In any case, the ceremony was just around the corner. I sprawled on the sofa and muttered casually.

“Seeing that, marking seems pretty amazing.”

Of course, Jerakiel, who marked me arbitrarily, doesn’t even recognize me.

Nahid recognized Ivee as soon as he saw her. It was frustrating that Jerakiel couldn’t even remember me, who was always by his side.

The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and I jumped up.

At that moment, Ella replied in a noticeably gloomy voice.

“I guess so. What’s the point of remembering it anyway.”

“Huh?”

“What are you trying to do by remembering it?”

Ella seemed to be muttering coldly, then sighed repeatedly.

Feeling that the atmosphere was unusual, I gently approached Ella.

I had a lot of things I wanted to ask her anyway. Heathcliff’s changed attitude and Ella’s reaction to it.

There seemed to be something going on that I couldn’t help but care about.

I leaned slightly on Ella’s shoulder and subtly probed.

“Heathcliff is gradually remembering you, isn’t he?”

“…Yes. He might remember everything soon.”

Ella gave an awkward smile and fidgeted with her fingers. Her expression was so messed up that I couldn’t tell if she was smiling or crying.

I stared at her quietly and asked.

“You don’t want him to remember you?”

Ella moved her lips, then opened her mouth.

“…Actually, I don’t know. I don’t know what I want to do with Heath either.”

“But you don’t hate him like you used to, so it seems like your feelings have changed.”

“To be honest, I don’t know how to treat him. I don’t know if I should see the current Heath and the Heath from then as the same beast. Or if I should see them as separate beasts.”

Ella’s worries were, in a way, natural. The current Heathcliff was remembering things he hadn’t done.

I don’t know how much he remembered, but judging by the fact that he started to read Ella’s face, he must have remembered quite a bit.

I cupped Ella’s cheeks, which were groaning with an unsolvable problem, and squeezed them without hurting her.

“If you don’t know, why don’t you just watch a little?”

“Yes?”

“You were actually curious, weren’t you? Why Heathcliff made that choice that day.”

“Ah.”

“I don’t think it’s too late to listen and then decide.”

At my words, Ella moved her lips. After a while, her eyes turned red.

“Hic.”

Ella hugged me. Still looking like a crybaby, I stroked Ella’s hair.