The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 149

#149.

I headed straight for Jabesi’s secret garden.

The door to the secret garden, which was always kept tightly shut, was somehow standing wide open. A sense of unease washed over me, and I hurried inside.

What I saw devastated me.

“This can’t be happening…”

The secret garden was ablaze. Nevertheless, clinging to a sliver of hope, I stumbled forward.

But my steps faltered, crushing my hope.

“No way.”

Seeing even Zerachiel’s frenzied flower [a flower that blooms in response to strong emotions, especially those of a mate] burning, I could barely stand. I collapsed in front of his flower.

‘It’s just like the dream I had back then.’

The first time I experienced a pheromone surge [a sudden and intense release of pheromones, often indicating strong emotional or physical attraction], I dreamed of the secret garden burning. Back then, I couldn’t save Zerachiel.

Was that dream a premonition after all?

If so, I hate it!

“No. This can’t be…”

While I was lost in thought, Tabi manifested [appeared in physical form].

― Calm down, Chelsia. Something’s wrong here. This isn’t the world we know.

“…What?”

― Yes. This is like another world. It seems that door was a gateway to another world.

“Th-then does that mean the burning of Jabesi Castle only applies here?”

― Maybe. Look there. Zakari’s frenzied flower’s stem is still black. In the place we were, his flower had already turned white.

At Tabi’s words, I whipped my head around to look at Zakari’s frenzied flower. As Tabi said, Zakari’s flower, as well as those of the previous family heads, were all black. They looked like dried grass rather than being burned.

In fact, only Zerachiel’s frenzied flower was burning.

Only then did I realize that this wasn’t the world I knew, and I let out a long sigh.

“Thank goodness…”

I hadn’t properly processed the clues because I was so focused on the dream.

I thought I was going to lose Zerachiel, just like in the dream.

As relief washed over me, my thoughts gradually cleared.

This place was like a recreation of the dream I had. But it was so vivid that my heart was still pounding.

― I’ll scout around a bit more. It’s dangerous, so stay here.

Jonathan, seeing that I was still shaken, volunteered to scout ahead and disappeared.

– You should calm down a bit, too. You react so strongly when it involves the Black Lions [an elite group of beastmen warriors].

I could only smile awkwardly at Tabi’s gentle scolding.

* * *

Only after I had calmed down somewhat did I shake myself off and stand up. Even though I had been taken aback by the sudden situation, I became noticeably calmer once I realized that this wasn’t the world I knew.

Leaving the secret garden as it was, I looked around Jabesi Castle. Only then did I notice subtle differences from the place I knew.

There were no flowers anywhere in Jabesi Castle. This was a stark contrast to the place I lived, where many beautiful flowers bloomed all year round.

The desolate appearance made it seem unfamiliar.

It felt similar to what was described in the original story.

I was looking around Jabesi Castle, lost in thought.

Just then, I saw a beastman in the distance. My face lit up when I saw him.

“Oh, Ivan?”

It was definitely Ivan. I didn’t know if he would recognize me here, but I called out to him, overjoyed.

He found me and staggered towards me.

“Grrr.”

While growling.

“Oh, uh?”

I stepped back, startled by Ivan’s eyes, which seemed wild and crazed.

His eyes were blood red. A clear, blood-red, just like when Zakari was in a frenzy.

‘Could it be that this is really the orig…’

Before I could even process the situation, Ivan lunged at me.

“Kyaa!”

Seeing this, Tabi conjured a shield around me. Ivan, bounced off the shield, screamed.

“Kuaaak!”

Following that, he rushed at me several times as if he was furious, but failed each time.

I stared blankly at him.

Ivan was resorting to physical attacks instead of pheromones.

It was a foolish act that the usual Ivan would never do.

But he was genuinely trying to attack me.

Then, the beastmen, who I thought were corpses, suddenly stood up and rushed at me.

Only the growls of beasts filled the air. The whole situation was terrifying.

“Hahaha.”

Only then did I fully grasp the situation and let out a hollow laugh. Tabi looked at me strangely, but I was laughing because it all made sense.

“This is different from what I expected.”

Everyone had red eyes. The way they staggered towards me looked like zombies.

Finally, all the scattered pieces fell into place.

It seemed that the world I had fallen into was inside 『Ella’s Kingdom』, the original story.

* * *

After that, it didn’t take long to figure out the situation.

I was being chased by zombies when Jonathan appeared just in time, allowing me to take refuge in a safe place.

Jonathan, who had returned after searching the area, excitedly told me what he had seen and heard.

― Every beastman I met was so useless! They were staggering around like they were on drugs. They were showing off their strength. Even though they were attacking each other, they would suddenly join forces and beat up only one guy. They were no different from street gangs.

“Did you see any normal beastmen?”

― Ah! Come to think of it, the normal beastmen were heading to Hebel.

― Then, as you said, it must be true that this place is the past that Ella spoke of. She said that Hebel was the only place that the crazed beastmen couldn’t enter.

― Tsk! What a mess!

Jonathan clicked his tongue and looked displeased.

Regardless, I became lost in thought.

The Butterfly Company said that there was a flower they had longed for so much beyond the door.

But when they opened the door, they strangely fell into the world of the original story before Ella regressed [returned to an earlier point in her life or timeline].

I felt uneasy about going back like this. There must be a reason why I came here. If I went back without figuring it out, I felt like I would greatly regret it.

Then, I had no choice but to go to the place where those who could still communicate were gathered.

“I have to go to Hebel first.”

* * *

At a time when Amitaras was devastated by an unprecedented epidemic.

The entrance to Hebel, the only place where the epidemic had not broken out, was literally overflowing with people.

“Why won’t you let me in?”

“We’ve already exceeded the number of people we can accommodate!”

“But the person in front just went in!”

“Ahem! Don’t cause trouble here, go look for another place!”

The situation, where those trying to enter and those trying to stop them, continued to clash.

However, Chelsia, who had safely entered Hebel thanks to Jonathan’s quick thinking, let out a hollow laugh at the deserted interior of Hebel.

Contrary to what the gatekeeper said, there was still plenty of space inside Hebel to accommodate more beastmen.

It was as if the inside and outside were completely different worlds. Since it was autumn, there were trees laden with luscious fruits hanging everywhere.

If there was really a shortage of food and space, there was no way they would just leave that as decoration.

‘They’re being selective about who they accept.’

It seemed that only those who paid some kind of price could come here.

I had to find out what that was, starting now.

To do that, it was impossible to walk around like this. Since I didn’t formally enter through the gatekeeper, I might look suspicious.

Therefore, Chelsia headed to the vault hidden deep within the Sanctuary.

It was long past the time when Nahaman could enter the vault according to the established schedule, so the risk was low.

Chelsia quietly looked around the vault, which she had found for the second time.

“I didn’t know I would come here so soon.”

If I get a chance, stealing is a beastman’s virtue!

Maybe if Ivan was next to me, he would have swept away all the sacred objects, asking what I was dawdling about.

But I wondered if it was right to steal even the sacred objects that I didn’t really need, out of conscience. Of course, the consideration was short-lived.

Anyway, wasn’t this all originally mine?

So, strictly speaking, this isn’t stealing, it’s just going back to its owner!