The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 15

#15.

“Do as you please.”

Zachary got into the carriage with a fed-up look. Zerachiel boarded the carriage waiting behind with Ivan.

They were headed to Hebel, known as the ‘Misty Pass.’

The leaders of each region held meetings in Hebel, a neutral territory, every quarter.

A lawless zone was formed around the neutral city in the center, bordering each nation.

Hebel was established as a neutral zone because its unique fog prevented the effective transmission of pheromones. If one tried to use pheromones by force, it would only make them feel lethargic.

In short, it was a place that didn’t belong to any family, a haven where beast-people who couldn’t belong anywhere gathered.

It was also called the city of abandoned beast-people, as they wouldn’t be hunted down by powerful pheromones. It was truly a safe zone for beast-people. At least here, they wouldn’t have to fight against the effects of pheromones.

‘If it’s a meeting, Heathcliff will probably come too, right?’

As the head of the family representing the North, Heathcliff, or rather, his successor, would also attend.

‘Ella might come along too by now.’

『Ella’s Kingdom』 was surprisingly an epic that started as a childcare story and evolved into a war story. Although many readers left when it turned into a war story in the latter half, it was a healing novel that captivated the hearts of many readers in the beginning.

Ella was a rabbit beast-person who escaped after being manipulated with pheromones. She was lucky enough to be rescued by the head of the Paige family and raised like an adopted daughter.

The relationship between Heathcliff and Ella, who grew up like siblings, became ambiguous after they reached adulthood.

I remembered being thrilled as a reader whenever a strange atmosphere wafted between the two of them when they saw each other all grown up.

However, tragedy began when Ella reached adulthood and could no longer hide her unique pheromones. All sorts of beasts, regardless of gender or age, began to flock to her.

That was how the latter half, befitting the title of Ella’s Kingdom, was formed. And the series was discontinued just as the group that plotted the pheromone manipulation was about to be revealed.

‘I never thought I would be born as a second victim.’

Seeing as my story wasn’t mentioned in the novel, I must have died of starvation without making it through the winter.

If I hadn’t thought of robbing the Javis family’s warehouse, I would have either frozen or starved to death anyway.

‘I wonder if Bianco is doing well.’

I was caught, but he ran away with his hands full of meat, even abandoning me, so he probably made it through the winter without any trouble.

It was almost spring. Outside, a final snowfall signaling the last of the cold had piled up. Nevertheless, the sunlight was quite warm, so the snow would soon melt.

As they reached the neutral zone, Ivan frowned and muttered.

“This place still has a disgusting smell that makes me feel lethargic.”

A smell?

I sniffed, but I didn’t smell anything in particular. Only a thick fog outside made the surroundings look mysterious.

Zerachiel flicked my nose and muttered.

“You won’t feel anything no matter how much you sniff.”

Why?

When I tilted my head, he muttered with drowsy eyes.

“The stronger the beast-person, the more unpleasant they feel here.”

That meant I was weak. Instantly annoyed, I hissed at Zerachiel.

That unlucky black lion.

* * *

“It’s been a while, Lord Javis.”

Naaman, the head and chief administrator of Hebel, recognized the Javis family’s carriage and greeted them. Next to him, Hebel’s servants, all dressed in pure white, stood in a row to welcome them.

“Welcome, master of the South.”

The master of the South was a term referring to Zachary, the head of the Javis family.

I glanced at Hebel’s servants. I heard they were half-beast-people without pheromones.

Usually, they wouldn’t live long without pheromones, but they could live here. So, Hebel’s servants couldn’t leave Hebel even a step. They would die if they left.

Conversely, they could be complete beings in Hebel. This place was a space where everyone was equally restricted from using pheromones.

Hebel was a sanctuary and a sacred ground in itself. Called the beginning and end of all beast-people, this was a place where the powerful weapon of beast-people, pheromones, was useless.

I heard that many parents entrusted their beast-people who lacked pheromones to this place.

‘It seems like my parents abandoned me, though.’

If they had any affection for me as their child, they would have sent me to Hebel to live out my life in peace, instead of abandoning me in the wild to face the harsh winter.

“It’s been a while, Naaman.”

“You’ve become even more handsome since I last saw you.”

“Your flattery has improved.”

Naaman smiled at Zachary’s reply. After exchanging greetings a few more times, they moved to their assigned lodging.

The meeting lasted for a month. It took a long time for all the families to gather, and everyone seemed to have a hard time adjusting to the time difference here.

So, I heard they rested for about a week to allow their bodies to adjust to Hebel.

Ivan frowned deeply as he headed to the lodging and said.

“It seems the Paige family is already here.”

At those words, I looked where Ivan had glanced. There, a silver crescent moon flag symbolizing the Paige family was planted.

Coincidentally, the Javis family’s flag was planted right next to them.

A black rose with thorny vines wrapped around it. At first glance, it was a strange seal that seemed to bind or protect the black rose.

“I sometimes think the person in charge of assigning places does it on purpose. Wasn’t it the same last time, being next to the Paige family?”

“That’s just because you only remember that time. Last year, we were next to Louyen.”

“Oh, really? I feel like the fog of Hebel is causing problems with my memory.”

Ivan massaged his head as if he was dizzy at Zerachiel’s rebuttal.

Was it that hard?

Ivan seemed more sensitive than usual. On the other hand, Zerachiel was no different from usual.

He always looked spaced out, so even if his eyes were a little more unfocused, it was the same.

Of course, he seemed a bit slower than usual, so it didn’t seem like he was completely unaffected.

In contrast, I wasn’t much different from usual. Instead of feeling lethargic, I felt more alive. It must be because I was weak.

“Are you okay?”

Zerachiel nudged me, who was still. When I raised my front paw to indicate that I was okay, he chuckled.

Zerachiel stroked me, and just as he was about to enter the lodging,

The door of the Paige family opened, and a boy with handsome features appeared. He widened his eyes when he found us.

Dark silver hair and cloudy silver eyes, like the surface of the moon, were an appearance that signified a direct descendant of Paige at a glance.

‘Heathcliff?’

I was gaping, not expecting to meet the male lead of the original story so soon.

Heathcliff stopped with a stiff face when he saw Zerachiel. He rolled his eyes and glanced at me in Zerachiel’s hand.

“A weasel?”

At Heathcliff’s muttering, Zerachiel stuffed me into his pocket.

“Chee, chee!”

Hey, I can’t breathe!

Completely crumpled in his pocket, I couldn’t figure out what was going on.

“I heard you were raising a pet, so it was true.”

“That rumor reached the North? How unpleasant.”

Zerachiel’s voice was even more languid and smooth than usual. His voice was soft, so he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

I barely managed to escape from Zerachiel’s hand and peeked out. Then I met Heathcliff’s eyes again.

Cool energy emanated from his clear, glass-like silver eyes.

“From what I see, it seems to be a beast-person, is it okay to raise it as you please?”