The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 153

#153.

“Ah, I get it now.”

I sighed quietly, then burst into laughter, finding the situation utterly absurd.

Only then did I understand the inscription on the door.

I wondered what kind of door could reverse time, but it seemed a certain amount of preemptive time was needed to maintain the current state of my world.

“So, that’s how it is.”

Realizing everything, I clenched the green fruit tightly.

There was someone here who would stain the green fruit red and carelessly discard it.

At first, I couldn’t understand why the world of 『Ella’s Kingdom』 lay beyond the door.

What was I supposed to do here?

I had clearly been tricked by the Butterfly Guild into opening the door, but this place didn’t seem particularly threatening to me.

Rather, I was practically nonexistent here.

They claimed paradise would unfold if the door was opened. But that paradise was clearly not meant for them.

The white door that only I could see.

The world of the original story that existed beyond it.

And me, who knew the original story.

Faced with all these circumstances, a realization dawned on me.

The reason why the healing pheromone, which should have been with Ella, was with me.

It was because I had eaten the pheromone fruit that Ella had thrown away.

“So that’s why I ended up here.”

Feeling as if a blockage had been removed, I smiled brightly.

If that was the case, there was only one thing I had to do now.

“I have to go meet Ella.”

* * *

Naaman, having left the vault, headed to the drawing-room.

Hearthcliff was already there, looking furious.

As soon as Hearthcliff saw Naaman, he jumped up and grabbed him by the collar.

Then, without warning, he slammed him against the wall.

Thud!

“Cough!”

Naaman spat out blood, unable to avoid the sudden attack. Hearthcliff grabbed his collar again and growled.

“Where is Ella now?”

Naaman chuckled at the question, which immediately concerned Ella. It seemed Hearthcliff had heard the rumors secretly spreading in Hebel.

Even though he had silenced the priests, it wasn’t enough to deceive even the young Lord of Page.

The more agitated the opponent, the more advantageous it was to remain calm. Naaman spoke in a soft tone.

“Oh, you seem very angry. But it would be troublesome if you treat me so roughly.”

“You broke the promise first. Were you plotting with my father from the beginning to deceive me?”

Hearthcliff was seething with murderous intent. His usual gentle demeanor was nowhere to be found.

In fact, he was so agitated because of what he had heard upon arriving in Hebel.

‘They’re sacrificing the Saintess?’

‘Yes. Actually, the epidemic spreading across the continent is because the Divine Beast is angry. So, they decided to sacrifice the Saintess. The priests say that’s the only way to resolve this situation.’

It was absurd. Hearthcliff had sent Ella to Hebel to protect her.

But in Hebel, which he thought was a safe zone, Ella was in danger of losing her life.

It was his fault for not following Ella right away.

Belatedly, Hearthcliff couldn’t find Ella among the territory residents, so he came straight to Naaman. He would know where Ella was.

Then Naaman said.

“Break it? We never did such a thing.”

Hearthcliff scoffed at the brazen attitude.

“I clearly heard from my father that he would protect the territory residents and Ella in Hebel. But where is Ella?”

“Let’s talk after you calm down.”

Naaman persisted without revealing Ella’s whereabouts.

‘To maintain his sanity even after being infected with Butterfly poison. He’s indeed impressive.’

But soon he would become one of the mad beastmen wandering outside Hebel.

He was holding out longer than expected, but he was just a beastman.

Once he lost his reason, he would naturally be kicked out of Hebel, a mere puppy.

Naaman smiled strangely and said.

“I don’t know where you heard such a thing, but it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“What’s a misunderstanding? I’ve already heard all the rumors circulating in Hebel. That they’re sacrificing Ella.”

“Because of these strange rumors, we have been safely protecting Ella to ensure her safety. We were planning to let you meet her when you arrived, Hearthcliff.”

Hearthcliff’s momentum waned at the mention of meeting Ella. But still suspicious, he warned in a low voice.

“If you’ve touched even a hair on Ella’s head, I’ll kill you on the spot.”

“Is there any doubt?”

Naaman hid his scheme and led him somewhere.

Hearthcliff, unaware of anything, was wary only of Naaman and followed him. Little did he know that it was not Ella but a third party waiting for him.

* * *

Before going to meet Ella, I first returned to the vault.

It was to retrieve the sacred objects and to check what sacred object Naaman had taken.

And what he had taken was none other than the ‘Ruby of Binding.’

The Ruby of Binding had the power to brainwash and control beastmen, making it easier to subdue them.

The stronger the pheromone, the more difficult it was to break free from the power of binding. At the same time, it consumed a lot of the caster’s mental power, making it less efficient.

Originally, it was an item to restore beastmen who had lost consciousness or gone berserk, but there was no way Ebensebe would use it for that purpose.

The fact that he took such a sacred object meant that he intended to subdue a beastman that strong.

Naturally, two beastmen came to mind.

Hearthcliff and Zerachiel.

Both were beastmen born with strong pheromones, but they did not belong to Hebel.

In this pandemic situation, there would be no beastmen as good as them for the Butterfly Guild to use as subordinates.

‘But right now, Zerachiel is completely insane with madness. It’s too inefficient to control him with the Ruby of Binding.’

The Butterfly Guild wasn’t in an urgent situation, so there was no need to go to such trouble. Then the only one left was Hearthcliff.

“What on earth is going on?”

When I first fell here, Jabez Castle was in ruins.

The sight of Zerachiel’s flower burning in the secret garden was still vivid in my mind.

I had a hunch, and it was as I expected.

The flower that had fallen arbitrarily could not be revived.

And once the madness flower fell, there was no saving him from madness. Only death awaited.

That’s why I was so plagued by powerlessness in my dreams. Because I couldn’t save Zerachiel even when I saw him before my eyes.

‘But unlike in the dream, Zerachiel wasn’t there.’

Then the future was not exactly the same as the dream I had seen.

My precognitive dream was a power that showed a certain situation that could happen in fragments.

Perhaps the future had already changed considerably from the dream.

In the first place, the Butterfly Guild used Jabez’s poison when they spread the epidemic. That’s why the beastmen went mad.

Unlike the beastmen who were infected with Butterfly poison and went mad, Zerachiel was mad in himself.

He would be destroying everything while feeling pain as if his whole body was burning. Not even knowing that he was dying.

The Amitaras continent was already in the midst of a pandemic.

My heart ached as I thought of Zerachiel suffering somewhere in this world.

I wanted to save him even now, but this was just a place to stay for a while.

The place where I truly needed to be was not here.

The one I truly needed to save was not here either.

So I wasn’t going to overdo it to save him here like in the dream.

Having made up my mind, I contracted with the Jade of Imitation, followed by the Crystal of Transparency.

And what I faced was Kirin, who was still talkative.