The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 18

#18.

At Heathcliff’s words, I awkwardly rolled my eyes. He seemed surprised that I was so lively, having just arrived in Hebel. I scratched my nose self-consciously and boasted.

“Well, I’m not just any ordinary beast-kin.”

For now, I might be the weakest of the weak, but my potential was limitless.

I was a potential genius with not one, but two unique pheromones.

I might even have greater abilities than the heroine, so obtaining me could lead to world domination.

Of course, to get me, you’d have to defeat Zerachiel first.

Fortunately, perhaps because we were inside Hebel, he didn’t seem to be accurately detecting my pheromones. It was only natural, since Zerachiel’s pheromones were all over me.

“But why are you still in your beast form?”

*Shouldn’t you ask if I even know how to turn human first?*

I glared at his words, which poked at my sore spot. I stamped my foot in protest, and Heathcliff said,

“Sorry. Was that too personal? I just wondered if you were raising a discarded beast-kin.”

It was a painfully accurate guess, but I pretended not to know. Sensing something was off about me, he scratched his cheek and continued,

“For some reason, I can’t take my eyes off you. I apologize if I made you uncomfortable.”

He apologized politely and gave a faint, lonely smile. That smile looked somehow lonely.

He seemed worried that he had upset me. Heathcliff was, after all, very polite and fair in the original story.

Especially bad at lying, he had a stubborn side that kept his mouth shut.

Even Rudy, who served him closely, couldn’t get an answer out of Heathcliff once he closed his mouth. That’s how upright he was.

*But is he alone?*

Around this time, he should have been adopted into the Ella Page family and come with them.

I remember the Page family head even directly ordering Heathcliff to keep a close watch on Ella. But as with all novels, when a man and woman keep meeting, they’re bound to fall in love.

In the early part of 『Ella’s Kingdom』, Heathcliff and Ella met often under the guise of surveillance, and he naturally became smitten with her.

But now was the time to be faithful to his role as a watcher. Yet, Heathcliff seemed too free and even bored for someone watching Ella.

How bored must he be to show interest in a beast-kin like me?

I suspiciously followed Heathcliff with my eyes when it happened.

“Ugh!”

I didn’t see the rock in front of me and fell forward.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zerachiel rubbed his eyes at the unpleasant wind blowing in from the open window. He was sure he had closed the window, so who had opened it?

“Chi Chi?”

Chi Chi didn’t answer his call. Only then did Zerachiel sense something was wrong and opened his eyes.

The curtains were fluttering, and his side of the bed felt strangely empty. Even after scanning the surroundings, he couldn’t sense Chi Chi’s pheromones.

Zerachiel jumped out of bed and headed to the window. And there was a suspicious note.

Judging by the size, it was Chi Chi’s paw print stamp. Following that, clear paw prints that hadn’t been completely wiped away were imprinted around the window.

Opening the window, he saw traces of escape left outside. Leaving such obvious traces made it seem like a simple outing.

“I can’t let my guard down.”

Chi Chi had been sparkling since arriving in Hebel. Seeing him excitedly looking around with a flushed face, his purpose for escaping was obvious.

He must have wanted to sightsee.

He could have done that after adapting to Hebel, but the ferret had no patience whatsoever.

“That’s strange.”

Even if he was a half-beast-kin, he couldn’t help but feel weak when he first came to Hebel.

It was suspicious that Chi Chi was so lively instead.

Did the unique pheromones not get affected by Hebel? If so, it could be really dangerous.

Zerachiel lightly stretched his still-lethargic body. He felt much better than before, even though he had only slept for a short while.

When he first arrived, his body felt heavier than usual, as if gravity had been increased, and it wouldn’t listen to him.

Even so, he didn’t show it because it was an instinctive reaction. Showing weakness was very dangerous for a predator.

Of course, this was a neutral zone where a peace treaty had been signed, so there was no chance of attacking each other. It was just Zerachiel’s excessive vigilance.

This place was the most dangerous place for Zerachiel, as the stronger the beast-kin, the greater the restrictions.

So, originally, it would have been better to get some sleep to adapt, whether Chi Chi ran away or not, but he somehow couldn’t easily leave the window.

Chi Chi felt like an existence that couldn’t be grasped in his hand. Zerachiel had let him go on his own accord, but he had never lost him.

“Why does he keep trying to run away?”

He had been like that since they first met. No matter how delicious the food and warm the bed he gave him, he didn’t leave any traces, as if he would leave at any time.

Usually, he would settle down if he was treated this well, but Chi Chi only raised his guard and looked for opportunities.

Especially after he found out that he had pheromones in his body.

That bothered him a lot.

Also, he didn’t like the fact that he disappeared without him knowing.

Perhaps that’s why. Zerachiel hated spring coming. He felt like this adorable white ferret would abandon him and run away when spring came.

But Chi Chi was already covered in his pheromones. Even if he escaped from Jabishi Castle, he would only become a target for other powerful beast-kins.

Especially to those hyena-like, shady guys.

Zerachiel was displeased when he suddenly remembered Heathcliff Van Page showing interest in Chi Chi.

“Haa.”

Admitting that his concern for Chi Chi had overcome his annoyance, he let out a deep sigh and threw himself out the window instead of into bed.

He couldn’t delay any longer because he thought that a beast-kin who sensed his pheromones might catch and eat Chi Chi.

Of course, most animals would be frightened by his pheromones, but this was a space with many dangerous beast-kins gathered for the conference. Among them, there were too many families who hated Jabishi.

“He might have gotten lost. Should I go pick him up?”

Zerachiel, making a pointless excuse, arrived at the field, following Chi Chi’s traces.

“What kind of situation is this now?”

Zerachiel let out a hollow laugh at the scene before him. It was because there was a smelly hyena next to Chi Chi, whom he had gone to great lengths to find.

What’s more, Heathcliff and Chi Chi were rolling around in the field together, playing amicably. With Heathcliff’s clear laughter added, Zerachiel felt like he was losing his mind.

Zerachiel couldn’t stand it and approached them, creating distance between them.

“Get away from my Chi Chi.”

* * *

Unfortunately, the bottom of the rock was a downhill slope. I fell defenselessly and started rolling down. Fortunately, I had been rolled around by Zerachiel every day, so I knew how to roll skillfully.

But it was somehow foolish that Heathcliff, who didn’t know this, chased after me and rolled down with me. It seemed that the fog of Hebel had made his body sluggish.

“Ahahaha!”

Heathcliff, who barely managed to grab me, burst into laughter with flower petals all over his body.

He seemed to find what had just happened funny.

I was also dumbfounded and giggling when it happened. The pollen tickled my nose, and I sneezed involuntarily.

“Achoo! Etchu!”

“Oh dear.”

Heathcliff belatedly wiped the pollen off my nose with his sleeve.

*Shouldn’t you tidy yourself up first?*

I was fine because I was in ferret form, but Heathcliff was in human form.

His clothes had long been ruined from rolling around once. It was when I was brushing the weeds off his clothes.

“What kind of situation is this now?”

The eerie voice made the hair on my body stand on end. With a doubtful face, I turned around and froze at the sight of Zerachiel, who was smiling brightly.