The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 42

#42.

Jerachiel rested his chin on his clasped hands, a lazy smile playing on his lips. A palpable tension filled the room.

To revolt here would mean an immediate showdown with Jerachiel. But to back down now felt like an unfair and coercive decision.

Besides, they hadn’t even heard the white ferret’s opinion yet.

Just as Balzac was about to step forward, Jerachiel uttered something ridiculous with a serious face.

“Of course, the only beast capable of hitting me is Chi Chi……”

In that instant, a white blur lunged at Jerachiel. The white ferret leaped up in the blink of an eye and latched onto Jerachiel’s mouth without hesitation.

The white ferret, limbs outstretched, fearlessly attacked the Black Lion’s face. Sliding down, the white ferret didn’t give up, relentlessly kicking.

Thwack—!

“W-What is this……!”

Balzac’s eyes widened. This valiant white ferret, still not satisfied, continued to strike Jerachiel.

It was as if it had endured as much as it could.

Whack, whack, whack, thwack!

Even more astonishing was that Jerachiel didn’t even retaliate. He even turned his face to make it easier to hit.

Further enraged by this, the white ferret began to rampage.

“Chew-ew-ew!”

With an adorable cry, the white ferret lunged at his mouth as if delivering a final blow.

Bang—!

With a tremendous sound, Jerachiel’s head snapped back.

“……”

“……”

The silence that followed was only natural.

* * *

I was dragged into the conference room from morning, and the insane meeting made my head spin.

If I had known that saying my approval was all that was needed meant he would threaten the elders on his own, I would have been more careful!

I glared at Jerachiel, sending him a telepathic message.

‘Please, mouth, mouth, mouth, keep that damn mouth shut!’

But Jerachiel didn’t seem to understand. His sly smile was infuriating.

Because of that crazy Black Lion who wouldn’t listen to reason, I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. And it was the moment when that familiar, suggestive line flowed from his mouth.

“Of course, the only beast capable of hitting me is Chi Chi……”

In the end, unable to bear it, I lunged at Jerachiel. It was right after I had struck Jerachiel, who didn’t offer any significant resistance, several times.

A chilling sensation ran down my spine as I sensed the cold atmosphere around me.

‘Oops.’

Belatedly realizing that the family head, Zacary, as well as the family elders were here, I barely managed to hold onto my fleeing sanity. The longer I stayed in Jabishi Castle, the more my temper seemed to worsen.

It was definitely because of Jerachiel egging me on from the side.

At that moment, Jerachiel’s head, which had been snapped back, returned to its original position. His gaze turned to the elders.

“Did you see?”

His face even looked proud, and I collapsed in dismay.

It was clear that he had brought me to the Council of Elders for this from the start.

Leaving the elders, who were frozen like stones, behind, Zacary stepped in to smooth things over.

“As you can see, I have determined that that child is the right fit for that fellow.”

“……”

“Any objections?”

No one opened their mouth. Zacary chuckled and said.

“Then we will consider this matter unanimously approved and prepare accordingly.”

The meeting ended so absurdly. The elders who met my eyes subtly avoided my gaze. Their faces, startled as if they were looking at a plague patient, were quite a sight.

* * *

After the meeting, after all the elders had left.

“You, don’t leave and sit down.”

Suddenly, Zacary called out to Jerachiel. Jerachiel tilted his head while standing. When he showed no sign of sitting, Zacary spoke once more.

“You must have something to say to me.”

“I don’t think I do.”

“Since when was that guy so strong that he could hide his pheromones?”

“He deliberately deceived the elders. That way, there will be less talk later.”

“Then what excuse will you make for bringing in a cat beast so openly?”

Zacary’s golden eyes sank coldly. Jabishi was a family that was exclusive to other races. To have Merina, a cat beast, stay as a visiting doctor in such a family was an unusual occurrence.

It was an unnecessary measure unless there was a secret that the Orban family shouldn’t know.

“From what I see, she seems to be dedicated to Cherchia.”

Zacary’s gaze turned to me, who was only showing my face from Jerachiel’s front pocket. I felt a chill run down my spine at his gaze, which was devoid of playfulness. At the same time, I couldn’t avoid his gaze.

“Enough.”

Jerachiel let out a deep sigh, moved me, who was stiff, onto his palm, and sat down. It was a natural action to block me from his gaze.

The surroundings seemed to be weighed down by heavy silence.

‘Did he notice something?’

I watched Zacary and Jerachiel’s staring contest in dismay.

Considering that Zacary mentioned Merina, it didn’t seem like he was going to let it go.

Perhaps he had found out that I possessed unique pheromones.

Even if that wasn’t the case, Zacary’s suspicion was reasonable.

Currently, thanks to the Pearl of Purification, I was thoroughly hiding my pheromones. But conversely, it was easy to create a sense of unease in someone who had already sensed my pheromones.

If the other person suddenly couldn’t feel my pheromones at all, it was easy to arouse suspicion.

‘This is all Tabby’s fault.’

Tabby unlocked the relic’s power as soon as we made the contract. The divine energy flowing through my body concealed my pheromones like a thin film. Unless I used my pheromones, the other person couldn’t sense them first.

And then Tabby disappeared.

—I’ll come back when the time is right.

Leaving behind only such vague words.

Since then, there had been no communication with Tabby at all. Compared to how Ella frequently communicated with Tabby in the original story, it was a strange occurrence.

I didn’t know if it was because I was a substitute for the female lead, but it was a frustrating situation in many ways.

‘I made a mistake.’

The first time I went to find the Pearl of Purification was to escape. But now that I was stuck in Jabishi Castle for the time being, this ability had become somewhat bothersome.

There was a risk of being mistaken for a super expert who could hide their presence even from close range.

Besides, Zacary had sensed my pheromones before. In that situation, knowing that I could suddenly hide my presence perfectly was enough to arouse suspicion. Zacary said with suspicious eyes.

“I remember it being a very faint pheromone.”

“That’s how she made you feel.”

Zacary scoffed at Jerachiel’s nonchalant reply.

“Does that mean that child has been deliberately revealing only a portion of her pheromones all along?”

“Who knows? Only Chi Chi would know the exact answer.”

Jerachiel turned the arrow towards me. It was an assumption he could make since he didn’t know exactly about my strange phenomenon either.

I was resentful that he was suddenly backing out after blocking so well, when.

“Come to think of it, I did have something to say. Considering you’re mentioning Merina, you must have already heard the situation from her.”

“……I haven’t extracted it yet.”

That also meant he was planning to extract it soon.

‘Poor Merina…….’

I felt sorry for Merina, who was risking her life by living in the Black Lion family, which she had never intended to do, because of a white ferret like me.

If the usually timid her was called in by Zacary, she might faint.

Perhaps it would be better to come forward now and talk about my pheromones. Just as Jerachiel was about to talk about my pheromones.

“Actually, Chi Chi’s pheromones are tw…….”

Bang.

With a sound like fireworks exploding, pink smoke filled the surroundings. It seemed that the adaptation period was finally over.

The smoke that had been obscuring my vision cleared, and my perspective was higher than when I was a ferret. And the first thing I saw was a pair of golden eyes looking at me.

“Gasp.”

I belatedly met Jerachiel’s gaze and held my breath. It was just my luck that I had suddenly transformed into a human and was sitting quietly on his lap. Jerachiel said calmly, as if he didn’t care about such things.

“You’re back.”