The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 57

The Dark Lion Family’s Strongest Daughter-in-Law (57)

#57

But the Jerakiel before my eyes right now is just a teenage boy on the verge of adulthood.

There was no reason for him to do such crazy things when his madness hadn’t even manifested yet.

Besides, perhaps I noticed his changes even better because I knew that feeling best.

Maybe it was because I felt a sense of kinship with Jerakiel, who was not so different from my own situation.

From the perspective of those who didn’t know the inside story, he, the sole heir of the Jabesi family, seemed to have grown up without a care in the world.

But in reality, he didn’t seem to have anyone to truly share his feelings with. No matter how close Ivan was, he was just a subordinate.

His parents, who should have been his support, were too caught up in their own problems to properly look into Jerakiel’s feelings.

There was no way that he, still a child who hadn’t even come of age, was really okay.

Then Jerakiel said,

“I don’t regret what happened.”

“Then that’s a relief.”

“…….”

“Because I don’t regret accepting your proposal either.”

Jerakiel flinched at my words, said with a grin. Regardless, I continued to say what I had to say.

“I don’t know why you keep trying to test me, but there’s no need to.”

“…….”

“From now on, even if you tell me to leave, I’ll stick by your side.”

“…….”

“So, there’s no need to make that kind of face.”

A promise I would never have made under normal circumstances.

But a vow that felt like I had to make at this moment.

And words that comforted me in the past.

‘Let’s go with Grandma. Now, this grandma will be by your side. This grandma is healthy! I’ll live longer than you, so don’t worry about unnecessary things and just study.’

My grandmother’s hand, extended to me as I sat alone and huddled at the funeral, is still vivid.

How comforting it was to see her wrinkled hand, even though I knew it was a promise that could never be kept.

And like that promise, I was safe and happy throughout my life with my grandmother.

Also, my grandmother was worried about me even after death, so she left a large life insurance payout.

Thanks to her passing away after I became an adult, there was no chance of it being taken away by relatives. But a sudden large sum of money at a young age was like a disaster.

I never dreamed that I would be betrayed by a friend I thought was close. Looking back on the time when an act of kindness became a trap that ensnared me, I still felt dizzy.

I have no face to see my grandmother even after death.

Maybe that’s why I was reincarnated as this ferret. Because I committed many sins in my previous life.

Then Jerakiel muttered quietly. I couldn’t read his expression because his head was bowed deeply.

“You’re really weird.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, okay?”

Who’s calling who weird!

I glared at him and grabbed his hand, spinning him around. I was thinking of quickly getting away from this gloomy place.

But no sooner had we moved a few steps away than Jerakiel stopped and asked.

“Are you really not going to take a look?”

“Nope.”

“You looked so curious.”

“Should I go see it now?”

As I tried to turn my body around, he held me tightly. He was a guy whose words and actions were truly separate.

I provoked him gently with a playful face.

“If you want to go in that badly, go in alone! I don’t want to die yet. I’m going to live a life of luxury and then die!”

But I couldn’t help but be puzzled by Jerakiel’s reaction that followed.

“I can’t go in yet.”

“Huh?”

What is he talking about?

Just a moment ago, he was testing me about whether I would go in there or not. Now he’s saying he can’t go in.

Feeling my confusion, Jerakiel added an explanation.

“My flower hasn’t bloomed yet.”

“…….”

“When my flower blooms soon, I’ll be able to go in and out freely.”

It was a completely incomprehensible statement. But considering the bits and pieces I had heard in the meantime, it wasn’t as if I had no idea what he meant.

‘We don’t know much about it either because we’ve never seen it with our own eyes. We only know that it’s a place containing the power of Jabesi.’

Herman’s words from before came to mind. The secret garden contained the source of Jabesi’s power.

But in the original story, there were only flowers inside. Even those were flowers that resembled the black rose on the Jabesi family crest, with completely black petals.

In the first place, if it were an ordinary black rose, the stem wouldn’t be black either. Even a dead flower couldn’t be that black.

And the flower in the crest and the flower drawn on the door were far from being dried flowers. It was clear that they were that color from the start.

Besides…….

‘Jabesi originally hates flowers. He especially hates that one.’

Adding Zakari’s words, I was almost certain. The flower inside wasn’t just a simple black rose.

Perhaps the flower there is related to Jabesi’s madness. The only thing that could be called a source of power is that flower.

I asked back in disbelief.

“So, you’re saying you’ve never been inside either?”

Jerakiel shrugged as if to say, ‘Are you going to go in and see?’

“I’ve been in once. Because I had to plant it myself.”

“I didn’t know Jabesi had a hobby of planting flowers.”

“It’s not that elegant of a hobby.”

“Then?”

“You’ll get hurt if you know the details.”

Jerakiel smiled faintly and changed the subject. But that action alone implied that it wasn’t just a simple flower planting.

Judging by the fact that he didn’t like it, it seemed like something he had to do whether he wanted to or not.

“A partner who has bonded with Jabesi is free to enter and exit. It’s like a kind of monitor.”

“Monitor?”

“Because they have the right to know how far the madness has progressed.”

Jerakiel smiled bitterly. It was a smile mixed with self-deprecation about his own fate.

And what he meant by the right to know was to seek a way to avoid it in preparation for possible madness. Don’t give your heart completely and be wary.

I sighed lowly. After knowing the situation a little, I thought, ‘This family is hopeless.’

“So, you’re saying you asked me if I would monitor you.”

“Well, something like that.”

“Seriously!”

I shouted angrily and bumped my head against his chest in a fit of pique. Jerakiel, who was headbutted without realizing it, staggered backward.

“Seriously, all the Jabesis are idiots!”

“Why are you angry?”

Jerakiel asked with a face that he didn’t understand. Even more infuriated by this, I shook his shoulders.

“I thought you were hiding some kind of weakness. This was just a bunch of idiots doing stupid things.”

“…….”

“Just say it’s hard! Complain that this fate is overwhelming and you don’t know why this is happening to you.”

“What changes if I do that?”

Jerakiel asked back with a cold, sunken face.

“Nothing changes anyway.”

“Why not? Your mindset changes!”

“…….”

“How comfortable do you think you’ll be pretending to be okay, pretending to be indifferent, pretending to be resilient? Do you like living in a self-made hell your whole life?”

I shook Jerakiel again.

“Do you think people will recognize that if you do that? No! Never! They’ll think you’re really okay. In the end, no one will recognize your pain. Later, they’ll belittle you for exaggerating!”

Yeah. Like my relatives and damn friends in my past life.

‘You don’t need all that money. My child has to go study abroad this time, but we don’t have enough money.’

The relatives who came to harass me every day, aiming for the insurance money.

‘What should I do? I got scammed by voice phishing [a type of phone scam]. It was all my savings…… I’d rather die than live!’

‘My boyfriend wants to break up. How am I going to live now? I think I’ll just die…….’

‘You’re so lucky. You don’t have to worry about money thanks to your grandmother’s insurance money, right? You lucky bitch.’

And even my friend who extorted money from me by taking my life hostage.

Everyone was only thinking of subtly using my feelings to extort money. Then, when I ran out of money, they turned on me.

Still, I tried to live strong. I thought everything would be okay if I thought I was okay.

But it wasn’t. The more I deceived myself that I was okay, the less okay I became. There’s no way I could be okay when I wasn’t okay at all.