The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 60

Rudy stared at Heathcliff with a bewildered expression.

But Heathcliff wasn’t one for jokes. So he must have genuinely thought that way when he answered.

Rudy said with a serious face.

“But… the other party is the Little Master of Jabishi, isn’t he?”

“That’s the only reason he’d want to keep him by his side, even going so far as to imprint [a magical bonding ritual in this context].”

“Well, yes, but…”

Rudy eyed Zerachiel and Chelsia with a dubious look. The Little Master of Jabishi he knew wasn’t such a naive beast to be swayed by mere emotions like love.

A threatening presence to the surrounding territories, even before reaching adulthood, perfectly controlling his pheromones.

There were more than a few beastmen who had disappeared without a trace while trying to spy on the South out of concern for this.

His skill in detecting and dealing with anyone who set foot in his territory was truly remarkable.

Wasn’t he a cold-blooded individual who showed no mercy and treated the lives of some beastmen as less than those of ants?

And now, he was obediently living with a ferret of unknown origin, not even a beastman from another influential family.

This was truly unbelievable, even when seen with one’s own eyes.

“His attitude towards the ferret is certainly unusual.”

“Besides, he liked being hit.”

“Excuse me?”

“Look at that.”

At Heathcliff’s gesture, Rudy turned his head towards them. Rudy, who then saw Chelsia slapping Zerachiel’s mouth, said with a serious face.

As Heathcliff said, Zerachiel seemed to like it. His cheeks were shyly flushed, making one wonder if he had been kissed instead of slapped.

“Perhaps he’s a beast hiding his strength.”

“Strength, huh.”

Hearthcliff smirked, recalling the pheromones he felt from Chelsia in Hebel.

He couldn’t quite discern it because it was masked by Zerachiel’s pheromones, but he recalled a slight sweet scent.

It was a pheromone that made people lower their guard, so he remembered it, but it was also a pheromone that was far from strong.

‘Maybe that’s why he keeps him around.’

Seeing Zerachiel, who is usually exclusive to other beastmen’s pheromones, being so close to him, there seemed to be something going on.

Besides, strangely, Chelsia’s pheromones were not felt at all now. It was as if something was covered with a membrane.

It certainly wasn’t a normal feeling, so Heathcliff’s gaze towards Chelsia became calm.

“Maybe so.”

“Anyway, this doesn’t make sense,” Rudy grumbled, burying his face in his plate as he began to eat. Heathcliff smirked and was eating when he suddenly saw Chelsia.

Chelsia was sitting alone. It seemed like he had ordered Zerachiel to bring him food again.

He was already using Zerachiel for the fifth dish he had seen.

‘Amazing.’

He was wondering how Chelsia was putting so much into that small stomach.

Chelsia was startled and stood up, then rushed somewhere.

* * *

I feel like I can eat a lot today.

As the tension eased, I became honest with my stomach’s request and was shaking my legs while waiting for dessert.

Zerachiel was making a face, but he was willingly going to get dessert.

“Ah, if it’s like this, can I be the mistress of Jabishi too?” I thought naively, looking around at the guests.

“Huh?”

I spotted a familiar figure and stood up from my seat.

Curly pink hair and bright blue eyes that resembled the clear sky.

The delicate appearance that stirred protective instincts was definitely…

“Ella?”

Yes. It was definitely the heroine, Ella. It was a face that had only passed by, but that unusual beauty couldn’t belong to a mere supporting role.

My heart was pounding. To see Ella, who had been missing despite being the heroine, at my wedding.

Moreover, the clothes she was wearing were the priestly robes worn by the trainee priests of Hebel. Then she must belong to Hebel.

‘Why is Ella in Hebel?’

Originally, she should have been sponsored by the Paige family. But not only had she disappeared without a trace, but she was also encountering me in an unexpected place.

Ella was moving somewhere in a hurry. Judging by the direction, she was clearly trying to get out of the hall.

I instinctively started moving in the direction Ella had disappeared. For some reason, I felt like I had to talk to her.

“Oh, come on!”

But my movements were slow because I was wearing cumbersome clothes.

“Haa, cough, where, where did she go?”

Eventually, I lost Ella and looked around with a bewildered face. Before I knew it, I was a little far from the banquet hall, and I was catching my breath.

“Did I see it wrong?”

It was a really short face-to-face encounter. Besides, I had never seen Ella’s face before, had I?

Maybe I was just surprised to see a rabbit beastman by chance. It’s not like Ella is the only pink-haired rabbit beastman.

Thinking so, I felt relieved. I had been secretly worried because Ella, the heroine, had not been seen all this time.

If that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t have been so surprised and followed her.

“Agh.”

My side was throbbing because I ran so suddenly, so I frowned. I was trudging back to the banquet hall.

“Stop there!”

I was startled by a voice and stopped walking. At first, I thought they were calling me, but it wasn’t. To be exact, it was a voice from the garden on the opposite side of where I was.

“If you take one more step, I’ll never see you again.”

The sharp voice trembled. I held my breath without realizing it at the familiar voice.

I carefully checked the other side through the wall made of grass. As expected, familiar faces were confronting each other in the pergola.

‘That’s Rachel and Zachary.’

Besides, the fox beastman, Rachel’s match, who had caused a stir throughout the wedding, was also with them.

His name was Erhadn Rodin.

I thought he was no ordinary person, smiling and sticking to Rachel’s side as if to show off.

Eventually, the three of them were facing each other. It was a problem to be caught eavesdropping here, but there was a high risk of being caught on the way back, so I couldn’t go back or forth.

I had no choice but to stand still when Erhadn said.

“Rachel, stop forgetting about that guy. Look, you’re the only one getting hurt.”

“…Be quiet, Ern.”

“I’ll treat you better.”

Zachary’s face turned red at Erhadn’s words. It was so clear because the direction he turned was towards me.

Zachary was making a sound that he didn’t mean, even though he looked like he wanted to grab Rachel right away.

“That’s good.”

“What?”

“Try to get along with him.”

Ugh! That idiot father-in-law!

I pounded my chest at the frustrating situation. It was against the rules to say such lines with that face.

But Rachel, who wouldn’t know this, was already shocked by those words.

“…Are you serious?”

“…Yes. I’m saying it sincerely.”

“You bad guy.”

Rachel turned around and ran out with a tearful voice. Before Erhadn followed Rachel, he rebuked Zachary.

“Don’t say anything different later.”

With those words, Erhadn also disappeared. Silence flowed.

Zachary said in a murderous voice.

“Come out now.”

It seems like I was caught.

I decided that there was no place to hide anymore and revealed myself. Since my presence had already been detected, it was impossible to escape.

“It was you.”

Zachary lowered his momentum as soon as he saw me and muttered quietly. It seemed like he didn’t know that I was the one who was peeking.

He quickly withdrew his murderous intent and ruffled his hair irritably.

“If you’re going to say something that turns my stomach again, don’t.”

“I just happened to hear it. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“The guy who was licking the dishes at the reception?”

Zachary snorted as if he couldn’t believe it. He seemed to think I had been following him.

No, when did I lick the dishes?