The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 62

#62.

“Kuh…!”

In an instant, I was pinned beneath Zachariah, who was now strangling me.

Thankfully, I felt no pain due to the pheromone barrier Zerachiel had cast.

“Krrr….”

Zachariah emitted a beast-like growl, frustrated that things weren’t going his way. His golden eyes glowed red, devoid of any free will.

Or so I thought, but I saw it clearly—a faint golden streak within the red pupils.

The moment I saw it, courage surged within me.

‘I can do this!’

I reached out and grabbed Zachariah’s face with both hands.

It might be reckless, but I had to do it. I couldn’t bear to see Zerachiel die in such a state.

To prevent that, Zachariah needed to live a long, long life, ensuring Zerachiel could safely complete his adult transformation at the appointed time.

“Get a grip, Father!”

Zachariah flinched at my first utterance of “Father.” Spurred by that momentary reaction, I unleashed all the pheromones within me onto him at once.

It was the first time I had used my pheromones on my own.

Whoosh—!

A flash of pure white light enveloped Zachariah and me. Immediately following, silver chains began to constrict Zachariah.

* * *

Seeing Chichi leave the banquet hall, Heathcliff found himself involuntarily following her.

Even as he followed, he couldn’t understand why he was doing this again.

Perhaps it was due to the strange sense of déjà vu he had felt when he first saw her.

But now, she was the Black Lion’s mate. He knew he shouldn’t get any closer, yet his body wouldn’t listen.

It was then, as he followed, that it happened.

“Ah!”

He collided with someone coming around the corner. The impact nearly sent the other person tumbling backward.

Almost instinctively, Heathcliff reached out and caught the falling figure. The hood they were wearing slipped off, scattering pink curls into his view.

Pink hair and blue eyes. Heathcliff’s heart sank for a moment at the sight of her unremarkable appearance, as if he had stumbled upon something he shouldn’t have.

The girl appeared to be a herbivore beast-kin [a person with animalistic features] at first glance. Lacking fangs, she seemed too fragile to bite anyone.

Moreover, he sensed no pheromones at all. He belatedly noticed she was wearing a Hebel priestess robe and realized it was the same child he had encountered before.

The girl was staring at him with wide eyes, seemingly flustered by the sudden collision. Then, with a dazed expression, she muttered,

“H, Heath…?”

Her tone was familiar, as if she knew him. Heathcliff frowned, taken aback by the unfamiliar beast-kin addressing him by a nickname.

“Who are you?”

“Ah.”

“Why are you calling me that?”

The girl hesitated, flustered by Heathcliff’s cold demeanor. She couldn’t bring herself to speak, only moving her lips.

“Ah, well….”

The more she hesitated, the colder Heathcliff’s expression became. Her face had been familiar since their first encounter.

What if it wasn’t just déjà vu?

The thought that she might be a spy lurking around him made him instinctively wary. Heathcliff placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and muttered coldly,

“Suspicious.”

Startled, the girl lowered her head and mumbled,

“S, sorry. I mistook you for someone else….”

“A rabbit beast-kin wouldn’t have much reason to run into a hyena beast-kin, would they?”

“Hebel has all sorts of beast-kin.”

The girl calmly explained, glancing at him. She seemed frightened, trembling slightly.

Heathcliff clicked his tongue and removed his hand from the sword hilt. A young beast-kin who was so easily frightened couldn’t possibly be a spy.

But why was he so on edge? Heathcliff continued to stare at the girl, his expression still unyielding.

The moment he removed his hand from the sword hilt, the girl seemed to sigh in relief, but then suddenly, rabbit ears popped out of her head.

“Ah.”

Occasionally, beast-kin who were unskilled at humanization couldn’t hide their ears or tails when flustered. Of course, there were some with unusual tastes who deliberately showed their ears or tails, but the girl before him didn’t seem like one of them.

Judging by her surprised expression, it was clearly an unintentional mistake.

“S, sorry.”

The girl quickly covered her ears with her hood, avoiding eye contact. Her flushed face was as clear and bright as her hair color.

Seeing her constantly glancing at him and blushing, he felt as though he was the one who had done something wrong. Just as he was about to say something, the girl bid him farewell and fled.

“W, well, I’ll be going now….”

“Stop.”

Hearthcliff blocked her path with the hilt of his sword. His cold voice pierced the girl’s ears. She clutched her hood tightly, sending him a resentful look.

Receiving that look, he felt as though he was the one causing trouble, even though the girl was the one who had bumped into him.

“I don’t think I said you could leave.”

“……”

“Tell me what part of Hebel you’re from, what your name is, and who you mistook me for.”

The girl trembled at his interrogative tone. He was not usually one to be so persistent about such trivial matters, which made him feel embarrassed.

The uncomfortable and tense atmosphere stretched on.

Boom—!

A tremendous roar erupted, and a black pillar rose in the distance, beginning to encircle the city of Jabishi.

“What’s that…?”

Heathcliff turned his gaze to the suddenly rising pillar.

“Oh, no.”

The girl began to babble incoherently, her face drained of color, and before he could stop her, she transformed into her beast form and ran away.

“Wait!”

Despite Heathcliff’s shout, the pink rabbit didn’t stop.

Watching the rabbit’s retreating figure, Heathcliff felt a sudden headache, as if he had seen such a sight before.

‘You’re only staying by my side because of this power.’

A strange voice echoed in his ears. Heathcliff reflexively touched his head, then belatedly sighed softly.

“Ah, damn it.”

He had completely lost the rabbit.

It was pointless to chase after her now.

Hearthcliff glared at the direction the girl had disappeared.

But he couldn’t afford to dwell on it. The black pillar was covering the entire Jabishi area in darkness.

“What on earth is that?”

It was a phenomenon he had never seen before. He could feel the banquet hall becoming chaotic.

The sight of the black pillar darkening the sky was utterly bleak, as if night was devouring day.

Just then, Rudy, who had belatedly come to find Heathcliff, shouted,

“Young Master! You’re here.”

“Rudy.”

“We need to get out of here! There’s no time to waste!”

Rudy grabbed Heathcliff and pulled him toward the direction of the carriage. Heathcliff, helplessly following, asked with a troubled expression,

“What’s going on?”

“It seems Jabishi has gone berserk! The elder beast-kin who experienced the great chaos are foaming at the mouth and running away, saying it’s the same as back then!”

“…What?”

“There’s no time for this! Hurry!”

Rudy pulled Heathcliff again and again. If Jabishi had indeed gone berserk, they needed to get out of here first. If they were too late, they might not be able to leave the barrier at all.

But Heathcliff planted his feet, resisting.

“Did you find out who went berserk?”

“Is that important right now? Whatever it is, it’s one of the two! There are only two Jabishis in this world.”

Rudy snapped back, and Heathcliff pushed him away with a hardened expression.

“I can’t just leave like this. I need to check it out.”

“Young Master!”

“It might be dangerous.”