The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 65

#65.

Before I could even panic, the beastman, presumably a priest of Hebel, raised his voice.

“Th-that’s definitely a Guardian who oversees the Pearl of Purification! Ugh… A Guardian that only appeared in myths is before my eyes…”

Gurgle.

With a bubbling sound, one of the elderly priests of Hebel collapsed backward. The priests who hastily caught him looked back and forth between the whale and me.

Judging by their expressions, they seemed to have seen me summon Taebi.

I was trying to keep it quiet.

Who knew Taebi would become so huge?

I avoided the gazes of Hebel’s servants and hid behind Zerachiel.

Boo-oooo-oooo.

The whale’s cry broke the silence, and I instinctively broke out in a cold sweat.

Can you please be quiet?

It would be nice if she disappeared discreetly. Taebi didn’t seem to have any intention of shrinking, probably because there was still something left to purify.

Meanwhile, one of Hebel’s servants spoke politely.

“I am Isaac, a servant of Hebel.”

His gaze was fixed intently on me. It was a look of admiration, which made me a little uncomfortable.

“I believe we’ve met at Hebel before.”

“Yes.”

“Are you, by any chance, the one who summoned the Guardian, Lady Chersea?”

I hesitated to answer his direct question, and at that moment,

“Please answer. That Guardian is an entity that protects Hebel’s sacred objects. Hebel has a duty to confirm why it appeared in Zabisie Castle.”

I was dumbfounded by the barrage of accurate statements. I was belatedly concerned that I had completely stolen the Pearl of Purification from Hebel.

‘I guess there’s no such thing as a perfect crime.’

It seemed too good to be true.

Even though I resented Taebi for suddenly appearing and dropping a bomb on me, it was also true that she stopped Zacharias’s rampage.

The moment I felt something snap inside me, I sensed danger, so Taebi’s intervention felt like a divine move.

Right. Even if it gets a little tiring, Hebel won’t be able to blame me since I’ve already contracted with Taebi.

After all, Elado didn’t get his ownership of Taebi recognized in the original story?

I finished my thoughts and stepped forward confidently.

Suddenly, Zacharias and Zerachiel blocked my path at the same time, even drawing their swords.

“Hold it right there. Are you threatening my daughter-in-law right now?”

“W-what? When did I ever…”

“I saw it clearly too. You were emitting killing intent towards Chersea.”

“Right?”

“Yes.”

Zacharias and Zerachiel took turns accusing him. The aggrieved priest cried out with a tearful face.

“K-killing intent? I was merely trying to confirm the circumstances in which traces of Hebel’s sacred object were discovered outside!”

“Okay, go back.”

“But…!”

Zacharias waved his hand as if to dismiss him, then suddenly scooped me up and tucked me under his arm.

“?!”

I, who had suddenly been tucked under his arm, stared blankly at Zacharias.

What on earth are you doing?

I had a lot to say, but I didn’t think this was the place to say it, so I kept my mouth shut. And the words I wanted to say came out of Zerachiel’s mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m taking her away.”

“Huh?”

“Take care of the aftermath. I have something important to discuss with this one.”

Zerachiel glared fiercely at Zacharias. On the other hand, Zacharias seemed impatient to talk to me quickly.

I was dying as I watched the two of them.

What are you doing?

The strange standoff was brief, and the two, having reached some unspoken agreement, turned their backs to each other.

“Then I’ll be going first!”

With those words, Zacharias started running away with me in his arms. Surprised, I turned around and saw the priest jumping up and down.

“W-w-wait! How can you just leave like that! You have to answer meeeeee!”

Despite the echoing shouts, Zacharias didn’t slow down. Zerachiel blocked the priest from following.

I wriggled in Zacharias’s arm and looked up at him pitifully.

“I-is it okay to just leave like this?”

Seeing my expression that seemed to ask, ‘Is this the best you can do?’ Zacharias grinned.

“Originally, running away is the best policy when things go wrong.”

I was speechless at his shameless answer. It wasn’t the kind of thing a head of a family would say.

No, if we run away like this, it’ll only make us more suspicious!

I wanted to protest, but we were already far away from the scene.

And why are you so fast?

I buried my face in my hands, my body swaying back and forth.

You crazy lions!

Please act normal!

It was a moment when I seriously regretted my wedding from the very first day.

* * *

Meanwhile, Victor Orban was trembling, far away from the scene of the rampage.

‘H-how did this happen?’

He had definitely mixed the medicine that reversed pheromones into the suppressant that Zacharias was taking, as instructed.

The beastman who gave him the medicine had confidently assured him that there was no risk of getting caught. It was a colorless, odorless powder that would leave no trace once absorbed into the body.

Victor had no other choice since he would die if he didn’t carry out the task.

In the end, he betrayed his clan and succeeded in adding the medicine. He was planning to quietly slip out of the castle.

He should have run away a long time ago.

But a pink rabbit suddenly started following him, and he wasted twice as much time trying to shake it off. It even snatched the bag containing the medicine, and he chased after it, but it disappeared in an instant because it was so fast.

Since he couldn’t sense any pheromones from it, he quickly gave up on capturing it, assuming it was just an ordinary rabbit.

He didn’t want to get caught by his clan while chasing it.

As Victor was trying to safely escape Zabisie Castle, he couldn’t help but turn back when he saw an unexpected situation.

He witnessed the pheromone poison that filled the entire Zabisie Castle being purified by a whale that suddenly appeared.

Hoping against hope, Victor returned and was shocked to see Zacharias alive and well.

‘Why, why is he still alive?’

The giant whale was still swimming leisurely in the sky. He heard that the white ferret who had married the young master this time had summoned the whale.

‘No one told me he had this kind of power!’

He didn’t know where he summoned such a bizarre spirit, but it had completely messed things up.

“N-no, this isn’t the time for this.”

He hurriedly took out his communication device. He had to report this situation before the other party found out first. That way, he would have an excuse.

Beep, beep, beep.

The sound of the call connecting echoed quietly. His cold, trembling hands almost dropped the device several times while making the call.

Then, with a click, the communication device connected, and a low, heavy voice made Victor’s heart shrink.

— Did you succeed?

Victor’s face turned pale at the question that immediately asked about his success. Far from succeeding, the situation had only gotten worse.

“W-well… he took the medicine and d-did rampage, but…”

Victor stammered, sweating profusely. If he was judged solely on whether he had delivered the medicine, it was a success, but based on the achievement of the goal, it was a complete failure.

When Victor continued to trail off, the other party asked oppressively.

— He rampaged, but what happened?

“T-there’s a p-problem.”

— What?

As the cold voice rang out, it felt as if pheromones were being fired through the communication device. He knew that couldn’t be true, but that’s how overwhelming the force was.

Victor knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground.

“T-the white ferret seems to have been hiding his power. He suppressed the head’s rampage.”

A moment of silence hung in the communication device at Victor’s report. After a while, the man said coldly.

— Suppressed the rampage? That ferret?