The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 74

#74.

I kept a close watch on Erhaden, who was glued to Rachel’s side.

Just then, Ivan whispered, as if belatedly reporting the situation.

“Oops, I’m late with the report. Sir Zacary is fully prepared. He’s become a prime yellow lion, making him the perfect prey.”

“Good work.”

“Yes, very good work. He even tried to eat me, wondering if there was something wrong with the drug.”

“It wasn’t the drug; it was Ivan’s mouth that was the problem.”

“How did you know?”

Ivan looked startled at my words. Ignoring his blatant reaction, Zerachiel said,

“What should we do with him?”

Zerachiel’s gaze was fixed on Erhaden, implying he’d quietly eliminate him if I gave the word.

However, given Erhaden’s audacity, it wouldn’t reflect well on Zerachiel to intervene directly. Besides, I needed to understand why Rachel was so unnaturally calm.

The problem was that this fox-like guy was stuck to Rachel and wouldn’t leave her side.

“I’ll try to draw that fox away from her first.”

“You don’t have to be the one to approach him…”

“He’ll be less wary if I approach him than if you do.”

He looked so timid that I thought he would bolt if Zerachiel even got close.

Besides, my gut feeling told me that Erhaden had ulterior motives.

For one, he was being overly friendly, a stark contrast to his previous behavior, which was suspicious. He hadn’t even glanced at me at the wedding.

Back then, Erhaden had given me a condescending look. For him to suddenly become so affable suggested a hidden agenda.

Perhaps he was curious about my role in stopping Zacary’s rampage. Before that, he might have dismissed me as an insignificant white ferret not worth his time.

Just then, Rachel mentioned she was thirsty, and Erhaden immediately volunteered,

“I’ll get it.”

“No, I’ll…”

Kiara stepped forward, but Erhaden was insistent.

“It’s okay. It’s Rachel’s water, so I should take care of it.”

On the surface, it seemed like he was being attentive to Rachel, but from another perspective, his words were subtly possessive and dismissive of Kiara.

In other words, it could be interpreted as, ‘Why would I trust *you* to do it?’

For a fleeting moment, Kiara’s composure cracked. It was clear that Erhaden was the source of her annoyance.

But he was Rachel’s guest. Like the cool, collected professional she was, Kiara quickly regained her blank expression and stepped back.

“Do as you please.”

Of course, she couldn’t entirely conceal the subtle twitching of her eyebrows.

It seemed like this had been a recurring pattern.

I approached Kiara and asked slyly.

“Has he been like this often? He seems strangely antagonistic towards you.”

“He’s retaliating,” Kiara said nonchalantly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“He must be upset that I told him to wait according to procedure when he arrived without an appointment. Besides, he caused quite a fuss while staying at the mansion.”

Kiara frowned as if the mere thought annoyed her.

“It’s irritating, so I’m letting him have his way. I’m sure Rachel has her reasons for observing him.”

She seemed to trust Rachel implicitly. I subtly inquired about Rachel’s well-being.

“How has Rachel been doing lately?”

At that moment, Kiara’s expression became quite telling. She spoke in a worried tone, as if witnessing something unprecedented.

“Well, in my experience, it’s like the calm before the storm. She’s become so overly calm that I’m worried about how explosively she’s going to react this time. I might just resign before that happens… cough, I’m sorry. My true feelings slipped out.”

Kiara smoothed her lips and smiled awkwardly. I pretended not to hear and stared in the direction Erhaden had disappeared.

‘Something’s definitely fishy.’

I felt uneasy leaving things as they were, but I lacked a valid reason to confront him.

I gestured to Zerachiel to watch over Rachel and secretly followed Erhaden.

Thanks to Tebi, there were no pheromones or traces of me, making it easy to tail him. Of course, it wouldn’t work on experienced beastmen, but Erhaden was far from seasoned.

As I carefully followed him, I saw Erhaden pick up a juice bottle from the dessert table and pour it into a glass. And…

‘What is he doing?’

I was shocked to see Erhaden adding something to the juice glass.

I didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t look like a good sign. I quietly tried to slip away to report this.

Unfortunately, I stepped on a dry twig at my feet.

Snap—

Erhaden, who was stirring the powder to dissolve it, glared at me at the sound of the twig breaking.

“You…”

His gaze fell on the glass he was stirring. Now that I’d been spotted, there was no escaping. I pretended not to be afraid and said nonchalantly.

“I was thirsty too.”

Erhaden’s eyes narrowed as I smiled innocently. He then held out the juice glass.

“Then drink this.”

“That?”

Is he crazy? Drink something with an unknown substance in it?

“No, I prefer water.”

As I waved my hand dismissively, he forcibly offered me the juice glass.

“Just drink it.”

Looking at his lewdly smiling face, I swallowed hard. There was no way I was drinking that.

Besides, judging by his expression, he seemed convinced that I had seen him. I finally sighed and placed the juice on the table.

Now that things had come to this, I had no choice but to catch him red-handed. Tebi was already circling around me, wary of Erhaden.

Erhaden’s eyes widened when he saw this.

“You really do have a guardian.”

His tone suggested he had an ulterior motive, so I hardened my expression and asked quietly.

“What were you trying to do to Rachel? What did you put in the glass?”

“So you saw everything.”

Erhaden smiled, a cold, mirthless expression. It was clear he had offered me the juice as a test.

I cocked my leg and raised my chin.

“Yes, I saw it.”

Looking at him with a ‘So what if I saw it?’ face, Erhaden’s head dropped. After a moment.

“Puhaha!”

Erhaden burst into laughter, bending over backwards as if he found the situation ridiculous. He seemed to have given up on denying it since he’d been caught in the act.

Maybe he was looking down on me because I was young.

I kept my distance and glared at him. I didn’t want to be careless, unsure of his capabilities.

Before I knew it, Erhaden’s eyes became sharp. He seemed to be calculating what to do with me.

“It’s nothing. I was just trying to make her a little more docile so it would be easier to take her away.”

He picked up the juice glass and spun it with his hand. The juice sloshed around.

“I don’t want to be defeated by Jabez twice, either. Besides, I wouldn’t pass up this opportunity to get revenge.”

Erhaden’s eyes were blazing with malice. I couldn’t help but frown at his greedy gaze. He smirked and said.

“Well, Rachel looks much better that way too. Honestly, she was a bit much, wasn’t she?”

“…”

“Females should be quiet and have babies at home.”

He smiled as he shamelessly spewed those words. It was a trashy statement in every way.

A dangerous atmosphere filled the air. I recalled how uncharacteristically quiet Rachel had been today and snapped.

“Don’t tell me you’ve already given Rachel the drug?”

“What drug? The Honey Badger clan wouldn’t fall for such a shoddy trick.”

Indeed, Honey Badgers were a clan with strong immunity to poison. They possessed tremendous toughness, capable of detoxifying even the deadly venom of the Black Mamba in a matter of hours.

So even if he had used drugs, they would have quickly neutralized them, rendering them useless.

“Then…”

As my voice trailed off, Erhaden unexpectedly answered kindly, resolving the mystery.