The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 9

#9.

I inexplicably got goosebumps and rubbed my arms. Zerachiel, amused by my reaction, said casually:

“Don’t worry. As long as my pheromones are all over you, you’ll be safe.”

He then lightly touched my cheek and gave a languid smile. It was a strangely self-deprecating gesture, with a hint of familiar resignation.

“My father especially hates my pheromones.”

In the suddenly subdued atmosphere, I silently looked at Zerachiel.

‘Did he mean *his* pheromones, not me, when he said something smelled?’

Only then did I realize the reason for Zachari’s outburst, and I felt bewildered. I thought he was saying *I* smelled because I was somehow deficient.

I thought I was being subjected to a great personal attack, but it turned out it wasn’t even directed at me.

But this was strange in its own way.

‘That’s too much…’

What parent in the world would say their own son’s pheromones smelled?

Usually, they would feel more intimate with the pheromones of their own kind.

Could this also be related to the Javis family’s… eccentricities?

The original story didn’t deeply explain the Javis family’s eccentricities. It only mentioned that Ella’s unique pheromones were helpful.

‘No. It’s hard to say it’s *just* because of that.’

The Black Lion family’s pheromones were the most extreme of the closed pheromones, the highest-level pheromones. [Closed pheromones likely refer to pheromones that are highly exclusive and potent within a specific group or family.]

Seeing how extremely sensitive Zerachiel was to other beastmen’s pheromones in the original story, it might be a characteristic of the pheromones themselves.

Maybe the reason he allowed me to come within his range was because my tiny pheromones weren’t bothersome.

“So, be careful not to run into my father.”

With those words, Zerachiel closed his eyes. He then trapped me in his arms so I couldn’t escape.

Suddenly becoming the villain’s cherished doll, I stared blankly at his sleeping face and fell asleep as well.

* * *

That day, the wind wasn’t as harsh, so I was playing hide-and-seek with Isla in the garden.

While looking for a place to hide, I ran into the last person I wanted to encounter.

“You are…”

Zachari, who happened to be taking a walk, frowned when he found me.

I bristled with yesterday’s resentment and blatantly hid behind a tree. Then, belatedly realizing I hadn’t greeted him, I peeked out, and he twitched an eyebrow.

Zachari beckoned me to come closer. When I shook my head, pheromones gathered on his finger. [This likely implies Zachari is using his pheromones to exert dominance or compel obedience.]

How cheap, using threats!

What could I, a mere weasel beastman, do?

I reluctantly approached. Suddenly, he picked me up with his thumb and forefinger and brought me close to his face.

Thanks to that, my body drooped like laundry hung on a clothespin. He looked at me as if I were a strange creature.

I felt inexplicably bad and glared at him, and he chuckled.

“Hmm, was your name Gigi? You look like a dust bunny.”

It was a very insulting remark.

“Chi-Chi!”

It’s Chi-Chi!

I burst out, writhing in humiliation. I didn’t like the name Chi-Chi either, but there was a huge difference in nuance between Gigi and Chi-Chi.

Gigi sounds like it would smell!

Besides, a dust bunny? As a white ferret, I couldn’t help but be furious.

Zachari chuckled as I trembled all over. He provoked me first and then laughed so nonchalantly, which made me even more annoyed.

I stamped my feet, demanding to be let go, but Zachari muttered eerily.

“If you stay still, I won’t eat you.”

At those words, I obediently drooped and just rolled my eyes.

How cheap, always…

In the world of beastmen, the hierarchy is determined by pheromones.

I was abandoned without even knowing what kind of pheromones I had, while Zachari was the head of the Javis family.

Knowing that I had to prostrate myself just because of that position, the impulsive Korean spirit from my previous life kept popping out, which was a problem.

“You’ve finally become a little more obedient.”

Zachari seemed pleased with my surrender and gently placed me on his palm.

Just yesterday, he was telling me not to even come close. Suddenly giving me attention made me very suspicious.

As I rolled my eyes pathetically, Zachari opened his mouth.

“Hey, Gigi.”

It’s Chi-Chi.

“Gigi-ya.”

When I resisted by not responding, Zachari called me in an eerie voice. Then, he added rhymes like a rapper.

“Gigi, who will become a bloated white bean if put in water. Answer unless you’ve eaten honey. If you don’t answer, I’ll soak you in water and eat you.”

“…”

“Hmm, where is the lake…”

Zachari was about to take me to a nearby lake when…

“Chi-Chi!”

I became desperate and grabbed his thumb and shouted. It was frustrating, but falling into the lake in this winter was no different from suicide.

I’ll become a frozen white bean before I even bloat!

I cried and shook my head, prostrating myself. How long had I been clinging?

Suddenly, I was puzzled by Zachari’s silence, so I raised my head and met Zachari’s eyes.

“Heh heh.”

Zachari was shaking his shoulders and gleefully laughing at me.

That damn Black Lion.

The Black Lions must all be crazy. I quickly escaped from his palm while he was laughing and distracted.

But I was soon blocked by someone’s foot.

“Chew?”

“You were here.”

Zerachiel found me and smiled brightly. The smile shining through the winter sunlight was quite warm.

I was even more glad after being tormented by Zachari.

“Chi-Chi!”

Please help me!

I stuck to his leg and peeked out, and Zerachiel’s golden eyes widened.

He usually ran away as soon as he saw me, so he seemed surprised that I was so close to him.

Then, Zerachiel glanced at the presence behind me and carefully picked me up and hid me in his arms, as if he didn’t want to be deprived of his precious possession.

“What brings you to take an interest in my things? You always told me to get rid of it because it smelled.”

“I couldn’t feel it properly because of your pheromones back then.”

“So, you feel something now?”

Zachari chuckled at Zerachiel’s question.

“I thought you already knew and were keeping it with you.”

“I was going to check anyway.”

Check what?

I tilted my head at the incomprehensible conversation. Zachari said:

“Well, the one who was glaring at me wasn’t an ordinary ferret.”

“Our Chi-Chi is a bit extraordinary. Her kicks are quite fierce.”

“That thing hit you?”

Zachari’s eyes widened as if he had heard shocking words. Well, it’s no wonder he’s surprised that a white ferret dared to kick a Black Lion, the next head of the Black Lion family.

‘I didn’t really intend to hit him either.’

I rolled my eyes like a student who had done something wrong and was called to the faculty office for an interview. But the point Zachari was surprised at was completely different from my expectations.

“You just let it happen?”

His incredulous attitude was somehow off. Zerachiel shrugged and said:

“I didn’t just let it happen.”

“Then?”

“I offered the other side too.”

Stop talking nonsense with a straight face!

I bristled at Zerachiel’s brazen answer. His triumphant boasting only made me more dumbfounded.

Zerachiel went even further and muttered:

“It’s a pity you haven’t been hit yet. It’s quite stinging.”

Why do I have to be hit by that!

I felt my mind leaving my brain and slammed my tail on the floor. Of course, it was inside Zerachiel’s palm.

“…Ahem.”

Zachari coughed, thinking that Zerachiel was exaggerating on purpose.

‘No, he’s serious…’

My hazy eyes and Zachari’s shaking pupils met in the air. Is it just my imagination that Zachari’s eyes looked sympathetic to me?