The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 125

Bearing my weight on Dante, I took slow steps.

Though there was no music, the sound of rain hitting the window served as the melody filling the space between us.

The sudden drop in temperature made the flames crackle in the small fireplace. I could hear the servants, on hallway cleaning duty, whispering as they passed by. And louder than anything else, Dante’s heartbeat….

‘Ah, you really do like me.’

Had Dante’s every action ever felt so vivid before?

I noticed the firm tension in Dante’s jaw. He was nervous.

*What’s with this dance, you.*

“Haa, I’m going to die.”

Then, Dante exhaled, released my hands, and hugged me tightly. Caught off guard, I could feel his heart pounding against my chest.

“Hey, Dong-geul.”

“……Yeah.”

“Can you feel my heart beating? If this isn’t liking, then what is it?”

His voice was low in my ear. I flinched at the ticklish and strange sensation, and Dante chuckled, resting his forehead on my shoulder.

“I really have the confidence to treat you well.”

“Yeah, I believe you.”

Dante would never betray me.

No matter how unpredictable people’s hearts may be, Dante would never turn his back on me.

I trusted his inflexibility, his single-mindedness, and his pure heart.

Dante was one of the few men who knew what romance was.

Even if it wasn’t me, the person who became Dante’s wife would surely be happy until the moment they died.

‘Dante’s wife…….’

I murmured the words in my mind and felt a tickling sensation in my chest.

Was it because Dante’s heartbeats were being transmitted to me?

The familiar sense of stability trying to take on a slightly different form was scary, but suddenly, I had this thought.

Could I live without losing Dante?

You’re my best friend…….

“Florin.”

Soon, Dante called me with a determined look in his eyes.

It felt like even the falling rain had stopped.

I felt like I knew what he was going to say, but I didn’t want to know.

Because if I heard it, I felt like we could never go back to being just friends.

But Dante’s firm eyes were saying it.

He was going to cross the line now.

“Would it…… be okay if I kissed you?”

“……!”

“Not on the cheek or forehead, but here…….”

He couldn’t bring himself to say ‘lips’ and cleared his throat; that was so like him.

His blue-green eyes held a courage he had barely mustered, but I could clearly see the fear at the end of it.

‘I want to refuse.’

*Let’s not change, us.*

*Let’s stay like this.*

If we stay like this, we won’t lose each other.

But that was all just childish whining.

Hesitating, I finally nodded.

‘I wonder if Ian wants to do this with me too……? Not just that thing on the back of my hand, but our lips actually touching.’

My heart fluttered. It was because Dante’s expression changed as soon as my silent permission was given.

There was something fierce and sharp about him that was completely different from his usual self, and I swallowed hard.

‘He’s too serious.’

Dante, who had puffed himself up, straightening his back like he was about to hunt prey, didn’t act like a fool, contrary to expectations.

Only belatedly did I realize how heavy the weight of that one word he had thought about and agonized over for so long was, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had been caught.

‘I thought he was a simpleton! Could it be that it was all an act…….’

Hiss!

As Dante came closer, I was so surprised that I even stopped breathing and squeezed my eyes shut.

“…….”

But no matter how long I waited, nothing happened, so I very cautiously opened one eye.

“Huh?”

But Dante wasn’t in front of me.

He was usually positioned higher than my line of sight, so where did he go……?

Puzzled, I looked around, and then I heard a muffled snickering sound from below.

Could it be? I lowered my gaze and saw Dante squatting down, wiping away tears as he laughed!

“Hey, why are you so nervous? You look like a steamed bun.”

“!”

“Is this your first kiss, by any chance?”

Dante was really holding his stomach and laughing, as if my face from earlier was so funny. Embarrassed, I blushed and wondered if I should just grab his hair and tear it out.

I almost felt a little flutter!

“Hmph.”

“Ah, are you sulking?”

“I’m not sulking. I’m going to go.”

“Heyaa. I stopped because you were too nervous. What can I do when you’re trembling so much?”

As I turned my body away, Dante playfully grabbed my wrist.

It wasn’t like he grabbed me with a lot of force, but it was a bit much to shake him off, so I just sighed.

To be honest, I felt relieved that we didn’t kiss…….

“Will you come here?”

“Sit on the bare floor?”

“No, in my arms. How could you sit on the bare floor?”

I was still sulky, but Dante coaxed me gently with a soft voice, and I felt a little better.

After hesitating, I sat on Dante’s lap and awkwardly averted my gaze. Dante stared at me for a long time, then wordlessly gave me a back hug.

“Sorry. I was greedy. I suddenly got impatient because I thought today was the last day.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for. You didn’t do it anyway.”

“Yeah. I stopped.”

Crack, crackle. Crack.

Sitting lower than the sofa, the sound of the firewood burning in the fireplace sounded louder than before.

‘Is it because the tension is gone……? I feel drowsy.’

My body suddenly warmed up, and Dante didn’t say anything for a long time.

I forced myself to keep my eyes open, waiting for Dante to say something, but I couldn’t overcome the sleepiness and started nodding off.

“Sleep a little. I’ll wake you up later.”

“Uhh…….”

I rubbed my eyes and tried to wake up, but Dante grabbed my wrist and pulled it down.

I have to get up. I have to get up, but since I didn’t have anything else to do today anyway, I couldn’t overcome the sleepiness and fell asleep.

“Even if I don’t get your choice, I’ll live with this memory for the rest of my life.”

I think Dante said something last…….

A rainy afternoon.

Dante ended his given time with a stolen kiss *attempt*.

It was a heartbreaking near-kiss.

* * *

“Aren’t you going to go right away?”

“Until before sunrise is my brother’s time, why would I?”

Several hours after Dante was with Florin. In the dark dawn, a certain mansion in the capital.

There was a man with reddish hair.

Numerous people were lined up beside him, all with the same masks covering their faces, and with similar heights and builds, it was impossible to tell who was who.

They were the Clowns [an elusive assassin group].

This elusive assassin group had been growing in size since two years ago, taking on the role of informants, and now they were eliminating other assassin groups in the same industry one by one.

Silently and secretly.

So that only ‘Joker’ would remain in the end.

Today was also part of that cleanup operation.

“Aren’t you upset, though?”

“About what?”

Among everyone silent, only two people spoke.

Ian, standing on the blood-soaked floor, was taking off his equally ruined shirt. A man holding a new shirt for Ian to change into spoke with dissatisfaction.

“Doesn’t the family try to exclude the Master from official events? They even deliberately set the day to welcome Lady Florin on a day when the Master was out of the capital.”

The muscular back revealed under the dim light was fierce. A body without a single scar, despite having gone through numerous missions, was the object of admiration for those working in this industry.

If you go with Ian, you can definitely die a valuable death.

That belief was rooted in Joker like an immutable truth and has never been broken so far.

No matter how skilled an assassin is, no one wants to die like a mere bug. It’s natural for living beings to want to attach a reason or meaning to their death.

Ian created that, and went one step further, planning operations so that they could return alive if possible.

That was definitely different from the previous Master.

“I already knew that the majority of people didn’t want me to become the head of the family.”

“……Yes.”

“So there’s nothing to be upset or disappointed about now. I’m sad that I couldn’t welcome Florin, but even if I had gone, she would have been busy talking to the adults anyway.”

Ian, putting on a new black shirt and fastening the sleeve buttons, smiled and replied calmly.

“There’s no need to worry. Even if Dante becomes the head of the family, Joker’s independence from Dribliane won’t change. I’ve been preparing for a long time to make that happen.”

Black leather gloves that made it easy to hold a dagger or gun, and a red suit that wouldn’t show blood stains.

That was the kind of attire that the adult Ian preferred.

Being tall and having a slim physique with lean muscles developed for practical use rather than bulky muscles, the suit fit perfectly.

Ian, wearing even the cherished red tie, was so handsome and refined that you couldn’t believe he was the person who had just waged a war of slaughter.

“Clean it up neatly. Receive the request as if nothing happened.”

“Yes. I will do as always.”

Was the name of the assassin group that was dismantled today ‘Kali’?

They acted like ordinary nobles and built up quite a force, but from this moment on, the core of ‘Kali’ would be replaced by Joker.

Of course, the clients wouldn’t know that.

‘The later I show up, the more you’ll think of me.’

Ian, leaving the cleanup to his subordinates, went out to the terrace and put a strong cigar in his mouth.

It was made with special herbs and incense to cover the smell of blood on his body.

‘But because I know you’ll worry about me. I like that…… I want to show up even later.’

*I like it when you’re anxious about me, Florin.*

Ian leaned loosely against the railing and chuckled.

It was because he was reminded of the girl who would puff up her cheeks and get angry if he told her these stories.