The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 141

My heart was pounding.

Why did everything Ian say sound cooler than when anyone else said it?

‘Is it just that I’m into older guys?’

Pondering this, I leaned slightly, very slightly, into Ian’s arms.

“Yeah, perfect.”

Ian hugged me tightly, and he smelled amazing.

‘It doesn’t smell like cologne, though.’

If I had to describe it, it was like night dew and fresh leaves, a hint of metal, and a coconut soap scent trying to cover it up.

The slightly different scent from what I remembered of Ian was unfamiliar and exciting at the same time.

“Should we leave a note? That way, they won’t worry.”

Ian gestured towards the desk with his eyes.

Flustered, I fanned my flushed face with my hand and quickly pulled away from him.

“Y-yeah, right. I should leave a note.”

But wait. Does this mean we’re going on a trip through the window right now?

Sneaking out made me so nervous that I ended up misspelling a word.

Just as I was scrambling to get a new piece of paper and rewrite it, Ian, who had been waiting, strode up to me and hugged me from behind.

“I have a few places to show you along the way.”

“Places to show me…?”

“Yeah. I want you to be curious about what I’ve been doing to become a man worthy of you.”

Feeling Ian’s body heat, my hands trembled slightly.

As some sage once said, sneezes and love cannot be hidden. This was the first time I truly understood those words.

“Let’s go, baby.”

“Okay.”

One misspelled word probably doesn’t matter.

When Ian urged me again, I hesitated for a moment before finally throwing the quill away.

I wanted to get out of here quickly, too. I wanted him to take me somewhere without any headaches.

“There’s a carriage a little ways away. Want a piggyback ride?”

“Like this…?”

“That’s right.”

Ian bent down in front of me, offering his back.

It felt awkward, but I decided to hop on Ian’s back.

Actually, it would be most comfortable to transform into my ferret form, but staying in human form was… just out of greed.

It’s romantic, after all.

Ian leaped over the branches as if he didn’t feel my weight at all.

Even though he was carrying the weight of another person, which must have made him heavier than usual, it was amazing that he still didn’t make a sound.

None of the soldiers guarding Dribljane raised their heads, even though we were right above them.

“Did you learn how to move silently from Hwairan?”

“My teacher is the best in that area.”

Soon, we arrived at an alley.

There was a carriage painted entirely in black. It was clearly a luxurious carriage, but it didn’t have the family crest and was small enough to only fit one or two people.

“I’ll be driving. I’ve stocked it with blankets and books.”

“How far do we have to go?”

“We’ll travel in this carriage just for tonight, and when we arrive at my village, we’ll switch to something else.”

Ian explained politely. In the meantime, I didn’t miss the fact that Ian said ‘my village.’

‘My village, huh? Did he receive a territory? There’s no record of that. Did he receive it under someone else’s name?’

I tilted my head, keeping my questions to myself. I’d be able to find out the answers soon anyway.

Instead, I looked around the rather cozy interior of the carriage. There were three books in total: a philosophy book and two romance novels.

‘The carriage isn’t shaking much. Is it really a high-end carriage?’

I could even read a book. No, this very slight vibration was enough to make me fall asleep while reading.

It was about time to sleep, anyway.

‘Is Ian not tired…?’

I picked up a romance novel, but before opening it, I suddenly looked out the window.

The crimson lights from the magic tower illuminated the streets. Below, people working at night were bustling about.

I stared blankly at it and murmured.

‘I’ll be back for a little while.’

If I end up choosing Dante, this will be the first and last time I can be with Ian.

Dante once said that he would live his whole life with just this one memory.

Maybe I, too… maybe this one memory that I can’t bring back will be kindled like embers and make me happy for the rest of my life.

* * *

I fell asleep while reading and woke up to find it was already morning. The carriage had also stopped, so the timing was perfect.

“You’re awake?”

“Yeah! But where are we?”

I felt a little stiff from being in the carriage all night.

As I stretched, Ian reached out his hand and answered.

“An inn. We’ll stay here for a day and leave tomorrow morning. I’ll show you around the factory.”

“Factory?”

“But after breakfast.”

What on earth has Ian prepared?

Unlike usual, I could feel excitement in Ian’s tone, which made me a little excited too.

“Welcome! Do you want a room? Do you want food?”

“One room with two beds. And two of the owner’s recommended meals.”

“Yes! Today’s special is steamed flounder with peas and meat and potato stew.”

Even though there are two beds, it’s still one room!

But Ian said it so casually that I didn’t even have time to be surprised. When you open the door in an inn like this, you can’t expect a structure with two bedrooms in one room.

It’ll probably just be two beds in one room. And the beds will be very close together.

‘What if I snore in my sleep?’

Oh my god.

Just imagining it made me dizzy.

“You must feel unwell from being in an uncomfortable position all night, so let’s eat some soft steamed fish.”

“O-okay.”

Being with Yuri was exhausting. I always had to be on edge.

On the other hand, being with Dante was just comfortable, like family.

‘But why am I so surprised every time I’m with Ian, like a rabbit?’

I’m a big ferret, after all.

I sat down in any seat, and soon the owner brought out the food.

“Ahem, well… judging by your appearance, you seem like nobles. I don’t know if you’ll like this.”

Even though I wasn’t wearing a fancy party dress, even my ordinary clothes were ridiculously expensive from a commoner’s perspective.

The luster of the fabric and each decoration were completely different from what commoners wore, so there was no way they wouldn’t recognize that I was a noble.

What was unusual was the owner’s attitude, who didn’t fawn or get scared even after realizing we were nobles.

“My men have eaten here a few times. They raved about it, saying it’s the best flounder dish in the world.”

“Hehehem, well, it’s not that good… Kehehem!”

But the owner seemed to be quite weak to compliments.

The atmosphere suddenly softened with Ian’s smooth words.

“Here, try it.”

Ian cut off the body of the fish and handed it to me. It was the meatiest and plumpest part.

It was very burdensome to have the owner watching me eat with expectant eyes, but I was so hungry that I quickly took a bite.

‘Oh…?’

Come to think of it, this is pretty good…?

“How is it?”

“It’s good. It’s light and not too strong.”

“I see. I was able to not disappoint the lady. Thanks to you.”

Ian smiled pleasantly and handed the owner a gold coin.

Even if you combined the cost of the room and the meal, it wouldn’t exceed a few silver coins, so a gold coin was a very generous tip.

The owner disappeared into the kitchen, excited to offer a service, and now only Ian and I were left in the restaurant. No one else had come down to eat this early in the morning.

“Oh, by the way, Saintess Lahin will be coming to this country soon.”

I was enjoying the stew when Ian casually said something.

Blinking, I tilted my head, wondering if I had misheard.

Lahin is coming? To this country?

“They keep trying to take you away, but instead of that, they can just come here.”

“!”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to meet them. I just want to make them waste their time.”

So, from what he said, it seemed that Ian had induced Lahin to come to the Magic Empire.

I couldn’t immediately ask my questions because I was chewing on a potato, so I just asked with my eyes, and Ian smiled and gave me a further explanation.

“I made a deal with the Emperor after seeing Yuri lock you in a tank. In exchange for boosting the Emperor’s pride, I asked him to release you immediately.”

“Ah, so… that’s why the Emperor moved.”

It was thanks to Ian that Yuri had no choice but to hand me over.

As the part that had been a question all along was resolved, my gratitude towards Ian deepened even more.

“I had information about the misdeeds of the priests who tried to kidnap you.”

Ian wiped the corners of my mouth with a napkin and smiled.

“And in the future, every time the same thing happens, they will lose what they have enjoyed so far. Then, someday, they will realize that they shouldn’t touch you.”

So this is how you can say you’ll protect someone.

The confidence Ian has is just like my father’s. It seems absolute, and I feel like I can unconditionally trust and rely on him.

Perhaps that’s why I didn’t feel nervous at all, even though Lahin was really going to appear in front of me.