The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 158

Since they were guests from afar, I was naturally granted a day off. Officially meeting the Emperor and Raheen would be tomorrow.

‘I’m so grateful that the Magic Empire doesn’t have as tight a schedule as the Holy Empire.’

The food, properly seasoned with butter and spices, was also wonderful.

For the first time in a while, I had a hearty meal that suited my taste.

I thought it again, the Magic Empire wasn’t as impoverished as the Holy Empire, so… an enormous amount of food, enough for Retina and me to share, was served for breakfast.

“Is it good?”

“Woo-ah!”

“Yes, you can eat all that’s left. But eat slowly and chew thoroughly, or you might get a stomachache.”

Retina was such a cute child. She was quiet, understood quickly, and wasn’t excessively demanding. After spending time with her, I even considered asking her to be a maid at the Dribblyane mansion, if she was interested.

‘Shall I start getting ready?’

Yuri would be here soon.

All I had to do was comb my unruly hair and put on the Saintess’s robe, so it didn’t take long.

Knock knock.

A moment later, someone knocked.

“Yuri!”

I opened the door wide with joy, and there….

“!”

The person I missed so much. The one I tried not to think about because I missed him so much.

The person whose name brought tears to my eyes, the one I had been avoiding, was standing there. It was Ian.

* * *

Ian had been watching since dawn when the carriage carrying the Saintess passed through the castle gates.

A cold wind swept across his cheek, also brushing past the black paper in his hand. It contained information gathered by his loyal subordinates.

‘She saved orphans and gave up her food.’

Moreover, she was popular among the priests.

They praised her, saying that the Saintess, who hadn’t been like that before, had been reformed by the will of God.

After reading that far, Ian was certain.

The person in that carriage, though he hadn’t seen her yet, was the woman he missed. The woman he loved.

He hid himself among the branches and watched the carriage intently when he heard a voice from the side.

It was Hwa-ran.

“Honestly, I don’t know what this is all about. The Princess isn’t the Princess.”

Ian glanced at Hwa-ran, who had a serious expression, and calmly replied.

“Did you contact the King of Arcalik?”

“No, I didn’t. The Princess didn’t recognize me, so I thought I’d trust your words.”

“You did well.”

Hwa-ran scratched the back of his head.

He felt like he was going crazy. After that ‘Day of Choice,’ he couldn’t figure out what was going on.

If the Princess had been replaced with a fake, as Ian said, where was the real one, and how could they reverse it?

In fact, he should have gone to Arcalik to report, but Hwa-ran was procrastinating.

The King would be furious.

He didn’t want to see the King go on a rampage like a natural disaster, so he couldn’t admit that he didn’t know where the real one was.

“How much do you know about that Pope?”

“Ah, that.”

Hwa-ran shuddered as he imagined the King’s extremely angry appearance. Anyway, that couldn’t happen.

He had to report after confirming that the Princess was safe, and about this matter too.

“There are records of some criminals exiled from Arcalik taking root in the Holy Empire. Some of them disappeared without a trace.”

Ian focused on Hwa-ran’s words, but he didn’t take his eyes off the carriage. The priests staggered out one by one, but it seemed like it would be a while before the Saintess’s turn.

“The Pope’s identity may be that of a mixed-blood, born to a criminal exiled from Arcalik and a person from the Holy Empire. If we assume that, it makes sense that the Pope’s hair and eye color are ordinary. That’s what the Princess said… it’s plausible. The criminals must hate the King.”

“Then the Pope might be holding the real one hostage. He might have used some trickery.”

Swapping souls seemed to have a strong magical implication.

It was not strange that the Pope was on Ian’s list of people to watch out for. However, Hwa-ran, who had lived longer than Ian and therefore knew more about the world, rated that possibility as low.

There was no way humans could do anything with souls. If that were possible, the King would have held onto the soul of the late Queen.

“Oh, she’s coming down now.”

At Hwa-ran’s words, the door of the last remaining carriage opened with a click. The woman who emerged looked very tired, even from this distance.

“….”

Ian stared intently at the unfamiliar woman. It was a persistent and sharp gaze, as if he were about to dissect her. Even Hwa-ran, who claimed to be his teacher, found it difficult to speak to him easily.

And when the Saintess from the Holy Empire disappeared into the Imperial Palace, Hwa-ran looked at Ian with a slightly shocked expression.

Ian was smiling while shedding tears.

“I found her.”

He whispered softly.

That was why he went to see Saintess Florin as soon as morning came.

* * *

“I, Ian. Ian…!”

I couldn’t control my overflowing emotions and hugged Ian.

I couldn’t bear it unless I held him tightly in my arms right away.

“Did, did you recognize me?”

“Of course, baby.”

Baby.

It was Ian’s pet name for me.

As soon as I heard that, my legs gave way, and I collapsed.

It was Ian who firmly supported me.

“How could I not recognize you?”

“Ian… Ian.”

They say you can’t speak when you’re too overwhelmed, and that’s exactly how I felt.

Yuri said that there was a [likely a magical artifact or prophecy] so there was no way he wouldn’t recognize me, but not Ian. How did he notice?

I was so amazed and couldn’t believe it. At the same time, uncontrollable joy welled up.

Ian patted my back and whispered gently.

“Do you remember where we went on a trip, what I did for you?”

“Yes! Pancakes!”

“Yes. Pancakes. That’s right.”

Ian squeezed his eyes shut.

I almost kissed him without realizing it, but I barely managed to calm down because Retina was watching with wide eyes.

“I’ll explain what happened, Ian. Will you come in…?”

“That would be good. People will be passing by soon.”

Thud.

Ian closed the door and came in. Just the fact that he was here made me feel relieved.

“Will you explain everything without leaving anything out? There are still parts that I don’t understand well.”

Ian opened his mouth softly.

I almost burst into tears again, but I held back and focused, explaining one word at a time.

The story was long, and it was almost noon, but Yuri hadn’t arrived. And Ian initially had a smiling face, but as he listened to my story, the veins in his neck gradually stood out.

“You’ve had a hard time, Florin.”

Not Raheen, but Florin.

Hearing Ian call my name made me feel like I was being compensated for all the suffering I had endured.

Losing myself, not by my own will but by the will of others, was a terrible feeling. I tried to endure it, but it was something I shouldn’t have had to endure in the first place.

“I… I didn’t know Raheen would take even my place like that.”

“Don’t worry. She will definitely be punished. No matter what punishment she receives, it won’t be enough to satisfy me….”

Gritting.

Ian gritted his teeth.

Then he gave a sad look towards my heart, wondering whether the divine power bomb planted there could be removed. That was the current problem.

* * *

Meanwhile, at that time.

Yuri was unlucky enough to be caught by the Emperor and the Pope and couldn’t escape.

“Ah, I’ve been very interested in the words of God lately.”

The Pope was not someone who could be dealt with lightly. Because of that, Yuri couldn’t keep his promise to go to Florin right after breakfast.

‘Sister, she must be waiting.’

I had to go quickly. I had to soothe Florin, who must be anxious. But the sly Pope didn’t seem to want to let me go at all.

“Is that so? That’s a happy thing.”

“Yes. So I would like to ask the Saintess of the Holy Empire for guidance. This country’s Saintess has nothing to teach me.”

Yuri smiled and put down the glass he was holding. He didn’t want to drink anything because his stomach was churning.

“Please allow me to hear various stories from the Saintess of the Holy Empire, at least while she is here.”

“Well, that’s not a difficult thing. How can I say no when you ask so earnestly for guidance?”

The Pope wore a mysterious smile.

I felt like I would have no regrets if I could punch him just once, so Yuri had to secretly clench his fist.