The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 68

“Florin, about that Pompom thing.”

“Yes?”

“It was definitely a recording golem, right? One that moves on its own.”

“Yes!”

After finishing the last preparations and before leaving the room, Ian approached me and asked quietly.

“Then, should we leave it on? You never know what might happen.”

“Ah…!”

Ian, you’re so smart.

I didn’t even think of that!

“That’s right, Little Lady. I’ll be guarding the living room well, but there’s always a chance something could happen!”

The second rule of this banquet was that you couldn’t bring your own escort knight. There were guards in the hallway where the guests’ bedrooms were, and a knight stationed on each floor, but that was it.

Without a personal escort knight, it would be difficult to respond if something happened….

I quickly cut off my thoughts and nodded.

“Linda, if anything dangerous happens, just shout into this. Then Father will come.”

“I will.”

With a determined face, Linda took Pompom out of my bag and sent it flying.

As soon as it was turned on, Pompom flew around the bedroom, bathroom, and living room, doing its part as an escort knight.

‘I hope we don’t have to use Pompom as evidence….’

Right, this isn’t home.

“You two are dressed similarly again today.”

Inanna was outside.

We followed Inanna like baby tigers following their mother, and the path was easy enough to memorize quickly.

It must be because we received a VIP room close to the banquet hall.

“The theme of this banquet is spring, flowers, and butterflies. You’ll be quite surprised by the sight inside.”

Inanna explained kindly and straightened her back in front of the door.

For some reason, there was no one guarding the door or a servant to announce our arrival… I soon found out why.

“Just now, just now the eyes! The eyes moved!”

The door to the huge banquet hall had a woman with flowing hair sculpted in relief. It was carved so delicately that it caught my eye, and then I happened to make eye contact with the sculpture.

No, they’re really moving?!

The voice was mechanical and dry, as if someone had programmed it.

Even Ian was stiff, probably surprised this time, but Inanna was the only one who wasn’t shocked.

“Cute things. This door was made by the Magic Tower. It exists in five directions surrounding the banquet hall. Guests cannot enter the banquet hall without passing through this door.”

“Wow… Does the door also tell you how long it’s been since you attended a banquet?”

“Yes. When you make your debut, you greet Narun, the center of the five doors. At that time, Narun recognizes and remembers each individual. Narun also announces when you enter the banquet.”

Just how high-dimensional is this magical mechanical engineering?

Until now, I’ve been interested in magic, but it was only abstract. But seeing something so amazing right in front of me was quite shocking.

“Of course, Narun is just a memory storage device, so it doesn’t have intelligence. The principle is simple in a way. But the fact that they thought of installing it on the banquet hall door is amazing.”

“It’s a change of perspective… This way, everything is recorded: who came in and when they left.”

“If you’re a noble registered with Narun, yes.”

The appearance is a bit different and the size is different, but the principle itself was similar to Pompom.

“Yes. Open, Narun.”

Creak.

Finally, the door opened, and a bright light and sweet fragrance wafted out.

The Dribljane family was entering.

* * *

The venue for today’s banquet was said to have a ‘private garden’ attached.

It was a garden that was not usually open because only guests invited to the banquet hall could go there, and for some reason, children were prohibited from entering.

Anyway, including the garden, this banquet hall could accommodate more than 5,000 people at the same time in an emergency.

“It’s really big, isn’t it.”

“I know. If we lose someone here, we won’t be able to find them, Florin.”

“Let’s stick together so we don’t get lost. We really won’t be able to find each other.”

Inanna stayed with us at first, introducing us to various nobles, but she couldn’t do that forever. Since she was returning to society after a long time, people were looking for Inanna everywhere.

In the end, Ian and I decided to stay out of the way, but from my short height, this place was almost like a dress prison.

I can’t see! I can’t see what’s in front of me!

‘I wanted to find Yuri. And if possible, Belladi Roibaium too.’

Eventually, pushed by the crowd, we headed near the food.

A huge amount of food was piled up in front of a wall decorated with white flowers like a waterfall. There were already several children around besides us, and when I looked closely, there were several small stools in the corner where they could sit and rest.

“I guess Her Majesty the Empress was considerate.”

Ian said that as well, looking at the children sitting huddled together on the stools.

Children must have a hard time standing for long periods of time.

“Ah, Florin. Try this. It looks very pretty.”

“Wow. What is this? Flower candy…?”

“I know. Let’s eat it since it’s interesting.”

I was hungry, so I waited for Ian to put it on my plate.

‘I should take a look around the banquet hall after eating. She might be in a corner somewhere.’

Adults have their own battles, and children have their own battles.

Whatever Selena’s revenge, with her strong pride, my next move was to become friends with Belladi.

‘There’s no better way to turn Selena’s stomach upside down than that.’

To do that, I have to find Belladi first….

While diligently eating the melt-in-your-mouth dish and looking around the floor, I suddenly thought the music had changed to a more cheerful tune.

Like I should be dancing any minute now…?

“Oh, they’re really dancing!”

“They are. Shall we watch?”

“Yes, yes!”

Ian, who was subtly pulling at his collar because his clothes were starting to feel uncomfortable, turned to me and held out his hand. I gracefully pretended not to see it and took his hand.

‘Come to think of it, Ian surprisingly can’t stand uncomfortable clothes. Dante wore his uniform just fine.’

Ian, you have surprisingly cute sides to you.

He’s very mature, but I’m probably the only one who knows about these moments in between.

“Their Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Empress are leading the first dance.”

“Oh, they are!”

Before I knew it, the nobles had stepped aside to both sides, clearing the center.

The Emperor I saw didn’t seem like the type to dance at all, but I guess those things are all part of being an adult.

Anyway, the music was so good that I tapped my feet to the beat.

‘Ah, the Emperor’s dance is over.’

The Emperor, with his radiant face, took the Empress’s hand and returned to the throne, and soon all sorts of gentlemen took the ladies’ hands and came out to take over the floor.

It was as if all the people dancing there were flowers, so there was no need for flowers separately.

Everyone, men and women alike, were dressed up beautifully.

Whether it was the influence of the Emperor’s radiant face, everyone was wearing earrings, regardless of gender, and the men’s formal wear was also colorful.

‘Well, without going far, just looking at Father, he wears a wine-colored suit the most often.’

Rather, I’ve hardly ever seen him wear sober colors like black or white.

“Florin.”

“Yes?”

It was then.

I had been mindlessly looking at the dresses and suits for a while when Ian, who was next to me, called me. Wondering why, I turned my head, and I saw Ian wearing a deep smile.

Ian moved his lips as if to say something, but soon closed them. Then, he let out a light laugh and slightly bent his waist.

“Lady Florin.”

“Y-yes.”

“Will you give me the honor of the first dance?”

Thump.

It was just for a moment, but my heart almost sank.

Why are you suddenly setting the mood like this!

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t dance. I’ll lead.”

Ah, how can I refuse this….

I was so out of my mind from the sudden use of honorifics that I just nodded.

Are children even allowed to dance? I’m a terrible dancer, what if I step on his feet? What was Ian about to say before he swallowed his words?

More than that, isn’t my face too red right now….

“Baby.”

“Y-yes!”

“I’ll grow up quickly. So, only look at me.”

“……”

“You’re still young, so you don’t even know what I’m saying, but to me, you’re the only one….”

Ian trailed off. Because of that, my heart was pounding to the music. Ian’s golden eyes, resembling the moon, seemed to captivate me.

“…So, whenever you’re focusing on something else even when I’m next to you, I get jealous in an unsightly way.”

“!”

“When you’re with me, only look at me. Okay?”

You’re really like a fox….

Ian gently pulled me closer by the waist and suddenly brought his pretty face closer.

He’s so handsome and pretty, doing it all by himself, making it impossible to take my eyes off him, and he’s using that.

“That’s unfair….”

“I’m going to become even more unfair. So that you choose me. So that you can’t even think of any other options besides me.”

It feels like my body is floating.

Dancing is such a fun thing.

What would it feel like to become an adult and dance in the center of that floor with Ian, who is also an adult?

I raised my hand high and spun around as Ian told me to, thinking about how happy I was.