The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 91

As spring, the season of sprouting plants, faded, summer arrived.

Throughout that summer, the Holy Empire and the Magic Empire, having concluded their intricate peace treaty, focused all their efforts on rebuilding their devastated homelands.

Some former soldiers became farmers, others tended orchards, and still others went out to sea to fish.

People adapted to a life without war faster than expected, and as autumn passed and the harvest came in, spring arrived once more.

For some reason, winter seemed to disappear entirely this time, but no one complained. It wasn’t considered a bad thing.

Winter had been too long already, hadn’t it? Everyone agreed that spring, summer, and autumn were quite enough.

As time passed, the Magic Tower gradually ceased its weapon production.

It wasn’t a complete shutdown, but the Magic Tower’s official statement was that all its engineers were focusing on a top-secret project, making weapon production impossible for the time being.

Of course, everyone kept the nature of this secret project tightly under wraps, as if sworn to secrecy.

And before I knew it, I turned 11. Again, autumn. When the green trees were tinged with red and yellow, and the yellow ginkgo nuts were scattered around—

The Magic Tower made an official announcement.

They had developed a new means of aerial transportation: the ‘airship’.

‘That means it’s time.’

Linda dressed me with trembling hands. The nanny kept wiping away tears as she put my shoes on.

They both treated me as if they would never see me again, and I almost burst into tears myself.

“He might not even be my biological father. If that’s the case, I’ll enjoy traveling and come back here.”

“Hic… Little Lady.”

“Your eyes are swollen, Linda.”

“Hwaaa!”

The matter of the Arkhalik Principality was initially kept secret.

Hwairan wanted to take me there as soon as possible, but Father said it wouldn’t work until the airship was completed.

The Emperor wanted to go to Arkhalik immediately, but it was too far to simply sneak off, and more importantly, the Emperor couldn’t go without me.

I didn’t want to disregard Father’s wishes and force the issue… So I had no choice but to wait for the airship to be developed.

According to Hwairan, the news that I, supposedly a princess, was coming from Arkhalik, along with the Emperor of the Magic Empire, and that the Magic Tower was developing an airship, caused a huge uproar of opposition.

‘Then why doesn’t the king just come down and verify my bloodline himself?’ But that was considered blasphemy and strictly forbidden.

‘It was absurd. But each country has different cultures and traditions.’

I also wanted to resolve things quickly because I was anxious about Yuri, but I had to wait, which was frustrating.

In the meantime, Yuri sent me messages saying he was fine and could wait as long as necessary…

‘How can he be so kind? Ugh…’

He could have pressured me to hurry, but Yuri didn’t. That’s why I felt even more sorry for him.

‘But I’ll be able to see Yuri in a few hours.’

Today was the day of the airship’s first launch ceremony.

The Magic Tower had purchased land not far from the Imperial Palace and built a center there for airships to take off, land, and be repaired.

The launch ceremony would be held at that center, and I was scheduled to board the airship as soon as the event concluded.

It had already been confirmed that there were no issues even at high altitudes after several test flights.

“Please have a safe trip, Little Lady.”

“You must be safe.”

Soon, when I went downstairs, I found not only the kitchen staff but also the gardeners, maids, and servants. Numerous employees were waiting to see me off.

They didn’t know the full details, but they knew I was going on a trip to ‘find my birth family’ for a few months.

Linda, the nanny, Nina, and John were the only employees who knew I was going to Arkhalik.

“I’m so sorry I can’t go with you.”

“Me too!”

In the yard, knights including John and Viktor were gathered.

I received their greetings and returned them in kind.

“I’ll be back!”

I didn’t know how long it would take, but since I was going anyway, I’d tour Arkhalik even if he wasn’t my biological father, so it would indeed take a few months.

‘And if… if I really am the king’s daughter…’

Even if…

‘That’s right! Because there’s an airship. I’ll be able to go back and forth.’

It usually took the magic power of ten wizards to move an airship once, but Father could do it easily alone.

‘And Father will miss me, won’t he?’

Should I live in Arkhalik and Dribblyane every six months?

Of course, everyone in Father’s household and Dribblyane was more precious to me than the father I had never met.

I would be heartbroken if I couldn’t see these people.

“…Tch.”

“Haa.”

Ian and Dante were also in the carriage with me.

The two of them, who had grown taller in the meantime, were now much taller than me even when sitting down—just enough for me to rest my head on their shoulders.

“Ian, can I lean on you?”

“Huh? Oh, of course. You can lean on me as much as you want.”

Ian, who had been lost in thought, answered kindly when I called him.

I leaned on Ian and tapped Dante’s shin, who was sitting across from me, with my toes.

“Dante, are you really not going to look at my face?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m not going forever, you know?”

“Still. I can’t follow you. But why are Yuri and Ori going?”

“That’s… because Yuri is a prince.”

That’s right. These two knew all the details of the incident, and of course, they went to Father and made a fuss about wanting to go to Arkhalik too.

However, there was a limit to the number of people on the newly developed airship. A better type might come out later, but for now, only five people could ride it.

Hwairan, me, the Emperor, and Father. These four were obvious…

And one more person had to be added, and after a loooooong discussion, it was decided to be Yuri.

It seemed like they were planning to give him the title of ‘the first prince to visit the Arkhalik Principality’ to boost his standing against the Crown Prince in the future.

So, of course, Dante was sulking, and Ian seemed to be losing sleep with worry. His eyes were sunken these days.

“Florin… There… I won’t be able to send letters, right? Because it’s a country in the sky.”

Ian whispered in a very sad voice, rubbing my cheek with his thumb. He looked like he was about to cry, and I felt bad.

“Even if I’m a princess and end up living there, I won’t live there forever. Probably.”

“Yeah. But… there will be a period of time when I can’t see you.”

Ian’s eyes eventually turned red.

Dante sniffled and stubbornly stared out the window. Even so, it was touching that they both wore the first gifts I had bought at the Jewel Festival.

“Both of you, give me your hands.”

“Hands?”

“Yeah. Dante too, quickly.”

Dante pouted and reluctantly held out his hand.

I gathered both of their hands together and held them tightly.

“We’re already family. You know? No matter where I am, no matter where Ian and Dante are. We’re a family connected by heart.”

Before I knew it, my eyes were also filled with tears. Dante, who finally looked at me, was already crying.

Because we were crying so much, by the time the carriage arrived at the venue, all three of us had red noses.

* * *

At that moment, the Imperial Palace was filled with an unusual sense of tension.

The prince, who had been confined by the Empress, was released from the water tank this morning.

In the first place, there was no one guarding the room near the water tank, but when the Emperor’s direct guards rushed in, no one could stop them, and they cleared the way.

“…….”

Drip, drip.

The water droplets flowing down his body wet the floor. The boy, like a spirit of the sea just born from foam, was unrealistically beautiful.

The platinum blonde hair, undeniably a sign of the Emperor’s blood, sparkled under the crystal chandelier. The long eyelashes of a similar color and the well-shaped pink lips were also reminiscent of the Emperor.

The only slight difference was that the Emperor didn’t have dimples, but Yuri did, though they weren’t visible because he wasn’t smiling.

“Oh, the heavens are so heartless. In the end, that illegitimate child is being recognized as a prince. Poor Empress!”

“But why is the Emperor having a change of heart when he’s been ignoring him until now?”

“How would I know?”

The maids assigned to attend to the prince all belonged to the Empress’s Palace.

This was the Emperor’s subtle warning: Yuri Yerevan Helicoprion Dribblyane would be recognized as a prince and treated accordingly, so they would have to show him respect from now on. However, not many understood this.

Those who had only seen the prince in the ‘exhibition’ water tank treated him the same way even when he was standing outside now.

“Ah, this is called a handkerchief. Hand-ker-chief. You probably don’t know what it’s used for, so just keep it.”

In fact, their behavior was mostly influenced by the attitude of their superiors.

The head maid of the Empress’s Palace treated him as if she was teaching a three-year-old, so giggles and sneers erupted from here and there.

And Yuri just stood there, staring at the head maid.

The head maid flinched at the emotionless gaze and threw the handkerchief on the floor.

The pure white handkerchief soaked into the water on the floor.

The head maid smiled bitterly as she watched it.

“Pick it up, Prince. You have to take care of your own things, right?”

It was a great insult to dare to do this to a member of the imperial family. In a normal case, such rudeness would warrant immediate execution for insulting the imperial family.

How dare a mere head maid tell a member of the imperial family to bend over in front of her?

It was an excessive act for a mere head maid.

But no one in this place thought that Yuri would scold the head maid.

“Oh my, can’t you speak? Has he become an idiot after all? Well, that’s a good thing for the Empress… Kyaaaa!”

Tear.

It was without warning.

The sound of something tearing—something similar to human skin or hide—scratched the eardrums of those who were laughing together.