The Villain’S Daughter-In-Law Is Inherently Powerful [EN]: Chapter 96

After dinner, the artificial lights inside the airship dimmed in unison.

‘Hwa-ran is holed up in the cockpit, and Father went to the reception room on the third floor!’

Even if His Majesty the Emperor is a hidden danger, he wouldn’t be in front of Yuri’s bedroom, would he?

I carefully grabbed the gift for Yuri, opened the door with a click, and stepped out. Then, I peered around the dark hallway and tiptoed away.

Yuri’s bedroom was a bit far from my room, but if I ran, I could get there in no time!

“If you act that foolishly, you’ll be eaten in one bite.”

“Kyaa!”

But before I could take more than a few steps, I was grabbed by the scruff of my neck and lifted into the air.

Startled, I flailed my feet, then froze at the sight of the holy, divine face before me.

“And you’re weak against faces too. A very easy prey.”

“…That’s not a compliment, is it? Your Majesty.”

Thump.

His Majesty the Emperor put me back down on the floor. I thought he was going to throw me away, but his reaction was surprisingly gentle, and I was so grateful I almost cried.

“Do you think I wouldn’t hear you just because you pressed your lips to my ear so no one else could hear?”

“Ah… um. I guess so.”

His Majesty the Emperor was referring to what happened during dinner earlier. I tried my best to keep the adults from hearing, but it was no use after all.

‘But Father went to his office so I could do what I wanted.’

I looked at the Emperor with a sulky expression, then quickly hid it when I realized how rude I was being.

“Haa. So naive…”

Seeing me like that, His Majesty the Emperor suddenly sighed deeply.

The sigh was so deep that I felt embarrassed and scratched my cheek.

“I’m not that naive, you know…”

I protested timidly, but all I got in return was a look that said, ‘You?’

It was a look that made me quite upset, but what could I do? The other person was the Emperor, after all. I had to lower my gaze.

“…”

“…”

And so, silence settled between us.

I couldn’t speak carelessly, and the Emperor was just staring down at me intently.

“Do you know anything about the Shark Clan?”

The question, thrown out into the heavy silence, was quite strange.

I blinked my eyes, folded my hands politely, and opened my mouth.

“The Helicoprion [an extinct type of shark], the ruler of the great ocean, is stronger the more they inherit the blood of His Majesty the Emperor. They can breathe underwater even in their human form, and they have the same striped gills on their necks as sharks when they are born. Because they are rare, many members of the royal family are not born.”

“A textbook answer. That’s about the Helicoprion. What about the Shark Clan?”

“I am sorry, but I have not learned about that.”

I rummaged through my memories of the original story, but there wasn’t much there either. Just that Yuri becomes very scary when he’s angry?

‘But no one in this world is kind to their enemies, right?’

In the original story, Ra-hin was obsessed with Dante, but it wasn’t like Dante was any less so.

‘What am I expecting from a 19+ dark reverse harem [a subgenre where one female character has multiple male love interests and the story contains mature themes]? They’re all crazy in similar ways.’

So, being obsessed isn’t exactly a characteristic unique to the Shark Clan.

“They didn’t teach you anything in your household.”

“…!”

Ah, I almost snapped at that.

I forced the corners of my mouth, which were about to twist, back down and smiled brightly.

“Please, teach me, Your Majesty.”

Don’t mess with the Emperor.

Don’t mess with the Emperor.

No matter how bad-tempered I am, I need to know my place.

I repeated that to myself and maintained my forced smile.

“Know this. Sharks have a mental illness called ‘Shark’s First Attachment’.”

Huh? What is he talking about now?

I looked up at the Emperor, wondering if he was joking, but realized he wasn’t.

‘This is real.’

And the fact that he came all the way here to tell me this… means it’s a very important issue.

“Sharks chase after the person they imprint on for life. They only hold one person in their heart until the moment they die.”

“Why is that a disease…?”

“Because if that person is not there, there is no reason to live, no reason for this world to exist.”

“???”

No, the world is just there because it is…

I wondered if that wasn’t giving too much meaning to it, but at the same time, I understood a little what the Emperor meant by ‘mental illness’.

“There’s no reason to be alive, but they were born strong, so there’s no one to kill them.”

His purple eyes, which resembled Yuri’s, were filled with boredom and a look of utter weariness.

As I recalled the boredom and relaxed atmosphere that always surrounded the Emperor, I suddenly connected a certain fact with this symptom.

“Perhaps… Your Majesty imprinted on Ariadne?”

“…”

The Emperor confirmed with silence.

‘Really? Is that why Ariadne accepted the Emperor???’

That was something I had been curious about.

Ian was born from an accident or mistake, and Dante was born after a formal marriage.

‘But Yuri…?’

I didn’t quite understand.

Of course, Ariadne wanted to have the Emperor’s child, but was there a reason to do so? Did she suddenly fall in love late in life?

I speculated for a moment, but then I lost interest because it was someone else’s private life.

However, the Emperor didn’t continue the story about Ariadne. Instead, he dropped a bomb on me. A bomb that I had to embrace.

“The Prince has imprinted on you.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you know? It’s so obvious.”

The Emperor clicked his tongue and glanced behind him. As if Yuri was there.

Without realizing it, I peeked my head out in that direction, and after confirming that no one was there, I looked back up at the Emperor.

“Um, then, Your Majesty. Yuri will like me for life…?”

Is that what it means? Is that already decided? But he’s still young.

“It’s hard to say it’s love, and you can’t say it’s not love. The only right expression is that he yearns. You don’t know what that is yet, but.”

Yearning.

I listened carefully to the Emperor’s expression. For some reason, I got goosebumps.

“If you want him to be a wise ruler, he will be. If you want him to be a tyrant, that child will destroy the country. If you want a conquering emperor, he will wage war with the Holy Empire again.”

“That… that feels like too much responsibility.”

“One word is all it takes. Even if you abandon him and turn away after that, he will cling to that one word and live that way for the rest of his life.”

Just like I did.

The Emperor mouthed the last words.

The Emperor’s face looked so desperately lonely that I couldn’t move for a moment and stood still. Then, suddenly. Really suddenly, I realized.

‘Just now, he definitely said he would give the Emperor’s seat to Yuri, right?’

Was that the promise with Ariadne?

“You are very similar to Ariadne.”

“Me…?”

“To be exact, the situation is similar. Ariadne also had three men in her life, and so will you.”

“Um… but I’m only going to choose one person. And I’m going to love that person for the rest of my life.”

Ariadne’s first man was from an enemy country, and it was only a brief encounter.

Even if the Emperor had imprinted on her, Ariadne already had a husband, so he couldn’t openly obsess or step forward.

However, in my case, Ian, Dante, Yuri, or any other successors were all in an equal position.

They will have to see each other for the rest of their lives because of family matters… The fact that I have three men means that they will end up fighting over me.

‘Th-that’s a bit…’

How is that different from what Ra-hin did?

‘Oh, but wait a minute.’

If it goes according to the original story, Dante will become obsessed with Ra-hin. Ian is not a character from the original story, so he’s excluded.

‘Yuri said he imprinted on me…’

Then, the future where the family is ruined due to a love triangle over Ra-hin, like in the original story, has already been avoided?!’

‘Since Yuri can’t imprint on Ra-hin again. So, it’s true that I twisted the original story!’

I don’t know how Yuri imprinted on me. Maybe it was that mysterious moment of our first meeting, but that’s just a guess.

I’ll have to ask him later.

“I hope it goes as you wish.”

“He’s still a child. I think everyone will change when they grow up.”

“Well… well, it’s your business. If even the pain is what you give, wouldn’t it be a sweet yearning?”

With those cryptic words, His Majesty the Emperor patted me on the shoulder and went somewhere.

Only after the Emperor’s figure had completely disappeared did I let out a sigh of relief and discover that the gift box I was holding was crushed.

‘Ugh. I must have been nervous!’

The opal earrings are probably fine, but I wanted to give them in the prettiest box…

“Yuri, are you asleep?”

Soon, I knocked lightly on Yuri’s door.

“Sister!”

Then the door opened, and Yuri came pouring out and hugged me tightly.

I naturally smiled at the warm body that reached me.

“What did you talk about with the Emperor? I waited so long for you to come.”

“Ah, with His Majesty…”

Huh? How did he know when the door was closed?

“How did you know?”

“I opened the door for a moment to see when you were coming. But the Emperor was holding you, so Yuri got sulky.”

Yuri pouted, then smiled brightly again and led me to the bed.

“Sister. You came to put me to sleep, right?”