Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 121

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I couldn’t fathom why this cat, who should have been with Sven, was now lying on the bed beside me.
Though I could hazard a guess…
“I’m too busy taking care of myself right now. Come back when I’m lonely enough and ready to grow attached to someone.”
True to form for a demon incarnate, teleportation was child’s play—the moment I arrived at the Viscount’s Manor, Neo had been rubbing against me.
“Mm.”
I stroked the cat’s jet-black fur as I spoke.
“You want me to pamper you, is that it?”
“Meoooow.”
“Could it be that I was truly born with the talents of an incredibly powerful dark mage?”
“Meow.”
“So you want to serve me as your master?”
“Meow…”
“Still can’t speak? Is it like you said before—you don’t have enough power?”
“Meow, meow.”
Neo nodded and let out a heavy sigh.
Honestly, all that lay ahead was boredom. For me to be properly declared missing, it was best not to venture beyond the Viscount’s Manor.
Of course, I’d saved considerable funds in preparation for this. I could enjoy delicious meals at every sitting, and I’d accumulated countless books. I’d furnished the Viscount’s Manor itself as a spacious, elegant estate to keep from feeling too confined. My room in particular was decorated with all manner of luxuries, and I’d even hung up a painting that Redian had drawn for me long ago.
The servants at the Viscount’s Manor were selected exclusively from the most tight-lipped members of the Bestian Dark Information Guild.
Even so, I’d told them that Audrey Marie Labonis, Kail’s younger sister, was staying here. And since Audrey supposedly despised strangers, I’d instructed them not to enter the second floor during the day.
I’d also told them to clean the second floor only at night when Audrey was in her bedroom on the third floor. In other words, I never encountered the servants here. This level of caution was necessary to escape from the mastermind’s grasp.
“Without you, I might have grown bored and lonely. Thank you.”
I held Neo close and spoke with determination.
“Yes, since I have time to spare, I should learn dark magic as a hobby. Whether time turns back or not, let me live once as the strongest in this world!”
“…Meow.”
“Impressive, right? Even if you’re a demon incarnate, I’ll become the true power behind this world and shower you with affection.”
Originally, I’d planned to reappear in the world once Evan and Princess Elani divorced. But now I could only wait vaguely for time to turn back, with no end in sight to my confinement. So I’d decided to learn dark magic as a pastime. After all, Sven had said I possessed the talents of an incredibly powerful dark mage.
“You never know.”
I rolled around with Neo as I pondered.
“If dark magic has the ability to change one’s appearance, I could move about far more freely.”
So a few days later, when Serena arrived in secret, I spoke without hesitation.
“Serena, get me some books on dark magic. Let me test whether I really do have the talents of an incredibly powerful dark mage, as you all say.”
“Yes, Sven will be delighted. He’s been quite dejected ever since Neo went to Laria. But…”
Serena rolled her eyes and spoke with evident unease.
“There’s been unusual activity in House of Icard, Laria.”
“What kind of activity?”
“First, Duke Icard hasn’t announced that Laria is missing.”
“…He hasn’t? Then what?”
“Rumors have spread that you’re gravely ill and in seclusion at the Duke’s Mansion.”
This was unexpected.
‘I thought he’d declare me missing right away.’
I fell into serious thought, my expression grave.
‘What on earth is happening?’
It was all the more unexpected because I had believed everything was perfectly arranged before I left.
“And there’s frantic movement searching for both me and Laria. I don’t know who’s behind it, but could it be House of Icard? What if we’re discovered?”
I pulled Neo close into my arms.
‘They haven’t announced my disappearance, yet they search for me in secret….’
It was the worst-case scenario I had imagined from the very beginning. They were searching for me in secret to kill me before the decisive moment arrived. If I didn’t die at the right time, killing me later was the safest method. There would be no loose ends if I was dead for certain.
‘It’s better to eliminate an uncertain variable completely than to leave it alive….’
That was the reason I had hidden so carefully from the start.
Still, I had resolved one difficult situation for them and written a letter before leaving, so I thought it would all end peacefully. But it seemed that wasn’t going to be the case. They were probably trying to kill me anyway, combining all the grievances accumulated over time.
“You won’t be discovered. Don’t worry.”
But I spoke calmly.
“I didn’t prepare carelessly enough to be discovered.”
No one but me prepared this. That’s why I was confident. No matter how much House of Icard schemed, I would never be discovered.
At best, they were probably searching for some insubstantial minor noble. As for Kail, too many people believed they had actually seen him.
But then….
“Neo? Where are you going?”
Neo slipped from my embrace and dashed to a corner, returning with something in his mouth. It was a worn, tattered slip of paper I hadn’t even known was here.
[You are not the only master at hiding your true feelings. Open your heart to the possibility of defeat.]
“No, why is this here?”
Now that I thought about it, it seemed I had brought the small hand-bag I’d carried at the masquerade ball the last time I met Marcel here.
“Meow.”
Just like before, I crumpled that irritating fortune slip and shoved it carelessly into a corner.
* * *
Simor was sighing in the Viscount’s Manor in the Capital.
After learning that Princess Elani wanted to establish laws related to divorce, he had supported her with his full backing. It was because he thought that if—just in case—Laria wanted to separate from Evan, there needed to be institutional support. He wanted to increase even the slightest possibility of connection with her.
He had planned that if Laria were to say, “Actually, it was a marriage I was forced into as a child, buried under debt,” and sought a divorce, he would confess then. But wasn’t this madness? He had confessed at the worst possible timing, at an impossible moment.
Why had he burdened Laria with his confession at that banquet? It was an impulsive confession he had never anticipated.
He naturally knew that Laria had no feelings for him. To confess to someone who already had a perfectly good husband, and to someone who had never even expressed the slightest affection toward him—it was madness. And he had committed that madness. It was an incomprehensibly impulsive act.
“I’m insane, Simor Litshia.”
He ran his hands through his hair, muttering the words several times with hollow eyes.
Would he ever be able to see Laria’s face again….
When he had told her that he loved her, her expression had been almost one of shock. Now he could never even be her business partner again.
What was worse was that he hadn’t even properly concluded the conversation. Laria had suddenly screamed at Duke Icard not to drink something, and everything after that had been chaos.
After that, Laria’s whereabouts became unknown. House of Icard said her condition had worsened severely and she couldn’t leave the mansion.
Quite some time had passed since then, and above all else, he had begun to worry about her terribly.
“My Lord.”
“What is it?”
“Princess Elani has arrived.”
“…Princess Elani?”
It was the first time Princess Elani had come directly to the Viscount’s Manor to find Simor. Of course, the noble princess only sent subordinates to summon him when she needed money.
When Simor hastily dressed and entered the reception room, Elani sat with a grave expression, adorned even more lavishly than she had been at the banquet.
“I am honored to meet you, Princess Elani, the Empire’s most radiant star.”
Simor offered a perfunctory greeting before taking a seat across from her.
Perhaps she needed more funds. But he didn’t have the leisure to hear such things now. Thinking he should listen only to her purpose and send her off, he asked her without sincerity.
“So what brings you here?”
“I’m on my way back from being stood up.”
“Pardon?”
“I was coming from Duke Icard’s Mansion. She said she wanted to pay her respects to Laria’s sickbed.”
“Ah.”
Simor quickly straightened his posture. If it concerned Laria, he needed to listen carefully.
“But I was turned away immediately. They said it wasn’t a time to receive visitors.”
“…Is she truly in such critical condition?” Simor asked, barely managing to speak as his heart sank.
He felt his heart plummet as he forced out the question.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see her.”
Elani crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
“But something’s strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“To refuse a visit from the imperial family—if she won’t even show her face, the least she could do is send a brief handwritten apology. That’s what propriety demands.”
“I see. I didn’t realize there was such propriety that even if one were dying, one must write an apology when the imperial family visits.”
“Right. You’re just a money source, so you don’t need to worry about such propriety. Even if you were dying, I’d never visit your sickbed anyway.”
Elani dismissed Simor’s remark lightly.
Even when Simor occasionally made presumptuous remarks, Elani paid them little mind. She thought that something so beautiful that earned money shouldn’t be expected to have manners too—that would be a creature of fantasy.
“Rather than Laria truly being in critical condition, it seems like she’s hiding something. Because no physicians have been coming and going.”
At the banquet, Calaudin had clearly ordered that all the continent’s physicians be summoned, yet there had been no activity whatsoever at the House of Icard.
“Could she be imprisoned?”
Elani furrowed her brow as she spoke.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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