Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 124

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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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After Simor uttered the name of Viscount Labonis, Evan had Nathan investigate him. However, few people knew of Kail Dart Labonis.
“His long and beautiful blue hair is said to be as if cradling a lake, and his deeply sunken black eyes are beautiful like they embrace the night sky. He has a small, pretty head and an impression of a pure, innocent boy….”
Evan answered Nathan’s report with an irritated tone.
“So he’s got blue hair and black eyes, a decent-looking guy. Why do you have to make it so complicated?”
“Since Princess Obonie, who had an unrequited love for Viscount Labonis, knows him best… the information is somewhat biased.”
“Unrequited love?”
“She fell in love after seeing him from a distance once. She’s never actually met him.”
“The worst witness possible. Wasn’t there anyone who could speak more objectively?”
“Well… there are limitations when conducting a secret investigation.”
Nathan cleared his throat and resumed reading the report.
“Visits to Viscount Labonis’s Manor in Hanua averaged four times a year, and each time he was accompanied by Laria or Princess Kaite Rin Eldspie.”
Kaite was a princess who had been close to Laria since the first banquet.
“He’s said to be very shy and reluctant to meet new people. He had a prior connection with Laria from the Capital.”
“…A connection from the Capital?”
“They knew each other before Laria got married. They forgot about each other and lived their lives, but then happened to meet again in the Southwest.”
Evan bit his lower lip.
He felt pathetic for never having been curious about Laria’s life before marriage. After all, life before fourteen was still a life.
He had thought that was all there was—her parents passing away, being buried in debt, and being abandoned by relatives and friends. So he had paid no attention to it at all.
“However, the Labonis family seems quite humble. I tried to investigate the details, but since it’s been over ten years, there’s no one who knows.”
Nathan continued, watching Evan’s expression.
“No matter how much I searched, it’s difficult to find traces of him. Moreover, recently he’s apparently left for the Eastern Continent due to business.”
The Eastern Continent made further pursuit difficult. The fact that Nathan, who called him a “ghost,” couldn’t even capture him proved that his whereabouts were truly unknown.
“He actually bought the territory in Hanua at a bargain price, and since he had no money, the Viscount’s Manor was built very slowly. I suspect he might be a fallen noble….”
With fallen nobles, tracing the past was extremely troublesome. They constantly changed their names and bought and sold titles, so it wasn’t even certain that Kail’s former surname was Labonis.
“Still, now that an iron ore mine has been developed in Hanua, I suspect he may have accumulated considerable wealth….”
“Wait.”
Evan, who had been receiving Nathan’s report with an expressionless face, suddenly raised his hand and cut him off.
“It really seemed like they met by chance, and Laria only relayed what that person—Viscount Labonis, perhaps—said! It was related to the mines….”
This was because he had received a related report long ago. It was the content of a conversation Laria had with Simor in the city, right before the masquerade ball.
And thanks to the development of that iron ore mine, the Duke Icard household was able to prevent relations with the Imperial Palace from completely falling apart.
“…Why didn’t I think of that.”
Until now, he had thought that Laria had simply used her wits to bring Duke Icard out of the Imperial Palace quickly.
“Laria was involved in the iron ore mine development too.”
“Could that be so?”
“If that’s the case, then Laria and that Labonis man are really close.”
Thus, ‘Viscount Labonis’ suddenly became ‘that Labonis man.’
Nathan noticed the shift and became suddenly cautious.
“…That would make sense. Given the timing, he couldn’t have suddenly developed it. He could have waited for supply to be more unstable, so it’s highly likely he did it as a favor to Laria.”
“Nathan.”
After days without proper sleep or food, Evan’s face grew increasingly haggard and terrifying.
“…Yes.”
“…Investigate primarily the scandal involving Labonis Man and Laria. You can extract information from those who aren’t on good terms with Princess Kait Eldspie of the Southwest.”
Nathan quickly answered and disappeared, unsettled by the eerie expression on Evan’s face as he spoke the word “scandal.”
Please, please.
Nathan prayed even as he headed toward the Southwest. If only there were no scandal. If a scandal truly existed, how could he possibly report it?
The only reason Evan was maintaining any semblance of sanity was because no other man was involved.
But days later, Nathan had to approach Evan nearly in tears.
“The, the, the scandal is, well, that is… it happened several years ago… when Laria was fourteen, so it’s ancient history….”
But what could be done now that it had come out? Everyone had forgotten about it, and it was a story from so long ago that no one cared about anymore….
“It’s a baseless rumor spread by Bieti Yubinart, a Count’s daughter, claiming that she frequently witnessed Laria and Labonis Man alone together at the Viscount’s Manor. Princess Kait Eldspie personally denied it.”
Nathan cautiously observed Evan’s expression. Honestly, since Kait was Laria’s closest friend, it was difficult to trust her defense.
Seeing him hesitate, Evan spoke coldly.
“Nathan.”
“Yes….”
“Tell me right now what you’re hiding.”
“What?”
“That thing you’re not saying because I haven’t ordered you to. It’s written all over your face.”
“….”
“I can even see you cursing me internally for being perceptive.”
“I apologize.”
Nathan immediately bowed his head once, then spoke of the fact that had troubled him ever since hearing the scandal.
“Actually, when Laria went into the city to buy a mask and happened to encounter Viscount Litshia….”
“…Now even ‘happened’ is uncertain.”
“At that time, Viscount Litshia kept insulting Labonis Man, but Laria defended him with every word.”
“….”
“So Viscount Litshia was showing signs of intense jealousy… I apologize.”
It was the worst report Nathan could possibly deliver before Evan.
“It’s absurd enough that this shameless upstart is jealously obsessing over Laria, a married woman….”
Evan muttered through gritted teeth.
“And his target isn’t even me, her husband?”
Nathan remained silent, only moving his eyes. This was the moment when Evan’s threadbare belief that no man was involved in Laria’s escape shattered.
“C, could it be… that the two of them fled together to the Eastern Continent….”
If so, it would explain the hypothesis that Laria couldn’t be found no matter how thoroughly they searched the entire empire.
At Nathan’s careful words, Evan gave a low command.
“…Bring Litshia back.”
However, Evan couldn’t interrogate Simor again as he’d planned. The moment Simor was brought in, someone arrived. It was Elani.
* * *
Several days earlier.
After Simor’s first humiliating kidnapping, the person he sought out was Elani.
“Anyone who harbors feelings for another man’s wife deserves a beating.”
Princess Elani scanned Simor from head to toe before speaking bluntly.
“I don’t see any visible injuries. Ah… perhaps some important part that can’t be seen was cut off?”
“Your Highness!”
“If I were Duke Icard, I would have done exactly that.”
Originally, Simor had intended to leverage his past acquaintance with Princess Elani to request her protection. However, he immediately realized that the bond between them was remarkably shallow.
“The Duke’s men keep circling around me. They’re openly on guard.”
“Why would I not be cautious of a man who confessed his feelings to my wife?”
“But Laria doesn’t harbor affection for me. Rather…”
“Rather?”
“…Never mind.”
Princess Elani dismissed his words with a wave of her hand and asked again.
“So it’s true that Duke Icard is keeping Laria confined?”
“Given that you didn’t deny it when I mentioned it, the likelihood is high.”
“Tch… He’s acting exactly like the lunatic he is.”
“So if something like this happens again, please rescue me.”
“Why should I?”
“If I disappear without a trace, it will create problems for your financial sources!”
“I don’t care.”
“I’ve already drafted a will and had it notarized. All my money is to be buried with me in my grave.”
Only then did Princess Elani, who had been casually filing her nails, suddenly lift her head.
“How dare you. I was planning to forge it so the inheritance would go to me.”
“Which is precisely why, should I be kidnapped, you must rescue me from Duke Icard.”
“Sigh…”
Princess Elani sighed and muttered to herself.
“How tragic that I must take the side of trash for my own purposes…”
And so when Simor was kidnapped a second time, Princess Elani had no choice but to make her way to Duke Icard’s Mansion.
Thus, she barely managed to meet Evan in the drawing room, whose face clearly showed he was utterly exhausted at the prospect of seeing her.

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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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