Because She Had A Time Limit, She Became The Villain’s Daughter-in-law - Chapter 126
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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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The servants at Labonis Manor were all members of the Bestian Information Guild. They received decent wages and lived comfortably enough in a manor without a master. But one day, Kail’s younger sister began to stay there.
“She has contracted a plague. It would be best not to encounter her at all.”
Only the sub-guild master Serena seemed to have contact with her.
“Of course it’s a secret, so keep your mouths shut.”
The younger sister’s name was Audrey, and she began living comfortably in the beautiful manor that Kail had meticulously arranged over a long period of time.
Since they were fundamentally guild members, when the sub-guild master directly called something a “secret,” they followed it without question. Even when servants from other southwestern nobles asked various questions, they said nothing.
Of course, they did whisper among themselves.
“She must be keeping a cat. When we clean, cat items keep appearing.”
“I’ve heard a cat meowing too.”
In any case, Kail’s younger sister lived quite comfortably. Not only were there high-quality dishes made with exceptional ingredients, but all living supplies were of the finest quality.
“Did you hear? The master here made a fortune developing iron ore mines.”
“Yeah, I heard. It’s the talk of the southwest.”
“Seems like he’s spending all that money on his younger sister.”
What was surprising, however, was that the younger sister’s spending was greater than expected. As luxury clothes and jewelry began arriving secretly without her going anywhere, some people began to harbor doubts.
“But can his younger sister really spend money like this? No matter how sick she is. Doctors haven’t even been coming and going.”
“Well… Paul, how would you feel if your younger sister spent your money this eagerly?”
“Why would he give his younger sister so much money in the first place? Unless she were a lover….”
Silence fell among the servants after that remark.
They all seemed to have realized something, exchanging glances and falling quiet. The fact that they employed high-value guild members as servants, the fact that the Labonis Baron hadn’t visited the manor much during this time, the fact that a woman claiming to be his younger sister arrived right after the manor was beautifully completed….
“Ho, ho, could it be….”
“Not his younger sister, but a hidden woman?”
“Maybe he’s been maintaining two households all along!”
The servants began spinning increasingly sensational stories among themselves. But they were veterans and absolutely never told such tales to others. They were prepared not to speak even if they were caught somewhere and subjected to any coercion.
Of course… life didn’t always work out the way one prepared for it.
Paul, a servant who had been carrying groceries from Labonis Manor, was kidnapped one night. Upon seeing a young man with black hair and red eyes, he steeled himself for death.
‘Look at his appearance. How can someone be so devastatingly handsome?’
His graceful features and well-proportioned body were beautiful, but his expression was undeniably sinister. His countenance was as terrifying as if he had crawled out of hell itself.
‘From the moment I joined the Dark Information Guild, I knew something like this could happen.’
Of course, he had expected to die wielding a blade on a covert mission, not to be captured and killed while shopping for turkey and pepper.
‘Just wait and see. I am an elite member of Bestian.’
Paul took a solemn breath.
‘Even if they twist my arms and break my legs, I won’t say a word!’
But judging by the atmosphere, they didn’t seem to intend to torture him. For one thing, there wasn’t a single torture device present, and the man’s subordinates also exuded a leisurely atmosphere.
‘I see. They’re planning to tempt me with gold and silver treasures!’
Having noticed that the treatment after his kidnapping was rather gentlemanly, Paul resolved himself once more with determination.
‘I am a core member of Bestian. Even if they offered me 100,000 gold, I cannot open my mouth.’
But no matter how much of a core member of Bestian he was, he couldn’t stop the thoughts that followed.
‘But… if it were 1,000,000 gold, then some information that wouldn’t hurt….’
From a glance, the black-haired man appeared to be a very high-ranking noble. His clothing and composed bearing didn’t seem like an ordinary man at all.
‘Surely he won’t hand over ten million gold. So how much should I reveal…?’
But that pleasant dilemma came to an abrupt end.
Because the aide beside the man carefully opened a pink medicinal bottle and brought it to his nose, causing his mind to suddenly grow hazy.
Gazing into the man’s eerie yet beautiful red eyes, his thoughts became crystalline and clear.
“Tell me about Kail Dart Labonis’s woman.”
The man commanded in a low voice.
And Paul found himself opening his mouth without conscious thought.
“For the past several days, we’ve been ordered to attend to Kail Dart Labonis’s younger sister, Audrey. Of course, it came with the condition to maintain absolute secrecy and tell no one.”
All his previous internal struggle became meaningless in that instant.
Paul wanted to stop his own words from pouring out, but he couldn’t.
“However, among ourselves… based on various circumstances, we’ve been saying it seems like we brought a hidden woman here.”
“…Do you remember the date she arrived?”
“Yes. It was…”
Whenever he looked into the man’s red eyes, even things he hadn’t wanted to say came spilling out—it was strange.
When Paul mentioned the date Audrey arrived, the man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His expression was like someone accepting an enormously difficult truth.
‘Damn it, I’m going to die here.’
Just as he was sighing in frustration at the thought that he’d revealed everything and would be disposed of, a dull impact suddenly struck the back of his head, and Paul lost consciousness.
Looking down at the fallen Paul, Nathan carefully glanced up at Evan. Nathan had already abandoned all hope, standing before the precipice of catastrophe.
After Calaudin advised him to use any means necessary, Evan truly began moving ruthlessly. Kidnapping a servant from Labonis Manor was a decision made with the resolve to be hated by Laria.
Moreover, he’d even brought a truth serum from the Magic Tower. Originally, anything related to dark magic shouldn’t be distributed outside the Tower. To deploy illegal drugs laced with dark magic—he was walking down an increasingly irreversible path.
‘When Lady Laria eventually learns of all this, she might call me disgusting…’
Nathan carried out his orders without complaint, but the worry accumulated with each passing day was unavoidable.
To be honest, when Laria first disappeared, Evan had been half-mad, but his eyes hadn’t completely lost focus. The fact that he didn’t file a missing person report and searched for her in secret was Evan’s desperate struggle to meet her even once, while respecting Laria’s wishes however he could.
But the more he dug, the more Evan’s hope burned like wildfire, leaving only ashes behind. A mysterious other man, a divorce, and even talk of a hidden woman…
“Make it look like a carriage accident and send him to a public hospital. Bribe the doctor to say it’s severe and refuse visitors.”
“Hmm… that seems like a temporary measure.”
Nathan sighed as he spoke.
“If this drags on, won’t Lady Laria notice something?”
“I’ll go meet her before that happens anyway.”
“What? So not right now?”
“If you were Laria, would you agree to meet me in this situation?”
Nathan answered quickly.
“Of course not. Why would anyone meet a madman?”
Evan furrowed his brow as he spoke.
“And the day Laria appeared at Labonis Manor was the day of the Imperial Palace banquet. Logically, Laria couldn’t have traveled from the Imperial Palace to Hanua in a single day.”
“Then…”
“She has a teleportation scroll.”
Evan’s deduction continued. On the day they visited the Magic Tower together, Laria had won a bet against the Scroll Book. He’d naturally assumed she’d lost and hadn’t even asked about it.
Because after witnessing his own past, Laria had followed him with an expression of profound pain. He himself had no confidence in witnessing even a glimpse of Laria’s painful past.
But thinking about it now, it was amusing. What could a man he didn’t even particularly like’s unfortunate past possibly matter to Laria? So she must have watched it all the way through and obtained the teleportation scroll.
“Then there’s no point in raiding the Labonis Manor and dragging him out.”
Nathan found himself muttering under his breath at Evan’s cold words.
“This difficulty level is absolutely insane. So he turned out to be a master strategist, and if he possesses a movement scroll on top of that, how in the world are we supposed to capture someone like him?”
“We can’t.”
Evan spoke with cold eyes.
“He needs to come out on his own.”
“But how on earth….”
“We’re heading to the harbor immediately.”
“…Ah, the harbor? W-which harbor?”
“Bedis.”
Bedis was the only harbor connected to the Eastern Continent.
“W-wait, who are you trying to bring this time….”
“Fred Bernardi Rostri.”
Nathan went rigid.
“I’m not sure how much he’s changed, but he said he’d receive his degree and return immediately. In about two months?”
Laria had mentioned her older brother Fred about two months ago.
“I really do want to see him. After all, he’s my only remaining direct blood relative.”
So now… he was going to seize and exploit even her direct blood relative….
Nathan muttered in disbelief.
“Young Duke? Who exactly are you talking about….”
“Laria’s older brother. The public academy degree program on the Eastern Continent should be finishing around now.”
There was no hesitation in Evan’s answer. In other words, it meant this was a line he had long considered crossing but had refrained from for Laria’s sake.
Indeed, touching a family member one hadn’t seen in so long was truly the final line. And the fact that he had crossed it….
‘Lady Laria, I’ll see you soon…. Though I suppose there’s no way you’ll be happy about it.’
Nathan finally realized that Evan’s sanity had snapped.
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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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