Taming The Villainesses

Episode 245.2

(EP-245.2) Son-in-law? #5

245 – Live-in son-in-law? #5

It was morning when Stella woke up.

Her face scrunched up from the hangover, she looked at me and said. 

“… What, we slept in the same room?”

“Nothing happened, so don’t make a fuss.”

“There’s no way nothing happened when you’re sleeping with a beautiful elf like me! Theo-kun, you got me really drunk and then slept in the same room… You’re more of a beast than you look.”

… I really wanted to smack her.

Noticing my displeased expression, Stella added, “I’m kidding!” Then, finally, she washed her face and brushed her teeth with the water I brought, complaining all the while.

“Ugh, this is bad. They said not to come back if I don’t get a definite answer by today. Theo-kun, can’t you say you had a good time?”

“What do you mean?”

“S£x.”

My head was spinning. It seemed Stella received a stern lecture by her family elders before our date yesterday.

Suddenly, I grew curious.

“Why are you so servile to just stay in the family?”

“Servile?”

“Yes, servile. From the stories Professor Stella told me yesterday, you don’t seem like someone conservative.”

If anything, Stella breathed adventure.

The drunk Stella didn’t seem like someone who would throw away her pride and struggle just to survive. Perhaps that was her true self.

There must be a reason I didn’t know.

Something that could be called a gap.

This was the conclusion I reached after talking with Stella Bellhawk the last few days. 

“If you tell the truth, there is nothing we cannot cooperate with.”

“I’m telling you the truth. This is who I am. Money is good, right? What elf doesn’t like money? I’m no different. The family inheritance, the vast wealth, it could all be mine.”

That was a lie.

Thanks to my job Actor, I could tell that Stella was putting on a facade. But her skill was so good that it made me angry. It was like watching the drama’s villain, you know they were acting but it still made you mad.

I’d had enough.

I raised my fist and smacked Stella, who was sitting on the bed.

Ppak-.

“Aack!”

Stella let out a short shriek, clutching her head. She glared at me with a face full of injustice, anger, and bewilderment.

“Theo-kun, what the hell are you doing!?”

“From now on, I’ll smack you whenever you say or do something stupid.” 

“Smack me? What, what nonsense is this? I’ve never even been hit by my brother…! What right do you have…!” 

“I do have the right. I meant to tell you yesterday, but we got sidetracked with small talk and missed the important stuff.” 

Chareuk-. 

I took out a bundle of documents from my inventory《Squirrel Cache》. 

It was the contract I received from the board members not long ago. And there it wrote my right to smack Stella Von Bellhawk.

“ ‘Party B transfers all rights to Party A to discipline Party C in order to make her a proper wife’…? This is ridiculous. What is this?” 

“Party A is me, Party B is the Bellhawk family, and Party C is you, Stella-nim. Read the rest of it too.” 

“If Party C refuses discipline, Party A has the right to cancel this contract. Also, Party B can expel Party C from the family and send them to the monastery—”

Stella stopped speaking. It was likely because what followed detailed the monastery she so dreadfully despised.

“Fine, I understand. I just have to talk, right? You’re right, Theo-kun. As expected from a student I personally taught, your insight is sharp. But before that—”

Seuk-. 

Stella Bellhawk raised a finger.

“Let me warn you in advance. Theo-kun, once you hear this, you’ll be on the same boat as me. There will be no turning back. Are you okay with that?”

After that, she continued to talk at length about the need to keep it a secret and the importance of trust between each other.

“Tell me what it is, I’ll keep it a secret.”

What kind of secret was she hiding to warrant all this?

“Anyway, are you admitting that you were deliberately playing the fool?”

“Well… not entirely, but you could say there was some intent. I really had no choice. If I didn’t, I might have ended up dead.”

“Dead?”

“That’s right. As you can see, my standing in the Bellhawk family isn’t great. I’m treated like an outcast, a discard.”

So she was aware of it.

“But I had no choice. To escape his eyes, it was the only way.”

“His?”

At my question, Stella glanced around. Perhaps worried that someone might be listening. After a thorough look, she leaned in and whispered, clearly but quietly.

“Opal.” 

“Yes?”

Opal was Stella’s older brother. Having heard of his death, I was taken aback by the sudden mention of him. 

“Isn’t Opal Bellhawk already dead?”

“Yes, my brother is dead. At the same time, he’s not. Officially, he’s dead, but still alive. I don’t know if I can say he’s alive….”

“What do you mean?”

“How do I explain this….”

Stella scratched her head.

“When the families tore the Demon King’s body to pieces, Solomon’s long-cherished desire was almost fulfilled. It was just a few steps away from completion.”

Solomon’s desire?

As I tried to make sense of her explanation, Stella continued.

“Without the other heroes knowing, Opal brought it. If the others had found out, it would have turned the world upside down. It was out of noble intentions that he decided to keep it hidden. That was the problem.”

Could this be Solomon’s treasure that Demon Monk Vassago was talking about? I was indeed interested in the treasure the elves took, but I didn’t expect it to be mentioned so directly.

So with a pounding heart, I listened intently.

“What exactly is it?”

“The Gospel.”

“… Gospel?” 

“But the elders called it the Lion’s Scroll. It’s said to contain great magic that could fully resurrect the dead.”

Edited by: faker