A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 122: Nightmare
“So, is that all you have to say?”
“...L-Lady Meredia!”
“Answer the question I asked you.”
Around the time the chaos at the Ringaarden estate was settling down, the setting shifted—this time to the Embergreen duchy.
“Are you the one who’s been leaking family information to the Imperial court?”
“Hiiiek...”
“...Haah. Why can’t you just answer?”
Surprisingly, even this estate had a basement unknown to the common staff, and it was currently being put to good use by Meredia—to interrogate the family’s traitor.
“If you’re innocent, just say so.”
“I-I... I mean...”
“It’s not even that hard.”
Of course, if he wanted to live, the person dragged in and branded a traitor would have had to shake his head in desperation and plead his innocence—regardless of whether he was guilty or not.
“A-Ahh...”
But the man kneeling in front of Meredia... couldn’t do that.
“......”
Because Meredia’s eyes, glaring down at him, were dyed red.
And no one who had lied to her when her eyes turned that color had ever walked out of the mansion unscathed.
“I-I’ve committed a grave sin!”
“Hah.”
“I-I was just blinded by money...”
So it was only natural that the man, his face now pale, began confessing with hands desperately clasped together, faced with Meredia’s crimson glare.
“Why did you do it?”
“...I-I have a family to feed.”
Meredia looked down at him silently for a moment before asking again in a calm voice. The man, suddenly seeing a glimmer of hope, rushed to speak.
“I-I just... couldn’t help it...”
“How convenient. ‘Family,’ huh.”
But her tone turned cold instead.
“If that weren’t a lie, I might have spared your life. What a shame.”
“Eek! I-I’ll tell the truth!”
As jewel-like crystals began forming around her and aimed at him, the terrified man squeezed his eyes shut and changed his story.
“T-The maid, Anne! She’s the Empire’s agent!”
“......”
“I-I swear! She seduced me, tricked me... I’m just a scribe—there’s no way I’d think of leaking classified info on my own...”
“That’s enough. I don’t care for useless excuses.”
Meredia, listening quietly until then, cut him off with a chilling voice. The man immediately fell silent and bowed his head.
“Bring them in.”
“...Hk.”
At her signal, soldiers with cloth masks dragged someone into the basement and threw them to the floor. The man, still lowering his head, suddenly widened his eyes.
“I already did a cross-examination, so the credibility’s decent.”
“Aah...”
“What, did you think I was dumb enough to rely solely on your testimony?”
Seeing the woman lying there—already bearing bruises from a previous interrogation—cold sweat began pouring down the man’s forehead.
“Then all this time...”
“I’m not going to waste my precious mana on the likes of you.”
It was only then that the man realized he had fallen for Meredia’s performance. His expression went blank.
“...So the rumor was true—that you’ve started to value life more.”
“Oh? That kind of gossip is making its way through the servants, huh?”
Meredia chuckled coldly, and the man began trembling.
“Fine! I sold the information. So what are you going to do about it?”
“......”
“Torture me? Sorry, but I’ve already braced for that since the day I sold secrets to the Imperial court.”
Whether driven mad by fear or just digging in his heels, the man’s voice grew sharper.
“Most of the info about your most critical ‘weakness’ has already reached the Emperor.”
“......”
“And His Majesty has promised to protect me in the name of the Empire. You get what that means, don’t you?”
But when Meredia’s lips curled into a derisive smirk, the man’s voice began to falter.
“Y-You might be laughing now, but... once you see next week’s headlines, you won’t be smiling anymore!”
“......”
“I-If you release me now, th-there might still be room for negotiation...”
Still sneering, Meredia’s brows twitched slightly at that line.
“F-For the sake of that man who blinded you...”
“...That’s enough of a delusional beggar who doesn’t even understand his situation.”
At the mention of Whitney, Meredia’s face instantly froze, and the atmosphere in the basement turned frigid.
“I could go through the trouble of listing all the ways you’ve embarrassed yourself by thinking the Emperor’s sweet nothings mean something, but there’s a much easier way.”
“...What?” freёnovelkiss.com
“Hey. Don’t you want to know who sold you out?”
The man, reflexively shutting his mouth, glanced warily at the maid lying beside him.
“Ha. Sorry, but you’re wrong.”
“...T-Then who—”
“You’ll want to open your eyes for this.”
Shaking her head, Meredia pulled something from her coat and held it in front of him. The man stared blankly at it.
“Huh?”
He squinted at the letter by the flickering torchlight... and suddenly let out a strangled scream, as if in disbelief.
“T-This can’t be...”
“......”
“It’s fake! It has to be fake!”
But it wasn’t. The letter, written in the Emperor’s own hand, had his name and the maid’s written in full, crystal-clear script.
“H-His Majesty! Why would he...!”
“Hmm. I think you’re a little confused.”
Meredia looked down on him with a cruel smirk and whispered softly.
“Who ever said the Emperor was my enemy?”
“...!!!”
That single sentence struck more terror into the man than all the torture he’d suffered so far.
“Aaah...”
This was a political scandal so great it could overturn the very structure of power in the Empire.
And the undeniable proof was right in front of him.
The Emperor... on Lady Meredia’s side? That’s insane...
Unable to grasp how such a thing could happen, the man slipped further and further into cognitive dissonance... until he snapped back to reality.
“All the confirmation I need is done. Only the cleanup remains.”
Meredia, already turning her back to him, gave the order to the soldiers in a frigid tone.
“Cut out his tongue and blind him. Dump him in the back alleys, like the maid.”
It was only then that he noticed the blood flowing from the eyes and mouth of the maid lying next to him—and he began sweating profusely, unable to utter a single word.
“How about that? I’ve gotten much more lenient, don’t you think?”
Just then, Meredia turned to the soldiers, even offering them a smile that seemed oddly sincere.
“Once you fall in love, people really do change.”
“......”
“You should try it sometime.”
And the soldiers—oddly enough—nodded in silent agreement, realizing that this was Meredia being more merciful.
***
—Creeeaak...
About an hour later. Meredia’s bedroom.
“...Haaahm.”
Having finished her business in the basement, she returned to her only true sanctuary and covered her mouth with a quiet yawn.
“......”
It wasn’t just because yawning was improper for a noblewoman.
Having always regarded sleep as suffering—another form of curse—Meredia had never yawned this long and leisurely in her life, not even when it was just a natural bodily urge.
...I haven’t had a nightmare lately.
Yes. Not long ago, Meredia would suffer near-nightly nightmares as soon as she lay down.
Nightmares of starving in a dark room... of being smothered by swarms of insects...
Or of losing her position as head of the family, or being dragged away by the hands of those she had disposed of.
Occasionally, she could escape those nightmares by taking a mind-numbing drug she had concocted herself—but of course, the side effects were brutal.
That’s why she could only sleep properly once every two weeks... sometimes just once a month, depending on her health.
I thought it was just temporary... but now I can sleep soundly.
Now, though, Meredia was in better condition than ever, thanks to continuous deep sleep.
And she remembered clearly—it all began on the carriage ride back from Lumen Ordo.
“......”
Recalling that day once again, Meredia quietly sat on the edge of her bed, blushing as her lips stuck out in a pout.
“...Don’t just appear in my head whenever you want.”
She fiddled with the ring on her left ring finger—the one Whitney had gifted her—then quietly stood.
“Maybe I should just take this off.”
Of course, ever since receiving it, she hadn’t taken the ring off—not while bathing, not even while sleeping.
On the contrary, she had even clumsily tried to imbue it with basic cleansing and protection magic, something she’d normally never care about.
—Clunk...
Grumbling in a rough tone that didn't match her expression, Meredia opened a drawer and glanced around instinctively.
“...Found it.”
After rummaging for a moment, she pulled out a massive teddy bear.
“......”
Staring at the stuffed bear with drowsy eyes, Meredia soon showed a faint smile and lay down with it.
“...Still looks like an idiot.”
The bear—specially commissioned from a luxury boutique salon—had sleepy-looking eyes that resembled someone’s.
It had recently become Meredia’s must-have bedtime companion.
Because of it, every other oversized plush she had slept with until now had been sent to storage.
They had all ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ failed their duty to protect her from nightmares. This one had not.
“Mmm.”
Hugging the teddy bear that was perfectly sized to her body, Meredia closed her eyes—but a thought suddenly floated into her mind, making her pause.
...Wait. When you get married, you... sleep together, right?
And in the next instant, countless scenarios burst through her mind.
“......”
Lost in those thoughts, Meredia lay frozen for a while before burying her increasingly red face into the bear’s fluffy back.
“Ugh.”
But the more she did, the more it felt like she was holding Whitney himself, making her lips twitch with unease.
...I’ve finally lost it, haven’t I.
Even as she mocked herself inwardly, Meredia never let go of the bear until the moment she fell asleep.
***
“...Nngh, nnghh...”
Though she had drifted off in a rather sweet, tender mood, Meredia’s rest didn’t last long.
“AAAAAAAH!”
Tossing and turning with the teddy bear in her arms, she suddenly shot up and screamed.
“Haah... Haah...”
It was the first nightmare Meredia had suffered since the day of the carriage ride.
“...Whitney.”
And the dream, all too vivid—was entirely about Whitney.
