A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 139: The Interview (2)

“Hmm, what’s with the sudden change?”

“......”

“Lord Maier?”

As we walked together, I tilted my head slightly when Maier, who had been chatting away with that usual affable smile of his, suddenly went silent.

‘Don’t tell me... he’s taking it seriously?’

What I’d just said was only meant to test him.

Sure, it was obvious Maier had sent Ferris as an assassin after me, and he’d certainly orchestrated plenty of other schemes too.

I just wanted to get a read on his reaction—but I didn’t expect such an obvious one.

“Um, excuse me... Sir Whitney.”

“Yes?”

“So, the woman you’re talking about, is she...”

Thinking he might actually spill something unexpected, I focused on him intently. Maier, sweating profusely now, glanced nervously at me and finally opened his mouth.

“Could it be... Meredia?” 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

“......”

“Ah, no, of course not, right?”

I nearly lost it and smacked the back of his head right then and there, but I restrained myself using the inhuman patience I had honed back in my hospital bed in my previous life.

What, does he think teasing young Meredia counts as being self-aware? This guy?

Not only did he lack any hint of guilt, but the way he asked—as if guessing in a quiz show—was more than enough to confirm that this man was rotten to the core.

“Well, yes, Lady Meredia did openly threaten my life at first.”

“Ah, haha... That makes sense. Honestly, even as her blood relative, that damned temper of hers is...”

“Lord Maier, I doubt you’ll get another chance.”

Not wanting to show even a shred of courtesy to someone like him, I twisted my best weapon—my face—into the nastiest smile I could manage and whispered coldly.

“......”

The moment I did, Maier’s eyes rolled around so frantically it felt like the only sounds filling the corridor (aside from the disguised presence of the Great Shadow, currently masquerading as Sasha) were from his panic.

“Uh... maybe the Baroness Julia’s daughter?”

“...I don’t even know who that is.”

“Then... Rozalyn?”

“...Isn’t she the daughter of a marquis, and already engaged? Just what have you been doing?”

“Uh... Countess Adela, then?”

“...So you really have been digging around everywhere, haven’t you?”

For someone related by blood to Meredia, Maier certainly inherited her jewel-like looks—but unlike her, he was clearly using them for base, sleazy purposes.

Honestly, this makes Princess Katarina, who’s been labeled the Empire’s biggest playboy and disgrace, look unfairly maligned in comparison.

Or maybe... just maybe, Maier deliberately kept Katarina close as a decoy, shifting the blame for his own filth onto her.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense why the princess always seemed terrified of him.

“Hmm... seems like I’m still not getting it.”

Though belated, I now looked at him with a gaze full of contempt, like I was staring at something vile. Just then, he suddenly widened his eyes and blurted:

“Ah! Could it be Ferris?!”

That was the moment I felt something was... off.

‘There’s no way Maier is this stupid.’

He’s a born sociopath, true—wicked through and through. But his intellect? It was a major threat even in the late stages of the original story.

And yet, right now, he was acting more like Princess Katarina than his usual self.

Even knowing that I’d personally interviewed Ferris, he just shouted her name out loud like that?

‘Tch. Clever bastard.’

I ran a quick simulation in my head, and the conclusion was obvious. I couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile.

‘He’s throwing me a bone. A peace offering, huh? That’s just like Maier.’

To Maier, Ferris was nothing more than a disposable pawn.

“A.”

I had been glaring at him with even more contempt than before when he suddenly let out a slip, his eyes betraying panic.

“Ah... hahaha...”

Despite the coolness of the cavern, Maier was now openly drenched in sweat. His face had gone pale, and his eyes wandered, clearly lost.

‘Wait. Don’t tell me... he actually tried them all and just slipped?’

That possibility made me pause. But I soon shook my head and sighed, pressing a hand against my temple to soothe the pounding ache.

‘...Yeah, he’s no ordinary opponent.’

I don’t know what his true intention is yet, but it’s clearly some form of high-level psychological warfare.

I can’t let myself get caught up in it. If I fall into this trap, I might end up giving away more than I learn.

“Try thinking of someone more recent.”

“More recent, huh...? Hmm, hmm...”

Maier furrowed his brows, groaning in thought at my question—by now, I had recovered my composure after sidestepping his nasty little trap.

‘The recent ones are the interesting ones, after all.’

If he says no, I lose nothing. If he says yes, that’s a lead. Either way, I win something.

All this only worked because bluffing to the Shadow Witch had gone surprisingly well. I owe her at least a break next time I want to slap her upside the head.

“Ah, that’s right, it must be that!”

“...Oh?”

As I walked along the corridor, keeping those thoughts to myself, Maier suddenly snapped his fingers as if he had an epiphany.

“And what exactly would ‘that’ be?”

“...Well, first, I owe you an apology, Sir Whitney.”

His random change in tone made me raise an eyebrow in suspicion.

“I... I had no idea you were one of the Demon King’s candidates.”

“...Pardon me?”

“You didn’t know, did you?”

‘Demon King candidate’? Is there something in this world I missed?

“Well, if you had the full power of domination, they wouldn’t be calling you a ‘candidate,’ now would they? You’d be a full-fledged successor.”

“...Could you please explain in more detail?”

As someone who prided himself on being a lore-master of this world, I didn’t want to admit it—but we were in enemy territory, and even the smallest bit of information could be crucial. I couldn’t ignore it.

“A Demon King candidate is a child born with a certain... ‘special ability.’ It started a few decades ago.”

“......”

“No need to go into what that ‘special ability’ is, right? I mean, it’s exactly what you’ve got.”

Maier intentionally left it vague, but I already understood. The so-called “special ability” referred to fragments of the Demon King’s original power.

After the tale of the second generation of heroes, peace followed—but the concept of the Demon King was reborn for reasons unknown.

With the pure-blood demon lineage extinct, the scattered pieces of the Demon King’s powers began to manifest in random individuals.

This is outlined in the prologue text of Blacktail Fantasy 3.

Based on what Maier was saying, the black mages had taken to calling those children “candidates.”

“Of course, the Emperor has been gathering most of them, and the black mages are secretly doing the same.”

“...For what reason?”

“The Emperor, to preserve his own sacred body. As for the black mages...”

Maier paused there, his face twisting into something faintly disgusted.

“For live experiments. And to reduce variables.”

My rage surged to the surface—but there was nothing I could do just yet.

After all, one of the main reasons I had come to this perilous place was to locate the facilities where children like Bergen’s daughter were being held for those experiments.

I couldn’t afford to act without a plan.

“I understand the former, but what do you mean by the latter?”

Barely suppressing my anger, I asked. Maier glanced at me, then answered.

“They’re referring to the officially recognized candidates—those accepted by the Shadow Union and declared disciples of the Great Shadow.”

“......I see.”

“Meredia was almost one of them, you know...”

He trailed off for a moment, then scoffed.

“Honestly, maybe it was lucky she didn’t become one.”

“...Why do you say that?”

“There was a recent succession battle. The newest candidate killed all the others.”

At that point, I had to admit it—Maier’s rhetorical skill was extraordinary.

I’d let him circle around my questions for over two minutes, and yet I didn’t feel irritated at all. It made sense now how he had built his power base.

“And what does that have to do with the question I asked you earlier?”

I couldn’t let him keep steering the conversation, so I gave him a quiet smile and pressed him again.

“That candidate... is my current fiancée.”

“...What?”

And just like that, the calculated battle of wits I thought I was engaged in went out the window.

“Ember. Now do you understand why she was given that name?”

“......”

“She’s the only one the Great Shadow recognized as a true Demon King candidate—and she was gifted a Jewel Name because of it.”

In that moment, my suspicion solidified into near certainty.

“Jewel Names are a right reserved only for Demon Kings. You know that, right? Even in the fairy tales, both the first and second Demon Kings had Jewel Names.”

“...Yes. I’m aware.”

“Haha, originally, the name ‘Ember’ was meant for Meredia, you know...”

The flood of information crashing into me was too much to process all at once.

“...Anyway, I apologize. I suppose she’s your only real threat, isn’t she? But I swear, I didn’t join hands with her on purpose this time.”

“......”

“I just followed the orders of the Great Shadow. Hah... so many demands, so little done...”

At Maier’s grumbling, the eyes of Sasha—no, the Great Shadow in disguise—flickered coldly.

But I couldn’t exactly tell Maier that. So I simply smiled as if nothing was wrong and asked:

“Do you know anything else about her?”

“Well... Hmm. Oh, that’s right.”

Noticing my softened tone, Maier loosened up, as if sensing the tension ease.

“She’s at the academy and—”

But just then, he was cut off.

“M-Milord! I think we’ve arrived!”

The Great Shadow, mimicking Sasha’s fearful tone perfectly, interrupted our conversation.

‘Creepy.’

Sure, it might sound funny that the leader of the black mages was mimicking the timid Sasha. But seeing it in person? Not funny at all.

It felt like watching something wearing a human’s skin try to imitate the voice—like a Jangsanbeom made real.

***

Meanwhile, inside the cave—

“......”

Four figures stood at the entrance, watching the faint shape of Whitney approach from a distance, including the Shadow Witch herself.

“So? What do you think? This is the candidate I picked.”

“...He looks weak.”

“Y-Y-Yeah. He doesn’t seem that impressive...”

“Yaaay~! Looks like we’ve got a new friend~~!”

Thus, the four executive officers [N O V E L I G H T] of the Shadow Union finally revealed themselves before Whitney.