A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 42: Preparation

Just as I was sinking into dark thoughts, a familiar voice came from beside me, snapping me back to reality.

“Lady Meredia, it’s so good to see you again...”

“Hearing you repeat yourself like that, I’m guessing you’re not fully conscious yet.”

“...That’s just how much I missed you, my lady. Haha.”

Seeing the most certain proof that everything I’d gone through hadn’t been a dream, I broke into a stupid grin—then quickly started piecing things together.

‘So the black mages really were trying to interfere with the Prodigy Selection Tournament.’

The fact they’d launched an operation to corrupt a substitute saintess right here at the Academy made it pretty clear: the black mages were definitely targeting the tournament.

If I couldn’t stop them entirely, then the best move was to use my current advantage—having secured Rebecca as a pawn—to crush their plans from the inside.

And for that, I would absolutely need Lady Meredia’s cooperation.

“My lady, would you mind listening to me for a moment?”

“...What is it.”

Once I’d gathered my thoughts, I began explaining everything that had happened inside the maze to Meredia, who was sitting beside the bed with her arms crossed and legs elegantly folded.

“...And that’s how the events unfolded inside the maze.”

“......”

“Quite the rollercoaster, don’t you think?”

Once I’d finished, I glanced at her, waiting for her reaction.

“You expect me to believe all that...?”

She stared at me with an incredulous look and opened her mouth with a sharp glare—but then paused.

“...Never mind. As absurd as it is, I’ll believe you.”

She cut her sentence short and gave a surprisingly brief reply, her attitude shifting.

“You’re accepting it rather quickly, aren’t you?”

“Because I don’t think you’d lie about this at this point.”

She looked at me like she didn’t fully trust me, but her voice remained calm and steady.

“Right? Haha...”

“I’m holding back the urge to strangle you right now, so could you stop smiling?”

Her remark, strangely enough, struck me as touching. I smiled again—only to quickly shut my mouth when she followed up with a chilling statement.

“I thought you were mortally wounded, and it turns out you faked it. That’s not even funny.”

“...No arguments there.”

In my previous life, even lying still meant feeling like my whole body was being stabbed. A few surface-level wounds for show were nothing in comparison.

“Next time, try considering my position too, would you?”

But though Lady Meredia pretended to glare at me in anger, her right hand was subtly trembling.

According to what I knew, that trembling was one of her tells—something that happened when she was either triggered by trauma or overwhelmed by emotion.

“Thank you for worrying about me.”

“...Shut up.”

“You were watching over me just to make sure I’d be okay, weren’t you?”

“I said shut up.”

Feeling even more moved, I tried to thank her, only for her to shut me down with a frosty curse.

“No way... seriously?”

“......”

“This is... I don’t even know what to—ow.”

Still teasing her with a bright grin, I was smacked in the ribs with her fan before I could finish speaking.

“Anyway, based on what you said, it’s certain the black mages plan to do something during the tournament.”

She looked at me with a mix of annoyance and disappointment, then quickly cut to the chase.

“You know what they’re planning to do?”

“They’ll probably try summoning the demon they couldn’t bring forth during the engagement incident.”

“And what do they gain from that?”

“...That...”

I’d been answering her seriously, but I faltered at that sharp question.

‘Should I tell her about the Demon King and the Hero now?’

In most of the original game routes, Meredia became the Demon King who fell to the black mages’ schemes and brought ruin to the world.

And from what I knew, the curse afflicting her now was probably related to that.

Even if Lady Meredia trusted me now, knowing she’s cursed is one thing—being told she’s destined to become the Demon King is something else entirely.

If I said the wrong thing, I could provoke her wrath and destroy everything I’d built with her in an instant.

“I don’t know why you went quiet, but I have a guess.”

As I hesitated, Meredia spoke again, having observed me silently.

“There must be someone who absolutely needs to be eliminated at the Academy, right?”

She’d gotten alarmingly close to the truth on her own.

She really was as sharp as she was powerful.

“Don’t worry. Whatever your plan is, I’ll cooperate.”

“Thank... you?”

I had braced myself for further questioning, but when she moved on so easily, I just blinked and nodded, taken aback.

“If it means screwing over black mages, even more so.”

“Of course. Naturally.”

“...But do you really not know why those monsters obeyed your command?”

So much for being fully off the hook.

“If you’re hiding something related to black magic...”

“......”

“I won’t forgive you. Not even you.”

She stood from her chair, leaned in, placing her hands on the bed, her crimson jewel-like eyes glowing as she whispered icily.

“...I understand why you might doubt me, but I swear, this time I’m completely innocent.”

“You say that like you weren’t innocent all the other times.”

“That’s how exceptional this situation is.”

Her killing intent—something I rarely felt from Meredia—was crystal clear this time. I straightened up slightly in the bed and began defending myself.

“My guess is that it was a temporary phenomenon. With the magic circle going haywire and summoning monsters en masse, maybe they mistook me for their summoner.”

“......”

“I don’t know why, but there’s no guarantee it’ll happen again... huh?”

Mid-sentence, I noticed her gaze wasn’t focused on me—but on the floor near her feet. I followed her eyes with a puzzled expression.

Shik—!

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

And there it was.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

A small spider-type monster had popped its head out of my shadow, formed by the sunlight streaming through the window, and was tapping its tiny legs against her foot.

“...Don’t you dare release killing intent...”

Wait a second. Isn’t that the little creep that kept clinging to me back in the maze?

I thought it vanished along with the other monsters when the maze collapsed—so why is it here now?

“Um, my lady, that’s...”

“......”

“My lady?”

Trying to explain with a nervous expression, I turned to her—just in time to see her suddenly and silently climb onto the bed.

“...Ah.”

Then she snatched the blanket off of me with a rigid expression. Confused, I stared at her blankly... until I remembered a detail from her character setting file.

[Dislikes: Black mages, arthropods]

One of her few humanizing traits: a deep fear of arthropods—especially spiders.

Hehe. You’re scared of me, aren’t you?

The problem wasn’t that Lady Meredia was afraid of spiders—it was that she had more than enough power to blow the entire hospital room away with the spider.

“Don’t just stand there. Get back inside.”

So, before such a catastrophe could occur, I urgently gave a command to the spider that had poked its head out of my shadow.

—Should you ever need me again... call upon me, human...

Thankfully, the little thing vanished back into the shadow before Meredia could unleash every spell she had in her arsenal.

“I see! Then, with your permission, I shall now enter...”

Apparently, that wasn’t the only uninvited guest today.

“Lady Meredia said not to let anyone in, and my legs were cramping from standing out there—huh?”

“...Hik.”

“......”

Princess Katarina, still in her male disguise, opened the door with perfect comedic timing. Behind her stood Cecil holding a fruit basket, and Lady Adel Felgrave, who froze mid-step and stared wide-eyed into the room.

Clatter...

Adel, glancing between me and Meredia—who was on the bed holding the blanket up—suddenly dropped the basket in shock. The fruits rolled across the floor.

“Wait... so neither of you was forcing the other? You were actually... like that?”

Cecil, wearing a blank expression completely unbefitting of her usual intelligence, mumbled as if she had just learned the secret of the universe.

“W-We weren’t the ones she meant to invite in, huh?”

“Wait, hold on—”

“W-We’ll just leave you two to your time, then...!”

Princess Katarina, for once uncharacteristically sharp, grasped the situation instantly, grabbed both girls by the wrist, and began retreating in a panic, her face turning crimson.

“...This is insane.”

It was already bad enough that the maids in my mansion whispered wild rumors like I was some kind of Napolitan ghost legend. At this rate, I’d be the Empire’s newest tabloid headline.

***

A few minutes later—

“Ahem. Hem-hem.”

“......”

“So, um... did you two finish your business?”

Princess Katarina, now back inside the room in her male form, cleared her throat awkwardly as she tried to speak casually.

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“No need to explain. I completely understand—”

“...Why don’t you just tell us why you’re here.”

Her voice cold enough to kill, Lady Meredia cut Katarina off while glaring at her from the chair next to my bed. Katarina visibly flinched before finally speaking up.

“M-My visit isn’t just to check on your condition. There’s new information I needed to deliver.”

I listened closely while trying my best to ignore the chill radiating from Meredia’s continued glare.

“First off, your appointment as a judge for the tournament was unanimously confirmed by the board yesterday.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief.”

“Of course, that’s assuming you’re recovered in time...”

“That won’t be an issue. The injuries only look bad. I can get up and walk just fine.”

To show her I was fit for duty, I twirled my arm a few times with exaggerated cheer.

“That’s good to hear. Now... here’s the real matter.”

Katarina’s expression darkened, and she hesitated before finally breaking the news.

“T-The Holy Kingdom has requested to attend the Prodigy Selection Tournament.”

“...Huh?”

Seeing Meredia’s eyes go wide, it was clear she was hearing this for the first time, too.

“S-Sir Whitney, if I could have a moment to—”

“...Lady Meredia is on our side. Speak freely.”

“I... see. Then I’ll ask directly—are you sure this is going to work?”

Katarina gave up on her half-baked pretense and, with her brow furrowed, threw the question at me bluntly.

“Smuggling the saintess into the academy was hard enough. Now we have to deceive the Holy Kingdom, too...”

For her, who had already boarded this sinking ship with me, this must’ve felt like lightning from a clear sky.

“Y-Your Highness, there’s no need to worry.”

But in truth, she had nothing to be concerned about.

“That is, in fact, the very core of my plan.”

The Holy Kingdom’s attendance at the tournament had happened in the original storyline, too. I’d factored it in from the start.

“To be precise, the route by which the saintess infiltrates the academy... is through them.”

“That’s... even possible?”

“Ahaha. Well...”

I think it’s time to send word to the executives back at the mansion.

“I have a method for everything.”

All preparations were complete. Now it was time to dive straight into the chaos that would erupt during the Prodigy Selection Tournament.

***

That night — Count Ringaarden’s estate, in the office.

“Oh, what kind of drinks do we have toni—oh?”

Hestia entered the office, already wearing a slightly weary expression laced with reluctant anticipation. But she froze in place, eyes wide.

“Welcome!”

“W-What is this?”

Parsha, Lunelle, and even Bergen—who’d been stirring up the back alleys nonstop lately—were all gathered in the room, staring silently at her.

“We’ve finally received an order from the master!”

“...?”

“We’re only following instructions, so don’t hold a grudge, alright?”

“W-What are you trying to do—?!”

Just as Hestia looked around, utterly baffled, Lunelle suddenly grabbed her arms from behind and restrained her.

“Whew. It’ll be over quickly, so just hold still.”

Bergen, wearing a reluctant expression, stood up and pulled a metallic [N O V E L I G H T] toolbox from his coat. Hestia’s pupils began to shake violently.

“W-What on earth are you going to do to me?!”

“Hey, knight girl. She might struggle, so tie her down good.”

“...Got it.”

A few seconds later—

“Kyaaahh! Hiiiik! I-It tickles!!”

“...We may need to gag her, too.”

“Eeeep?! Mmmph—?! MMPH!!!”

The disturbingly ambiguous noises leaking from the office would later become the basis for yet another infamous rumor at Count Ringaarden’s mansion—exactly as Whitney feared.

「...If you hear screaming from the office, cover your ears and leave immediately. Nothing scream-worthy ever happens in the master’s office.」

(Excerpt from Sasha’s Memoirs, Page 17.)