A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 77: Lumen Ordo

Even if that wasn’t the case, one thing was certain: these socially-inept people hadn’t acted out of malice toward me.

“They must’ve had their reasons...”

“Hah, my husb—fiancé is still so naïve.”

But the Lady seemed to think a little differently.

“These stiff-necked groups always try to stomp down anyone who dares to rise above them.”

“......”

“They don’t even realize they’ve become a bunch of backroom relics. Pathetic.”

From the sound of it, she was still overlaying her image of Lumen Ordo with the Elder Council of House Embergreen.

“I suppose if you were in this situation, Lady Meredia, you wouldn’t let it slide.”

“Obviously. The current Elder Council of House Embergreen is practically under my thumb.”

Curious now about what happened to the council that incurred her wrath, I asked, and she answered with a chilling smile.

“It wasn’t widely publicized, since it was internal family matters, but there have been several large purges over the past ten years.”

“......”

“I orchestrated more than half of them.”

Of course. Knowing her personality, there was no way she’d let a group like that run rampant.

She wasn’t one of those misunderstood noblewomen you see in fiction. She was someone who had gotten her hands dirty—very dirty—in real life.

“You’re not afraid of me? Even after hearing all that?”

“...At this point?”

But knowing what kind of abuse she endured as a child, I felt no pity for those who were purged.

Especially not Maier Embergreen and the Duke himself—I’d rather bring them down with my own hands.

“To be honest, I still don’t understand why you like me so much.”

“Who in their right mind would turn down a capable wife?”

“...Ugh. Just stop talking.”

I dodged the question with my usual shamelessness, figuring I should leave that answer for Meredia to decide. She turned her head with a sigh, visibly exasperated.

“Your ears are turning red again, Lady Meredia.”

“...Please shut up.”

I was teasing her again when a sudden sigh echoed from beside us.

“Haa...”

“...Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes. It’s nothing...”

Her voice said otherwise. Maybe it was just me, but the head maid didn’t look great.

Now that I thought about it, the maids here were probably stuck in the mansion all the time, unable to even dream of romance. Maybe I should tone it down a bit in front of them.

“...So, where’s the conference room?”

“......”

“Hey. Don’t you at least have an idea?”

Seemed the Lady had picked up on it too—her expression hardened, and she quickly changed the subject.

“In fact... we’re already standing right in front of it.”

“What are you talking about? This is just the courtyard.”

Luckily, I’d visited Lumen Ordo a few times with my father when I was younger, so I was about to explain when—

“Well then. Pardon me for a moment.”

“Wait, hold o—”

“...Kuh?”

The head maid, who had pulled a knife from her sleeve and started approaching me, was instantly grabbed by the throat and pinned down by Lady Meredia.

“Did you just draw a blade—in front of me?”

“Ghk... koff...”

“If you don’t explain this right now, I’ll—mmph?”

Knowing what was actually going on, I rushed forward and gently placed my hand over her eyes before things got worse.

“Oh no, my apologies.”

“Haah... haah...”

“I should’ve explained this beforehand.”

Fortunately, the head maid—now rubbing her neck and casting a resentful look at the Lady—said nothing more and instead approached me and handed over the knife.

“Wait, what are you trying to—”

—shff...

“...What are you doing!?”

She shouted in alarm as I rolled up my sleeve and made a small cut on my arm.

—rumble...

But before she could protest further, the drop of blood that fell from my arm hit the ground—and the truth revealed itself with a deep, echoing tremor.

“There’s a reason this place is the second safest in the world.”

“......”

“The fortress’s defenses are impressive, but facilities like this can only be accessed with the blood of a white mage.”

A yawning underground gate had opened beneath the courtyard, welcoming us in.

“But your arm...”

“The most useless thing in the world is worrying about a white mage.”

“...Tch. Look at you.”

Despite her worry, the Lady kept looking at my arm until I quietly used magic to heal the cut. Only then did her expression soften as she turned her head away.

“...Sorry for being rude.”

“N-not at all.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Watching her quietly apologize to the maid left me with a strange, warm feeling.

Like a private tutor who had finally reformed a villainess?

“But... don’t tell me we’re supposed to go in there?”

“...Yes, that’s the conference room.”

I couldn’t help grinning at the sight, but upon hearing that, the Lady’s face suddenly darkened.

“Lady Meredia, don’t tell me...”

“...What.”

“...No, it’s nothing.”

In that moment, one key piece of information about her flashed through my mind.

‘...Right. She hates dark, enclosed spaces.’

The moment I recalled that, I knew.

We might end up offending Lumen Ordo before the meeting even begins.

***

—step, step...

As I followed the head maid down the long, dim underground passage, I cast a sidelong glance at the Lady, who was walking in step beside me, and fell into thought.

‘Just as I thought. She’s really not doing well.’

She didn’t say anything, but her complexion had grown noticeably pale.

“...What?”

“Haha, it’s just so dark in here. I was worried I might trip.”

Knowing the source of her unease came from the abuse and experiments she suffered in similar environments as a child, I could do little more than offer this excuse as I gently took her hand.

“......”

Thankfully, she accepted my hand without a word and continued walking calmly downward.

“We’ve arrived.”

I don’t know how long we walked, but eventually the head maid stopped, raising the lamp she held to illuminate the door ahead.

“The Guardian of Glorious Light’s vassals await within.”

“...You mean the Elder Council? What about Tiffany?”

“Ah, the Guardian—no, my lady is just now arriving.”

She hastily corrected her speech mid-sentence at my remark, ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ likely out of habit after being steeped in white mage phrasing for so long.

“Um, excuse me... Before you go inside...”

“Yes?”

“I realize this might be a bit forward, but I have a personal favor to ask.”

Just as the Lady and I were about to head in, the head maid glanced around cautiously and whispered to me in a low voice.

“Whatever my lady says once she arrives... could you please just go along with it?”

“...What?”

“For her honor’s sake, I beg you...”

I listened silently, then tilted my head in confusion at the odd request.

“What exactly do you mean?”

“Well, that is...”

But before the stammering head maid could explain—

—Creeeeak...

The heavy underground doors began to open on their own.

“Th-then... please. I beg you.”

With that, the head maid shut her eyes tightly and backed away into the corridor as the Lady and I both reflexively took a step back.

“......”

Then came a brief silence.

“You know, I’ve been wondering for a while now.”

Breaking the stillness, the Lady gripped my hand a little tighter and spoke in a cold, annoyed tone.

“Aren’t white mages supposed to be weak to darkness? Why are we having a meeting in a place like this?”

“......”

“Is this supposed to be some kind of training to overcome fear of the dark?”

At that point, I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I let out the truth I’d been avoiding.

“...It’s just for aesthetic.”

“......?”

“They really don’t change.”

Watching her misconceptions pile up, I figured it was better to just reveal what these people were really like.

“It’s fine. I’ve got a solution.”

“What are you—”

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Before she could say another word, I stepped inside the dark room and tugged on a rope hanging from the wall.

Click!

In the next moment, bright light flooded the pitch-black chamber.

“Hi—hiiieeek!?”

“Wha—whaaat!?”

“D-d-d—dead light...!”

A few seconds later, screams erupted from all corners of the room as white mages in black robes flailed and shrieked in unison.

“Seriously... Are you all creatures of the night?”

“......”

“You want to hold a meeting in pitch darkness? Turn on some lights for once.”

I muttered, watching them with disbelief. Then, glancing over, I caught the Lady blinking blankly beside me.

Right as I continued speaking—

“Fufu... So the prophesied one has finally arrived.”

“...?”

A dramatic, overstyled voice rang out from the passage behind us—one I recognized all too well.

“The wheel of fate turns again, and finally, the time has come for our destinies to entwine...”

Sighing, I turned my head toward the familiar voice. The speaker, naturally, was none other than the Head of Lumen Ordo—the one who invited me here.

“Gyaaaaah!”

And as expected, standing there mid-step in full chūnibyō attire, flailing her arms in panic, was none other than the culprit herself.

“W-who turned on the lights!?”

“......”

“Turn them off! Now!”

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Yelling like a kid caught sneaking snacks past bedtime, she stormed over and grabbed me by the collar in a panic.

“Oh.”

Her eyes widened as they locked with mine.

“It’s been a while...”

“Ughh.”

I smiled awkwardly, trying to keep my composure in the midst of the chaos.

“Uuugh...”

She stood frozen for a beat, then abruptly pulled her cloak over her face and bolted out of the room.

“...Lady Meredia, take note.”

“......”

“This is the average white mage.”

The expression on the Lady’s face—having witnessed the entire fiasco—was perhaps the most dumbfounded she’d ever worn, in this life or the last.