A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 102: Recruitment

‘No way, he’s lying.’

The second daughter of the famous swordsmanship family, House Misthylene — Evangeline, lying on the ground and sweating coldly as she overheard Whitney’s words, initially thought that.

‘That bastard, who now has Sister’s strength in his hands, must be lying to confuse her.’

The Emperor she knew was a virtuous ruler. In fact, even aside from her, most nobles and commoners alike believed the Emperor to be a benevolent sovereign.

It was partly because the previous Emperor had been so terrible, but fundamentally, the current Emperor, Lilith Winter Clouds, was highly competent.

Since the usurpation of the throne, the Empire had faced multiple crises that could have brought it down — yet the Emperor had resolved them all with astonishing decisiveness.

She had even stabilized the Empire, which many had said was rotting from within despite its massive size.

Whatever the true face of the Emperor known to the high nobility might be, or the vague rumors circulating among the lower nobles, those things didn’t matter to the commoners.

‘The true mastermind has to be him. The fact that Sister’s supposedly irreparably destroyed mana circuit was restored is suspicious too. He must be deeply involved.’

That suspicion was the same for the two siblings of the fallen Misthylene family, who had no choice but to cling to whatever rotten rope they could find.

Of course, when the Emperor secretly sent a messenger and ordered this mission, the siblings had no choice but to obey at the risk of their lives.

“M-My mana circuit... the one who burned it, the one behind it...?”

“......”

“H-How does Master know about that...?”

But somehow, their desperate choice was now turning into a noose tightening around their necks.

“Lunelle, I know a lot more than you think.”

“Ah...”

“I’ve already identified the enemies of my subordinates.”

Even if she had just shown a new side of herself, Lunelle was still Lunelle.

“So, what will you do? Can you still forgive them after hearing this?”

There was no way that someone born obsessed with the sword — someone who nearly lost her sword forever because of them — would forgive the ones responsible.

“...I will forgive them.”

“Hmm?”

And yet, contrary to all expectations, those words spilled from Lunelle’s trembling lips once again.

“They must have... momentarily strayed. They’re still young and don’t understand the ways of the world...”

“Honestly, I think you’re the one who understands the world less, Lunelle.”

“T-That’s... true, but...”

Lunelle, pushing herself to defend her siblings even with some forced logic, had an increasingly desperate look in her eyes. freёnovelkiss.com

“Well, if you insist that much, I suppose I have no choice.”

“...Haa, thank you.”

Watching this, Evangeline Misthylene’s eyes twisted bitterly as she kept stealing glances.

‘What is this. What the hell is this.’

No matter how she thought about it, there was no reason her former sister would go this far for them.

They hadn’t even spoken properly to each other — if anything, their only interactions were being harshly beaten during training.

‘Why... why would she throw away even her pride for us?’

Unable to comprehend Lunelle’s behavior at all, Evangeline stared ahead with a venomous glare — and at that moment —

“Ah.”

“Hm.”

She accidentally made eye contact with Whitney, who was facing Lunelle.

“...Hieek.”

It was unclear whether she had truly made eye contact, since Whitney’s perpetually narrow eyes made it impossible to tell where he was looking.

But to Evangeline, Whitney’s gaze had already become a kind of trauma, and she once again broke into a cold sweat, overwhelmed by the atmosphere.

“Come to think of it, I’m curious about something.”

And right after that, Whitney turned his attention back to Lunelle and casually asked.

“Why do you love the sword so much, Lunelle?”

“That’s... just my nature, I suppose...”

“But surely, there’s some reason behind it?”

Though she was briefly flustered by the sudden question, Lunelle soon began searching her memories.

“If you want a reason...”

A bitter smile flickered across her lips.

“...I loved it.”

And then, perhaps for the first time in her life, she confessed:

“When we were little, my siblings loved watching me wield a sword.”

Lunelle’s eyes, recalling that memory, looked strangely wistful.

“Now... they hate it the most, though.”

“......”

“Sometimes, I wish I could go back to those days.”

Evangeline’s expression went blank as she listened.

Her tightly clenched fists shook. Her fierce eyes were now wide and fixed forward.

And just as tears began to gather in her eyes —

“That would be a problem.”

“...What?”

“Because you’re my knight now, aren’t you.”

Whitney’s voice, tinged with a faint laugh, broke the silence.

Startled, Evangeline hurriedly wiped her tears with her sleeve and quietly ground her teeth as she looked at Whitney’s hand resting on Lunelle’s shoulder.

“...Yes. I am your knight.”

The woman who once stood unrivaled now declared her allegiance, held powerless under a man’s hand.

“As I said before, I will take full responsibility.”

“...Responsibility?”

“I’ll do whatever is needed. For example...”

And then, bowing her head submissively right before him, she continued.

“If you need a test subject for experiments requiring a strong body, or a nearly impossible assassination mission, or even just... simple amusement, I’ll do it...”

“...What?”

“P-Please... if you would, end it with me. As long as I can keep my arms to wield a sword, I’ll accept anything.”

Seeing her sweating and desperately pleading, Whitney frowned and was about to say something.

“In other words, I...”

“...S-Stop it!”

And then, trembling uncontrollably, Evangeline suddenly burst forward and shouted.

“I-I’ll take responsibility instead.”

“......”

“Big Sister... L-Lunelle... Don’t touch her.”

And so began a brief silence.

“No, stop! Evangeline!”

Breaking that fleeting silence, Richard forced his still-injured body to rise and opened his mouth.

“Are you crazy? Do you even understand what you’re saying right now?”

“......”

“You won’t be able to undo it! Never! So why—”

But he never finished speaking.

“Guh?”

A terrifying aura suddenly crashed down upon him.

“Gah, haah...”

Thinking it was some trick by Whitney, Richard collapsed back to the floor, glaring at him with a pale face — but Whitney’s expression was as calm as ever.

“Oh, have you perhaps developed an interest in joining the knight order?”

“...What?”

“If so, just sign this contract. Haha.”

Whitney merely tilted his head innocently, then pulled a contract from his pocket and handed it to Evangeline with a bright smile.

“If I sign this...”

“Yes, you’ll immediately become one of us. How about it?”

“......”

“Hmm, I wonder what you’re ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) hesitating about.”

Holding the contract in her trembling hands, Evangeline blinked wide-eyed at the cheerful voice from in front of her.

“You were the one who applied for the knight order interview, weren’t you?”

“Ah.”

“I thought you’d sign immediately.”

Whitney’s smile curled up even higher, and Evangeline bit her lower lip hard before lowering her head.

“I-I’ll sign.”

“...Oh ho.”

“So please... just let Richard go.”

“......?”

At her determined voice, Whitney’s expression — which had brightened noticeably — suddenly cooled.

“Why?”

“T-That’s...”

“You both applied, didn’t you? Isn’t it a bit harsh to accept only one?”

Turning his head slightly to look at Richard, who was sitting on the floor, Whitney’s gaze made Evangeline’s voice tremble even more.

“I-I’m enough. R-Richard isn’t that good with the sword, and he’s not very smart, either.”

“W-What...”

“Be quiet, Richard!”

Richard, about to blurt something in protest, was silenced by Evangeline’s sharp shout, her voice trembling.

“You... you go back to the family. Someone has to stay behind... so there’s still a chance.”

“B-But...”

“I-I’ll be fine. They said even if you get mauled by a griffin, you can survive if you stay conscious. So...”

But Evangeline’s voice grew smaller.

“So, so...”

Looking up at Whitney, who was towering over her with a ghostly smile, she realized — this wasn’t on the level of some monster like a griffin.

“Haha, how sturdy you are.”

At least, it would take something like a Demon King who burned half the world to match him.

“To think such a bold person is joining our knight order. I’m truly delighted.”

“Hik...”

“A-hahahahaha...”

And thus, Evangeline — now reduced to being a subordinate to such a being — began to cry in earnest.

“But... when will you be signing?”

“......”

“Or... do you not want to?”

Despite it all, Evangeline couldn’t bring herself to refuse the contract she had been handed.

“Eva...”

Lunelle, who had been silently watching her with a blank gaze all this time, was still looking at her with those same eyes.

“...Like this?”

“Yes, very well done.”

Thus, the Count Ringaarden’s knight order once again easily recruited a truly outstanding talent.

‘Is this for real?’

Though others watching might have had slightly different impressions.

Still, for Whitney, who had been trying to mediate the broken ties of the Misthylene family, it was a situation filled with unexpected blessings.

***

“Haa, I was wondering when this would end.”

“...Ah, Lady Meredia.”

Just as he was basking in the afterglow of successfully recruiting new knights, Lady Meredia, who had been silently observing everything, spoke up again.

“Making me wait. You realize that’s normally unacceptable, right?”

“Wait for what?”

“...The Emperor’s secret.”

“Ah.”

Normally, she would have been angry — but seeing that she was calmly asking questions now, it was clear her curiosity had overwhelmed her.

Well, considering it was a fatal secret about the Emperor, anyone would react this way.

“Alright, Lady Meredia. Let me borrow your ear again.”

“...Huh? Again?”

“Well, this information is quite shocking, after all...”

Leaning close to her ear once more, Whitney lowered his voice carefully, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

“Listen closely, Lady. The truth is...”

“...The truth?”

It might have seemed a bit theatrical, but this information really did warrant it.

“...The Emperor isn’t of the royal bloodline.”

“What?”

“She’s not a true member of the Imperial family.”

Even Lady Meredia, who normally kept her cool despite having softened slightly these days, instantly widened her eyes like a startled rabbit — a testament to how explosive that information was.

“To be honest... I really didn’t want to say this, but...”

“Yes.”

“Sometimes... you’re a little scary. Is this how people felt when they looked at me?”

Hearing her mutter that with cold sweat on her forehead honestly stung a little.

“Me? Haha.”

“...Don’t laugh like that.”