A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 49: Anomaly

"...What did you think of my analysis?"

"Well, it was certainly impressive."

"Haha. Thank you—"

"Until you got one or two things right at the start, that is."

Of course, Lady Meredia was not the kind of person who would just brush things off like Princess Katarina or Hestia might.

"Everything in the match went exactly according to your words. Don’t you think that’s a little strange?"

"......."

"What trick did you pull? I didn’t detect any magic or anything like that."

Saying this, Meredia looked at me with a subtle gleam in her jewel-like eyes.

"My fiancé, who I thought was just an ordinary man, turns out to be an SSS-class tactical genius? Is that a reasonable explanation?"

"Hah."

"...Just kidding, Lady Meredia."

Trying a weak joke to buy a moment of time, I began forcing my already-overloaded brain to operate at full capacity.

"You do know that doppelgänger production is illegal, right?"

"Guh."

"Where are the original students?"

But my desperate efforts were in vain—Lady Meredia had already grasped the general situation.

"Are you planning to report this to the Holy Kingdom?"

"Haa..."

With no options left, I wore the most pitiful expression I could manage and quietly asked for mercy.

"...If I tell the truth, will you help me cover it up?"

"Ah, as expected of you, Lady Meredia."

Fortunately, instead of glaring coldly at me, Lady Meredia let out a sigh and agreed to become my accomplice.

"...I’ve buried plenty of corpses myself."

"I-I didn’t kill anyone though."

"......."

"It’s true. My maid is probably nursing them back to health as we speak."

Whether that last part was a joke or not, I couldn’t really tell—but either way, I was grateful.

"You know, the old me would’ve already cut your throat by now."

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"......."

"So be thankful. I’m actually pretty generous with my own people."

Hmm, I guess I really should be thankful.

"Anyway, as always, you’ve done something outrageous."

"...Me?"

"You’re trying to create a Hero with your own hands and awaken the Saintess, right? I’m not sure whether to call it reckless or methodical."

Scratching my head and stealing glances at Meredia, I finally began to face the reality of the situation as her words sank in.

'...This is worse than I thought.'

For now, I’d managed to avoid the Selection Tournament getting shut down, but if things continued this way, I’d be directly interfering with it.

And if that’s the case, would the Hero’s selection even proceed as it should?

'The moment I interfere, doesn’t that mean the original fate is already twisted?'

In the original story, one of the top three contestants—the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place winners—would be chosen by the Saintess.

But if that fate is distorted due to the doppelgängers I manipulated, then—

If things go wrong, even if the winners come into contact with the Saintess, nothing might happen at all—a total disaster.

'At this point, I have no choice but to minimize my impact on the Selection Tournament.'

Which means I need to somehow eliminate Robin, who just won, and Hayden, who’s yet to fight, as early as possible.

At the very least, I know for sure that a doppelgänger can’t become a Hero. So my best course of action is to increase the chances that one of the real participants is chosen.

"Alright, onto the second match!"

As I tried to catch my breath before my next judging duty—

"A match between third-year Hayden and—believe it or not—first-year Lady Cecil Ringaarden!"

"...Damn."

The moment I heard the lineup for the second match, I couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh.

"This time... there's no helping it."

It was one thing for doppelgänger-Hayden to be selected right away, but his opponent had to be her.

"You’re planning to eliminate your sister somehow, aren’t you?"

"...Was it that obvious?"

"I’ve never been able to read your expression so clearly before."

With a solemn expression steeling myself, Lady Meredia’s amused voice came from beside me.

"I never realized I was such a selfish person."

"Yeah. The most dangerous thing in this world is family. If it were me, I would’ve nipped it in the bud from the beginning."

"Haha..."

Right. To Meredia, family meant rivals—threats to each other’s lives. Of course she’d say that.

But in my case, it was a little different.

To me, family was...

"...So precious that you can’t bear to let them walk a thorny path, right?"

As I tightly clenched my fists and swallowed the words I wanted to say, I turned my head in shock at the remark that sounded like mind reading.

"Saintess?"

Lady Hestia, who had been quietly standing still, was now looking directly at me and speaking in a firm tone.

"I finally see you clearly now, Whitney Ringaarden."

"......?"

"I’m sorry for misunderstanding you all this time."

"......?"

"And don’t listen to what others say."

The timid side I had seen over the past few weeks was nowhere to be found in her now.

"The will to correct one’s past mistakes—that deserves to be praised, in my opinion."

In fact, this version of her felt far closer to the absolute ally and righteous Saintess I had known in the game.

"...What did you just say?"

Perhaps sensing this change, or maybe just annoyed that her words were being challenged, Lady Meredia shot her a frosty glare.

"...You should get the match started now."

"Hah."

Surprisingly, Hestia met her eyes directly and simply urged her to begin the match.

‘What’s gotten into her all of a sudden...?’

Of course, a Saintess acting like a Saintess was a good thing.

"You look conflicted."

Still bewildered by the sudden change, I tilted my head slightly while staring at Hestia. She gently shifted her gaze toward me with a faint smile.

"Are you unsure of the path you should take?"

"Uh..."

"Don’t worry. Just do what you want to do."

For a moment, her eyes looked as if they’d turned completely white. Was that just my imagination?

"After all, you’ve already walked this path once before, haven’t you?"

Startled for only a moment, a single thought flashed across my mind—and I decided to focus on the match for now.

"Both sides, prepare yourselves."

‘No doubt about it—one of the Heroes really is close by.’

With the hope that the way Hestia was acting resembled the prologue of the original game—

"Begin."

‘...At the very least, fate hasn't been broken yet.’

And so, the second match began.

***

- Ku-gwagwagwang...!

A shock powerful enough to shake the entire arena rang out, and a massive cloud of dust engulfed the interior.

"Whoa."

"Wait, is she really a first-year?"

"This year’s Selection Tournament is seriously no joke...."

When the dust finally cleared, the audience—who had predicted Hayden’s smooth victory—began to murmur in surprise.

"Ugh."

"......."

Astonishingly, Cecil was engaged in a fierce clash of blades with Hayden, holding her ground against the force that had rocked the entire arena.

'...She’s not playing around.'

But contrary to how it looked, Cecil, whose blade was locked with Hayden’s, was slowly unraveling in real time as she crashed headfirst into the towering wall before her.

'I’ve clashed with him several times now, and not only have I not landed a clean hit, I can barely hold on...'

Unlike Hayden, who still had room to breathe while attacking, Cecil already had the metallic taste of blood rising in her throat.

'It’s like... he sees through every single move I make.'

In Cecil’s case, while she had high offensive power and finishing potential, her endurance was on the weaker side. That’s why she had tried to end the fight early by pouring out everything she had. But the problem was Hayden’s counter: his sword aura.

'At this rate... I won’t even be able to land a proper blow before I lose.'

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The sword aura Hayden had perfected was the Aura of Vibration—a devastating ability that could cause anything the sword touched, even the air and the ground, to tremble violently.

Naturally, this put Cecil in a hopeless situation where even if she blocked his attacks, the accumulated damage still built up.

And even if she tried to retreat and use magic to counterattack, her odds wouldn’t improve much.

Though Cecil was a prodigy gifted in both swordsmanship and magic, Hayden—a third-year student praised as the ultimate balance-type combatant—was someone who could handle everything she threw at him.

To put it bluntly, he was a superior version of Cecil, who still lacked experience.

'If only I’d completed my own sword aura...'

Her only hope was to manifest her own aura—but despite gritting her teeth and training relentlessly up until the day before the tournament, Cecil had been unable to fully awaken it.

- Zzzzeeeeng...

So as Cecil continued her futile war of attrition, the ominous metallic hum that came from Hayden’s blade meeting hers forced her to grit her teeth and brace for impact.

- PUH-BWOOOM...!

But the quake that followed—shaking the entire space—was far beyond anything she could’ve properly defended against.

"Kughk..."

Blasted back by the shockwave, Cecil barely landed on her feet—only to cough up blood for the first time.

'...There won’t be another chance after this.'

At that moment, Cecil instinctively realized that the next exchange would be her last. Clamping her bloodied lips shut, she stood her ground.

- Goooooo...

Then, her sword slowly began to emit the glow of an incomplete aura—and the crowd around the arena erupted with excited cheers.

"A first-year is using sword aura? Who is that girl?"

"Count Ringaarden’s house sure is blessed..."

"They were just testing each other before. Now the real match begins..."

However, unlike the hopeful audience who were thrilled by the unexpected dark horse’s performance—

"Ugh..."

To Cecil, who was barely able to stay standing, this was nothing more than a final desperate struggle.

'...Will this even mean anything?'

Still clinging to her sword, Cecil spotted Hayden glaring at her blankly from afar, his own sword aura fully ignited. Shutting her eyes tight, she sank into thought.

'Even if I use this half-finished aura, it’s not like anything’s going to change...'

Her hands, gripping the sword so tightly that blood flow had nearly stopped, began to tremble the moment that thought crossed her mind.

"Cecil Ringaarden."

A cold voice—Lady Meredia’s—rang out from beside her.

"Are you still able to continue the match?"

"...Kuh."

Turning slightly toward the judges’ panel at the sound of her voice, Cecil clenched her jaw and forced strength into her trembling hands.

"It would be best not to push yourself too far."

It wasn’t Meredia’s almost dismissive tone, as if the match were already decided, that lit a fire in Cecil’s heart—it was the sight of Whitney quietly preparing to rush in and heal her.

"No problems... here."

"Hm."

At Cecil’s faint response, Meredia narrowed her eyes. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke again.

"...Both sides, resume the match."

A solemn silence fell over the arena.

'Even if I get eliminated here...'

In that stillness, Cecil opened her eyes wide and began pouring all her remaining strength into her blade.

'I’ll give it everything I’ve got.'

Though her eyes were fixed on Hayden in front of her, the words she wanted to scream were meant not for him, but for someone seated to the side in the judge’s booth.

"Just so... you can never ignore me again!!!"

With that cry loaded with emotion, Cecil—gasping for breath—raised her sword.

- Sreeng...

At the same time, Hayden also lifted his sword.

- KUGWAGWAGWAGWANG...!

An impact beyond anything yet seen ripped through the entire arena, shaking it to its core as another massive wave of dust swept in from all sides.

***

"...Ah."

Seeing the shockwave and dust cloud powerful enough to shake even the judges' platform and the stands, I rose from my seat before I even realized it, letting out a low gasp.

"You’re the one who set this up—why are you acting surprised now?"

"......."

"...Don’t worry too much. From the look of it, I don’t think your little sister is someone who’d be seriously harmed by a shock like that."

Lady Meredia grabbed my arm to try and reassure me—but that wasn’t the reason I had stood up.

"Well, she’s probably hurt, but if she couldn’t handle that, she had no business entering the Selection Tournament in the first place."

"...That’s not it."

The reason I stood up was because the mana I’d been slowly losing with every command I issued had suddenly returned to me all at once.

"Huh, this is unexpected."

Hearing my words, Meredia tilted her head slightly and let her gem-like eye gleam for a second. Then, with a dry chuckle, she muttered to herself.

- Saaaaa...

Right around then, the dust that had filled the arena began to settle, and all attention turned toward the result of the clash.

"My goodness."

"Haha, what an upset."

"Unbelievable..."

In the midst of the stunned crowd, still blinking in disbelief, the voice of the bewildered Head of Academic Affairs rang out across the arena.

"The winner... of the second match is..."

The victor, standing over her opponent—who had dropped his sword and collapsed to his knees—gasping for breath,

"...Cecil Ringaarden."

was not Hayden, the main character I had controlled until moments ago, but my own blood-related sister, Cecil.

- Thud...

The moment the Head of Academic Affairs finished speaking, Cecil collapsed unconscious on the spot—and thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the stands.

"My sister... is a Hero candidate?"

But I alone couldn’t join in the atmosphere sweeping through the arena.

"...This can’t be happening."

The worst-case scenario I had imagined... had just arrived.