A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 104: Hunting the Lioness

About a day after the establishment of the newly-formed Ringaarden Knight Order, in a back alley on the outskirts of the Imperial capital—

“This place feels scarier every time...”

A man was walking, nervously glancing around the darkened streets.

“...Hah, you? Feeling scared?”

“Yes?”

“That’s surprising. Even a passing dog would laugh at you.”

Following quietly behind him, a figure with gemstone-like eyes shimmering faintly even in the darkness spoke.

“Lady, we’re sneaking around in the dark here. Could you keep your voice down a little...”

“...I’ve already cast a soundproofing spell around us. I made sure it won't get dispelled like last time, so don’t worry.”

Indeed, if any subscriber to the latest gossip rags — flourishing in the remote corners of the Empire — were passing by, they would have instantly recognized them.

Unquestionably this year’s number one couple: Whitney and Meredia.

“Lady, I do feel fear when faced with something truly scary.”

“Such as?”

“Hmm, well... someone who would slip poison into a teacup without even exchanging pleasantries first.”

Of course, just listening to their conversation, one wouldn’t exactly think they were a couple.

“...Let’s not bring that up anymore.”

“Haha. Why? You still sometimes want to poison me even now, don’t you?”

“...Sigh.”

Frowning slightly at Whitney’s joke, Meredia turned her gaze away and let out a quiet sigh.

“Even as a joke, stop saying things like that.”

“...Yes, ma’am.”

Though it might have sounded audacious, Whitney quickly closed his mouth and nodded, having caught the faint trembling in Meredia’s voice.

“If you hadn’t woken up back then... a lot of things might have been different.”

Amid the slightly awkward atmosphere, Meredia quietly murmured, gazing up at the moon.

“...Do you think so too?”

Whitney tilted his head thoughtfully at her question, then soon answered with a light smile.

“I’m not the type who likes to dwell on ‘what ifs.’”

“......”

“The important thing is always the present. Don’t you think so?”

While his answer was rational, it wasn’t exactly a perfect solution.

“Yes... the present matters.”

“Haha.”

“...Don’t laugh like that. It makes your otherwise cool answer sound shady.”

Still, for the current Meredia, it was the best possible answer.

“By the way, I heard there’s something you’re afraid of too.”

Trying to steer the mood into lighter territory, Whitney scratched his head and asked a new question.

“Like spiders.”

“Ugh, I can’t stand them. Not just spiders — insects in general.”

“Why spiders, specifically?”

Staring blankly at Whitney’s slit-like eyes for a moment, Meredia spoke in a quieter voice.

“When I was locked in the basement as punishment as a child... they kept crawling all over me.”

“...Ah.”

“If I asked someone to get rid of them, it felt like I’d be exposing my weakness, so I just stayed quiet.”

“Uh, um...”

Realizing immediately that he had failed to lift the mood, Whitney began anxiously watching Meredia’s expression.

“By the way, the spider you used to control — is it still around?”

“...Well, not really. I haven’t seen it lately.”

“I thought you had tamed it with your domination powers. Guess not?”

Trying to salvage the atmosphere, Meredia asked casually — but Whitney honestly had no real answer.

“Sigh, you could just be honest. There’s no need to be so awkward about my past.”

Seeing things were spiraling down, Meredia finally took a deep breath and spoke candidly.

“...Is that so.”

“Of course, I don’t enjoy recalling those memories either.”

She had drawn a firm line — but then, in a much softer voice, Meredia quietly added:

“...But at least, with you, I think it’s okay.”

Whitney, noticing her cheeks faintly flush after saying that, couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle and lightened his tone.

“You must dislike darkness for the same reason you dislike insects then. Right?”

“...More precisely, I hate dark, enclosed spaces. Wide open areas like this aren’t so bad.”

Meredia’s voice was lighter now too, though it still trembled slightly.

Even the strongest, most infamous villainess Meredia couldn’t completely overcome her past trauma so easily.

“Haha, that’s a shame.”

“What is?”

“If you were scared, I could’ve offered to hold your hand.”

Still, the frequency of her nightmares had noticeably decreased recently. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

“...Then hold it.”

“...Huh?”

“Stop spouting nonsense and just hold my hand.”

And the reason behind that improvement — well, it hardly needed to be said aloud.

“You don’t have to be scared for me to hold it, right?”

“Ah... that’s true.”

“...You don’t want to?”

“N-No, not at all.”

Thus, the two of them held hands — and in the pitch-black darkness, both their faces flushed crimson.

“...Why are they flirting in our territory...”

“Shh, just pretend you didn’t see. That’s a walking disaster over there.”

Of course, for the local thugs who had unintentionally found themselves sharing the same back alley, it was all incomprehensible.

Still, perhaps because they were creatures who lived by sensing danger, none dared interfere with the pair’s quiet moment.

To the little rats of the back alley: if you value your lives, you’d better hide your killing intent.

In truth, it was less that they sensed the danger and more that Meredia had casually cast a magical whisper over the entire area, warning them.

“I really ought to just smash their heads in...”

Crackle...

“...No, nothing.”

***

How much time had passed since the two of them started walking hand in hand?

“So, where exactly are we going?”

“I’ve wandered through my fair share of back alleys, you know. But I have no idea where you’re leading me.”

Finally running out of patience, Meredia frowned and threw a question at Whitney, who had been silently walking beside her.

“Haha, we’re almost there.”

“Didn’t you say that five minutes ago?”

“This time I mean it. Let’s see, turn here...”

Smiling as he tried to soothe her, Whitney suddenly turned down a dead-end alley.

“What? This is a dead-end—”

“...Well? Wasn’t I right?”

Meredia, who had been about to scold Whitney in an annoyed tone, widened her eyes and stared ahead.

“For a back alley, the magic here is incredibly sophisticated.”

“Haha. Not everyone who walks the back alleys is a fool.”

Just as Whitney said, a high-level illusion spell was covering the wall blocking the end of the alley.

“But for such an elaborate spell, there’s no physical security measures. It’s purely for deception.”

“Recognizing the magic itself is the entry condition.”

Meredia tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled, and muttered internally as she watched Whitney casually walk straight into the wall.

“Huh?”

Following him carefully, Meredia felt her body sink into the wall like pudding — and found herself staring blankly at the scene before her.

“Welcome. You have just stepped into the greatest pleasure district of the back alleys.”

“......”

“This place only opens at night. Hahaha...”

The darkness that had covered the back alley until just moments ago was now replaced by bright lights — lampposts and neon signs blazing everywhere.

At first glance, it looked bright and cozy, but if one paid closer attention, they would immediately notice the darkness lurking beneath the brightness.

For example, shops with explicit paintings openly displayed on their fronts. Women dressed provocatively trying to lure customers outside those shops.

If not that, then gambling dens and bars plastered with playing cards.

‘Is there something about the back alleys I didn’t know?’

As she took in this shocking — or /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ perhaps indecent — scene, Meredia frowned and began muttering internally.

‘I never heard about a place like this from anyone.’

Despite her frequent wanderings and the terrifyingly competent informants under her command, this was genuinely her first time seeing such a place.

Which raised the question — how did Whitney know about this?

Could it be he was the kind of loafer who enjoyed these places?

If so, then all the sweet things he’d whispered to her before must have been learned here...

“My goodness, where am I even supposed to look?”

“......”

“Um, why are you looking at me like that? I really am here for the first time too, you know?”

For a brief moment, Meredia’s eyes flashed red in fury before returning to normal.

“...Well, you’re not lying.”

“Huh?”

“If you were, you would’ve died right here.”

Having impulsively used her mind-reading ability — which she could now only attempt about once a week due to the toll it took — Meredia let it slip away just like that.

“...What are you talking about?”

“Hmph.”

“......?”

Of course, from Meredia’s point of view, it was the optimal use of her abilities.

***

“Hey, you really are here for the first time, right?”

“...Hey now. I swear I am.”

“Then how do you know the layout so perfectly?”

Walking quickly through the pleasure district for fear of being late, Whitney answered with a wry smile at the Lady’s suspicious voice.

“I memorized the map.”

“What?”

“I could walk anywhere in the Empire with my eyes closed.”

As a veteran of the open-world game Blacktail Fantasy 3, memorizing the maps was a given.

Naturally, the structure of this pleasure district was fully engraved in his mind, and he knew exactly which areas were dangerous and which spot was his destination.

“...Seriously, what kind of guy are you...”

“Haha.”

Well, as long as Lady Meredia was with him as a bodyguard, there was no such thing as a truly dangerous place.

“Alright, we’ve arrived.”

“Huh? This is...”

Ironically, the destination was absolutely dangerous — even with Lady Meredia by his side.

「Pro Domina」

Seeing the name on the sign, Meredia’s stunned face suggested she was thinking the same thing.

“Is this... some kind of exclusive noblewomen’s bar?”

“...Yes, correct.”

“Hah, unbelievable. Where has the honor of the nobility gone? How vulgar...”

After hearing my explanation, Lady Meredia’s face turned completely red, and she spat out curses before turning back to glare at me.

“Then why, of all places, is this our destination?”

“Oh, that’s because—”

Of course, I had a perfectly clear reason ready for her.

“I’ll be infiltrating tonight as a host.”

“...What?”

“And you, Lady, will help keep the mood lively.”

It must have been a rather shocking statement for her to hear.

“...Why on earth...”

“...Because we need to catch the Emperor’s little nighttime escape.”

Sometimes, to hunt a haughty lioness, you have to be willing to risk your life.