A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 11: Parsha (2)

“If you’ve got something to say, don’t hold back. I told you—you’re free to speak your mind.”

Not missing the cue, Whitney spoke gently to her as she sat in front of his desk in his place. After a brief moment of hesitation, Parsha opened her mouth again.

“...In my opinion, we might be able to last about a year.”

“And why do you think that?”

Her eyes began to settle, calm and analytical.

“Lady Meredia’s engagement—it's official now, right?”

When Whitney smiled instead of replying, her face lit up with excitement as she continued.

“Lady Meredia’s engagement is a hot topic among nobles, of course, but I’ve also been keeping a close eye on it for fun. I even spent all the pocket money I got from Grandpa buying gossip magazines.”

“...So you read about the marriage rumors between me and her in those gossip magazines?”

“Yes. Of course, none of the credible journalists said anything definite. They only suggested Lady Meredia must be desperate enough to poke around the Count’s household, but I’m sure of it. Some kind of old-fashioned negotiation has already taken place between you two.”

She looked exactly like a model student answering a teacher’s question at school—clear and confident.

“And when I was checking all the estate records, I found something suspicious. Sure enough, there are records of sweets being sent out last year, but no matching receipts coming in.”

“Hm...”

“That kind of discrepancy lets you guess who might’ve visited the mansion that day.”

Finishing her deduction, Parsha sparkled with pride as she glanced at Whitney, fishing for praise.

“You’re going to make me the butler, right?”

But Whitney didn’t answer. Seeing the slight hesitation on his face, Parsha caught on right away.

“I do enjoy those gossip rags too, but...”

Whitney shook his head quietly in front of her and muttered softly.

“Did my name ever actually appear in them?”

“...!”

Parsha flinched. Whether Whitney noticed or not, he scratched his head nonchalantly, then looked at her again and spoke.

“Well, I’m sure everything Miss Parsha said is correct.”

Though he wore a smile, the atmosphere in the room had turned noticeably colder.

“Because I hold your insight in very high regard.”

The room temperature hadn’t actually dropped, of course, but to Parsha—still facing that brilliant smile—it felt that way.

“So then, if we really can buy about a year’s worth of time, as you say... what do you think?”

“Ah, yes!”

Snapped out of her frozen state by the gentle voice in front of her, she quickly collected herself.

“Will our family finances be stabilized?”

And at Whitney’s follow-up, she answered without hesitation.

“I’ll do my absolute best.”

“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

Only then did Whitney’s smile shift into one of satisfaction, and the frozen air in the room instantly returned to normal.

“Well then, I’ve got something to attend to, so I’ll excuse myself.”

As Parsha let out a small breath of relief, Whitney turned as if something had come to mind.

“Ah, I’ll be delegating full authority over the finances to you. No need to report back—go ahead and put your talent to good use.”

Just before leaving the room, he glanced back and added in a soft voice,

“I’ll be counting on you from now on, Chief Butler Parsha.”

As the door closed, silence filled the office.

‘No way...’

Parsha, still sitting dazedly in her seat, had a disbelieving look on her face.

‘He already saw right through everything.’

While her intelligence was unmatched even among the brightest minds in the Empire, Parsha’s true gift lay in her insight.

To put it more precisely, she consumed large amounts of mana to deduce the truth and conclusions of people or events—this was her true ability.

‘Did Grandpa pull strings in advance? No... he doesn’t know the full extent of my ability.’

It wasn’t something just anyone could do—Parsha had been born with a rare innate blessing. Only a tiny handful of people in the Empire had such a trait.

And those born with such blessings were known to be targets of intense interest from the Emperor himself—rumors about his relentless search were widespread.

That’s why Parsha kept her secret hidden, not wanting to draw the attention of someone she disliked.

Yet for some reason, Whitney seemed like he’d already figured it out within a day of meeting her.

‘To think you could infer all that from my small habits... I didn’t expect that.’

Parsha had always been the type to start from a conclusion and then retroactively fit the reasoning to match. It gave her the bad habit of being vague with the process.

Until now, everyone had focused on her conclusions and brushed off the half-explained reasoning. But it seemed Whitney had noticed the weakness in that pattern.

Not only that—he’d even gone so far as to directly praise her insight.

“...Haha.”

For the first time, Parsha trembled—not from fear or unease like most people did in Whitney’s presence, but from pure excitement.

‘He’s seriously incredible...’

And now, what had seemed like an incomprehensibly chaotic financial situation at the Ringaarden estate was finally starting to make sense.

‘All those scattered investments and inconsistent business ventures... they all have one thing in common.’

...Just how big is the picture he’s drawing?

As the realization struck her, the fire in Parsha’s eyes cooled into a curious gleam.

‘Will I be able to pull this off?’

If her guess was correct, then the picture Whitney was drawing didn’t end with the revival of House Ringaarden.

Once it was complete, it might shift the entire balance of the nation—perhaps even shake the very foundation of the Empire within a few years.

“No, even if I can’t... I have to.”

The tension in her face vanished. Her eyes grew sharp once more.

“You trusted me this much, even though I haven’t proven anything yet...”

Even if someone possesses great talent, in this world, it's nearly impossible to demonstrate that ability without noble status.

Parsha, well aware of this truth thanks to her grandfather’s example, clearly understood better than anyone just how extraordinary the treatment she was receiving was—especially given her age, background, and lack of formal experience.

“...More than anything, this is the kind of moment you only dream about, Parsha.”

But in truth, none of that really mattered to her.

Second-in-command to the Demon King? What could possibly be more meaningful than that?

That spine-chilling presence Whitney had revealed through his insight—what might terrify the average person—was, to someone like Parsha, whose emotions were unusually twisted compared to most, nothing short of a legend.

Alright then, shall I start with acquiring more shares of the Lebertane Mine?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

From that point on, what little remained of the Ringaarden estate’s budget began to be funneled entirely as fuel to serve the “picture” Whitney was drawing.

He trusted me and delegated full financial authority, so I don’t really need to report such trivial matters.

Of course, Whitney had never actually specified any such picture in concrete terms. Whether he knew what kind of fuel she was adding—or not—remained to be seen.

***

“Phew...”

Making my exit with the excuse of having other tasks, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh and lower my head.

I can’t believe my name is being passed around in gossip rags.

Honestly, I was so embarrassed I couldn’t even keep my expression in check in front of Parsha.

I’ve never been good with public attention. The feeling of suddenly becoming famous overnight was nothing short of disorienting.

Still, I’ve already decided to get on the same boat as Meredia, so there’s no turning back.

Maybe it’s fate. I’ll just have to accept it.

Now that I’ve left finances to Parsha, it feels like one less thing to worry about.

I had been concerned she might mishandle it, but with the time I’ve gained from the engagement with Meredia, it seems I can actually shift the balance.

That means all I can do now is place my complete trust in Parsha.

Someone like me—who’s never managed finances, never even made a proper investment—would only end up exposing my ignorance if I interfered. It might be better to leave it all to her.

Of ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) course, if Father knew about this, he’d probably flip. But since I’m the one cleaning up the mess he left behind as acting head of the house, I’ll have something to say in my defense.

Maybe I should just grab the ledgers and run away...

As I pulled out the documents with that absurd thought in mind, Alfred muttered something with a grim face—just as expected. But between the stress and the chaos Parsha had already stirred, I didn’t have the bandwidth to care.

She’ll handle it just fine, even without me worrying.

Honestly, I was a bit concerned since Alfred’s age made public-facing work a little difficult for him. But Parsha—who had once been pushed to the edge, excluded from succession, and yet managed to multiply her falling fortune many times over—was surely more than capable.

Come to think of it, how does someone that young have such incredible insight?

That thought suddenly reminded me of what I’d once read in a character profile I saw on the battlefield.

A cursed genius who became Meredia’s butler at a young age. Her insight is unmatched, but for some reason, she never brags about it.

Even in a reference book where most settings were explained in great detail, certain things—like Parsha—were left vague or abruptly cut off.

Things like Meredia’s gemstone eye, or the Emperor’s mysterious power—those were written just as ambiguously as Parsha’s case.

My personal guess was that those were teasers meant to be revealed in an upcoming DLC, written vaguely to avoid spoilers. Unfortunately, I died in my past life before the DLC announcement, so I can’t say for sure.

It leaves me with a bit of an unsettled feeling, but now’s not the time to dwell on it. I need to focus on the problem right in front of me.

The prince’s engagement ceremony... was it about a month away?

Thankfully, there’s still some time before my fate is sealed. I’ll take it slow, recover my strength, and then set off to find the final piece of the puzzle—Verdan.

If he gets involved, I might even secure the intelligence capabilities I need to handle the engagement scenario, making it surprisingly manageable.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

Somehow... I’m starting to feel confident again.

“Y-Young Master!”

“Hm?”

Just as I was strolling down the hallway, trying not to let it show, a startled voice called out behind me.

“A-A letter’s arrived!”

It was Sasha, trembling as she handed me a letter. She’d seemed to be in a good mood lately, especially with Parsha—someone her age—joining as the head butler. So what was wrong now?

“Sasha, there’s no need to bring letters to me directly. You can just leave them in my office—”

“I-I know that too... But this one has such an extravagant seal...”

That mystery didn’t last long. As I turned my eyes to the letter, I immediately understood her reaction.

Looks like the wedding invitation finally arrived.

What Sasha was holding was none other than an invitation sealed with the prince’s royal crest.

“Well, good work...”

I accepted it casually, having already steeled myself to attend the engagement ceremony thanks to my arrangement with Meredia.

“......”

But when I read what was written inside, my eyes shut tight against my will.

“Whitney Ringaarden. Just who are you, that Lady Meredia is so insistent on sending you an invitation?”

It wasn’t just the unexpected message from the prince hidden inside the invitation that caught me off guard.

“In any case, I’ll see you at the engagement ceremony—three days from now!”

Three days from now?

For some reason, the date was drastically sooner than I’d known it to be.

***

At that very moment, in the heart of the Imperial Capital, in the grandest yet most secretive place...

“Is this all the information?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Sitting upon the throne, the most powerful being in the Empire casually skimmed through the documents in her hands, her gaze dull and bored.

“The Shadows did their best, but... aside from the utterly disastrous financial state of the house, the records were shockingly ordinary...”

“As expected, I’ll have to see it with my own eyes.”

“Y-Your Majesty, you mean—?”

When she muttered that statement as if it were nothing, the face of the official kneeling before her twisted in shock.

“Inform the prince.”

Still not sparing a glance toward the trembling subordinate, her eyes fixed on the portrait atop the file—a young boy with squinting eyes—as she murmured once more.

“I’ll be attending this engagement ceremony personally.”