A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 44: Caught Red-Handed

That thought suddenly crossed the man’s mind, but he immediately shook his head and pulled out a precious photo he always kept on him.

‘No... if I did that...’

Unlike his reckless, nothing-to-lose days of the past, he now had a family to feed and protect.

If he were to betray them now, it was clear as day what would happen to the smiling faces in that photo.

— Creak...

Clutching the photo tightly in those thoughts, the man hardened his expression in resolve.

‘Screw it. Let’s give it a shot.’

Come to think of it, while dangerous, this might actually be an opportunity.

All he had to do was put a drug in the food and make one knight fall asleep successfully. In return, he and his family would receive enough treasure to live for the next three years.

It wasn’t about hurting or destroying someone—just a childish prank by comparison. And considering he’d once done far riskier things like it was nothing, this offer was all too tempting.

"Ahem, hem. Excuse me?"

Having thus rationalized everything, the man stood before the target room, cleared his throat briefly, and then spoke in the most natural voice he could muster.

"I’ve brought your meal."

"..."

"Hello?"

But oddly enough, no response came from inside the room.

"Ah, is... is no one in there...?"

Slightly flustered by the unexpected situation, he carefully knocked on the door and asked again, but there wasn’t even the sound of footsteps from behind the tightly closed door.

"Ex-excuse me. I’ll be stepping in just for a moment."

"..."

"I-It’s just... the food will get cold. Hehe..."

Anxiously gritting his teeth, he finally began fumbling through his pocket for the emergency key he’d brought just in case.

— Creeeeak...

Just as his hand closed around the key, the door suddenly opened slightly without warning.

"Hoo. If you were in there, you should’ve said something..."

Letting out a sigh of relief, he grumbled softly and looked up—only to trail off mid-sentence.

"Haha, sorry about that."

"...Who are you?"

The one who poked their head out through the door wasn’t a holy knight in uniform, but a suspicious-looking young man.

"Di-Did I get the wrong room?"

"Ah, no, you’re at the right place. You can just hand the food to me..."

"But today, aside from the people from the Holy Kingdom, there shouldn't be anyone else in the inn..."

Blinking with a dazed expression at the young man holding out his hand, the innkeeper ignored him and glanced nervously past the door.

"...Ah."

And then he saw something that made him instantly regret his actions.

"Mm, mmph!"

"Stay still."

A holy knight—presumably the room’s actual occupant—was tightly bound like a chicken heading for market, wearing nothing but underclothes and writhing helplessly.

"I didn’t expect it to go sideways from the start..."

"No, it’s the perfect chance to practice disposing of evidence!"

"...Ugh."

In that moment, the man’s brain froze as he took in Bergen staring blankly out the window, Parsha excited and chattering to herself, and Hestia awkwardly struggling to put on what was clearly the ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) knight’s armor.

"Hey."

"Hah."

"Mind if we close the door now?"

Only then, upon hearing Whitney’s quiet voice from inside, did the man barely manage to regain his senses.

"Y-You don’t need to ask..."

Thankfully, having once lived in the underworld, he was quick on the uptake.

"Ma'am, I’ll have the carriage ready outside. And of course, I’ll never speak of what I’ve seen here..."

"...You won’t understand right now, but once you read the paper later, you’ll realize what all this was for. You won’t be harmed in any way."

He didn’t bother asking how he was supposed to understand the act of stripping a holy knight, tying them up, and holding a blade to their throat.

That’s because the gazes pouring in through the slightly opened door from Whitney’s group were chilling enough to silence any questions.

"Mm-mmph... Mmph..."

"A-Alright then. Hehe..."

And so, ignoring the desperate and hopeless eyes of the knight who had only just noticed him, the man forced an awkward smile and began backing away.

"Ah, wait."

"Hii—yes?!"

But when Whitney suddenly grabbed his arm, he almost screamed. Barely suppressing it, he asked in a quivering voice,

"W-What is it...?"

"Leave the food."

"Y-Yes, of course...!"

"Then, excuse us."

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Luckily, Whitney simply took the basket of food from his trembling hands and closed the door.

"...Haa, haa..."

As soon as the door shut, the man staggered backwards and leaned against the wall, panting heavily.

— Now then, Sir Knight. Could you open your mouth for a moment?

— T-The Goddess will never forgive...! Mmph...!

— There we go, now just sleep for a bit. Haha.

Hearing the unsettling voices leaking out from the room, he clapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide in fear.

— Lady Saint... Why would you be with such cruel...

— I-I’m sorry...!

— Aah... Ahh...

But then, silence. The knight’s final pitiful plea was abruptly cut off, followed by an eerie, bone-chilling quiet.

"Hiiik..."

Consumed by fear, the man bolted down the hallway like a bat out of hell, only to collapse in front of the stairs, legs giving out.

‘...What kind of terrifying mess have I gotten myself into?’

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

He would never have understood, no matter how hard he tried, but regardless, Whitney’s plan to awaken the Saint for the sake of world peace had just begun.

***

A few hours later. After-school time at the Academy, with all classes finished.

"Hooah..."

"Cecil, you got this!"

"You can do it!"

Cheered on by her friends, Cecil arrived in front of the waiting room where participants in the Prodigy Selection Tournament were gathering in advance.

"What do I do? I’m so nervous..."

Given her grades and skills, she had nothing to be ashamed of compared to the other participants.

Still, it wasn’t often that a first-year got the chance to compete in the tournament at all, so even though Cecil had been preparing herself for this day for quite a while, it was only natural for her to feel nervous.

“...Calm down. You can’t be like this already.”

But slapping both cheeks lightly to pull herself together, Cecil took a deep breath, then reached out with a serious look in her eyes and grabbed the doorknob.

“Alright, guys, I’ll go in now—”

She turned her head slightly to give a quick goodbye to the friends who had escorted her this far, but—

“...?”

For some reason, their gazes weren’t on her, but directed toward the far end of the hallway.

“...Ah, damn it.”

Following their line of sight, Cecil’s face immediately twisted into a scowl.

“Ahem, hem!”

“Oh my, now who could that be over there?”

At the front of the approaching noble entourage was none other than Adel, striding confidently toward her.

“I’m not sure. Can’t see clearly with all the commoners in the way.”

“Maybe she still doesn’t understand that hanging around commoners only hurts her noble standing? Fufu...”

“It’s starting again.”

Utterly fed up with the childish behavior that had been ongoing since the entrance ceremony, Cecil muttered coldly and turned to enter the waiting room before things got any more annoying—

“Ahem. Everyone, let’s refrain from reckless remarks.”

“...?”

“Such rude words only damage our own reputations.”

But at the sound of Adel’s rebuke from afar, Cecil paused and turned back with wide eyes.

“You over there, commoners... I mean, students. My apologies.”

“What...?”

“I offer my sincerest apologies for their rudeness. Please don’t take it to heart.”

Just a few days ago, Adel had seemed like the very embodiment of arrogance and disdain—yet now, she was grasping the sides of her skirt and bowing her head in apology. The bizarre sight played out right before Cecil’s eyes.

“Adel...?”

“W-What’s going on?”

Even Adel’s sycophants, who usually tried to curry favor, looked just as confused. But ignoring them, Adel raised her head and stepped forward.

“Cecil, I... may have gone a bit too far before, right?”

“W-What are you saying, all of a sudden?”

“From now on, how about the top two students try getting along?”

Coming right up to Cecil, Adel suddenly grabbed her hand. The words that followed cast a still silence over the entire space outside the waiting room.

“T-That’s fine, I guess...”

“Oh, I’m so glad. Fufu.”

“...No, seriously, what is with you all of a sudden?”

“By the way, I do have one little thing I’m curious about.”

Still holding her hand and smiling with crescent eyes, Adel paused to gauge Cecil’s reaction, then asked in a soft whisper,

“Are you close with your older brother?”

“Huh?”

“N-No big deal. It’s just a little thing...”

The moment Cecil narrowed her eyes in full suspicion, Adel began nervously fiddling with her index fingers and stammering her next words.

“I-I was just wondering if you know what his preferences or hobbies are. If you do, I’d love it if you could share them.”

“...Why?”

“A-A gift. I want to give him a gift. No hidden meaning! I’m just really grateful he saved me the other day...”

In that instant, the dormant instincts of a younger sister—ones she hadn’t felt since childhood—suddenly roared awake inside Cecil’s mind.

‘No way. It can’t be, right...?’

It wasn’t that she had suddenly rekindled familial affection for her brother. It was more like the deep, almost primal horror that all younger siblings feel when they realize someone is showing interest in their beast of a sibling.

‘...No way. Him? Of all people?’

In simple terms—it was the same visceral revulsion you’d feel if someone you knew wanted to be introduced to a lazy, belly-scratching animal masquerading as your brother.

“S-Sorry, but I’m not that close to him... I mean, my brother.”

“I-I see.”

“We haven’t really talked since we were kids. So... yeah.”

Cecil forced herself to suppress the wave of goosebumps crawling up her arms and tried to end the conversation while denying their sibling bond as much as possible.

“...That’s a bit disappointing, but it’s fine. He’ll be inside anyway.”

“......”

“Um, would you mind helping me out a little when I go to talk to him?”

Adel had turned her gaze to the waiting room and was twirling a strand of hair with a slight blush as she murmured.

“As far as I know, he got seriously hurt during the exam, so he gave up his judging position...”

“Ah.”

“And if that’s the case, wouldn’t going in to see him be a bit rude...?”

“Y-You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Finally, Cecil snapped, her patience worn thin, and said so coldly. Adel, with downcast eyes, shrunk back and muttered dejectedly.

‘I feel a little bad, but this works out better for me.’

Cecil cast a sideways glance while rubbing the goosebumps on her arm, then steeled herself and gripped the doorknob again.

‘Whatever shady plot she’s cooking up probably just hit a snag.’

“U-Um.”

‘At least now she won’t be able to interfere with the Prodigy Selection Tourna—’

“Let’s go in together!”

Adel suddenly raised her voice as she ran up to Cecil’s side, who had just begun to open the door, leaving her slightly stunned.

“I-I’ve been selected as an alternate candidate for the tournament!”

“...What did you say?”

“Look! It’s the letter from the board of directors I received this morning!”

Cecil blinked in surprise when she saw the official candidate stamp on the letter Adel held out—it looked exactly like the one she’d received a few days ago.

“But there was only one vacant slot, wasn’t there...?”

“...Maybe someone withdrew, and another spot opened up?”

“But being selected as a tournament candidate is such an honor. Who would ever give that up?”

Their back-and-forth lasted only a moment. Cecil decided to set her curiosity aside and pushed open the half-opened door to step inside.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out once we’re in there.”

Her desire to finally enter the room outweighed the small questions lingering in her mind.

***

“But... why is it so noisy inside...?”

Cecil, heart slightly fluttering with excitement at finally stepping into the waiting room as an official Prodigy Selection Tournament participant, was met with—

“What the...?”

—An unexpected scene that made her take an unconscious step back in disbelief.

“Cough, cough...”

A third-year student was collapsed on the floor, clutching his chest and gasping like he might die at any moment.

“W-What’s going on...?”

Eyes wide, Cecil instinctively took a step forward—only to freeze in place.

“......”

Right in front of that student stood Whitney, who was supposed to still be bedridden, wearing a chilling expression.

“P-Please... reconsider...”

“......”

“T-The selection tournament... I want to participate... Please don’t crush my hopes... Ugh.”

The student desperately tried to speak while sprawled at Whitney’s feet, but Whitney coldly stepped on his outstretched hand and replied in an icy voice,

“You, who couldn’t even land a single scratch on me—want to enter the tournament?”

“...Ugh.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for someone else to get that opportunity instead of you?”

The student gritted his teeth and glared up at Whitney, but eventually lowered his head in defeat.

“Everyone here, keep this quiet. Let’s not cause a scene. He’ll be withdrawn quietly.”

“......”

“For the smooth progression of the tournament—and for the sake of our lovely new addition, Lady Adel—I ask for your cooperation. Haha.”

With that, everyone in the room nodded pale-faced, not daring to breathe too loudly.

“Good, then... Ah.”

Just as Whitney turned with a satisfied smile, his gaze landed on Cecil, who was standing at the entrance in a daze.

“...Hey, Cecil.”

How much time had passed?

“This really is a misunderstanding.”

Whitney awkwardly lifted his foot from the student’s hand and tried to explain himself, but Cecil’s face was already dark as storm clouds.

“So that’s why Adel’s been acting weird...”

“...No, seriously, this one’s a misunderstanding.”

“This is the worst. Just die.”

To be fair, Whitney had only disqualified the student for colluding with black mages based on a confession from one of their captured operatives. But now, all that effort was backfiring in the worst possible way.