A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 73: The Lady’s Hobby

Thankfully, Meredia, whose eyes had glinted with a cold, sharp light, quickly realized the figure in front of her wasn’t an enemy. With a casual wave of her hand, she dispelled the aura.

“R-Right away!”

Meredia had always been a bit hysterical, but lately, she’d begun showing a new kind of spine-chilling behavior to her staff.

She would space out in the middle of work, stare into the distance lost in thought, or suddenly blush and mumble to herself.

Or worse—start asking her maids, whom she had never once spoken to about personal matters, all sorts of nosy questions about their love lives.

‘...It’s definitely because of him.'

Though theories varied wildly among the servants, Clara—Meredia’s veteran maid who had served her for years—had a sharp instinct that pointed to one person.

Whitney Ringaarden. It had to be him who changed her.

Clara had personally witnessed Meredia’s suspicious questions and flushed earlobes that night after returning from the imperial summons regarding the merit awards.

At first, she had thought Meredia was just in a foul mood. But considering the avalanche of rumors and the romantic confession incident during the Prodigy Selection Tournament... everything pointed to one conclusion.

According to Clara, an expert in romance novels, this could only mean one thing: that even the terrifying Lady Meredia had finally entered the season of love.

‘...Though no one but me believes it.’

Of course, those who were even remotely close to Meredia didn’t buy it at all.

Outsiders loved to gossip, spinning the story of a fiery romance between the ducal heir and the count’s son, but those who knew how Meredia dealt with people who approached her with ulterior motives—and how utterly cold she could be—couldn’t imagine her in love.

To them, Whitney was nothing more than a political ally—someone with whom Meredia had formed a calculated contract.

‘But I’ve been by her side since childhood. I know the difference.’

Clara was one of the few who had entered the Embergreen household when Meredia was still a child. She had seen her grow up, and she could tell when something was different.

“Mmm...”

‘...There it is. That face!’

Like now, for example. Meredia was gently toying with her pet bird, a perfectly timed arrival.

A platinum canary with feathers that matched the color of Meredia’s hair—the only creature she’d ever shown affection to since childhood.

Whenever she touched the canary, her expression would always go soft, a little dazed—completely unlike her usual self.

Which is how Clara realized: the dazed look her lady often wore lately was the same one she had when thinking of someone dear.

‘If only she’d open up to me... I’d help her with everything...’

But even though she noticed it, there wasn’t much Clara could do.

Meredia was deeply guarded and rarely interacted with the servants outside of work.

Even Clara, her personal maid, couldn’t just blurt out that she wanted to give her romantic advice. That would take a level of courage she simply didn’t have.

“Well then, my lady, I’ll be on my wa—”

Just as Clara sighed inwardly and began to leave the study with a hint of regret—

“...You there.”

“Yes?”

“Sit for a moment.”

Meredia, suddenly raising her head, stopped her.

“It’s nothing much. I just want to ask you something.”

“P-Please, anything at all!”

Though briefly stunned by the unprecedented situation, Clara quickly sat down and listened intently, eager to answer.

“I heard you’re engaged with marriage in mind.”

“Y-Yes! That’s right!”

“Then... have you ever dated that fiancé?”

And, just as Clara expected—and yet far beyond what she imagined—Meredia dropped a bomb of a question.

“...Uh, well.”

Though Clara now served Meredia, she was still a noblewoman.

And for most noble ladies in the Empire, romance was a distant dream. Their marriages were arranged political matches.

“O-Of course! My lady, when it comes to things like that, I consider myself something of an expert!”

Naturally, Clara had no such experience—but before she realized it, she was lying straight to her mistress's face.

“...Hmm.”

“I-If you’re troubled by something... I could listen, you know...”

The idea of hearing Meredia’s romantic woes—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—briefly overrode the fear of being punished for lying.

“......”

“I-I ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) apologize if I’ve overstepped—”

“So, this is just a purely hypothetical question.”

Fortunately for Clara, Meredia didn’t press the truth and instead turned her gaze aside, voice a bit awkward.

“...If during a relationship you feel like you're being led around too easily... what should you do?”

“Ghk! Cough, cough...”

Clara immediately stifled a laugh, choking on surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-No, I just suddenly choked a little...”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

There was no way she could admit that she never expected such a classic teenage-girl-type worry to come out of Meredia’s mouth.

“My lady, do you know what the most important thing is when dating someone?”

“...What is it?”

Still holding back a grin, Clara composed herself, then offered advice with a serious face.

“It’s all about... push and pull.”

“Push and pull?”

“Yes! It’s the ultimate technique for wrapping a man around your finger!”

“...Explain that in a bit more detail.”

“Of course, my lady! Gladly!”

Though Meredia had initially looked unimpressed, she gradually began to pay attention, swayed by Clara’s brimming confidence.

“The key lies in subtle psychological warfare. It’s a kind of strategic mind game to establish dominance in the relationship.”

“...That doesn’t sound very clear.”

“Then let me give you an example. Let’s say the person in question is your fiancé, Sir Whitney...”

“Why him of all people?”

“I-It’s just... awkward to use someone else as an example, right?”

“...Fair point. Go on.”

Though she had briefly misstepped and agitated Meredia, Clara’s advice flowed naturally without further interruptions.

“If Sir Whitney suddenly sent a letter today asking you to join him for dinner, what would you do?”

“...That’s insolent. Rude, even.”

“R-Right! So what would you do in response?”

After mulling over the question with her arms folded, Meredia answered quietly.

“I’d go confront him directly.”

“...Pardon?”

“I’d meet him in person, scold him for the rudeness, and make him apologize.”

Clara blinked in stunned silence, then hesitantly asked in a low voice:

“...And the dinner?”

“The dinner... I’d still have it.”

“......”

“Regardless of his rudeness, he prepared it for me. It wouldn’t be right to leave without eating.”

The look on Meredia’s face as she said that appeared—at least to Clara—oddly innocent, completely unlike her usual demeanor.

“My lady! If you respond like that, you’ll never gain the upper hand!”

“Then what should I do?”

“You have to ignore him! That’s the ‘push’ part of push-and-pull!”

Startled by Clara’s sudden fervor, Meredia paused and opened her mouth again.

“But what if that ends up hurting his feelings?”

“...Oh no. You’ve really got it bad.”

“What did you say?”

“N-Nothing. And that’s why you need the ‘pull’ part too.”

Clara explained gently, and Meredia now listened with a remarkably serious expression.

“For example, after ignoring his invitations for about a week, you suddenly invite him to dinner yourself.”

“Hm...”

“Then Sir Whitney, anxious and wondering what he did wrong, would immediately accept your invitation, no doubt.”

“He probably would...”

“Then all you need to do is treat him a bit kindly at that point. By leveraging that emotional shift, you naturally gain control in the relationship.”

Clara, of course, had never had a one-on-one dinner with her own fiancé, let alone engaged in push-and-pull tactics. But to Meredia, it all sounded surprisingly logical.

“In some relationships where one side clearly dominates, it doesn’t work as well—but you and Sir Whitney are equals, right?”

“...I said this was just a hypothetical. Using Whitney as an example was purely theoretical.”

“Y-Yes. I apologize...”

“...Still. That was pretty good advice.”

As Meredia gave a little nod and feigned aloofness, Clara glanced sideways at her and pinched her thigh to stifle a grin.

‘So the lady is human after all...’

For someone like Clara, who spent her days tensely attending to Meredia, seeing this sharp-tongued noblewoman so flustered over a man was downright refreshing.

In fact, it warmed Clara to her so much, she was starting to feel a genuine sense of closeness.

“Please feel free to ask again anytime, my lady.”

“Hehe, thank you...”

Clara was still smiling dumbly when Meredia, now back to her usual composed self, gave her a polite nod.

—Caw!

“Eep!”

Suddenly, something flapped against the window and startled Clara out of her thoughts.

“Is that... your bird, my lady?”

“I’ve never owned such a stupid-looking crow.”

“S-Should I chase it off, then?”

“Suit yourself.”

Realizing it was just a dopey-looking crow, Clara headed to the window to shoo it away—

“Uh... my lady, I think this is a messenger bird?”

“...What?”

“There’s a, um, a letter tied to its leg...”

Clara’s eyes widened when she spotted a note strapped to the bird’s leg.

“Oh my, it’s a letter from Sir Whitney! It has the Ringaarden seal!”

“...Bring it here.”

As Clara raised her voice in excitement, Meredia—who had been silently watching—spoke calmly.

“My lady, remember! Push-and-pull!”

“......”

“This is the perfect opportunity to use it in practice!”

Clara hurried to untie the letter and handed it to Meredia, her eyes sparkling.

“...I need to get ready to go out.”

“...Excuse me?”

Meredia stood abruptly and murmured to herself, catching Clara completely off guard.

“My fiancé says he has a place he wants to go with me.”

“B-But the push-and-pull...?”

Clara scrambled to remind her of her own advice, but Meredia had already stepped out the door.

“...I’ll handle it myself.”

With that, the study door quietly clicked shut.

“...Haah.”

Left standing there, Clara stared blankly for a moment, then turned to the window with a deflated sigh.

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

“Must be nice...”

Meredia’s beloved platinum canary had flown in and was now curiously tilting its head beside the clueless crow.

“...Even the birds are flirting now.”

The scene was a perfect miniature of her current reality.

***

“...Push and pull, huh.”

At the same time, as Clara stared with dead eyes at the canary and crow flirting on the windowsill—

“Yes... that was decent advice.”

Meredia, now walking quietly down the corridor outside her study, muttered to herself coldly as she pulled out a magically sealed dossier.

“Requested file on Tiffany Astellade, leader of Lumen Ordo.”

The document contained dozens of explosive, politically dangerous revelations. But what caught Meredia’s attention was only the final line.

“...Lastly, though likely insignificant, it’s noted that she was once childhood friends with your fiancé, Sir Whitney.”

“...Especially useful advice, in this situation.”

Had Clara seen the look on Meredia’s face just then, the newfound warmth she’d felt would’ve melted away instantly.