A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 158: Blackout and Concealment (2)

“Mmph, mmph...”

“...Haha, would you stop struggling already?”

“...Mmmph!”

“I said, stop that.”

Still gagged, the maid continued struggling, until she heard Whitney whisper softly in her ear—and slowly turned her eyes toward him.

“If you keep this up, it’s going to be troublesome for both of us.”

Only now, in the flickering light of the candle on the desk, did she notice the blood spattered across Whitney’s face.

That face—wearing a characteristically sinister smile—was enough to silence the maid completely, her body frozen by the shock of the situation.

— Tremble tremble...

But then, as fear finally caught up to her, her entire body began to tremble violently.

“Ah, is it uncomfortable with me still covering your mouth?”

“......”

“Alright then, I’m going to lower my hand now. But you need to promise me one thing.”

Whitney gazed calmly at her trembling form and once again whispered by her ear with a soft smile.

“Can you promise not to scream?”

“......”

“Again, if this gets ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) out, it’s not going to be good for either of us, right?”

After a few seconds of rolling her eyes around in panic, the maid finally gave a silent nod.

“Great, then...”

“...Mmmph.”

Just as Whitney lowered his hand—

“Eek!”

—she twisted free from his loosened grip and threw herself toward the desk.

To be exact, her hand flew toward the mana-charged pistol that had fallen beside the now-lifeless Duke Embergreen.

“...Hah!”

But before her fingers could even graze it, her body suddenly floated into the air.

“You really didn’t scream. Well done.”

“......!!!”

“But you shouldn’t go touching evidence like that.”

Only after realizing she was now airborne did the maid glance around in confusion and panic.

— Squelch...

Whitney’s right arm had stretched out like a massive tentacle and was coiled around her.

“You might’ve left fingerprints.”

“......”

“There should only be the Duke’s prints on that gun. If yours get on there, this gets complicated, doesn’t it?”

His tone made it obvious that he was being deliberately threatening, and the maid finally gave up, tightly shutting her eyes in resignation.

“...Ah!”

But a few seconds later, feeling her body flipped upside down, her eyes shot open in alarm.

“If you keep that up, this will get seriously bad for you.”

“Ah...”

Now realizing she was face down, right in front of Whitney, her expression paled even more.

“P-Please... spare me...”

“...Hmm. This is really strange.”

The expected plea escaped her lips, but Whitney’s expression remained cold.

“I don’t get why everyone says that to me.”

Wiping the blood from his face, Whitney offered a faint smile—yet he no longer looked anything like the gentle figure the maids had once gossiped about.

In fact, Whitney was doing his best to manage his expression to be as considerate as possible.

But even seasoned servants who had survived the Day of Purge struggled with the oppressive aura he emitted. For a newly arrived count’s daughter like her, resisting it was impossible.

— Shiver...

As a result, she kept her head bowed and shivered as if chilled to the bone.

“You alright?”

“......!!!”

“Well, I suppose anyone would be shaken after seeing something like that.”

Whitney lowered himself to meet her eye level and spoke gently, and the maid—violently shaking her head—forced a strained smile as she answered.

“I-I don’t... really understand what you’re talking about...”

“...Huh?”

“I-I didn’t... s-see... anything...”

Hearing her eerily familiar response, Whitney tilted his head curiously and muttered with a faint frown.

“She talks just like Sasha.”

“...Huh?”

“Oh, she’s my personal maid. She says the same sort of things all the time.”

The image of what kind of person might say those things frequently flashed through the maid’s mind and then vanished.

“R-Right...”

“Strange, isn’t it?”

“...Haha...”

In her mind now, Whitney was practically a sociopathic serial killer.

“B-But wouldn’t it cause more trouble if you killed me here?”

“...?”

“I-I mean, logically speaking... hiding two bodies is harder than hiding one, right?”

Desperate now, she tried to reason with him—her last chance for negotiation.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. Listen closely.”

Whitney sighed, looking slightly annoyed, and began to explain.

“The Duke lying over there? I didn’t kill him.”

“T-Then...?”

“Hard to believe, I know, but... the Duke aimed a gun at his own head and pulled the trigger.”

A moment of heavy silence followed.

“S-So that’s what happened...?”

“...You don’t seem very convinced.”

“N-No! I-I believe you!”

She forced an awkward smile and quickly agreed, then added desperately:

“T-There should be fingerprints! If the Duke’s prints are on the gun, that proves he did it, right? Haha...”

“Oh? You know about fingerprints?”

“Huh? W-Well, I’ve seen maids cleaning teacups and dishes every day...”

The moment she said that, Whitney’s expression darkened.

“Wait a minute—if this world already knows about fingerprints...”

He mumbled to himself, eyes narrowing, then quickly rushed to the desk.

“...W-Well, I should get going...”

Seizing the chance, the maid grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it—but stopped when she realized the door was locked from the inside.

“O-Oh... right...”

The guest room in the ducal house had a magical lock that could only be opened from the inside—with permission from the guest.

And with the Duke now dead, the only registered guest left in the room... was Whitney.

Whatever his reason for granting her access earlier, it no longer mattered. Without Whitney’s permission, she couldn’t leave.

“Of course this would happen...”

Whitney’s low voice crept up behind her.

“Excuse me, maid?”

“...Y-Yes?”

“Do you happen to know anything about magic that prevents fingerprints from forming?”

Hearing his sharp question, she hid her hands behind her back and spoke quickly:

“I-I don’t handle chores, so I’m not too sure, but... I do know that there’s a common spell used for cleaning...”

“...So it’s commercialized, huh?”

Upon hearing that, Whitney collapsed into the chair and cradled his head.

“Haha... fantastic.”

“......”

“Did he come here planning to do this all along?”

He muttered with a serious face, though the maid couldn’t understand a word of it.

There’s no way that greedy, stubborn old Duke shot himself.

Watching Whitney carefully, she curled into herself and began her own deductions.

Then... he really did shoot the Duke. But why? Did the Duke tell him to break up with Lady Meredia, and he snapped? Or maybe... he wants to marry into the house and take it over...?

As she drifted deeper into thought—

— Step... step...

Footsteps echoed just outside the guest room door.

— Hey, are you done in there?

“......!”

— Is something going on inside?

It was her fellow maid from earlier—having come to check on her after she never returned from delivering the drink.

— Creeeaak...

“W-Wait...!”

Just as the door began to creak open, she lunged forward and slammed it shut with a shout.

“D-Don’t come in right now!”

— Huh? What are you talking about?

“Uh, they’re having an important conversation! Come back in a bit!”

The door remained unlocked—clearly by Whitney’s design.

Whether he was trying to create an alibi or simply entertain himself, one thing was obvious: the man behind her wanted more victims.

— But you—

“I-I’m serving drinks! Just go back already!”

— O-Okay...

Not wanting her friend to become another victim, the maid tearfully sent her away.

“......”

A short silence followed.

“Well done. That bought us some ti—”

“Enough. Just lock the door already.”

Breathing heavily, her eyes filled with tears, the maid growled.

“...How do I do that?” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

— Clack!

“...Oh?”

Whitney tilted his head in surprise as the door locked with just a thought.

“Wow, magic really is amazing, isn’t it?”

But to her, even his surprise seemed like mockery now.

“S-Stop involving more people.”

“Huh?”

“O-One person’s already dead. Whatever it is you want to do... I should be enough.”

Her words, forced out with every last ounce of courage she had, made Whitney pause.

— Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, the door shook with pounding fists.

— Listen up, both of you inside.

At the sound of Meredia’s voice from outside, both Whitney and the maid’s expressions twisted.

— I don’t know what the hell is going on in there, but the Holy Theocracy has suddenly launched an audit against the ducal house. They have the Emperor’s approval and brought the First Holy Knights and even the Saintess.

With each word, the maid’s face turned whiter.

At this point, it wasn’t just Whitney—everyone in House Embergreen, perhaps even she herself, could become a target.

— If you heard that, wrap up your talk and come out. This is an emergency.

Leaving that, Meredia turned and walked away, her footsteps fading.

“......”

Silence settled once more.

“...The Saintess and the Holy Knights, huh.”

Still the only calm one in the room, Whitney lifted his head and smiled softly.

“Maid, could you help me out for a bit?”

“W-What...?”

Still trembling, she listened to his voice.

“It’s nothing major, really.”

Her eyes glazed over as she lost all will to resist.

“We’re going to hide the crime scene... from the ducal staff and the Holy Theocracy.”

“......”

“...You’ll help, right?”

His expression was too terrifying to refuse—and so, even in a trance, she nodded without realizing it.