A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 171: Preparations

“Wh-Who’s there?!”

“......”

“What the—?”

Adel, who had been sitting alone by the garden fountain, sensed a presence and stood up with an uneasy expression.

‘Did someone come looking for me?’

Well, it had been a while since she’d gotten separated from Cecil and the others.

If no one came to find her soon, she might actually start to feel a bit sulky.

In truth, even though she played it off, Adel had been glancing around for a while now, hoping someone would come find her.

‘Ugh, seriously. They’re so oblivious...’

Now that someone had finally come for her, Adel stood up slowly from the fountain, trying not to look too pleased, and began preparing to return to the mansion as if reluctantly giving in.

“...Hm?”

But then she tilted her head slightly, sensing something strange.

‘Wait, if it’s a person, there’s no way they’d be completely hidden by that bush, right?’

The bush rustling in front of her was only about knee-high—even by Adel’s standards, who had the petite figure of a typical noble young lady.

So if the source of that noise were human, they definitely wouldn't be hidden behind it.

Unless they were crawling on all fours? No, even lying flat, there was no way their whole body would be covered by it.

“...!”

A cold sweat trickled down Adel’s forehead as the realization hit her.

She’d heard a few of the ghost stories floating around the Empire recently—stories about the Ringaarden estate.

Of course, Adel had brushed them off as mere nonsense, but still... she couldn’t shake the creeping sense of fear.

— Crackle...

A spark of mana flickered from Adel’s hand as she stood frozen in front of the fountain.

She was preparing to summon a magical spear—just in case some one-eyed monster or giant spider with fifty-seven legs popped out, like in the rumors.

— Rustle...

Tension thickened in the air, and finally, something slowly emerged from the bush.

“Huh?”

Just as Adel was about to thrust her mana spear forward, her eyes widened.

“Meow.”

What popped out wasn’t some grotesque monster—it was an adorably tiny black kitten.

“Oh my...”

Though she usually maintained a dignified air befitting a noble daughter of a marquisate, Adel had a weakness for cute things like any ordinary girl.

“A cat...”

In fact, she’d always wanted a pet, but her father’s strictness had kept her from ever raising one. Her pent-up longing for cats was considerable.

“Is it the mansion’s cat? But why is it out here in the garden?”

“Meow?”

“Did it get lost or something?”

She looked around briefly, but upon confirming that no one else was nearby, she rushed toward the kitten and crouched down, reaching out her hand.

“Hehe...”

Just as she was about to stroke the kitten’s head—its big eyes full of curiosity, showing no fear—

“Miss Adel.”

“Eek?!”

A sudden voice whispered directly into her ear, catching her completely off guard.

“What are you doing over there?”

“Ah, uh...”

Whitney had appeared behind her at some point, accompanied by two maids, smiling gently as he spoke.

“I-I was just... uh...”

Flustered, Adel glanced at the kitten and extended her hand again.

“I was out for a little walk and, um... the cat...”

“...Please wait a moment, Miss Adel.”

Suddenly, Whitney’s voice turned serious, and he began speaking in a low, careful tone.

“Don’t move.”

“What?”

“Don’t turn your head. Just look at me. Keep your eyes on me, alright?”

Adel blinked in confusion at the strange request, and Whitney continued with a soft, coaxing tone.

“It’s not hard to do, is it? Right?”

“Y-Yes...”

She didn’t quite understand what was going on, but after thinking for a moment, she decided to just go along with it.

‘He’s looking straight at me...’

Besides, it wasn’t such a bad feeling—Whitney smiling at her and asking her to keep her eyes on him.

— Grrrr...

That was when the strange sound started to come from the kitten’s direction.

— Grrr... grrr...

“...?”

Adel almost turned her head instinctively at the noise but caught herself in time, glancing at Whitney instead.

“You’re doing great. Just don’t look back.”

Whitney still had that peaceful smile on his face.

But sweat began to bead again on Adel’s brow.

“H-Haha...”

“U-Ugh...”

The two maids standing beside Whitney were sweating profusely—almost as if it were pouring rain.

But the sweat wasn’t the only issue—their faces were twisted in fear, lips forced into awkward smiles, pale as ghosts.

It looked like they were forcing themselves to smile after seeing something... something that couldn’t possibly be of this world.

“M-Mister Whitney, what’s going on...?”

“......”

“...Whitney?”

Adel couldn’t take it anymore. She spoke up in a small voice.

“Miss Adel.”

Whitney looked down at her gently, then whispered with a slight smile.

“Would you mind closing your eyes for just a moment?”

There was something in Whitney’s voice that made it impossible to refuse.

So Adel obediently closed her eyes.

“......”

But unlike the poised young lady she often pretended to be, Adel was actually quite curious by nature.

So while keeping her eyes closed, she debated with herself—and finally, she made a decision.

She would try to be just a little more like Whitney.

“...Hmph.”

Taking a shallow breath, she peeked through her lashes.

“...?”

She nearly gasped aloud at what she saw.

— Crackle...

Whitney’s left arm was stained black, and something like dark smoke was being absorbed into it.

The black smoke—it was coming from behind her.

“...Hhk.”

She stared blankly at the scene, then quickly shut her eyes again when Whitney’s gaze met hers.

“......”

How much time passed?

“You can open your eyes now, Miss Adel.”

“...Ah, yes.”

Adel opened her eyes and slowly turned her head toward where the kitten had been.

— Sssss...

There was nothing there now—just black smoke dissipating into the air.

“Um... There was a cat here just a moment ago...”

“Was there? I didn’t see anything.”

Whitney tilted his head, glancing at the maids as if confused.

“R-Really? Haha...”

“W-Was something there?”

The maids answered in unison with awkward, strained smiles.

Though sweat still glistened clearly on their foreheads, the fading light made it difficult for Adel to notice.

“What...?”

“By the way, Miss Adel, I’d like to have a word with you.”

“Huh?”

Still confused, Adel perked up at Whitney’s words.

“Would you mind speaking with me in my room for a moment?”

“Ah! Yes, of course!”

In her flustered state, the image of the black kitten faded completely from her mind.

“Uh, wait—let me just fix my makeup... or maybe wash up a little...”

“There’s no need for that.”

“...Ah, right. My apologies. Then, let’s go.”

But for the two maids standing on either side of Whitney, the memory of what had been behind Adel would never fade.

“...Hey, Sheryl. That thing from earlier...”

“Shh. Enough.”

At least in their eyes, what they’d seen wasn’t a cute black kitten.

“B-But shouldn’t we report that to the Holy Nation or something...?”

“...Didn’t you know? Sasha said even the Saintess is on the young master’s side.”

“Oh...”

But one thing was certain: whatever that thing was—it had opened its mouth wide toward Adel, wearing a grotesque, nightmarish grin.

***

The Next Morning, Ringaarden Estate

“W-Well, it wasn’t as bad as I expected...”

“Y-Yeah...”

The children gathered in the first-floor lobby after surviving a night at the Ringaarden estate—glancing around nervously as they chatted.

“I-I think I heard someone sobbing in the hallway last night...”

“I swear I saw something outside the window...”

“Wait... weren’t you sleeping on the third floor?”

“...Huh?”

Just as the atmosphere was beginning to grow tense ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) again, a presence appeared at the end of the hallway.

“...!”

Of course, it was natural to feel someone’s presence in a house where people lived.

But the eerie rumors about the Ringaarden estate and Adel’s supposed “disappearance” had left the children on edge all night.

“Lalalala~”

What appeared before the spooked children... was none other than Princess Katarina.

“Eek!”

Her hair was down, and she was even wearing a dress. Humming cheerfully, she quickly ducked behind a column when she noticed the children.

“......”

A strange tension settled between the kids and the disguised princess.

— Step, step...

Just then, more footsteps approached from behind.

“Ahem! Attention, everyone!”

“......”

Thankfully, this time it was Adel and Cecil who appeared before the group.

“We’re looking for volunteers to visit the Mage Tower today!”

“M-Mage Tower?!”

“Yes! I got special permission from my father!”

The children, moments ago frozen with fear, now lit up with excitement.

The Mage Tower wasn’t a place just anyone could enter. Only the most promising of the promising were granted access to even a limited part of it.

So a tour? For kids without noble connections like Cecil’s friends, it was a rare opportunity.

“Fufu, you should be grateful! This is a chance you commoners would never normally have—” 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“Uh, excuse me...”

“Hm?”

As Adel was proudly boasting, someone interrupted.

“Um, hello...”

The girl who had hidden behind the pillar earlier poked her head out and greeted them.

“I was told to join the tour as well...”

“Who’s she?”

“Um, I, I’m...”

The girl fumbled her words, flustered by the awkward attention.

“She’s my cousin,” Whitney interjected smoothly from behind.

“She’s a bit of a homebody, so I thought this would be a good chance for her to explore the outside world a bit.”

“Y-Yes, that’s right.”

“Well then, I’ll be counting on all of you to look after her.”

Most of the children accepted the explanation without much thought.

But Cecil and Adel both looked less than convinced.

“Haha...”

“......”

Because both Cecil and Adel had realized something during their conversation with Whitney the night before—

“W-Well then, please take care of me...”

That the stammering girl now standing in front of them was none other than Katarina Winter Clouds, the First Imperial Princess... and the prince who had gone “missing.”