A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 173: Companion

‘Why is this glowing?’

The object in my hand was a pendant-type magical device, obtained from Adel back when I’d participated as a supervisor during the academy exam.

Originally, I’d planned to use this pendant—linked to cheating—to blackmail or sway the Tower Lord. But the timing hadn’t worked out, and so it had sat unused... until now.

After last night’s conversation with Adel, the pendant crossed my mind again. When I checked it, for some reason, it was pulsing with a dark glow.

‘Is it going to explode?’

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought—but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

There was definitely an ominous black magic reaction, but the signal itself was steady.

Which somehow made it worse. Why now? Why was it emitting a consistent signal at this moment?

‘Did something activate it?’

I frowned in quiet confusion, instinctively sensing something was off.

‘Wait... hold on.’

Of course. The energy emanating from this pendant was unmistakably black magic.

So why the hell did I only realize this now?

I’m a white mage—hypersensitive even to traces of black magic. I should’ve noticed it the moment I touched it.

— Hummmm...

Still frowning, I reached out toward the pendant again.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“......”

“W-Wait—!”

It was at that exact moment that Amber, standing beside me, widened her eyes in alarm.

“Are you crazy?! Why do you have that?!”

“...Sorry?”

“No—if you had that this whole time, you should’ve said something!!!”

Why was she freaking out? It wasn’t like this pendant was a hidden cheat item or a limited-edition artifact or anything...

“Where did you get that? Wait—wrong question. Who originally owned it?”

“...It’s mine now, but—”

“Yeah, I figured. I mean before you got it.”

I wanted to tell her to stop being dramatic, but given our current alliance, it was better to stay on her good side.

“It originally belonged to Lady Adel.”

“...Oh my god.”

The moment I shared the information, Amber’s expression froze as she muttered.

“No wonder she seemed so unfazed...”

“...Pardon?”

“She must’ve trusted you completely. That’s why she didn’t react.”

What in the world was she even talking about? This entire operation was full of uncertainties—I was barely keeping things together.

“I’m sorry, but... what exactly do you mean?”

“Huh? That pendant is basically a god-tier item.”

“I know it has some mana amplification functions—”

“No, that’s just one of its features.”

I blinked. Her tone was exasperated—as if I was missing the obvious.

“That’s just the surface. The real kicker? It’s a failsafe control tool.”

“...What?”

“Yeah. It’s a Collar of Dominion. Meant for high-level demons that can’t be tamed by normal means.”

...What?

“So the Tower Lord... put something like that on her own daughter?”

***

“There are tons of uses for that pendant. You can monitor the wearer, listen in on conversations, and if you channel black mana into it, it functions like a slave mark—you can control them remotely.”

I was too stunned to speak, but Amber didn’t even pause.

“But the best part? It has a one-time reverse summon function.”

“Reverse summon...?”

“Yep. If someone’s been registered to the pendant once, you can cast a spell to summon them back—from anywhere. Now, stop playing dumb.”

She gave me a slightly hurt look.

“Basically, you can teleport them to yourself no matter where they are in the world.”

“......”

“You’re not fooling me. You planned that insane operation because you knew all this, didn’t you?”

When I remained silent, Amber started watching me openly, probing for a reaction.

“...How do you know all this?”

“Ahaha! Who knows? Why do I know?”

She deflected with a mischievous smile, unwilling to explain further.

Of course, she couldn’t say that in the game, she had obsessed over Whitney’s character and spent hours trying to use the pendant on him.

“But, uh, why’d you activate it now?”

“...Activate?”

“You just pumped black mana into it, didn’t you? That means... you’re planning to use it?”

Trying to steer the conversation away, Amber moved to something she was genuinely curious about.

“I mean, once it’s registered, the master-slave link stays intact even if it’s removed. It’s completely busted.”

“......” 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

“But like, there’s no reason to use it on Adel now, right? They’re not even at the Mage Tower yet—they just left.”

As her confusion mounted, she trailed off—then blinked as a thought occurred to her.

“...Wait. Don’t tell me...”

She looked me over, hesitant.

“Were you planning to use it on me?”

“......”

“W-Wait, I’m not mentally prepared for that yet! Hehe...”

She said it jokingly—but I didn’t answer. I just kept looking at her.

“L-Look, you are my favorite, but... if I wear that thing, I’m like... 100% guaranteed to be discarded like a tool, right?”

For the record, Whitney’s silent, unreadable stare is terrifying to everyone except himself.

“...What are you implying?”

“W-Well. I mean, come on. You’re Whitney Ringaarden—the Great Schemer, right?”

As I whispered that question, Amber flinched and began rambling nervously.

“A-Are you going to overpower me and force it on me? Is that why you sent your sister and the students away?”

“......”

“W-Was this all part of the plan?!”

Her wild speculation seemed to spiral as I opened my mouth—then thought better of it, remaining silent.

“Y-You know, I’m actually pretty strong now! Since coming to this world, I’ve done all kinds of crazy stuff! I even soloed a bunch of demon king candidates who were supposed to be multi-chapter bosses!”

“......”

“And I’ve collected hidden pieces and bonus perks too! Even you’d struggle in a one-on-one fight—just a little!”

At this point, she was still holding onto a shred of confidence.

“Ringaarden Knights, ready for deployment, Master.”

“...What?”

“Awaiting your command.”

Unfortunately, that was when Lunelle arrived—accompanied by the newly formed Ringaarden Knight Order—positioned directly behind Amber.

“...Ah. Aha...”

Her confidence shattered instantly.

Eyes darting wildly, Amber began talking a mile a minute.

“I-I like romantic fantasy plots and all, but I’m not really into the tragic subgenre, you know? Especially not the ones with you in them. It’s like, five years locked in a basement kind of vibe...”

She was panicking now. Her tone, normally light, had become completely disjointed.

“Miss Amber.”

“...Y-Yes?”

“I’ve thought this for a while now, but—you talk a lot.”

Whitney’s voice was cold as he looked her dead in the eyes.

“I-It’s not usually this bad! But you were just standing there, staring at me silently, so I started babbling... kind of like now. Hahaha...”

The air went frigid. Amber looked around frantically, trying to hide the goosebumps on her arms.

“Y-You’re gonna put it on me, aren’t you...?”

She asked in a tiny voice, wiping sweat from her brow.

“I-I’ll resist, okay? But if I lose... please, at least let me keep my personality? I’ve come too far to be reduced to a mindless puppet...”

Still, Whitney said nothing.

“Y-You didn’t already know what I’ve been doing, right...?”

Amber’s voice had begun to shake.

“You just let me do it all—waited for me to clean everything up on my own—and then timed this perfectly to... turn me into your puppet... damn, that’s cold...”

“...Ringaarden Knights.”

Finally breaking eye contact with Amber, Whitney turned toward Lunelle.

“Prepare to move on the Mage Tower. The signal will come from Cecil, as previously discussed.”

“...Understood.”

Lunelle saluted immediately, face sharp with focus.

“And though I hope Plan A succeeds... if the signal does come—”

“......”

“Your first priority is to rescue my sister. No matter what it takes.”

Her expression hardened further.

“I’m repeating myself. That comes before Plan B. Do not forget it.”

“...Yes, sir.”

Amber watched in silence. She looked like she wanted to object—but ultimately said nothing. Bowing slightly to Whitney, she followed the knights and disappeared to the rear.

“Well then... shall we get going too?”

“...Huh? Wait, what?”

Whitney smiled at last, turning his gaze back to Amber.

“T-The pendant... you’re not putting it on?”

She glanced nervously at the magical item in his ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) hand.

His lips curled.

“Hmm... who knows?”

A teasing note in his voice.

“You’re already listening so well. No need to force it.”

Amber felt a flicker of relief—only to shudder at his final whisper.

“...For now.”

And in that moment, the realization struck her:

I might have made the biggest mistake of my life choosing this man as my favorite.

“H-Haha...”

But by now, she was far too entangled with Whitney Ringaarden to back out.