A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 176: Companion (4)

"What exactly did you just say?"

"..." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Um, excuse me. Hello?"

Startled for only a moment by the Death Knight's words, I quickly regained my composure and shot a question back at her instead.

"I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand what you just said—"

"Are you pretending not to know?"

But the look in the Death Knight’s eyes was so piercingly firm that it felt as if no excuse I could come up with would matter.

"Damaged soul? Is that even possible? I honestly don’t..."

"In the case of black mages, as they age, their souls begin to wear away. That’s the one and only, and also the greatest drawback of black magic."

Besides the gradual erosion of the soul, weren't there other well-known downsides to black magic, like increasing wickedness or the inability to use other types of magic?

Still, now wasn’t the time to argue with the Death Knight over magical theory, so I swallowed my doubts and continued defending myself.

"Well, if you say so, I suppose that’s how it is. But I’m not a black mage—I’m a white mage. So it wouldn’t make sense for my soul to be damaged, right?"

"And there's one other possibility. The technique used by the paladins of the Holy Knights—redirecting curses and damage meant for allies onto oneself, and sharing blessings that reside in one’s own body with comrades. If that’s what you used."

The moment those words left the Death Knight’s mouth, I fell silent.

"If it was that technique, even a white mage like you could have used it. Am I wrong?"

Why would a Death Knight, who’s fundamentally a black mage, know about paladin magic?

Then again, there's that old saying: Know your enemy if you want to win. She likely studied their techniques, especially if she'd clashed with paladins frequently in the past.

"Sure, that’s possible. But I’m not sure where you’re getting this theory that I used that ritual on my knight?"

Still, this raised a more fundamental question. Even if the Death Knight had such knowledge, how could she have seen through the exact nature of the ritual I performed on Lunelle?

"What I’m wondering is... why bring this up now?"

"..."

"I really don’t see your point."

When I pressed her, the Death Knight simply fell silent. At first, I thought she was just avoiding the question—but then she reached for the spear strapped to her waist and started stroking it threateningly.

"I'm not the type to overthink things."

"..."

"If you won’t talk, I’ll just smash your damn head in."

Aside from Lady Meredia, you’re the only person who’s ever said something like that to me.

Actually, come to think of it, it's true. When was the last time someone seriously threatened me like this? I do tend to do things that should get me threatened, so why does this feel so rare?

"Alright, alright. Got it."

Lost in such a pointless train of thought, I hurriedly opened my mouth when I noticed the Death Knight’s killing intent intensify as her hand gripped the spear’s hilt more tightly.

"My knight... well, her mana circuit was completely burned out. To fix it, I had to work not on her physical body where mana circuits usually form, but on her soul—like how it’s done with Elder Liches..."

"I already know that."

"What?"

But she cut me off with a shake of her head, clearly uninterested in that explanation.

"I know you had to inscribe a new mana circuit into her soul. What I want to know is—why did you take on more of the burden than even the knight herself?"

"..."

"She must’ve been little more than an empty shell at the time. A body like that could’ve been used however you wanted, no matter how badly it broke. So why do something so... pointless?"

Pointless? That’s harsh.

"Who do you take me for, someone who sees people as pawns or puppets?"

"...Aren’t you?"

I retorted in protest, but she only blinked, slightly bewildered by the question.

At this point, I was starting to fear how I must look in other people’s eyes.

"I don’t know what’s going on here, but since you’re curious, I’ll give you a proper answer."

Right now, the only way to calm this terrifyingly aggressive Death Knight was to answer her questions.

"I did it because I pitied her."

"...What?"

"I did it out of pity. And sympathy."

The moment I spoke honestly, the Death Knight’s expression blanked.

"Hah... haha..."

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

"Don’t give me that crap."

And just like that, she grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground, her expression twisted with fury—well, I assumed so. Hard to tell behind that mask.

"That kind of pain isn’t something you can endure out of mere pity."

"Excuse me?"

"The pain of having your flesh torn apart. The agony of being burned alive. The torment of every nerve in your body being shredded. All of that combined doesn’t compare to what you did."

Her words only deepened my confusion. She sounded like she had experienced that kind of pain herself.

"And you shared that kind of pain—at a higher ratio, no less—out of pity? Just pity?"

But her hostility left me no room to question further. One wrong word, and my head might literally fly off.

"No one could do that unless they were a saint. Not even a god. Actually... gods are the type who enjoy the suffering and bloodshed of their creations. No way you did that just because you felt sorry for her."

As she kept speaking, her voice began to tremble—not with anger, but with something else entirely.

Was this about more than just rage?

"What’s your angle? Were you planning some grand scheme? Did you share her pain to earn her absolute loyalty? So that if something ever happened, she’d be willing to give up even her life for you?"

"Ugh..."

"Tell me! That has to be it, right!? Right!?"

Before I could even respond, the Death Knight lifted me even higher by the collar. I was starting to lose air—if this kept up, I’d die even without getting my head bashed in.

"...Lunelle doesn’t know I shared the burden of the ritual."

"What?"

Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I forced the words out.

"And I’m not going to tell her. Ever."

"...Why?"

Thankfully, her grip loosened slightly, and my feet finally touched the ground again.

"Doing something kind while expecting something in return... that just feels a little selfish, don’t you think?"

I relished the cool air rushing into my lungs and picked up where I left off.

"At that point in time, just gaining a knight like her—one with that level of power—was already a huge source of strength and hope for me."

"..."

"That’s enough. She already pledged her loyalty. I had no reason to do all that just to manipulate her further."

And then... silence.

"That makes no sense..."

In that silence, the Death Knight stood frozen, murmuring to herself.

"Then what am I...?"

"..."

"What the hell was the point of my life up to now...?"

I couldn’t hear everything she was saying, but it was clear her voice and her eyes were trembling.

"Hey... are you okay?"

"...Ugh."

"Hello?"

I took a cautious step toward her, but the Death Knight, now pale as a ghost, instinctively stepped back to avoid me.

"Whoa. Did you already take her down?"

And then, an overly cheerful voice rang out behind me.

"That’s insane! I didn’t even hear you two fighting. What did you do?"

It was Ember, looking completely drained yet wide-eyed with surprise as she walked toward us.

"Hey, sorry, but could you not come any closer?"

"Huh?"

I held out a hand to stop her mid-step, plastering on the kindest smile I could manage.

"You smell."

"Gasp!"

"If it’s not too much trouble, could you stay a few feet back?"

Staggering at my words, Ember looked as though she’d just been stabbed.

"Are... are you serious?"

"I... I can’t believe this. Out of the top three things a woman never wants to hear from a guy, I just heard one... from my favorite person."

She muttered sadly, then scooped up some snow from the ground and began scrubbing her clothes with it, looking utterly defeated. Of course, what I’d said was a lie.

"Hey."

"..."

"Are you alright?"

The truth was, I just wanted to check on the Death Knight, who was now behaving strangely.

"..."

But she said nothing. It didn’t look like she was planning to speak again anytime soon.

"I have a lot of questions, but I’ll ask just one."

Despite that, I couldn’t help but ask her—just one.

"What’s your relationship with Lunelle?"

Judging by everything that had happened, the Death Knight definitely had some connection to Lunelle.

But it couldn’t be familial. I had already met her siblings, and her parents had nothing to do with black magic.

An acquaintance? But did Lunelle even have friends? And even if she had, they would’ve abandoned her long ago during her downfall.

No, it made no sense. Someone in a top-three leadership role in the Shadow Alliance being her friend?

Could she be Lunelle herself? No—that’s ridiculous. Lunelle was back at the mansion coordinating secret operations. If she were a black mage, I’d have noticed long ago...

"A remnant... left behind in the past."

"What?"

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I missed her quiet muttering.

"..."

But that was the last thing she said before she turned and began to walk away.

‘Damn it, I’m dying of curiosity.’

Should I have listened more carefully?

Or should I ask again now?

— KU-GU-GU-GUNG...!

But I never got the chance.

"Ah."

"...!"

Suddenly, the entire snowy mountain trembled, and a massive presence could be felt in the distance.

"Ah, crap! They found us!"

Ember, who had been lying on the ground moments before, jumped up and shouted in panic.

"Dragons are coming! And not just one!"

"...What? But how?"

"I don’t know «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» either!"

We’d used shadow corridors and even applied concealment magic before arriving—so how the hell...?

— KU-GU-GU-GU-GUNG...!

But there was no time left to unravel the mystery.

"Damn it! Run!"

And the moment those words were spoken, we all broke into a full sprint, racing for the thickly wooded forests of the snowy mountain.