A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 84: Circumstances

Seeing her lower lip trembling ever so slightly, it was obvious that Meredia was fully aware of the curse afflicting her.

“No matter what else, there's no way you of all people could’ve made a mistake, Tiffany.”

“Huh?”

“You can distinguish most curses just from a glance, can’t you?”

And more than anything, the idea of Tiffany misidentifying a curse was nearly impossible.

In-game, her curse detection ability had a 100% accuracy rate. Unless there was a bug, her assessments were never wrong.

“Maybe to the Guardian of Radiance it’s unclear, but from what I see, it’s still uncertain. There are quite a few curses with that kind of sigil...”

“Y-Yes, indeed. There’s a saying on the Eastern Continent—‘Even a monkey falls from a tree.’ So let’s not jump to conclusions...”

Salem and Baek Yeon-hwa, who had been sitting quietly until now, joined the conversation with calm voices, but even they couldn't fully conceal their expressions.

“This is... tragic.”

“S-Sis, that mark is...”

“...Shh.”

Astrea, the South Continent branch head, now looked at Meredia with a gaze full of pity, while the siblings Aurora and Celeste couldn’t even meet her eyes.

“...Yeah, that’s right.”

In the increasingly grim atmosphere, Meredia’s unusually calm voice rang out.

“I always knew it would come to light eventually. I just didn’t expect it like this.”

“......”

“The curse afflicting me is a terminal curse. Among all existing curses, it’s on par with the Curse of Midnight and the Demonification Curse—one of the absolute worst.”

I had already vaguely suspected it, but hearing it confirmed from Meredia herself was like having needles driven into my chest.

“The Curse of Midnight... was developed by the Dragon Lord of the Second Hero Party. The Demonification Curse is a relic of the ancient evil god, the Demon King.”

“......”

“And the terminal curse... was developed only recently.”

Seeing the look on my face, Tiffany hesitated for a moment beside me, then launched into an explanation I hadn’t asked for.

“Who developed it?”

“...T-The head of the black mages. A curse that seems to be the exclusive work of the one they call the Great Shadow.”

Though she kept glancing nervously between me and Meredia as she spoke, I had no mental bandwidth to spare for sympathy.

“Haa...”

Thanks to the original game, I’d long known that Princess Meredia was afflicted with a fatal curse.

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But I’d assumed it was some sort of control curse, one that forced behavior or loyalty through pain.

Was this the real reason she moved so desperately in the original storyline?

Whatever the case, for someone like me—who had once been waiting to die from an incurable illness—this situation felt utterly horrifying.

“Then...”

“You want to know how long I have left?”

Because I couldn’t bring myself to say it aloud, Meredia picked up where I left off, gazing at me steadily.

“Probably about a year now.”

“......”

“Still... Ha. Never mind.”

She started to add something more, then pressed her hand to her forehead and turned her pale face away, trying to mask her expression.

“I need to get some air.”

A moment later, the princess quietly turned and began walking out of the conference room.

“Wait...”

“Don’t follow me.”

I instinctively tried to go after her, but her weary voice—spoken without looking back—froze me in place.

“I want to be alone right now.”

And with those parting words, Princess Meredia disappeared beyond the doors of the conference room.

“Tiffany. About this terminal curse...”

“......”

“...Is there no way to break it?”

I stood there like a statue for quite a while before finally pulling myself together and asking Tiffany, who had been nervously lingering nearby.

“For things like the Curse of Midnight or the Demonification Curse... they've been around so long that we’ve come up with a few methods to resolve them.”

“......”

“Even the curses regarded as incurable, like the Curse of Misfortune or the Curse of Subjugation, were eventually broken thanks to the efforts of the Second Hero Party.”

As expected of the head of Lumen Ordo, she rattled off information about curses I had long believed to be incurable with practiced ease.

“I’m asking about the terminal curse.”

“Ah, right.”

But the information I actually needed had been conspicuously absent, so I reminded her. Her expression darkened further.

“The terminal curse...”

“It’s okay. Just say it.”

“...There is no known method to break it. No mitigation methods either.”

And with that final answer, my own face inevitably darkened as well.

“If we research it... we could develop a cure, right?”

This was Lumen Ordo, after all—the holy land of white magic.

Even if they weren’t true white mages, these people were still the foremost experts in nullifying and defending against black magic.

Just like with other curses I’d thought incurable, perhaps the terminal curse could be overcome through research.

“...We’re already researching it.”

“But one year won’t be enough...”

So I thought—but the hesitant response from Aurora and Celeste behind me shattered that hope into pieces once again.

“The curses used by the leader of the black mages are fundamentally different in structure from those traditionally used by black mages...”

“It’ll take at least three more years at minimum...”

“Then there’s no way?”

“......”

“Seriously?”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

But rather than blaming them, what surfaced most in my mind was a question I couldn’t understand.

“Then... how was I able to weaken Her Grace’s curse?”

“What?”

The moment I brought up that doubt, Tiffany’s uncovered eye widened in shock.

“I’ve weakened the curse that appeared on the back of Her Grace’s hand. I’m certain of it.”

“......!”

“Maybe I’m the key to breaking her curse. If we research that possibility...”

Regaining some strength from her reaction, I spoke again, suppressing any hint of a smile as I voiced my theory.

“There’s one thing that must be clarified.”

That’s when the Elder Council Chair, Salem—who had been quietly listening—suddenly cut in.

“Your current power is a mix of white magic and the power of dominion.”

“Yes, I’m aware. You’ve mentioned it before.”

“The problem is that we don’t yet know which of those powers weakened the princess’s curse.”

“And why does that matter?”

Tilting my head as I quietly listened, I asked in confusion. Salem’s expression grew more conflicted.

“If it was your pure white magic that weakened her curse, we’ll do everything we can to help you.”

“Thank you—”

“But if it was the power of dominion... then we cannot help.”

His words made me stop mid-sentence, my lips pressed firmly shut.

“In fact, we would have to stop you with everything we have.”

Though Salem’s expression was heavy as he finished, the will in his eyes was firm and unshaking.

“Tiffany.”

“...Yes.”

“Should I take this as the official stance of Lumen Ordo?”

Barely holding my composure as I bit my lip, I asked the question to Tiffany beside me—but even she didn’t give a different answer.

“You know what it means to wield the power of dominion, right?”

“......”

“If you’re not careful... you could become the Demon King.”

I’ve always been a passive person, overly conscious of others’ feelings.

“So what? What’s the problem with that?”

So when I lashed out and raised my voice like that, even I could barely believe it had come from me.

– Gooooo...

But the moment I did, a chilling aura spread through the conference room—even I could feel it. I could no longer deny the truth.

“...Are you saying you’ll turn against us?”

“If you don’t stand in the way of me healing Meredia, that won’t happen.”

Predictably, the moment I flared up, the Elder Council members raised their guard. Salem was the first to speak, his gaze sharp as he questioned me, and I answered while forcibly calming myself.

“W-Whitney. ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Please, think it over—”

“That’s enough for today.”

Tiffany, flustered and near tears, tried to reach for my hand, but I couldn’t take it.

“I’ll see you all again soon.”

Because right now, I had to find Princess Meredia—who was surely outside, alone—and let her know I’d stay by her side.

“Sir Whitney. You do realize we’ve been very lenient with you, don’t you?”

As I turned toward the door Princess Meredia had exited moments ago, a cold voice reached me from behind. It was Astrea, the South Continent branch head.

“...Under normal circumstances, Princess Meredia would’ve already been marked for elimination. She was—until you became a Hero.”

I knew full well these people were not cruel. That’s exactly why I understood she meant every word.

“And what happened just now... You understand we can’t ignore your responsibility in all this, don’t you?”

Even if it meant turning Lumen Ordo into an enemy—there was something I could not give up.

“I’ll take responsibility for what I must.”

“Whitney...”

“But not Her Grace. Not Princess Meredia.”

With that firmly declared, I turned the doorknob and left the conference room behind.

“Could it be...?”

“......”

“You like Princess Meredia more than me?”

Tiffany’s tearful voice echoed faintly behind me, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer.

The door shut tightly.

***

Meanwhile, at that moment—out in the courtyard of Lumen Ordo’s stronghold.

“......”

Princess Meredia, having quietly climbed the stairs and exited the basement, narrowed her eyes against the sudden sunlight, her brow furrowing.

“Hey, I told you to get those out of here faster!”

“Aigoo, what a mess...”

“If I’d known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have stayed up all night decorating...”

The handmaids of Lumen Ordo were busy dismantling the wreaths and floral arrangements Tiffany Astellade had ordered for the event.

“I didn’t expect someone with such an unlikable face to already have left a strong impression.”

Watching the scene in silence, Meredia began walking again with a cold smile.

“...Sorry for causing trouble. I didn’t mean to be such a nuisance, being someone who’s about to die.”

Her voice, filled with self-mockery, was trembling in a way that felt unfamiliar coming from her.

“Up until now, all I ever thought about was giving things up.”

“......?”

The maids, who had been absorbed in their work, looked at her with confusion as she walked alone through the garden—but she didn’t stop.

“...But I forgot that I, too, could be abandoned at any time.”

Not even knowing where her feet were carrying her, she simply walked forward—anywhere they would take her. She looked unusually small.

“Who said you were abandoned?”

“......!”

“That’s dangerous talk.”

Until a familiar voice—laced with a hint of laughter—rang out behind her.

“No one would ever throw away someone as precious as you.”

“......”

Though she had more than enough strength to shake off the hand that gently caught her arm, Meredia simply stood there, motionless—as Whitney whispered softly behind her.