A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 98: Housework

“A duel format, you say?”

“...Yes, please.”

“Hmm....”

Although I was briefly flustered by Lunelle’s sudden request, I soon saw the seriousness in her eyes and quietly nodded.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking... but at least I know Lunelle isn’t the kind of person to fool around with something like this.”

“.......”

“I’ll allow it. Let’s change the second round of interviews to a duel.”

It felt a little half-baked for an interview, but then again, I was the one in charge, so who cared?

“Is it okay to change it so casually?”

“...It’s fine, isn’t it? The Young Lady seemed bored too.”

“Well, yeah, it was getting a little boring.”

And honestly, as Lady Meredia said, it did feel like time to shake things up.

Because after the first pair—Johan and Ferris—there hadn’t been a single new successful candidate.

‘Was the power of domination I awakened really that strong?’

Honestly, I hadn’t done anything special. I just released my grayish-white magic as powerfully as I could, like in the old days.

Yet most of the candidates who had passed the first round and proven their skills were caught up in it and completely lost consciousness.

If the Misthylene siblings currently in front of me got caught in it too, what would happen?

Still, they had endured Lady Meredia’s pressure—maybe they could endure mine too.

“Well then, excuse me.”

As I quietly scratched my head and sank into thought, Lunelle, having received permission, rose silently and began walking forward.

“.......”

Her younger siblings, the children of the Misthylene family, still glared at her with eyes full of hostility.

“Parsha.”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any guesses about what’s going on?”

Watching the scene, I couldn’t hold back my rising curiosity and asked Parsha, who was beside me.

“If you’ve figured anything out, I’d appreciate it if you shared.”

“...Haha. I was waiting for you to say that.”

Parsha’s eyes sparkled for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, she pulled her chair right next to mine.

“...Tsk.”

I thought I heard Lady Meredia clicking her tongue nearby—but it was probably just my imagination.

No way, right? We were already engaged; surely the Young Lady wouldn’t be jealous over a girl around Sasha’s or Cecil’s age.

“First, based on my analysis, the energy coming from the siblings is more blue than red.”

“Red energy? Blue energy? Could you explain that a little more clearly?”

I was trying to listen carefully to Parsha’s chatter, but an unfamiliar concept popped out, so I had to interrupt.

“Ah, it’s not complicated. What comes to mind when you think of red? And what about blue?”

“Red is hot fire, blue is cold water. Something like that?”

“Yes, exactly!”

Although it was a pretty simple answer that made my face feel a little hot, Parsha beamed as if it was the perfect reply.

“I can interpret people's emotions as wavelengths. From experience, red wavelengths symbolize things like anger.”

“Then blue would be....”

“Yes, sadness. Depression. Yearning. Regret. Calmness. Emotions like those.”

Then, glancing between me and Meredia, Parsha whispered softly.

“By the way, between you two, there’s a constant flow of pink wavelength. It’s so sweet it’s almost rotting my teeth. Haha.”

At her words, I almost missed the next thing she muttered because of the chilling killing intent that flared from Meredia’s side.

“...It’s strange, though. Pink is usually made by mixing red and white.”

“......?”

“How could it be created when it’s the opposite colors meeting?”

Maybe it was because of Parsha’s unusually serious expression, but unlike usual, her words stuck vividly in my mind.

‘If red and white are opposites... then blue and black?’

In Parsha’s wavelength theory, Lady Meredia could easily be mistaken for red, but she was actually closer to blue.

Then, does that mean I’m close to black?

But what does black represent emotionally?

“Hey, Parsha. What about black—”

“Ah, looks like it’s starting!”

Just as I was about to ask out of curiosity, something seemed to start happening where Lunelle stood.

“Oh.”

And I could only stare ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) blankly for a moment, forgetting even the question I wanted to ask Parsha.

– Goooooo....

A tremendous sword aura was filling the temporary interview grounds set up in the garden.

Some of the disqualified applicants had managed to emit sword aura, but none had given off such a powerful energy that made the skin crawl.

Then was this Lunelle’s aura? No, it felt a little... off.

“...It’s a bit unrefined, but still impressive. Even on the verge of ruin, a family famous for swordsmanship is still a family of swordmasters.”

Only after hearing Lady Meredia’s muttered remark did I confirm who the aura belonged to.

The Misthylene siblings were raising brilliant, visible sword aura from their swords and pointing them straight at Lunelle.

Naturally, the shimmering tips of their sword aura were aimed directly at her.

“At that age, handling sword aura isn’t easy....”

“True, but there are exceptions.”

“Ah, right.”

Admiring the scene, I smiled and quickly agreed with the Young Lady’s comment.

“My little sister awakened sword aura at an even younger age. She even had a breakthrough during the selection tournament and now her sword aura rivals that of most strong knights....”

“.......”

“...Is something wrong?”

But Lady Meredia’s expression suddenly turned icy, so I stopped and tilted my head in confusion.

“...I’ve been handling sword aura since I was five.”

“...Pardon?”

“And perfectly formed, at that.”

Her following words left me speechless for a moment, but I immediately grasped her intention.

“You’re incredible. As expected, the Young Lady is the best.”

“.......”

“...My sister can’t compare to you, not at all. Haha.”

When I finished, I saw the corner of the Young Lady’s lips twitch slightly. It seemed I had hit the correct answer.

– Gooooooo....

The moment I pretended not to notice and turned my head, an overwhelming wave of energy suddenly crashed into me.

‘No need to even check—this is Lunelle’s sword aura.’

It wasn’t just the presence of sword aura—it felt like being crushed under the weight of a giant.

Where Meredia’s jewel eye brought a terror rooted in psychological fear, Lunelle’s aura brought a physical, overwhelming force.

“Guh....”

“...Haa.”

Even the Misthylene siblings, who had been boldly emitting their sword aura, now seemed to have trembling knees under Lunelle’s complete sword aura.

“.......”

Lunelle’s gaze as she looked at them held not a shred of mercy.

No, it didn’t even hold a single emotion.

Just a few minutes ago.

The look of deep worry I had seen next to me was nowhere to be found now.

‘Did she kill her emotions on purpose....’

Her loyalty was moving, but there was something that kept gnawing at my mind.

It was the path that the original Lunelle had walked.

A hound who obeyed only the Emperor’s orders.

An emotionless knight of slaughter from whom not a single drop of blood would come even if pierced.

But now, because of my intervention, that fate should have changed.

So why could I still faintly glimpse those remnants in the Lunelle standing before me?

‘I hope this is just my imagination....’

At least now, unlike back then when she was forcibly stripped of emotion by the Emperor’s ambitions, Lunelle’s own free will was involved.

“...Young Lady, if things look like they’re about to go wrong, please step in.”

Unable to shake my unease, I whispered quietly to the Young Lady sitting beside me.

Fortunately, this time, perhaps understanding my concern, the Young Lady merely nodded quietly without nitpicking, unlike her usual self.

‘I really hope this ends without incident....’

I should have felt reassured by that, but the unease still pricked at the corner of my chest.

***

“I won’t say it twice.”

Lunelle, standing with her back to her master, declared in a flat voice while facing her old blood relatives.

“If you’re going to face me, do it with full strength.”

“.......”

“Further, come at me with your lives on the line.”

At those words, the siblings' expressions turned even colder.

“Sis, what the hell are you doing here?”

Breaking the silence between the sides, it was Evangeline Misthylene, the younger sister, who spoke up.

“So after ruining the family and losing your noble title, this is all you have to show for it?”

“.......”

“Thanks to you, we’re about to be thrown out onto the streets, you know. Huh?”

At first glance, her words seemed filled only with anger, but the slight tremble underlying her tone revealed that it wasn’t just simple rage.

“Well, our sister has always been selfish.”

“.......”

“Be honest. Was there ever anything in your life that mattered to you besides your sword? Did you even remember our names?”

Of course, since their names had been listed in the documents earlier, even if Lunelle had actually forgotten them, she could have just answered now.

“.......”

But Lunelle simply kept her sword raised, her expression utterly blank, showing nothing in response to her siblings.

“Nothing’s changed, huh.”

“Actually, when we last saw her, her face was a real sight to behold.”

Their anger boiling over, the siblings’ words grew harsher.

“The day we lost our noble title, she knelt right in front of our gates.”

“To think she came crawling back to the family she destroyed, trying to leech off us. Pathetic.”

Their remarks were enough to make any normal person grit their teeth in humiliation, yet Lunelle’s expression remained completely unchanged.

“Ha, talking to her is like talking to a rock.”

“...Yeah. It's like she's become someone’s complete tool.”

Their eyes momentarily shifted to the man sitting behind Lunelle.

“To be honest, that guy’s even more unsettling than you are.”

“...Whatever else, I still don’t get how he repaired your mana circuit.”

The man who picked up Lunelle, who had lost even the strength to hold a sword and was fated to live as a fallen noble—Whitney Ringaarden.

Even when the entire might of the once-prestigious Misthylene family had been poured into finding a solution, none could be found.

Yet that man somehow did it.

And why, out of everyone, did he bother to pick up their sister?

What was his purpose?

Those questions gnawed at them, but the thing that mattered most to the siblings right now was something else.

“...She seems weaker than before, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah, definitely.”

They were more interested in how much of her strength Lunelle had regained.

“She’s still strong, but... we’ve improved too. It’s not like we can’t take her.”

“...Yeah, probably.”

The main reason they had come back to face Lunelle was precisely that.

And so, the siblings quietly began preparing for the duel, taking deep breaths.

“Um, wait a minute.”

Just as their long-overdue reunion was about to turn into a blood-soaked battle, a soft voice came from behind Lunelle.

“There’s an additional rule I’d like to propose for the duel.”

Whitney Ringaarden, smiling eerily, was staring at the two siblings.