A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 35: Negotiation Card

“Hk.”

Sasha, who had been frozen in place beside me the whole time, flinched and began trembling with teary eyes.

“Sasha is my personal maid. She’s an extremely sweet and innocent girl.”

“Y-Yes, I am. Hehe...”

I hadn’t expected to be riding with Meredia today, which was why Sasha had ended up tagging along—but I figured I didn’t need to worry anymore about Meredia bullying her.

After all, we were now on the same team. Lunelle and Parsha might provoke her, but Sasha? No way. She’s just a harmless maid.

“Your knight is a woman. Your butler’s a woman. And now, even your attendant is a woman?”

Oddly enough, Meredia seemed annoyed in a completely different way.

“Uh... is that so?”

“Yes. Your tastes are perfectly clear.”

Hey, now that’s just unfair. I selected my team based on skill alone.

And besides, unlike Lunelle, both Parsha and Sasha are legally untouchable. Even a glance the wrong way would be criminal.

“......”

But then, as Meredia turned her eyes back to the window with a frosty look, I realized I needed to do something to change the mood.

“...What are you doing?”

“I’ve made a mistake, haven’t I? Sitting across from my fiancée like this—how rude of me.”

So I quietly stood and slid over to sit beside her. She turned to glare at me, clearly unimpressed.

“I never said you could sit next to me.”

“Haha. Well, we are engaged, aren’t we? What’s the harm?”

“...Tsk.”

As I joked playfully, Meredia clicked her tongue and turned away again.

‘Maybe her mood’s lifted a little...?’

Judging ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) by her expression, it seemed to have softened—just a bit. That was a relief.

“By the way... our engagement. It’s still intact, right?”

“What are you talking about now?”

“Um... back then, I figured you’d be disgusted by what I said, so I assumed...”

I cautiously brought up what had happened the other day, and Meredia turned her gaze fully toward me, tilting her head.

“You said it yourself—how you hated those mindless fools who fell for you based on looks alone.”

“......”

“I honestly thought you’d call off the engagement over it. I was kind of worried.”

Her brow furrowed slightly at my nervous tone, then—

“...That was aimed at the idiots blinded by my power or appearance.”

“Oh. Really?”

Fortunately, she followed up with a line vague enough to leave room for interpretation.

“And to be honest, I don’t get your behavior—but for me, it’s a welcome situation.”

Just as I let out a sigh of relief, Meredia gave a cold smile and continued.

“I don’t know what you see in me—but that’s your problem, not mine.”

“......”

“What matters is, it just got a lot easier to use you.”

Ah, yes. That’s more like the Meredia I know. Oddly, I felt more reassured now that I had a clear reason she hadn’t tried to kill me for being rude.

“So don’t start getting any ideas. The only reason I’m turning a blind eye to your lecherous thoughts is because you’re useful to me.”

Still, it stung a bit that my heartfelt confession had no effect whatsoever.

“Are you going to respond or what?”

Should I try another gamble—put my life on the line for a joke?

“You have beautiful eyes, Lady Meredia.”

“...What?”

“Haha. You did ask what I liked about you, didn’t you?”

As I said it with a grin, she snapped her head away again and stared out the window. I sulked and dropped my gaze.

‘Man... I really do have no experience with romance.’

If I try that again, I’ll end up dead—no matter how many lives I have. Better cool it from now on.

—Slide...

While I slumped my shoulders in awkward silence, suddenly a ribbon-wrapped box appeared in front of me.

“Lady Meredia? What’s this?”

“If you’re that curious, open it.”

She held it out toward me casually.

“Ooh?”

I opened the box with curiosity—and when I saw the stack of vibrantly colored papers inside, I let out a gasp of surprise.

“Printing error left me with a bunch of useless sheets. I don’t need them. Take them if you want.”

Looking again after hearing that, I realized this wasn’t just any paper.

It was clearly made from expensive materials, and some even had gold foil patterns sewn into them.

“If you don’t want it, forget it.”

“Haha, thank you. I love origami, actually.”

It was too perfect for me to turn down. Without shame, I gratefully accepted the box.

“Did you know? There’s a legend that folding a thousand paper cranes grants a wish.”

“......”

“Here, look. I already folded one. Haha...”

I picked out a platinum-colored sheet that matched Meredia’s hair and demonstrated my skills. As I did, she glanced at me sideways and muttered in her usual flat tone.

“I didn’t think you were capable of smiling so purely.”

My smiles have always been pure, thank you very much, Lady Meredia. But since she gave me such a lovely gift, I’ll let that one slide.

“How did you end up with such a childish hobby?”

“Oh, that’s...”

I closed the box carefully and tucked it away, then paused at her question as old memories bubbled up.

“...Back when I was sick as a child, I spent a lot of time bedridden.”

That is, in my previous life—too young to even play games back then.

“I heard somewhere that folding a thousand paper cranes would make a wish come true. So, filled with childish wonder, I folded them earnestly.”

To be honest, I don’t remember who told me that dumb story.

I didn’t have any friends, and my parents barely acknowledged me. Maybe it was the one nurse who was kind to me?

“In the end, I folded more than a thousand—over ten thousand, even—but the wish never came true.”

“......”

“Still, back then I had nothing else to do, so it just became a hobby. Haha...”

Well, now I can laugh about it since it’s a hazy memory, but I think I cried for days back then, in my childish little heart.

“...I see.”

But strangely, the expression on the Lady’s face darkened ever so slightly.

‘Right... she spent her childhood bedridden too, didn’t she?’

That’s when I remembered how closely her past mirrored mine, and I started to worry I might’ve made the atmosphere heavier for no reason.

“...Now that I think about it, maybe it’s not such a childish hobby after all.”

Instead of retorting with her usual cold tone, Meredia simply corrected herself while watching my face in silence.

“I also once...”

She cut herself off and looked back out the window, but I had a feeling I knew what she was about to say.

Though it was only briefly mentioned in the lore books, I, as her most devoted fan, knew she used to talk to dolls when she was young.

Still, if I brought that up now, the mood would probably turn frosty for real—so I decided to start with a simple thank-you.

“Thanks for the gift, Lady Meredia.”

“...It wasn’t a gift. I just tossed it to you.”

Even if she said that, no one in the world wraps and hands over “trash” that perfectly matches the recipient’s tastes.

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‘...If someone saw this, they’d definitely think she was a tsundere.’

Of course, considering I’d never once told her about my hobby, this was probably her way of showing off—saying that she could find out even something like this with ease.

But still, I couldn’t help feeling good about it.

“Lady Meredia, actually I brought a gift too...”

“...?”

“I can’t really give it to you right now, so I’ll give it to you later.”

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve forced myself to take the time earlier and bring the gift I’d prepared.

But handing over such a significant present in a shaking carriage didn’t seem like a good idea, so I decided to save her surprised reaction for later.

“Still, since I’ve only received so far, would you like one of my paper cranes?”

“...I don’t need it.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

That one dynamic expression she made in response to my words earlier was more than enough to keep me satisfied for years.

***

“Wow, we’ve already arrived.”

Since the Ringaarden estate was so close to the capital, by the time my chat with Meredia came to an end, the Academy was already visible outside the window.

“Well then, shall we get off?”

As the carriage slowed and came to a stop, I hummed cheerfully and stepped out, clearly in high spirits from the gift I’d received.

“...I don’t know anything about that guy.”

Meredia could’ve easily frowned at my continued lack of an escort, but instead—

“...I really can’t stand imbalance.”

She sat quietly in her seat, gently fiddling with the platinum paper crane I had given her, and murmured in a low voice.

“Hey. Maid.”

“......”

“What are you doing, still not getting off?”

She turned her gaze toward Sasha, who was still sitting with her head down and hands clamped over her ears, just as I’d taught her.

“Ah, yes! I’m sorry!!”

“If you could hear everything anyway, why were you even covering your ears?”

“Hk!”

Caught by an accidental trap question, Sasha began to tremble uncontrollably. Meredia sighed quietly and asked her something else.

“Stop doing weird things and just answer my question.”

“A-Ask me anything!”

“Is it true your master was sick as a child?”

At her question, Sasha glanced nervously at Meredia and replied in a crawling voice.

“I-I’m just a new maid who started a few months ago...”

“...A new maid, and yet your master’s personal maid?”

“F-Forgive me?”

Clearly baffled by something unthinkable for someone from House Embergreen, Meredia sighed and rephrased her question.

“Let me ask something else. Has your master done anything suspicious lately?”

“Uh, well...”

Unfortunately, that question was even more beyond Sasha’s ability to answer.

“There’s just too much to know where to start...”

“...What a waste of time.”

Realizing that, Meredia gave up on her questioning and began preparing to step down from the carriage.

“...A-Are you sure you don’t have any more questions?”

“Shouldn’t you be worried about your master instead?”

“Ah, yes!!”

Shrinking from Meredia’s sharp tone, Sasha bolted from her seat like a startled squirrel and scampered outside.

“...Why did he bring along someone that clueless?”

Muttering to herself as she watched Sasha’s retreating figure, Meredia then quietly gathered up the paper crane in her hand and followed after her out of the carriage.

“...Hm?”

But then, Meredia’s expression twisted slightly in irritation.

“Greetings, Lord Whitney.”

“Hello?”

“I’m Pierre, an officer of the Academy’s Commoner Council. I was told I was designated as your guide today, so I’ve been waiting...”

The boy greeting Whitney at the Academy gates with a stiff posture was, to her, an immensely irritating sight.

‘Of all people, he chose that troublemaker to guide him? What is he thinking?’

The Commoner Council was an old autonomous organization within the Academy, founded to uphold the principle that education should be equally available to all.

Though its influence had waned in recent years due to noble interference, the current emperor’s emphasis on merit over status had restored a certain level of authority to the Council.

‘For a commoner to declare a veto on a board vote—utterly absurd.’

In fact, Meredia had applied to be a judge for the Rookie Selection Tournament from the moment the rematch was announced. The reason she couldn’t get confirmation until this morning... was because the Commoner Council had exercised its veto.

‘Trying to cover up that stain of usurping the throne with childish antics like this...’

And the fact that the man behind empowering the Commoner Council had approved the veto? It was a well-known, open secret.

“May I ask why you specifically requested me?”

“......”

“I’m a very busy man, you see. If you just needed an attendant, you’ve picked the wrong person.”

At that moment, Meredia’s displeasure was written clearly across her face as she glared at the boy who continued to speak to Whitney with insolence.

“O-Oppa?”

But then, Sasha, who had been rushing over to Whitney, suddenly stopped in her tracks. She stared at the Council officer with wide eyes and called out to him.

“...Sasha?”

And at the same time, the boy who had been introducing himself to Whitney also wore a surprised expression and called out her name.

“I-I missed you... sniff...”

Sasha, already haggard from enduring Meredia’s pressure just moments earlier, now looked utterly pitiful as she burst into tears.

“Ahaha... Our Sasha really is such a crybaby.”

“......”

“By the way, you said your name was Pierre?”

With that, Whitney naturally placed a hand on the shoulder of the boy who stood dumbfounded by the scene and whispered in a quiet voice right by his ear, narrowing his eyes.

“How does it feel, seeing your little sister again after so long?”

Watching that devilish smile—so wicked it sent chills down the spine—spread across Whitney’s face, Meredia silently shook her head and muttered to herself.

‘...So that’s why he brought her.’