A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 119: The Mansion of Shadows (3)

“L-Lady Sasha.”

“......”

“...Lady Sasha!”

Sasha, walking down the mansion’s hallway with a blank expression, slowly turned her head at the urgent voice from behind.

“Y-You’re joking, right?”

“...Excuse me?”

“Th-This can’t be real... Something’s wrong here, isn’t it?”

One of the new maids following behind her, the one leading the group, asked the question with cold sweat trickling down her face.

“E-Even if there really is a basement... why are we going upstairs right now?”

“......”

“Th-The office? Of all places? I just don’t get it...”

At that, the other new maids—who had been dazedly trailing after Sasha—snapped back to their senses and started murmuring with pale faces.

“I thought I already explained this part in advance...”

Sasha, who had intended to calm the maids down, stopped mid-sentence and let out a quiet sigh.

“...No. It’s better for you to see it for yourselves.”

She had already told them there was a secret passage inside the office. And Sasha, through experience, knew all too well that the terrified maids had either forgotten this fact—or were now in the stage of denial.

“It should be somewhere around here...”

But in the face of a horrifying truth, all of that becomes meaningless.

Clack...

Then, as she entered the office with the new maids, Sasha brushed a few books on the shelf—and in an instant, the truth began to unfold before the maids’ eyes.

Kugugugugung...

The bookcase, heavy enough to take up an entire wall, rumbled violently as it slid to the side, revealing a gaping black entrance like the mouth of a beast.

“...Hiiik.”

“N-No way.”

“U-Ugh...”

Whether they’d dismissed the rumors of a basement as jokes or fairy tales, or truly believed in them—either way, the sight was violent to behold.

“S-So... the strange noises we heard at night when we went to the bathroom...”

“...N-No way. B-But still...”

That’s why the cries of cats, which once wandered through the Count Ringaarden mansion under Cecil’s affectionate care, were now starting to sound like the dreadful screams of tortured victims.

“I-Isn’t this the smell of blood...?”

“...Ugh.”

“I-I wanna go home...”

The mana circuit restoration ritual for Lunelle and Whitney, originally hindered by poor ventilation, had morphed into a grotesque occult rite.

“L-Lady Sasha, I-I suddenly need to use the bathroom...”

“M-Me too. Haha...”

“...W-Well then. Goodbye!”

At that point, it was only natural that the new maids all began to step backward, desperate to flee the office.

Click...

If only, just at that moment, the door hadn’t opened again—and Parsha hadn’t walked in.

“Hiiik!”

“Kyaaa!”

The new maids who had been scrambling for the exit all fell flat on their bottoms, their expressions twisted with even more terror.

“......”

If it had just been Parsha alone, they wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.

But beside her stood a wolf beastkin with a hardened expression.

“Get inside. Now.”

When Parsha suddenly spoke in her sharp tone, the new maids all widened their eyes—and then clung to one another in fright.

“S-She’s gonna kill us... like in the fairy tales...”

“...H-Hik.”

“I-I don’t wanna know.”

Of course, Ferris had only joined this operation because Parsha had caught her in a compromising position. But to the young new maids, she looked no different from a wolf from a bedtime story.

“...Tch.”

Naturally, this wasn’t the East Continent where beastkin were common—so such prejudice often carried malice.

“They really think I wanna be here...”

Still, the unintentional malice behind the children’s innocence agitated Ferris, and her expression began to contort.

“A-All right, that’s enough. Everyone, let’s just get inside.”

Before the situation could spiral further out of control, Parsha quickly pushed Ferris forward and hurried everyone along.

“The young master is waiting inside, you know?”

A few maids glanced toward the now-vacant exit—but soon gave up after realizing the door had already been locked tight.

“...Hey, Parsha.”

“Hm?”

“Why... why are you doing this?”

As the new maids lowered their heads in resignation and began entering the basement, Sasha, who had been silently watching from behind, turned and asked.

“What do you mean ‘why’?”

“T-This... this wasn’t written by the young master, right? You wrote it, didn’t you?”

“...Got proof?”

Parsha tilted her head, then narrowed her eyes slightly.

“T-The young master... his handwriting is actually kind of messy...”

“...And?”

“A-And this letter... I don’t know, it’s like someone with good handwriting tried to make it messy on purpose...”

After hearing Sasha’s full explanation, a thin smirk crept onto Parsha’s lips.

“...You’ve got talent, Sasha.”

“Eek? No, I just...”

“No, really. Impressive.”

Parsha placed a hand on Sasha’s shoulder, who instinctively shrank back, and began whispering softly.

“You’re sharp, and you’re favored by the young master. That means you’ll understand what I’m trying to do, right?”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“...Do you know what’s most important for a grand undertaking? It’s internal cleanup.”

As Sasha, almost without realizing, lowered her voice to match Parsha’s, she blinked at the reply.

“The mansion’s staff are all kind and discreet... but that alone isn’t enough.”

“Then...”

“We need a corps of servants—loyal to the master like you and me, who act on their own.”

At last, Sasha paled as she realized what Parsha truly meant.

“T-There’s no need to go that far...”

“Sasha, you don’t get it.”

Looking serious now, Parsha continued.

“A Demon King always has underlings worthy of him.”

“......!?”

“That applies not just to us, but even to ordinary servants.”

“B-But... the staff are all doing their jobs just fine...”

Of course, as a thoroughly ordinary maid (albeit now Head Maid), Sasha genuinely believed that the current staff were highly efficient.

Sure, they sometimes got spooked by ghost stories—but still, working for the Count Ringaarden household meant great pay and benefits.

Naturally, the only applicants were desperate girls crushed by debt or burdened with supporting families.

So the mansion’s work efficiency was at an all-time high.

“...Like a maid assassin squad, for example. Or an all-purpose butler who’s mastered every kind of magic.”

“Huh?”

“Or vicious beasts raised in the basement. A Demon King should have at least that much!”

Clearly, Parsha’s idea of “servant” was completely different from Sasha’s.

“Just imagine. Say, in some emergency—suddenly, the master’s in danger! Then out of nowhere, maids jump in from every direction, pulling knives from their skirts and defending him—”

“T-That sounds cool, but... couldn’t we just call the knights?”

Still trying to understand her, Sasha asked with genuine confusion.

Parsha narrowed her eyes slightly and muttered.

“...You’ve got no sense of romance.”

She said it softly, but her disappointment came through loud and clear.

“S-So... what are you going to do in there?”

“...A simple reeducation session.”

Trying to change the subject, Sasha asked—and Parsha’s eyes gleamed darkly.

“A group born of the master, by the master, for the master will soon take shape.”

“......”

“...Actually, I already made one. Quietly. Planted them at the academy. It’ll bloom soon.”

At least in that moment, Parsha’s expression looked as frightening as Whitney’s.

“S-Still... going ahead without the master’s permission is...”

“...It’s fine. I’m prepared for the consequences.”

Even as Sasha hesitated, Parsha simply smiled and turned her gaze to the basement.

“Even if he ends up casting me aside for this... this one thing—I must see it through.”

“W-Why go that far?”

Sasha asked, wide-eyed in shock.

“There’s no time. They’ve already started moving...”

With her gaze still averted, Parsha clenched her fists and murmured.

“Before they act in earnest, we need to solidify the master’s power base. If we don’t...”

Her words began to sound less like she was talking to Sasha—and more like a vow to herself.

“...No. This isn’t the place to talk about that.”

Suddenly, Parsha gave a beaming smile and changed the subject.

“Come on. Let’s go inside. Sasha, you should watch too.”

“......”

“The moment the Demon King’s loyal minions are born!”

At that point, Sasha found herself thinking:

‘Parsha really is still a kid my age...’

It was true—her master, Whitney, was a terrifying man.

But still. A Demon King?

That was the stuff of fairy tales, wasn’t it?

Sasha remembered how she used to read “Hero Stories” as a child and believe in them.

But life’s bitterness had taught her otherwise.

Heroes who save everyone without giving # Nоvеlight # in to evil—those were just fictional characters in stories.

‘...But if I think about it, maybe Demon Kings really do exist.’

Because the opposite—those who submit to evil—existed everywhere.

Still, Sasha quickly shook her head and stepped toward the basement.

‘Even if one does exist, my master is scarier.’

What frightened Sasha more than some maybe-existent Demon King—was how Whitney might react if he found out about this mess.

Even so, the reason she still stepped into the basement—was because her soft-hearted nature wouldn’t allow her to escape alone.

“...Huh?”

But as Sasha had already learned long ago—this world punishes the kind.

“Huh?”

For example, the first thing she saw after descending the stairs and opening the basement door was—

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

—her master Whitney, standing atop a magic circle glowing with gray mist and summoning some bizarre creature.

***

Before attending the Shadow Gathering, I figured I’d take the chance to act as a white mage for once—and set up a defense system in the mansion.

My plan was to summon a high-tier guardian golem in the basement, infused with my white mana.

Since it’s one of the strongest summons a white mage can call, I figured it would fend off any black mage attacks.

“GRUUUUUAAAAAAGHHH!”

“...Huh.”

The first problem?

Instead of a golem, some grotesque black mass had burst out of the summoning circle.

“...Hik.”

“...Gasp.”

The second problem? ƒreewebɳovel.com

Right at that moment, for some damn reason, Sasha and Parsha decided to enter the basement with the new maids.

“......”

And so... a cold silence began to settle across the room.