A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 128: Proof

“Are you really saying no?”

“...Yes. Of course not.”

“Hmm...”

I broke out in a cold sweat trying to defend Princess Katarina, who had suddenly been mistaken for being gay, but it didn’t seem like Lady Meredia’s suspicions were easing.

“But that one... there’s just something off.”

“In what way?”

“Well, according to my sources, despite his outwardly decadent lifestyle, he’s never been involved with a woman.”

“...Why would you even investigate that?”

“Do I really need to explain that at this point?”

To be fair, what she pointed out was a rather obvious contradiction. Katarina isn’t attracted to women, so of course she wouldn’t be involved with them.

Sure, her public behavior might’ve seemed a bit loose, but that was likely just an act for when she was tangled up with Maier. It probably wasn’t sincere.

“Normally, sleazy guys like him have at least one woman hidden away. But my sources came up with nothing...”

“...So you think it’s because he doesn’t like women? That’s quite the leap.”

“There’s more that makes me suspicious.”

I couldn’t just sit back while Lady Meredia headed in the wrong direction, so I tried to argue. But she was annoyingly persistent.

“I’ve been watching him closely all day. His mannerisms are too... feminine.”

“Like what?”

“His walk, for instance.”

“Just his walk?”

His walk? Can you really tell someone’s gender from that? No matter how sharp she is, that sounds like a stretch.

“No, maybe I should say he only acts like that when he’s next to you.”

Seeing the confused look on my face, she narrowed her eyes and continued.

“When I watch him around you, I get this weird gut feeling. Like... warning bells going off.”

“...Excuse me?”

“Like intuition, I guess? Like there’s a woman trying to flirt with you nonstop, and it’s just... maddening.”

Her eyes were laced with thick suspicion.

“You’re saying the prince is... flirting with me?”

“I’m saying... it feels that way.”

“Haha...”

She looked almost pouty as she muttered it. It was cute, honestly. And I think I understood why she was mistaken.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Her Highness is strictly heterosexual—and she doesn’t have the intelligence... I mean, the awareness to even see me that way.”

“.......”

“...She just never had friends. She’s overly excited right now, that’s all.”

If I confessed to her right now, she’d probably say something like, “Boyfriend? Aren’t we already doing that?” with a dumb look.

At least, the Katarina I know would. When she got engaged to Saintess Hestia, I’m fairly certain she thought it just meant “becoming friends.”

Right. She’s just a bird who’s finally escaped her cage, flapping wildly from the thrill.

“Hmm, I see.”

“That’s... surprisingly easy to accept?”

I thought I’d have to argue my case a lot more, but she nodded coolly.

“I’ve already figured out how you look when you’re lying versus when you’re telling the truth. And I can’t exactly burst into flames every time my very secretive fiancé speaks, now can I?”

Her next comment sent a chill down my spine for some reason—but the one after that was different.

“Besides, I’ve never had any real friends either.”

“.......”

“So I know exactly how it feels when you finally make one.”

She’s improved a lot lately, but clearly her trauma still lingers deep inside.

Can I really heal that trauma completely?

Even if I can’t... I want to at least help ease it, even a little.

“Anyway, you’re saying the prince isn’t gay.”

“Yes, that’s corre—”

“So... he’s been hiding his real gender all along.”

“...What?”

I nodded with a mildly sympathetic expression, only to jerk my head up at Lady Meredia’s suddenly cold voice.

“A woman disguised as a man. That’s the hidden secret of Crown Prince Kendrick, isn’t it?”

Her eyes were now tinged red.

“Did you really think I’d fallen for such a dumb misunderstanding?”

“That’s...”

“I just cut off your excuses in advance. Pretended to be a little stupid, that’s all.”

The moment she said it, goosebumps exploded across my entire body.

For the first time in a while, I was reminded that the woman in front of me wasn’t just a tsundere villainess—she could become the final boss if even one step went wrong.

“Whitney Ringaarden.”

The women’s section of the boutique was filled with dazzling outfits, beautiful enough to hurt your eyes, but I couldn’t see any of it.

“Feeling good, taking in poor little girls while your fiancée’s at home?”

“.......”

“...Why don’t you move to some desert kingdom in the Western Continent? Polygamy’s legal there, I hear.”

Her arm was looped through mine as we walked, and the murderous aura from her words was seeping directly into my skin.

“Lady Meredia, I’ll say it again, I—”

“...You only love me. Sure. For now, maybe.”

I started to speak in panic, but she cut me off with a cold glare.

“But I’ve heard men’s hearts are fickle. Who knows? Maybe you’ll run off for a love affair after charming a duchess of the Empire.”

“Haha... Where’s this coming from?”

“Do you really not know?”

She glared for a moment, then leaned in and whispered.

“You’re surrounded by women, you bastard.”

“.......”

“How am I not supposed to worry?”

It’s honestly overwhelming. This woman, who once saw me as a disposable pawn, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} now clings to me like this. I should probably feel flattered.

And I do. A little. But I’d rather she didn’t go full yandere.

Not because I fear for my life—but because I’m starting to feel like that would be her final boss route.

Lady Meredia, who kills everyone for my sake? Just imagining it makes my blood run cold.

“...Why are you shaking?”

“Ah, it’s just...”

“Why are you stammering?”

Her tone was clearly shifting. The way she looked up at me while still holding my arm—intense and unblinking—was getting seriously dangerous.

If I had a status window (I tried yelling in both Imperial and Korean when I got my past life memories, but it never appeared), I’m sure a red alert would be flashing in my vision right now.

“...Are you hiding something?”

“Of course not.”

“Strange. Did I miss something in my surveillance?”

Hearing her last comment, I had a sudden urge to ask about that suspicious pet bird that’s been showing up at the mansion lately—but I held back.

“Lady Meredia, I don’t see any woman as a woman, other than you. Not even for a moment.”

I decided to bet everything on the fact that she said she can tell when I’m lying and when I’m not.

“And I will never love anyone but you.”

“.......”

“I can even swear on it. I’ll go to the nearest church right no—”

“...No. That’s enough.”

Her eyes wavered slightly, then she quietly looked down.

“If I tie you to me by force like that... and something happens to me, it might ruin your future.”

“Lady Meredia.”

“I’ll just be satisfied knowing you told me the truth.”

I wanted to tell her that would never happen—but the determination in her eyes when she looked up again silenced me.

“...But just because you believe it doesn’t mean the other women around you will.”

“Haha, I’m not exactly popular, you know?”

“Oh really?”

Thankfully, she changed the topic right away—but it was still difficult for me to agree with it.

“Tiffany Astellade.”

“That’s... a special case.”

“Saintess Hestia.”

“You’re joking, right?”

I mean, Tiffany might be scratching her belly at Lumen Ordo right now, but Hestia? That was a business partnership for world-saving, nothing more.

“Lunelle Misthylene.”

“Lady Meredia, she’d marry a sword before she even looked at a man...”

“Parsha. That brat... fine, I’ll exclude her since she’s still a brat.”

“.......”

“And that beastkin knight you took in recently.”

The names she listed were all women who would never see me that way.

But the seriousness in her face made me keep silent and listen.

“All of them... like you at least a little as a man.”

But that one statement—I had to internally shake my head.

“Especially that Lunelle girl... She doesn’t even realize it herself. That’s what makes her dangerous.”

“......?”

“Haa. Seriously, what do they even see in you...”

This... this might be a textbook case of delusional jealousy. I could feel sweat forming on my forehead.

“...I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding you’ve gotten, but I understand how you feel.”

“And what are you going to do about it?”

I had to do something. So I smiled gently and whispered:

“I’ll give you proof.”

“Proof?”

Of course, even as I said it, my brain was completely blank from panic.

“I’ll give you proof that I’ll love only you for the rest of my life.”

That must be why the next words came out of my mouth without passing through my mind.

“...When?”

Lady Meredia suddenly stopped walking and glanced at me.

I didn’t know the answer either—but my mouth moved anyway.

“Tonight.”

Right after saying it, I wanted to slap myself across the face.

“...Huh?”

But it was too late. Words, like spilled water, can’t be taken back.

I froze in place with a calm smile plastered on my face, and Lady Meredia—blinking—asked again with a slightly flustered expression.

“Tonight?”

“...Yes, ma’am.”

It felt like she was asking if I was actually serious. Warning bells were going off in my head, but the situation had already spiraled past the point of no return.

“.......”

She stared at me in silence for several seconds—then nodded.

“...Alright. I’ll believe you.”

And then, without another word, she began dragging me somewhere.

“W-Where are we going?”

“The men’s section.”

“A-All of a sudden? What about your clothes—”

“...Forget it.”

And so, I was dragged to the men’s section—where Lady Meredia promptly declared “I’ll take everything from here to there,” and pushed me into the fitting room to start trying things on.

‘I’m screwed.’

Of course, the real problem wasn’t the clothes. It was the way she kept glancing silently at me with a faint blush as the door closed.

***

“...Hey.”

“Y-Yes, my lady!”

Around the same time Whitney was being pulled into the fitting room—

Lady Meredia, grabbing the arm of a nearby female clerk, whispered quietly into her ear.

“U-Understood. Please, follow me.”

And so, the place she was led to—away from Whitney’s eyes—was an extremely private area within the boutique, accessible only to a chosen few.

“Um, regarding the... underwear you asked about...”

“...Keep your voice down.”

“A-Ah, yes, ma’am...”