A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 87: Heartbreak

“That’s where your father is.”

His answer was far beyond anything I had expected.

“That place...”

“Is the ancient domain of the dragons.”

His gaze, fixed on me, was as cold and enigmatic as ever.

“The Emperor’s movements have been strange lately.”

“......”

“I don’t know why your father was sent there on imperial orders, but...”

As I held his gaze in silence, his voice—slightly cracked from long disuse—pierced my ears.

“You’d best be careful.”

“...What?”

“If the dragons decide to get involved in the current state of things, the balance could collapse.”

It was an awfully heavy-handed statement for such an anticlimactic conclusion, but I nodded cautiously, reading the room.

No wonder Lady Meredia withdrew her killing intent so readily...

By now, I had a rough idea of what Alastor’s true identity might be—something that remained shrouded in mystery even in the original story.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

“That man hardly ever speaks. I’ve only heard him speak a few times myself.”

“...You?”

Sure enough, once Alastor stepped back in silence, Salem, who had been listening to our conversation the whole time, spoke to me carefully.

“When I first joined the Elder Council, he already looked just like that.”

“That... sounds like a ghost story.”

“I trust you understand what I’m getting at.”

Through that brief exchange, I could now be certain of Alastor’s identity.

“To be under the gaze of a dragon... is not something trivial.”

“Haha...”

A dragon, polymorphed, sitting as an elder in Lumen Ordo—this place really grew more bizarre the deeper you dug.

“Something big is bound to happen soon. I just hope Count Ringaarden returns safely...”

And if someone like that had opened his mouth, then just what kind of mission had my father been entrusted with? I’d definitely have to look into it properly once everything settled down.

“By the way... aren’t you going to go after her?”

“...Huh?”

“The conversation is over. You should hurry and catch up with your fiancée.”

“...Ah.”

Of course, for now, I needed to resolve the matter at hand first.

***

“...Haa, haa...”

Meanwhile, at the far edge of the path leading into Lumen Ordo, where a carriage had come to a halt—

“I must’ve lost my mind.”

Having run at unbelievable speed to reach it, Meredia climbed into the carriage and slumped into a seat, covering her face with her hands and mumbling in regret.

“I’ve definitely gone crazy...”

Her face only grew redder with each passing second.

—Knock knock knock.

Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks came from outside the carriage.

“...Come in.”

With a snap of her head toward the window, Meredia coldly gave permission, her expression hastily corrected.

“Huff, huff...”

“Wait—what the hell? You?”

Contrary to her expectations, the one who opened the door wasn’t Whitney—but Tiffany Astellade, his childhood friend.

“How dare you... How dare you interfere with my destined reunion with the hero. Foolish wretch, you have no idea how laughable your ignorance is.”

“......”

“With my cursed and sealed power, I shall cast your soul into eternal suffering. Kneel before me—true light and guardian of balance—and weep in regret!”

Having caught her breath with the door still open, Tiffany unleashed a string of cringe-worthy lines as if she’d been dying to recite them. Meredia’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.

“Doesn’t that exhaust you, talking like that?”

“...!”

“You must be tired. Just speak normally, Guardian of Radiance.”

Despite the sigh that followed, Meredia kept her tone polite as she made her request.

“That voice... it echoes in my ears. You truly grasp the dark tongue spoken by this one. Yet to issue commands to me—how foolish, how absurd...”

“...Haa.”

“This speech, this language of mine, is a primordial tongue born of chaos. None may order it to change. You shall kneel in awe before the abyss of wisdom I carry. Let my darkness cleanse your soul...”

As Tiffany’s bizarre white mage babble filled the inside of the carriage once again, Meredia’s expression turned cold and sharp.

“You may fool others, but not me.”

“...What?”

“It’s obvious you’re forcing yourself.”

At her words, Tiffany’s face stiffened slightly.

“I’ve had to fake a lot of things because of other people, too. I can tell right away when someone’s pretending.”

“......”

“So I’ll warn you now. Talk normal. I’m this close to completely losing my temper.”

Meredia’s verbal assault continued, and Tiffany wilted under it.

“...Yeah, it’s forced. But no one ever made me do it.”

This time, her voice came out in a perfectly normal tone—no strange phrasing, no theatrics.

“I just... kept doing it because Whitney liked it when we were kids.”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“......”

“So even when people looked at me weird, I kept it up. Because we promised to meet again someday.”

Biting her lower lip, she fell silent, then glared at Meredia sitting across from her.

“But you... you’re...”

Before long, tears welled up in Tiffany Astellade’s eyes.

“I asked the maids again what it meant. ‘Fiancée’—it means you’ve promised to marry him, right?”

“......”

“So Whitney Ringaarden is going to be your husband. That’s what it means... right?”

Tears still welling in her eyes, Tiffany glared at Meredia for a long moment before continuing in a trembling voice.

“You saw it with your own eyes... You’re cruel.”

But Meredia responded without blinking, her expression calm.

“As long as I’m cursed with this damn affliction, that’s not going to happen. So don’t worry.”

“...Hah.”

“I won’t let him get tangled up in some pathetic remarriage with me either. We’re only engaged, not married...”

But the more she spoke, the more her voice wavered.

“Then... do you not love Whitney Ringaarden?”

The question came suddenly—Tiffany’s voice still teary, but her expression more serious than ever.

“Did you just make that promise to him to use him... before you die?”

Meredia opened her mouth to respond immediately—but for some reason, the words wouldn’t come.

“That’s...”

“That’s.......”

Maybe it was because she’d just admitted her feelings to herself minutes ago, but she now sat there in a daze, unable to continue.

“See? I knew it.”

“...What exactly are you trying to say?”

Meredia’s sharp tone returned, but Tiffany calmly sat across from her and began to speak.

“One of my eyes is veiled... but through it, I can see a person’s fate.”

“What?”

“I can read the flow of stars. If the Saintess of the Theocracy serves a goddess, then I serve the stars.”

Meredia’s eyes widened as she listened, stunned.

“And according to what I’ve seen... Whitney shouldn’t even be alive right now.”

It was a claim far too serious to dismiss lightly.

“He was supposed to be dead already.”

“...What?”

“That’s why I didn’t meet him until now. I locked myself in my room and prayed to the stars every day, doing everything I could to twist fate.”

Tiffany’s tears had mostly stopped now. Her face looked far more worn down than the foolish girl she’d appeared to be before.

“When I heard he’d become a Hero, I thought I’d finally changed fate.”

Meredia said nothing, simply staring quietly at the Guardian of Radiance seated before her.

“But now I realize... Whitney’s fate isn’t tied to me. It’s tied to you—and strongly.”

“......”

“It nearly broke once, but somehow it endured. Now the connection is firm.”

As Tiffany spoke, her eyes once again shimmered pure white.

“...If this is the miracle the stars have shown me, then I’ll follow it.”

Even Meredia, who had seen Tiffany act like a fool more times than she could count, couldn’t help but feel there was something mystical about her in that moment.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’ve only got one year left to live...”

“If you’re with Whitney, you might be able to escape that fate.”

Meredia’s eyes flickered slightly at Tiffany’s firm interruption.

“...Fine. Let’s say you’re right. But what about Whitney’s fate?”

“......”

“Even if I escape mine with his help... if he becomes the Demon King, what good does it do?”

At last, Meredia met Tiffany’s gaze head-on and spoke her heart.

“I’ve lived my entire life for one goal. To slaughter every black mage in the world. To get revenge on the people who made me like this.”

“......”

“...Until I met him.”

Tiffany’s expression darkened at that, but she didn’t show much reaction otherwise.

“You’ve lived a life of nothing but wounds... It’s the first time someone ever loved you, isn’t it?”

“......”

“It’s all written in your soul. ...Sorry.”

She said it in a slightly sulky tone, then quickly offered an apology at the sight of Meredia’s frosty glare.

“...I never imagined there could be something more important to me than myself.”

“...I see.”

“So... hah. What am I even saying right now? I really must’ve lost my mind.”

Still mumbling blankly, Meredia pressed her burning face into her hands and bowed her head.

“Remember this.”

Tiffany, quietly watching her, suddenly closed her eyes as if steeling herself.

“Just like Whitney reached out to you... you’ll need to reach back someday, too.”

“...What?”

“You’re not the only one who needs saving.”

The strange weight in her voice made Meredia tilt her head slightly, feeling a familiar chill—as if she were hearing Hestia’s cryptic words all over again.

“...Right, Whitney?”

“—Whoa, jeez. What are you doing here?”

The next moment, Tiffany opened her eyes and softly murmured to none other than Whitney, who had quietly opened the carriage door. Her expression was almost wistful.

“Wait—Lady Meredia ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) is here too... Gahk!?”

As Whitney looked confusedly at Tiffany, then turned to Meredia and smiled—

That was when Tiffany’s fist, finally unable to hold back, smashed into his gut.

“Oof....”

“You bastard.”

It wasn’t quite at the same force she used to tear through magical barriers—but it still packed enough strength to drop Whitney straight to the floor of the carriage.

“Live well.”

“......???”

She gritted her teeth and glared down at him, then turned and stepped out of the carriage. Tears welled in her eyes once again.