A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 92: Assassin

The recent news of the newly established knight order under the rising Ringaarden Count's estate naturally attracted many skilled individuals from all over who had yet to find a place to belong.

“So this is the Ringaarden estate....”

Among them, aspiring knight academy graduate Johan was looking around the estate, which could potentially become his future workplace, his eyes gleaming.

“...There are more applicants than I thought.”

But only for a moment. After confirming the number of participants gathered in the mansion’s courtyard, Johan scratched his head with a somewhat deflated expression.

“I’ll be lucky if I even pass the first round....”

Though Johan had just graduated from the knight academy, most knights, including himself, were not fully recognized as knights immediately upon graduation. Only the rare elites, who could take the knight’s oath immediately upon graduation, and the high-ranking nobles whose connections were everything. For those not among the chosen few, ordinary graduates had to pound the pavement themselves, hunting down every opportunity just to barely join a knight order.

‘There are more older guys than I thought. That means....’

For Johan, who had just entered this fiercely competitive field, seeing so many older applicants, some even sporting beards, was quite an intimidating sight.

‘...Am I going to end up like that too?’

Spending over a decade failing to join any knight order, missing out on other opportunities, and endlessly repeating meaningless applications — it was a future Johan, an orphan and a commoner with no decent connections, absolutely wanted to avoid.

“Next group, this way.”

“......!”

While Johan was taking deep breaths, tension written all over his face, the time finally came for his group. He widened his eyes and lifted his head.

“P-Please head inside.”

A very young-looking maid, who had been bustling around with a whole entourage of other maids, beckoned toward the entrance to the interview grounds with a tearful expression for some reason.

‘...I’m jealous.’

Though it might have looked ridiculous at first glance, to Johan, it was nothing but enviable. For such a young child to be moving around with so many maids meant that she held a position of no small importance within the estate. Having grown up in the empire’s most talent-focused knight academy, surrounded by countless young prodigies, Johan couldn’t help but feel envious even of that.

‘No, I can’t let myself get intimidated.’

But only briefly.

Shaking his head vigorously, Johan set his jaw and began moving with his group.

‘They say even if you’re mauled by a griffon, you can survive as long as you stay conscious....’

Thus, the knight applicants, each carrying their own circumstances, stepped into what looked more like a garden than an interview hall.

“...Guh?”

At that moment, someone next to him suddenly let out a strangled gasp.

“W-What’s happening?”

Turning his head in confusion, Johan recoiled in horror.

“Guhhhh....”

“Aaaargh....”

“M-My arm....”

Most of the group he had entered with was now sprawled on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

“W-Why is everyone...!”

– Clang!

“...Hiiik!?”

Startled, Johan flailed his arms, and the sword he was holding accidentally struck something with a loud clash, freezing him in place.

“Hm....”

“......!?”

And a few seconds later, glancing nervously to the side, Johan’s eyes widened.

“You reacted, at least. But you lack finishing strength.”

“W-Who are you...?”

A figure known by any recent graduate of the knight academy. A once-promising genius who fell into ruin but recently made a miraculous comeback, now explosively rising in prominence as the captain of the newly founded Ringaarden Knight Order.

“Still, compared to the others, you’re above average.”

“Huh?”

“We decided to recruit an elite few, but if I screen too harshly at my level, it’s meaningless....”

Lunelle Misthylene, the figure of legend, muttered while surveying Johan with a doubtful gaze.

“W-What is going on...?”

Still stunned by her sudden appearance, Johan finally began to realize he had been subjected to an unexpected ambush and started timidly protesting.

“In comparison, your reaction was rather commendable.”

“......”

“Very few can receive my attack so perfectly.” freewebnσvel.cøm

But ignoring Johan’s complaints, Lunelle quietly shifted her gaze to another survivor standing beside him.

“Affiliation and name?”

“...None.”

“No name either?”

At her sharp questioning, the unidentified applicant draped in a black robe answered in a low voice.

“Yes.”

“Hmmm....”

An uncomfortable silence settled in.

“...U-Um.”

“......?”

“Are... they at least alive?”

Sweating nervously and glancing around, Johan finally mustered the courage to ask — only to instantly regret it.

“......”

Not only Lunelle but even the maids, who had been busily loading the collapsed applicants onto stretchers, all turned to stare at him with blank, emotionless faces.

“H-Haha. I guess that was a pointless question.”

Chilled to the bone by their silent gazes, Johan began to slowly back away.

“W-Well then. Excuse me....”

“That’s not the way.”

“Ah.”

“Proceed to the next stage.”

At Lunelle’s cold command, Johan had no choice but to swallow his tears and move on to the next interview area.

“Wait.”

Just as Johan was stepping out, the black-robed figure tried to follow — but then, from behind, Lunelle’s frosty voice rang out.

“Remember this.”

“......”

“No matter who you are, you cannot deceive the Master’s eyes.”

At those words, the mysterious applicant briefly halted and, instead of glancing at Lunelle, quietly shifted their gaze toward the nearby bushes.

“...Understood.”

With that, all the survivors moved forward without any further conflict, disappearing from view and leaving the garden in silence once again.

“Hah, damn. This is impressive.”

From within the silence, Bergen, parting the bushes, spoke to Lunelle in his usual sly tone.

“I made eye contact with that guy just now.”

“...Did you now?”

“Hey, don’t react so indifferently!”

Feeling slightly offended by Lunelle’s uninterested response, Bergen continued speaking.

“In my whole life, there have only been three times when someone detected my presence.”

Glancing around cautiously, Bergen pulled a cigarette from his pocket, his expression turning slightly serious.

“The second time was our employer, whose thoughts are impossible to read. And the third is now.”

“...I see.”

Although he naturally skipped over the first incident, Lunelle responded with the same detached tone.

“Hah, you’re really not trustworthy, you know. You couldn’t even detect my attack back then, right?”

“...If I had fully recovered my strength, that wouldn’t have happened.”

As Bergen brought up the past with a slight frown, Lunelle mirrored the expression and answered curtly.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“...Haa.”

Seizing the chance to mimic her disinterested tone, Bergen clicked his tongue smugly as Lunelle sighed, clearly annoyed.

“So, about that recovery — is it going well? You don’t look any different than before.”

“I’ll regain about seventy percent of my original strength within this week.”

“Hmm... really now?”

As Lunelle answered in her usual flat tone again, Bergen finally opened his eyes wide and said,

“If you don’t believe me, we can have a biwu after I’m fully recovered.”

“No thanks, I’m no knight, alright? Life-or-death duels aren’t my thing.”

Avoiding immediately with a smirk, Bergen lit the cigarette in his mouth and turned his back.

“Well, let’s see. Looks like the next group’s arriving. Here, the profiles of the current applicants.”

“......”

“Well, I’m off. You know my job is to secretly evaluate the candidates.”

Leaving those words behind, Bergen quickly disappeared into the bushes.

“Tch.”

Glaring at the bushes for a while, Lunelle eventually shook her head and turned her attention to the stack of profiles he had handed over.

“...Huh?”

And a moment later, a strangled noise escaped her lips.

“You... why are you...”

Lunelle’s hand, holding the documents, was trembling visibly.

“...Why are you here?”

***

“Master, I’ve compiled the information on the first-round passers.”

“Oh?”

Receiving the information on the survivors of Lunelle’s vicious ambush from Parsha, I couldn’t help but raise the corners of my lips slightly at a certain unexpected individual.

‘I didn’t expect to see this guy here....’

Johan the knight.

It might just be a coincidence because it’s a common name, but if my guess was right, this guy was a goldmine.

Because in the original game, this plain-looking guy had the highest luck stat among all characters.

‘...Sure, he was mostly used as a meat shield specialized in evasion, but in reality, he might have a lot more uses.’

The concept that Lunelle and I decided upon for the new knight order was elite specialization. Though our fortunes had somewhat recovered lately, the family’s finances still weren’t enough to support a large-scale knight order. Besides, neither of us had experience running an order, so we concluded it would be much more rational to go with a small, elite unit.

‘Even so, the number of passers is really low....’

Even though the first round wasn’t fully over yet, the number of survivors barely reached double digits. I couldn’t even imagine what kind of talents would end up forming Lunelle’s new knight order.

‘In that sense, someone like Johan is essential.’

The stronger the main group, the more someone with a special ability like high luck would shine. Even if a high luck stat seemed unimpressive, it would prove invaluable when working in coordination with others.

“Hm?”

“...What’s wrong?”

While reviewing the profiles of the first-round passers with these thoughts, I tilted my head quietly upon noticing something.

“There’s one person here with no information at all?”

Among the files Parsha had handed me, there was a participant whose profile was completely blank.

“Yes, Mr. Bergen said it was someone he’s never seen before, either.”

“...Huh, that’s pretty strange.”

If it were a mercenary company interview, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} maybe. But usually, knight order applicants had well-documented identities, and recruiters strongly preferred that. Thus, it was highly unusual for someone with no verified background to apply for a knight order.

“They do have the qualifications of a knight, right?”

“Yes, but....”

“...Is there something else you know?”

Noticing Parsha trailing off, I gently pressed her for more.

“They do have a knight certificate, but... I’m pretty sure it’s a forgery.”

Just as I thought, suspicious information spilled from Parsha’s mouth.

“And anything else you found?”

“Yes. First of all, she’s a woman....”

Since I already fully trusted Parsha’s analytical abilities, I was calmly listening when her next words made me doubt my ears.

“...She’s an assassin.”

“Huh?”

Not exactly the kind of information you want to hear at a knight order interview.

“This person... came to assassinate you, Master.”