A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 121: Recruitment
“KyAAAAAAAH!!!”
The basement, which had nearly become a place of peace thanks to Whitney’s authority and mercy, was once again drowned in screams.
“S-Save me!!!”
The source of the scream, Ferris, despite having endured countless hardships and ordeals, couldn’t help but cry out like a child.
—Gyurururuk...
Anyone else would have reacted the same if a grotesque creature stretching out from Whitney’s arm had wrapped around their leg and started making suspicious sounds while slowly crawling upward.
“W-What is this thing!!!”
Even so, Ferris belatedly remembered the sword strapped at her waist. In a panic, she drew it and swung down at the slimy tentacle coiled around her leg.
“H-Huh?”
“...Gyuruk!”
But her blade, even reinforced with sword energy, merely passed through the tentacle, which jiggled like liquid, without offering any resistance.
“Mmgh...”
Ferris could only blankly watch as the tentacle seized her arms and mouth almost simultaneously, stripping her of control.
—Clang...!
Moments later, the sword slipped from her now-limp hand and clattered onto the floor, casting a metallic echo through the basement, which once again fell silent.
“......”
The new maids gathered in the basement had reached a point where counting who wasn't crying was faster.
But that didn’t mean the ones not crying were particularly brave.
Even those who weren’t sobbing were utterly stunned by what they were witnessing.
“What... the hell is this.”
And Whitney—the very cause of this chaos—was also half out of it, dazedly watching the disaster that his right arm, or rather, the creature dwelling in it, had caused.
“What is all this?”
It had all started when he tried to summon a guardian golem to protect the mansion... only for some otherworldly monster to appear instead. That alone had been beyond his expectations.
Naturally, the fact that the creature was now absorbed into his right arm and performing a tentacle show was also entirely against his will.
‘...No, well, I was thinking of restraining her, but still.’
But as Whitney recalled his subconscious desire to capture Ferris, he hurriedly stretched his hand backward, willing the creature to let her go.
“Gyururururuk!”
At that exact moment, the goo-like creature that had begun to wrap around Ferris’s entire body shuddered quietly, then quickly retracted back into Whitney’s arm.
“Ugh, kuh... gag...”
Once the tentacles disappeared from her body, Ferris collapsed to the ground, retching violently.
“Sasha.”
“......”
“Sasha?”
Whitney, who had been awkwardly looking down at Ferris, now called out to Sasha, who was trembling with her ears covered and eyes shut tight.
“Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes?!”
Only after Whitney gently tapped her shoulder did Sasha open her eyes, stammering wildly as she tried to read her master’s intent.
“Take the maids and return.”
“Ah...”
“Otherwise, it’s going to be recorded as if something did happen in this basement.”
“...Yes!!!”
As soon as Whitney gave the command, Sasha nodded fiercely and rushed toward the sobbing new maids with a tearful expression.
—Rumble...
Seconds later, the maids began fleeing the basement in a panic, trailing behind Sasha.
“...Looks like another wave of mass resignations is coming.”
Watching them go, Whitney muttered with a faint hint of resignation.
Ironically, though, the resignation rate among the new maids after that day approached zero.
The reason was simple: no one dared to walk up to Whitney and hand in a resignation letter in person.
“Onii-chan... I want to go home...”
For the same reason, Sasha had no choice but to quietly place her planned vacation request back into her personal drawer.
“Master, then I’ll be taking my leave as well...”
Parsha, who had been intently observing the unintentional ‘disciplinary’ scene, bowed her head respectfully and began heading toward the exit.
“No, Parsha, please stay for a moment.”
“Huh?”
But for some reason, Whitney called her back.
“As you can see, I’m in a bit of a tight spot right now.”
“Ah.”
“I’d like to see your skills in action.”
He smiled and gestured toward Ferris, who was still completely shut down and buried in the ground.
Parsha’s eyes immediately lit up again.
‘Not only has he forgiven my rudeness... he’s even giving me such a rare opportunity...’
But then she flinched, her lips trembling slightly.
‘...Wait, is this a test?’
She cautiously observed Whitney’s expression and quickly leaned toward the latter conclusion.
“Parsha, you’re competent enough to handle this, aren’t you?”
From the outside, it looked like a generous offer to share the spoils of a hunt—but Whitney’s eyes were piercing through her with razor-sharp clarity.
“...Leave it to me!”
Of course, this was just how Parsha perceived it.
‘This wolf beastkin is Maier Embergreen’s spy. If I can’t deal with her here, things will get complicated.’
Despite the smile in his eyes, Whitney’s thoughts were burning with tension.
‘...Parsha will pull it off, right?’
***
Parsha slowly approached Ferris and began whispering quietly into her ear.
“Hey.”
“......”
“Ferris.”
Truthfully, in terms of sheer combat ability, this was akin to sticking one’s neck into a tiger’s den.
If not for the monster behind her who stood far beyond the level of any beast, Parsha would never have dared this.
“Get a grip.”
“......”
“This isn’t going to end well for you, you know.”
Yet judging by Ferris’s condition, that concern might’ve been unnecessary.
“...Ugh... ngh...”
Ferris, her face pale, had even curled up her once-fluffy tail and buried her head into the floor.
Whether this was an instinctual reaction as a beastkin or simply a panic-induced habit, she looked truly pitiful.
“If you keep acting uncooperative like this, you’ll get eaten.”
“...!”
“So, how about you lift your head?”
But Parsha couldn’t afford to pity her. The responsibility handed to her was far too great.
“S-S-Save me...”
“There we go. Good job.”
As Ferris timidly lifted her head, trembling all over, Parsha smiled like Whitney and gently patted her head.
“I-I just... wanted to become a knight...”
“......”
“I didn’t know this place was like this... Please, just let me go...”
Ferris began pleading in a tearful voice.
“Oh dear. I must have misjudged your character.”
“...?”
“I thought you had big ambitions and plenty of greed.”
As Parsha tilted her head and muttered, Ferris flinched slightly and began sweating coldly.
“I-I’m just... a wandering beastkin...”
“...You say that, but you’re far too well-trained to be some random stray.”
Ferris kept stammering, trying to make excuses—but Parsha’s next words made her freeze.
“Shadow of Maier Embergreen. Assassin knight. Ferris.”
“...!”
“Your orders were to assassinate Whitney Ringaarden. If that failed, then infiltrate and relay information periodically. Am I wrong?”
The tiny butler, looming in front of her face, looked at her with a chilling expression that saw through everything.
“H-How do you...”
“Haha! That’s not what matters right now, is it?”
Also, seeing that Whitney’s expression hadn’t changed at all behind Parsha, it became clear that her identity had been exposed from the start.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“......”
“I-I’ve committed a grave sin!”
Realizing this with the honed instincts of a former slave, Ferris quickly lowered her head to the floor and screamed in apology.
“Why are you looking over there?”
“...Hic.”
“You’re talking to me, aren’t you?”
Parsha’s cold voice as she forcefully lifted Ferris’s chin made the cold sweat pour even faster.
“Still, you’re rather lucky.”
It was then that Parsha’s tone suddenly softened.
“At the very last moment, you were given a chance to switch sides.”
“W-What do you mean?”
Ferris, again using her intuition to catch the shift, asked respectfully, even switching to formal speech.
“You must have seen it. What happened in the tea room this morning.”
“T-That was... I-I saw it by accident...”
“...If you keep lying, I won’t be able to help you.”
Parsha’s gaze grew cold again, and Ferris hurried to change her answer.
“I-I was spying.”
“...And what did you see?”
“Sir- Sir Whitney...”
“...Go on.”
“H-He was speaking... with the Shadow Witch...”
Ferris’s eyes narrowed slightly as she continued.
“Yes. Something even Maier Embergreen wouldn’t dare dream of.”
“......”
“Even a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ toddler could tell which side holds more power now. Don’t you think?”
Parsha wasted no time in driving the knife deeper into Ferris’s wavering heart.
“Think about it. Why do you serve Maier Embergreen? Isn’t it because you want to rise to a higher position under his favor?”
“...Y-Yes, that’s right.”
“Then wouldn’t it be far more profitable to pledge loyalty to our master?”
As Parsha finished speaking, Ferris looked between her and Whitney, then forced a smile.
“Y-Yes, of course.”
“...You don’t sound sincere.”
“N-No, I mean it!”
“Sorry, but I can tell when someone’s lying.”
Parsha dropped all pretense, her tone cold again, and began laying out the truth.
“You won’t have a place to return to anyway.”
At first, Ferris blinked in confusion—but soon, her face turned pale.
“From what I know, Maier Embergreen is preparing to remarry.”
“...What?”
“Haha! Why do you think he suddenly sent you on such a dangerous mission?”
It wasn’t just Parsha’s words that shook her.
Rumors about Maier’s remarriage had quietly circulated in the Empire for some time now, often sounding credible.
But Ferris had trusted Maier’s words—that there was no way he’d do such a thing to her.
“He had to clean up anything that could cause misunderstanding before the marriage.”
“...T-That’s a lie.”
“If you won’t believe me, then I’ll just have to show you proof.”
Though she still resisted the truth, when Parsha pulled something from her coat and tossed it over, Ferris collapsed.
“This is...”
“A love letter handwritten by Maier Embergreen. Our top thief went through a lot to get it.”
It was the trump card Parsha had been secretly preparing since the day Ferris joined as a knight, through Bergen.
“B-But... When he held my hand and taught me to wield a sword, he said I was the most precious thing in his world...”
“Men lie just as cruelly as women do. Especially when it comes to love.”
As Ferris read the letter in a daze, tears began to well up in her eyes.
“That’s why I said you’re lucky.”
At those words, Ferris looked up blankly.
“Instead of being discarded after you’ve outlived your usefulness to a worthless man, you now have a chance to stand beside the future Demon King of the world.”
“D-Demon King?”
“...Didn’t you just witness his terrifying power?”
Parsha’s sudden shift into “Demon King” talk confused Ferris a little—but her decision had already been made.
“Well, the choice is yours. Will you stay loyal to Maier Embergreen, or swear allegiance to a new master right here?”
“......”
“What’s it going to be?”
And just a few minutes later, following in Lunelle’s footsteps, another knight offered everything she had to Whitney.
