A Mastermind? No, I'm just the Live-In Son-in-Law-Chapter 109: Demon King Whitney
“Haha, hahaha....”
The emperor, who had been staring at the indescribable being that appeared before her, let out a hollow laugh without realizing it, and began slowly backing away.
“...This is bad.”
But as she had already been half-seated on the bed to begin with, there was no retreat available.
Only the soundproofing wall, now turned into a prison, remained to greet the emperor.
“Puppeteer.”
The emperor, pressing her back firmly against the wall and sweating coldly, called for her ally.
“Ki, kihihit....”
“Puppeteer!”
“W-wait a second. I'm still controlling it....”
The bear puppet, wearing another unsettling smile, flinched at the emperor’s outburst and hastily began chanting a spell while flailing its arms.
– Sharararak....
At the same time, black threads shot out from every direction, aiming straight for Whitney.
“Hehe... I have plenty of mana. I can just draw some life force from the people in this shop....”
As the threads wrapped around Whitney, the bear puppet, which had crawled up beside the emperor, covered its mouth and let out another creepy giggle.
“......Hm.”
“Kik? W-what?”
However, Whitney, staring down at the bear puppet, suddenly curled his lips into a smile that was several times more disturbing.
– Fwik....
And then, just a moment later, before the emperor or the puppeteer could even react, Whitney casually raised a finger and gave a light flick.
“......!?”
“Kit!?”
With just that simple motion, the situation flipped completely.
“N-no way.”
The black threads that had been wrapping around Whitney suddenly twisted like snakes and shot toward the emperor and the bear puppet on the bed.
“Kek! Th-this is my thread! Perfect threads extracted from my masterpieces...!”
The bear puppet, staring blankly upward, let out a voice full of injustice, but it was already too late.
“Kiek!”
The black threads, having betrayed their master for some reason, had already snatched up the bear puppet and bound it tightly in midair.
“Huh.”
And the emperor was no exception.
“...Tied up nicely.”
Struggling briefly against the black threads binding her body, the emperor quickly realized it was useless and sighed, relaxing her body.
“But tell me, what’s with your eyes?”
The emperor, lifting her head quietly, directed her question at Whitney standing before her.
“When did you start hiding that ability?”
“.......”
“Is that the so-called ‘power of dominion’ that you possess?”
Though the words were spoken with a hollow heart, the emperor’s question hit closer to the truth than expected.
Ever since Whitney realized he had some hidden ability, he had struggled over the past few days, unable to properly use it.
The suspicious aura he had been unknowingly releasing, the force that, even by mere possession, allowed him to command all the monsters and darkness of the world at will—
That overwhelming aura, the true nature of the oppressive force Whitney had just now begun to emit, was the inherited power of the Demon King, a power that could reduce those born with the fate of the Demon King’s heirs to mere trifles.
“I always knew you were one of my kind, but I never imagined you could unleash that level of power with such a simple trigger....”
“...Haa.”
Even as she twisted her face slightly in frustration, the emperor muttered without losing her smile, but soon the smile began to fade from her face.
“You talk too much.”
Without warning, Whitney dropped his formal tone, grasping the emperor’s chin with his hand as she was bound by the threads.
“Isn’t this treatment something you're familiar with?”
“.......”
“Well, the emperor does usually stand atop everyone else's heads.”
Forcing her head upward, the emperor showed a faintly humiliated expression, yet she still stared straight into ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Whitney’s eyes.
“But tell me, what would happen if that noble status of yours got tarnished?”
“......!”
The emperor’s eyes instantly began to waver at Whitney’s words.
“I don't quite understand what you mean.”
“...Haha.”
Whitney, observing her intently, whispered in a low voice full of mockery.
“Your Majesty. I see right through you. I’m ready to end your reign at any time.”
Though his tone had returned to its usual form, unlike before, a chilling aura clung to his words.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll reveal it with my own hands.”
“...Wait!”
“My apologies for daring to touch your precious body, Your Majesty.”
The emperor, instinctively flinching, raised her voice urgently as Whitney placed his hand near her thigh — but it was already too late.
– Jiing....
As soon as Whitney’s hand touched her, a black mark clearly surfaced on her thigh.
It was the same slave mark that Lunelle, once fallen into slavery, had carried.
And naturally, for the most noble being in the Empire, it was a mark that should never exist.
“A mere slave rising to the Empire’s highest seat.”
“.......”
“You’re the most shameless cuckoo in history, nesting in the Empire.”
Whitney, lightly caressing the mark, whispered with a voice full of laughter, and the emperor, silently glaring at him, finally opened her mouth with a look of resignation.
“...The former emperor, my so-called brother, was not truly my kin.”
But Whitney, uninterested in her excuses, continued speaking.
“Of course. You were the former emperor’s shadow, used personally since childhood. Wasn’t that right?”
“.......”
“But after you awakened to your ‘brainwashing eye’ ability, everything changed.”
The emperor, staring blankly at Whitney as he spoke, seemed dazed.
“...The Imperial Palace has always been a closed world. By tampering lightly with a few memories, especially those of the former emperor, you managed to claim the title of First Princess.”
Leaning in closer, Whitney’s words pierced her like he truly saw through everything.
“Not stopping there, you even successfully executed a carefully planned coup. Truly days of glory, weren’t they?”
“...Yes, they were.”
“But that ended once the leader of the black mages, aware of your secret, approached you.”
The emperor, suppressed by Whitney’s momentum until now, finally frowned and opened her mouth.
“You know too much....”
“.......”
“I’m not blaming you for what’s happened... but how do you know all this?”
Whitney, quietly looking down at the emperor, asked.
“Would you like to know?”
“...Not necessarily.”
Sensing an inexplicable sense of dread, the emperor shook her head quietly, and Whitney smiled faintly.
“Haha... A wise choice.”
“......?”
“Otherwise, you would have given me one more reason to kill you right here.”
Only then did the emperor realize the true source of the unease she had been feeling.
“...What are you talking about, Sir Whitney?”
“Are you pretending not to know, Your Majesty?”
Whitney, opening his eyes wide, lowered his head further and brought his gaze close to the emperor’s narrowed eyes.
“Today, here, you and I waged a total war. A battle where both of us staked everything.”
“.......”
“As a result, your days of glory have come to an end. The play is over. The curtain has fallen.”
From Whitney now exuded a killing intent unlike anything before.
Not just a chilling or spine-tingling feeling — he felt like an entirely different, wicked being.
The change was too drastic for just the act of opening his eyes, yet it was undeniable.
“If you kill me here, you’ll be in trouble too.”
“...Haha, are you serious?”
The emperor, who had realized the truth, tried gently persuading Whitney with a nervous smile, but his response was chilling.
“Are you confident today's incident won’t be recorded in history as just another mysterious imperial death?”
“.......”
“Hahahaha... Your Majesty, you do know this is no time to be overconfident.”
Normally, the emperor would not have flinched even if a blade was held to her throat.
But now, her ultimate weapon — the ‘brainwashing eye’ — had been rendered useless.
And ever since Whitney opened his eyes, she had been slowly drowning in the overwhelming fear he exuded.
Even Lilia Winter Clouds, the Iron-Blooded Sovereign, was reaching her limit.
– Swoosh....
In that moment, Whitney’s hand suddenly wrapped around the emperor’s neck.
“...Kuh?”
The emperor flinched, thinking he would strangle her, but when she realized she wasn’t suffocating, she looked up at him in confusion.
“Up close, Your Majesty has quite a cute side.” frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Whitney, simply smiling, murmured as he gently grasped her neck.
“You dare...”
“...I never said I would spare you either.”
“...Hhk.”
The emperor, about to erupt in anger at the blatant mockery, quickly fell silent as Whitney applied slight pressure.
“There we go.”
Whitney neither strangled nor fully released her, a clear and deliberate act meant to constantly remind her that her life was in his hands.
Humiliated, the emperor’s face flushed even deeper with shame.
“...Sir Whitney, I concede.”
But she, with her keen instincts and ability to set aside pride, quickly responded.
“What is it you want? I will grant anything you ask.”
She recognized her life now depended entirely on the young man before her.
“You still don't seem to understand.”
Yet Whitney seemed intent on trampling even her last shred of dignity.
“Wouldn’t it benefit me more to seat the lovely Princess Katarina on the throne, rather than cooperate with a snake like you?”
Tightening his grip further, Whitney’s cold expression became even more chilling.
“Neh? Your Majesty?”
“.......”
“Please, grasp the situation properly — before your fair neck snaps.”
Pressed by Whitney’s final nail, the emperor closed her eyes and whispered in a voice barely audible.
“...Yes, please spare me.”
At her broken voice, Whitney finally lifted the corner of his lips slightly.
“If you wish to live, you must prove your worth.”
“.......”
“Give me something more valuable than killing you right here would offer.”
The emperor, thinking silently, finally bit her lip and glared at Whitney.
“Right now.”
At Whitney’s cold, commanding whisper, she exhaled and spoke.
“...There is only one thing I can offer you now.”
“And what is that?”
“That would be betrayal.”
At that moment, Whitney’s lips curled into a full, wicked smile.
