“Haa, haa….”
“…Hrk.”
To start with the conclusion, among the two applicants, Johan collapsed without lasting even a minute against Whitney’s ability.
No, to be more precise, it would be correct to say that he knelt down not because of Whitney, but because of the murderous aura emitted by Meredia’s Jewel Eye.
‘How foolish.’
The appearance he showed when he instinctively opened his eyes slightly was nowhere to be seen now, and the force Whitney exuded as he began using the power of domination by himself was truly pathetic.
No matter how highly one tried to evaluate it, the most one could say was that it gave you chills or made your heart shudder slightly.
Fortunately, it was Meredia who first noticed this and used her Jewel Eye to pressure the two applicants, saving Whitney from nearly embarrassing himself.
‘Monster… Truly a monster.’
However, contrary to Whitney’s intentions, a misunderstanding arose where the applicants began to treat him as an untouchable existence.
“Ugh.”
Meanwhile, the beastman knight Ferris, who stood beside him, fared slightly better.
While she was drenched in cold sweat, she managed to stay upright, glaring at Whitney with a sane mind, unlike Johan.
‘Quite impressive for a beastman.’
Knowing well that very few could remain standing when she used her Jewel Eye, Meredia gazed at Ferris with a look of interest, falling deep into thought.
‘There are many similar goods in the slave market… Should I buy one?’
Of course, being the villainess she was, her inner thoughts were anything but pure.
“Lady Meredia….”
“What is it?”
“I think… we might have gained a terrifying power….”
“…Haa.”
However, even Meredia paused her thoughts and sighed when Whitney, who had turned around from afar with a dumbfounded expression, spoke to her.
“Maybe it’s better to hold back a little….”
“Hold back what exactly?”
“Ah, but then again, we don’t have time to do that.”
Unlike Meredia, who knew the situation, to the two applicants even that scene looked like a completed image of a dark mastermind.
‘…What a disaster.’
And as Whitney had expected, to Ferris — who had been sent by Young Lord Meyer with dark orders — the situation appeared utterly despairing.
‘I anticipated some difficulty, but this is too overwhelming.’
As someone strong herself, Ferris could somewhat predict the outcome of a battle just by sensing her opponent’s energy.
And from what she could feel now, Whitney was not someone she could hope to contend with.
No, even if every applicant present today were to attack him with full force, she doubted they could even leave a scratch.
– Step, step…
Just as she was revising her entire plan while sweating coldly, she heard footsteps approaching.
“You are very impressive.”
“… …”
“I almost judged you based on your looks and build, but with this level of mental strength, you are an outstanding candidate.”
Before she knew it, Whitney was standing right in front of Ferris, scanning her with an interested expression.
‘…So in the end, he’s just a man after all?’
Seeing the deep gaze examining her even under such pressure, Ferris’s lips subtly curled upward.
‘That makes things easier.’
One might think, since she was a slave knight, that Ferris was a poor victim trained by Young Lord Meyer.
But in truth, Ferris was far closer to black than to white.
‘I wasn’t sure if he was joking earlier, but now I’m certain I can manipulate him….’
Beyond her wolf-like physical abilities and the assassination skills honed from serving as Meyer’s shadow, she had a natural-born talent.
It was the ability to unconsciously exude pheromones that intoxicated her targets.
It was largely thanks to these pheromones that the cold sociopath Meyer favored her despite her slave origins.
It wasn’t for nothing that she had never once failed a mission involving male targets.
“Haa, haa….”
Thus, it was no coincidence when Ferris, quietly observing the situation, suddenly wore a weakened expression, wiped away cold sweat, and stumbled as her legs gave out.
“…!”
“Hm?”
As her movements, each meticulously calculated, led her body to stagger — she fell directly toward Whitney’s chest.
‘Alright, if I can just…’
No matter who the man before her was, as long as she plastered her pheromones onto him, it would be over.
And even if the target smelled more like a monster than a human, it would make no difference.
‘It’s only a matter of time before Meyer acknowledges me.’
The good news was that her unofficial owner, Meyer, had promised to remove her slave brand once she completed this mission.
But Ferris’s ambitions did not end there.
Having lived a life of slavery since childhood, she had a strong desire to climb the social ladder.
Even if she became free, she planned to stay by Meyer’s side.
Though the possibility was slim, if she stayed long enough by his side and he grew attached to her, might he not lay his hand on her?
Fortunately, she had yet to fully disclose her ‘pheromone’ ability to Meyer.
Thus, if she could adjust the amount she emitted and subtly marinate him, becoming the duchess of a great imperial house might not be a mere fantasy…
“…Kuh?”
Ferris, who had been smirking ominously at her own delusion while sweating, suddenly widened her eyes and let out a groan.
“Oh dear, looks like that’s your limit.”
“……?”
Soon after, she heard Whitney’s unnecessarily cheerful voice.
“Huh?”
Ferris blinked, not understanding what had happened, until she realized she was lying on the cold dirt floor, not in Whitney’s arms, and let out a dazed gasp as she hurriedly got up.
‘My pheromones didn’t work?’
Thanks to her natural pheromones, she could attract not only humans but even stray dogs in back alleys.
Thus, for a ‘male’ being to show no reaction despite her deliberate effort to release her pheromones — it was the first time this had ever happened to Ferris.
‘No way. Could it be that he prefers men?’
Ferris, who had even begun to doubt Whitney’s sexual orientation in her mind, was fortunately soon able to clear up her misunderstanding.
– It’s one thing for a mutt to not know their place.
Just as she was brushing off the dirt and getting up, an extremely cold voice echoed in her head.
– Could you stop spreading that disgusting smell you’ve been leaking since earlier?
And it was unmistakably Meredia’s voice, who had been glaring silently at Ferris all along.
*****
‘So the flies are already starting to gather.’
Meredia’s impression as she watched Ferris, who barely managed to stand while trembling, was exactly that.
‘Honestly, I’d love to kill her on the spot…
Fortunately for Ferris, Meredia was currently refraining from overusing her Jewel Eye to prevent draining herself, and thus was holding back her brutally powerful mind-reading abilities.
‘…Well, she’s still a useful talent, after all.’
However, Meredia immediately realized that Ferris had tried to influence Whitney using pheromones, and she shot a very displeased look at Whitney.
‘Maybe I should give it a little test.’
And in the next moment, Meredia’s eyes slowly began returning to their original color.
“Hmm?”
At the same time, Whitney, who had been worriedly watching Ferris, started to twitch subtly.
“Congratulations.”
“…Huh?”
Suddenly, Whitney reached out his hand toward her and initiated a handshake.
“Congratulations. As of today, you are officially a knight of House Lingard.”
…!?
“There’s no need to be so surprised. You have already met all the standards I was looking for.”
As he began to speak in a soft voice, Ferris, who was stunned, wore an uncertain expression, while Meredia’s face turned even colder.
‘Did… did the pheromones finally take effect?’
Whitney’s sudden, extremely kind expression was enough to deepen Ferris’s misunderstanding.
However, what he said next only confused her further.
“Oh. And you’re also accepted, Mr. Johan.”
“Ugh….”
Johan, who had been rendered completely helpless and was frothing at the mouth thanks to the ongoing tension between Ferris and Meredia, was somehow also accepted by Whitney.
“Yes. With just this level of mental strength… it’s enough.”
“……”
“…Actually, it suits my standards even better.”
Finally, Ferris temporarily set aside her doubts about her pheromones and took a step back, feeling a chilling sensation down her spine.
‘…Was the plan not to build a knight order, but a meat shield unit instead?’
“No, no. Since it’s the master’s plan, it can’t be such a crude idea.
Probably, the real plan is to brainwash them slowly until both their bodies and minds belong completely….”
There was definitely something strange about the Lingard household.
“I guess this time, they don’t even need to be carried.”
“Uh, Lady Sasha, this guy is still conscious though?”
“W-What should we do?”
“…Hehe, heheheh.”
From what Ferris could hear with her sharp ears, even without counting Whitney or Lady Meredia, all the examiners and servants had completely lost their minds.
‘I have to escape.’
Covered in goosebumps all over her body, Ferris forgot her mission entirely and began retreating backward instinctively, but it was already too late.
“The waiting room for accepted applicants isn’t that way.”
“……!”
“That’s the way the rejected applicants go.”
Whitney, turning his head at an unnatural angle to look at her, spoke with a chillingly kind smile.
“It would be sad if you managed to survive this far, only to take the wrong path, right? Haha….”
“…Hic.”
And so, the first successful applicants of the newly founded Lingard Knight Order had no choice but to obediently head to the waiting room prepared for them under Whitney’s guidance.
“…Strange.”
However, if there was one thing that even Whitney hadn’t anticipated amidst the settling atmosphere—
“Why does my chest feel so hot…?”
—it was the fact that Ferris’s pheromones, temporarily unleashed when Meredia loosened her control to test him, had not been completely ineffective on Whitney.
*****
“Next participants… let’s see.”
Shortly afterward, the knight order interviews continued smoothly, contrary to earlier worries.
“Evangelin and Richard Mistilane.”
Meredia, checking the next applicants’ identity documents, called out the names at the top of the forms and quietly turned her gaze to Runiel.
“They’re your younger siblings you mentioned earlier?”
“……Yes.”
“I see. Well, that’s at least something interesting in this boring interview.”
However, despite what she said, Meredia’s expression looked unusually stiff and awkward.
“……”
And it wasn’t just Meredia; Runiel, who was conducting the interview, and Parsha as well, wore similar expressions.
“Shouldn’t we… stop this somehow?”
“Who do you think could possibly stop that?”
“Maybe Sasha could do it?”
“…No way. She might die of a heart attack before even trying.”
Expanding the view a little, even the servants hauling away rejected applicants far off in the interview field — who had already grown numb to the absurdities of the Lingard household — all looked utterly pale.
“Lady Meredia, can’t you hear me?”
One might wonder what kind of scene could cause so much uproar, but the situation unfolding in the garden was definitely enough to warrant such reactions.
“…I said, let’s just rest together quietly for a bit, okay?”
Whitney, looking completely intoxicated, had his arm draped over Meredia’s shoulders and was relentlessly flirting with her.
Cliche Novel 