Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 18
After hearing from Guinevere the full story of the fifty years she had lost, Siod stood there, his face utterly drained of spirit. Staring blankly ahead, he swayed unsteadily and muttered,
“I shouldn’t have left.”
Why did his face show such deep regret? Why did his voice sound so pained? Guinevere couldn’t understand it at all.
They had never been anything more than a casual encounter from the start. Before either could satisfy their curiosity about the other, they had already become intimate—and before they truly knew each other, a child was unexpectedly conceived.
Before Guinevere could even process her confusion, he had left. What had she felt back then?
‘It wasn’t betrayal.’
Because their relationship had never reached a point where betrayal could even exist. Guinevere never sought him out after he disappeared; she quietly gave birth to their child alone.
She had resolved from the beginning that William was entirely hers—and that her child had no need for a father. She raised him on her own.
“I’m sorry… for making you go through it all alone….”
So she had never expected a reaction like this. Siod knelt before Guinevere and carefully covered the back of her hand with his own.
“How shocked you must have been to make such an irrational vow. I should have stayed by your side.”
He bowed his head and remained silent for a long while. Guinevere watched the trembling crown of his head before finally asking,
“…Are you crying?”
No answer came.
“…”
Guinevere was genuinely flustered. Did he really have to cry over this? They’d even seen each other naked—but this was the first time she’d seen him weep.
She barely suppressed the urge to study his face closely and instead said,
“Well, I’m glad you came. At least now I know that as long as time regression doesn’t happen again, the dragon race won’t interfere.”
In truth, Guinevere truly felt relieved. Siod’s very presence was unexpectedly comforting.
Now, if she could just go back to the beginning and prevent Larisa’s death, William would never have to turn back time again. The tension drained from Guinevere’s body, and she slumped into her chair.
With the tension gone, an idle question slipped out on its own.
“If you’re going to regret it this much, why did you leave in the first place?”
“…”
“Never mind. Forget it.”
Siod wordlessly lifted his head and stared at her. Even though he stood with the moonlight backlighting him, his eyes seemed to flash silver for an instant.
“…I was too angry.”
It was strange. She’d expected him to act smug and teasing, making some jealous remark or another. Instead, with a blank expression, tears streaming down his face, Siod said,
“I thought the child might not be mine—and it felt like I was going mad.”
Guinevere gently slipped her hand from his grasp. He trembled his wet eyelashes and continued,
“That’s why I ran away.”
I should be the one running away, Guinevere thought. An odd chill ran down her spine.
“I was afraid… I might kill you.”
Damn it, Guinevere silently cursed. It had been a long time since she’d felt such a cold shiver down her spine.
Interpreting her silence in some way, Siod’s expression turned dejected.
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For leaving without properly finding out… But that’s how I felt back then.”
Guinevere decided it was time to change the subject. After a brief pause, she forced out a different question.
“Then why did you come back?”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, Lord would’ve intervened directly. And you’d be dead.”
They were back to her dying again. Guinevere irritably ran a hand through her hair.
“Why not just let me die, then?”
“I woke up after a nap, and my head had cooled off a bit….”
Siod began fidgeting, glancing nervously at her expression. Guinevere wondered what on earth this childish dragon was thinking.
“You said you wouldn’t get angry—just tell me honestly.”
“The magic used in the regression spell felt similar to yours but not quite the same… so I thought maybe it was your child. If I got rid of that child, the problem would be solved—and I could see you again, too… Urk.”
Without realizing it, Guinevere kicked Siod and then sighed.
“You said you wouldn’t get angry?”
“Just shut your mouth.”
Her head was spinning. Dragons were fickle creatures. Even if he seemed utterly devoted to her now, there was no telling when he might change his mind—just like the last time he vanished without a trace.
She couldn’t trust him. Moreover, his quick talk of love felt deeply unconvincing.
‘Dragons are said to prioritize protecting their eggs and hatchlings above all else.’
Could it be that he was acting this way simply because William was his son? If dragonkind truly valued offspring that much, perhaps that was it. Testing the waters, Guinevere asked,
“If you hadn’t realized William was your son, would you have killed him?”
Siod turned pale and stammered,
“I-I never actually intended to kill him…”
“Then what?”
“…I was going to make him swear a mage’s oath.”
How generous of him, Guinevere thought wryly, letting out an incredulous laugh.
“William can’t use magic. He can’t even take a mage’s oath.”
“…Right. Haha.”
“You’re laughing?”
Siod quickly shut his mouth. He’d been relieved the moment he saw William—thankfully, the boy had inherited strong draconic magic. If he hadn’t…
“Let me make this clear one more time: don’t even think about playing father.”
“But…”
“He’s my child. And if your interference distorts the future again, it’ll be a problem.”
Having endured the same tragedy three times, Guinevere couldn’t help but be hypersensitive about this matter.
She didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if William realized he carried draconic blood.
The moment he’d discovered his talent for time magic, he’d offered his own heart as a sacrifice. If he learned of his lineage, who knew what even worse things he might do?
Every time she saw him recklessly cutting himself to extract magic from his blood, she felt her insides twist in fury.
“I won’t teach him magic. He’ll grow up knowing nothing. The regression never happened. William will simply grow up and be happy with Larisa—that’s all that matters.”
Guinevere grabbed Siod by the collar and demanded sharply,
“Do you understand?”
“…Yes.”
At the very least, Guinevere was glad that dragons were capable of paternal instinct. Misinterpreting his emotions to suit herself, she scolded him thoroughly and sent him back to the Valley of Dragons.
*
Finally, a month had passed since Larisa arrived at the mansion. Now, Larisa was having her blood drawn in Dr. Prosch’s laboratory.
“Ow ow ow….”
Startled by the unfamiliar needle, Larisa’s round eyes welled up with tears. As the long, sharp needle drew closer, she turned her head away. William spoke gently,
“It’s alright. It’s just a blood test.”
“Nooo, it’s scary!”
“It’ll just sting a little.”
Larisa glared resentfully at William, who held her arm firmly to keep her from squirming.
“You said you’d always be on my side! Traitor!”
“Lara, it’s just a routine health check.”
If it had been a magic experiment, William would have stopped it himself. But this was different—it was to check Larisa’s health. After all, she seemed far too small, thin, and fragile compared to other children her age.
“It’s just a little blood.”
“No! It hurts!”
“Be good, Lara?”
“I’m not good!”
While Larisa and William bickered, Dr. Prosch skillfully finished drawing the blood.
“All done.”
“Phew.”
William quickly lifted the tearful Larisa into his arms. Comforting her like this almost made him feel like a real older brother.
“There, good job. Have some chocolate. Ah~”
“Ah~”
Even while crying, Larisa accepted the chocolate William placed in her mouth. Knowing she never refused food, William chuckled softly.
In truth, Larisa hadn’t been in much pain—but it was her first time having blood drawn with a needle, so she’d been frightened.
“The test results will be ready by the end of today.”
Guinevere let out a sigh.
“Please take good care of this.”
Dr. Prosch, the Rodante family’s personal physician and a scholar of arcane medicine, couldn’t hide his surprise at Guinevere’s unusual request.
“Why go to such lengths for a little girl like this…?”
Sensing the negative implication, Guinevere turned sharply toward Dr. Prosch.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing at all.”
Dr. Prosch, both a physician and a mage, was a talent even the imperial palace coveted. Yet he had willingly become the Rodante family’s personal physician—
Because the benefits outweighed everything else. Since neither Guinevere nor William ever got sick or injured, he was free to live quietly, immersed in his research.
He was already overwhelmed with his studies, so being specially summoned by Guinevere for something as trivial as a health check for a street urchin was bewildering—especially hearing her phrase it as a personal favor.
But he hadn’t meant to show his thoughts so plainly. He’d heard how fond Guinevere had become of this girl recently, after all.
Yet Larisa didn’t miss the chance presented by Guinevere’s suspicious expression.
“I’m sorry for troubling you over something so trivial, Dr. Prosch.”
“Hm?”
Caught off guard, Dr. Prosch instinctively used honorifics toward Larisa, who was still nestled in William’s arms. He coughed awkwardly.
Larisa, not yet a member of the Rodante household, was merely a commoner from the slums.
It was embarrassing enough to have accidentally used formal speech with a peasant child—but his embarrassment turned to horror at Larisa’s next words.
“You said not to call you over for trivial things, remember? I’m sorry.”
Hearing Larisa’s subdued tone, Guinevere muttered darkly,
“You said that?”
Already imposing by nature, Guinevere’s icy glare made the room feel as though its temperature had plummeted instantly. Dr. Prosch hurriedly pushed up his monocle and denied it.
“Not at all! A request from Lady Rodante could never be trivial.”
“But last time, when William called you, you said not to summon you for something so insignificant.”
“Is my son insignificant?”
Sweat began to bead on Dr. Prosch’s forehead.
An Indifferent Woman is the One Men Desire the Most
One-line summary: The female lead is actually cold-hearted and extremely rational. She has stage-by-stage relationships and won’t two-time, but there will always be someone who secretly likes her.
This novel has the following triggers, so if you’re sensitive to these, please don’t read:
1. The female lead has had many relationships, but she treated each one seriously and broke up properly.
It’s just that the men unilaterally pestered her incessantly. For the female lead, when she doesn’t like someone anymore, she simply doesn’t like them.
(This applies to her relationships with Male Lead 1, 2, 3, and 4 as well, but she’s loyal in each 1-on-1 relationship!)
2. In this novel, Male Lead 2 and the female lead kiss in a car, and Male Lead 1 sees it and beats up Male Lead 2.
The female lead calls the police and sends both Male Lead 1 and 2 to the police station! Male Lead 1 begs the female lead not to break up with him.
3. Male Lead 1 has a gentle appearance but an obsessive personality.
Male Lead 2 has a delicate and soft appearance, slightly green tea-like (two-faced).
Male Lead 3 is a youthful college student and a smart person who has secretly liked the female lead for a long time.
Male Lead 4 is the female lead’s father’s special assistant, a business elite with deep, hidden thoughts.
4. At the beginning of this novel, the female lead has already broken up with Male Lead 1 (Chapter 4) and gotten back together with Male Lead 2 (ex-boyfriend).
5. Enter with caution if you have triggers!!!
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