Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 20
“Thank you all for coming.”
Guinevere spoke casually, using informal speech—because every noble present was younger than her.
Then she looked toward one spot and said,
“Oh, I didn’t even realize Her Majesty the Empress had come.”
The Empress gave a gentle smile and nodded politely—her eyes expressing gratitude for being noticed.
“Today is my son’s fourteenth birthday party, held just before he departs for the Academy. It’s a special day for me as well.”
William swallowed hard. He was nervous about what his mother might do in front of so many guests, embarrassed, yet strangely hopeful—and that hope made him feel guilty.
‘What on earth is she about to say?’
After all, he was a useless child—unable to stir even a drop of magic by age fourteen, long since cast out of Guinevere Rodante’s regard…
“Children inevitably leave their parents’ side someday, but I never truly believed that day would come.”
Contrary to William’s expectations, Guinevere’s words were utterly unexpected.
“To think the day would come when my son departs…”
And then something astonishing happened before everyone’s eyes—Guinevere’s tears began streaming down her cheeks.
“Mo—Mother!”
Larisa quickly scurried over and handed Guinevere a handkerchief.
“Thank you, Lara.”
Guinevere dabbed her tears with the handkerchief and cleared her throat. Merely mentioning his departure brought back the day William had tried to take his own life. Her tears flowed uncontrollably—something even she couldn’t stop.
Though the shocked guests murmured among themselves, Guinevere paid them no mind.
‘What, have you never seen someone cry before?’
She remained composed, having stunned not only the guests but even William himself.
“Hmm, anyway. I pray my son departs safely from my arms and remains unharmed. Let us now begin the party.”
Guinevere raised her glass and called out,
“Happy birthday, William!”
The crowd cheered. William felt embarrassed, oddly close to tears himself, wanting to hide—but also strangely full of emotion.
“Willie, Willie! Snap out of it! You’ve got to cut the cake!!”
Larisa, eager for cake, grabbed William’s arm and shook it. William blinked quickly to hold back his tears and awkwardly walked over to cut the cake.
True to his status as an Academy Knight Division candidate, he sliced cleanly through the fourteen-tier cake in one stroke.
“Woooooah!!!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd.
Guinevere was impressed by William’s showmanship.
‘He puts on such a shy act…’
William presented the first slice to his mother and the second to Larisa.
Though he now had nothing else to do, he felt as if he’d just completed some grand ceremony.
But the ceremony had only just begun.
“May I have a slice too?”
When the Empress extended her plate, William had no choice but to carve her a piece.
Then the nobles behind the Empress began lining up. William started cutting and handing out slices as each guest offered birthday wishes.
The fourteen-tier cake was so enormous it was more than enough for everyone. Once William finally finished distributing all the slices without even catching his breath, the gift-giving ceremony began.
First was Guinevere.
“I pray for your safety, William.”
The guests thought her words were perfectly fitting—a suitable blessing for a son who’d just passed into the Knight Division. But Guinevere’s inner turmoil ran far deeper.
Before her tears could fall again, she quickly excused herself and left.
Because the guests watched with such eager anticipation, William had no choice but to open the box.
He gasped and quickly shut it again before anyone could see. Inside was a ring—clearly a woman’s ring, undoubtedly set with a diamond.
‘Why would she give me something like this?!’
The second gift was from Larisa.
“William, thank you so much for becoming my family. Happy birthday.”
“Huh?”
‘We’re not family yet.’
William was flustered. What was he supposed to say to that? That they were still strangers? While he stammered uncertainly, Larisa quickly pressed the gift into his hands and hurried away.
It was a bouquet—clearly made by her own hand, since every flower came straight from their garden.
William gave a small smile.
Before he could dwell on it, the next turn was the Empress’s.
“Congratulations on your admission to the Knight Division. It’s reassuring to see a future knight who’ll receive the imperial appointment. And happy birthday as well.”
After the Empress finished speaking, her lady-in-waiting stepped forward with the gift.
“Thank you.”
Out of courtesy, William opened the box—and found a magnificent, real sword inside.
‘Should I at least pretend to be happy?’
Still, out of respect for Her Majesty, he offered a second thank-you.
“It’s a sword. Thank you.”
Once all the formalities concluded, the final gift-giver was Hedel.
“Huh?”
“What do you mean, ‘huh’?”
William asked suspiciously.
“…Are you giving me a gift?”
“You mean you won’t accept my gift?”
“No, it’s not that…”
William’s mood, softened by the unexpected birthday party, instantly sharpened again. Why was Hedel picking a fight all of a sudden?
“I thought you’d already left.”
“Not happening! Why would I! Do you have any idea how I’ve managed to stay here all this time!”
Hedel tossed the gift box at William, who caught it reflexively and eyed it warily.
‘If I open this, will it explode?’
“It’s just an ordinary gift.”
William carefully opened the box—and inside lay an advanced alchemy book, the kind he’d searched for desperately but could never find.
“Oh…”
Without waiting for a reply, Hedel turned and walked away. William hesitated, then murmured quietly,
“Thank you.”
*
After the party ended and all the guests had left, gift boxes still lay piled high in the lobby. Servants hurried nonstop, carrying them into the grandest reception room.
William and Larisa sat by the fireplace, opening presents they hadn’t had time to unwrap during the party.
“Look at this, Will! It’s a cute music box.”
“You keep it.”
“Why do you keep giving things to me? They’re all your birthday gifts!”
“Be realistic—it’s obviously not meant for me.”
Many of the presents were clearly aimed at girls Larisa’s age. They’d given up on winning William’s favor and were targeting Larisa instead.
Impressed by their cunning, William quietly noted down the names of the nobles who’d sent Larisa such gifts.
From the doorway, Guinevere observed them quietly before stepping forward.
‘At this rate, at least William won’t be ignored within the manor anymore.’
She’d deliberately avoided leaving everything to the butler—instead inspecting every corner herself, from the kitchen to the garden. She wanted every servant to know just how much she cared about this party.
Judging by how the servants now treated William with noticeably more respect, it seemed to be working.
As they walked away from the reception room, Hedel quietly spoke up beside her.
“Why did you cry earlier?”
“I don’t know.”
How could she explain tears that came on their own? Besides, she had something else to ask Hedel.
“What was that gift?”
“Hm?”
Hedel feigned ignorance.
“The alchemy book. Why give him something like that?”
Hedel cautiously glanced at Guinevere before answering.
“Master, you’ve seen how much William likes it.”
Guinevere said nothing—but her displeasure was obvious. Hedel sighed.
“Once he goes to the Academy, you won’t be able to watch over him anymore. He’ll do whatever he wants out of your sight anyway—so this much should be fine.”
Guinevere grumbled.
“What’s so great about alchemy anyway?”
“Sure, alchemy isn’t as good as magic—but it’s still admirable that he wants to study it. It’s not a useless discipline, and it’s got its own structure…”
“Shut up.”
Hedel fell silent. He’d never actually expected to convince her. The fact that she hadn’t thrown him out the window was already something. As he quietly shrank back, Guinevere muttered softly,
“What’s so fine about nearly killing yourself?”
Did I just hear that right? Hedel’s eyes widened.
“…Was that the issue?”
“What?”
“You hated that William hurt himself?”
Hedel rubbed his eyes. No matter how many times he blinked, Guinevere still wore that same disgruntled expression. Bewildered, he said,
“Then why didn’t you just say so from the start…?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Everyone misunderstands because you never say anything—you just keep frowning all the time!”
Guinevere had changed a lot lately—which gave Hedel the nerve to talk back. He didn’t know what had transformed her, but he wasn’t about to miss this chance.
“William probably thinks you disapprove of him wasting time on alchemy instead of studying magic, doesn’t he?”
“…”
Guinevere had no reply—because Hedel was right. But to Hedel’s surprise, he smiled and said,
“Let’s go tell him now. If William understands your true feelings, he’ll surely…”
“Ow ow ow!”
Guinevere yanked Hedel’s ear just as he turned to leave.
“Ah! What’s this for!”
“Don’t make a scene.”
“Let go already!”
True feelings? Hedel’s guess was correct. She had indeed resented the time he wasted on alchemy instead of magic, scolding him endlessly over it. But that time was gone now—irretrievably lost.
“Do you even realize how awful your temper is, Master? If you just talked to him, William would definitely be happy. That kid’s secretly soft-hearted, you know.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
Hedel, frustrated by Guinevere’s silence, could only follow helplessly as she dragged him by the ear.
After driving her child to attempt suicide three times—how could she possibly have the shame to speak of love now? Returning to the past didn’t erase her past sins.
At least, not for Guinevere. In her memory, William had suffered for a long, long time. She wanted no forgiveness—for herself or from anyone else.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
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