Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 22
Larisa earnestly begged Guinevere never to invite Her Highness the Crown Princess again.
“Why? Did she trouble you?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Then what? Did she ignore you?”
“No…”
There was no malice at all. The princess had asked many questions about Larisa and shown genuine interest, as if she truly wanted to become close friends. Larisa, flustered and unsure how to explain, whispered quietly,
“It’s just… uncomfortable.”
“Hm.”
Guinevere felt awkward seeing Larisa’s dejected expression.
‘Dejected?’
“What did you talk about with her?”
“The princess told me about visiting Cardia and also about going to Larran…”
“We should go too, then.”
“Huh?”
Guinevere assumed Larisa envied the princess.
“There’s nothing to envy. We can go as well.”
“Huh?”
Guinevere took Larisa’s hand. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot—and before they knew it, they had arrived at Larran’s beach.
“Huh? Wait, what?”
Larisa looked around in confusion, suddenly finding herself in an unfamiliar place.
“Well then, what shall we do first?”
Larisa, pale-faced, asked,
“W-where are we?”
“Larran.”
Larisa was horrified. She clutched Guinevere’s hand tightly, as if she’d vanish if she let go.
“P-please don’t leave me here alone….”
Seeing Larisa on the verge of tears, Guinevere panicked.
“What are you talking about? Why would I leave you?”
“Waaah! I’m scared!”
Flustered, Guinevere quickly scooped Larisa up into her arms.
“There, there. Be good now. Stop crying.”
Guinevere broke into a cold sweat. She’d thought Larisa wanted to travel, so she’d brought her along—but she hadn’t expected sudden tears.
“Oh! Look, there’s something tasty over there!”
Still holding Larisa, Guinevere teleported instantly. The street vendor jumped in fright at their sudden appearance, but Guinevere declared confidently,
“Two skewers. Quickly. Do you have drinks?”
“Huh? Oh—y-yes! Yes, we do.”
Guinevere waved one skewer in front of Larisa’s eyes. Larisa never refused food. She opened her mouth, still sniffling.
“Ahh~”
She took a neat bite and chewed adorably. Guinevere couldn’t help but smile softly. But then Larisa’s crying startled her again.
“Waaah! It’s spicy~”
“Drinks! Hurry!”
“Oh dear, we do have some, but…”
Not even listening to the vendor’s explanation, Guinevere hastily shoved a drink into Larisa’s hands. After taking a gulp, Larisa cried out,
“Ow! It stings!”
It was carbonated water.
“Well, it’s sparkling water, so I wasn’t sure if a little kid could handle it—hahaha.”
The vendor laughed desperately—Guinevere was glaring at him with terrifying eyes.
Even with her tongue burning and throat stinging, Larisa carefully watched Guinevere’s expression. She feared Guinevere might snap at any moment.
“But it’s sweet.”
Larisa kept sipping the sparkling water.
“Delicious, right? My wife made it herself with homemade lemon syrup—it’s extra tasty!”
The vendor desperately pushed his sales pitch. Guinevere’s sharply raised eyebrows relaxed slightly.
“Hahaha, the kid knows good food!”
As the vendor kept praising how cute Larisa was, Guinevere’s mood completely softened. Unfortunately, only Guinevere understood him—Larisa didn’t speak Larranese.
Relying solely on intuition, Larisa had just saved the vendor’s life. Holding the non-spicy skewer he’d handed her, she grabbed Guinevere’s hand tightly with her other and began walking along the beach.
“Please don’t let go of my hand.”
“Understood.”
Understanding Larisa’s fear of being abandoned, Guinevere didn’t release her hand. She decided to wait until Larisa let go on her own.
As they walked together along the shore, Larisa finished her skewer and started drawing in the sand with the stick. Guinevere looked down at the unrecognizable picture and asked,
“What’s that supposed to be?”
“William and Mother.”
Guinevere quietly studied the sand, then said,
“Give it here.”
She drew two small circles—shaped like snowmen—between William and Guinevere.
“This is you.”
“Huh?”
“You should be there too. That tiny circle is Larisa Rodante.”
“But why am I the only round one?”
“I hope you’ll eat well and grow nice and round.”
“Hmph.”
By now, Larisa had released Guinevere’s hand and started playing with the sand using both hands.
Guinevere casually sat down on the beach and watched Larisa play. Larisa adapted quickly. Her earlier fear had vanished, and she was now fully absorbed in building a sandcastle.
Even as the waves repeatedly knocked down her painstakingly built castle, Larisa didn’t frown—she laughed instead.
Again and again, Larisa swiftly rebuilt her sandy tower, only for the waves to wash it away, as if she were competing against the sea itself.
‘No wonder William adores her.’
The thought suddenly struck her. Larisa was truly a child worth loving—even to her own eyes, she already seemed utterly endearing.
The Larisa she’d known had mostly been lifeless, like a corpse. Since their marriage, she hadn’t paid much attention, and most of the times she’d closely observed Larisa were after she’d fallen ill.
So she hadn’t known—hadn’t realized Larisa could be this lovable.
Perhaps William kept rewinding time back to their first meeting because he wanted to preserve this very sweetness forever.
‘I’m sorry, Larisa. To you too.’
Especially during the past ten years, she’d treated Larisa terribly.
‘Please let me go, Lord Rodante.’
A frail voice echoed in her memory.
‘For William’s sake.’
Each word painfully forced out, Larisa was clinging to life. For ten long years, Guinevere had coldly held onto her as she slowly withered away, saying only,
“That’s impossible. My son wants you.”
She remembered the despair dimming in Larisa’s eyes at those words. Trapped in a hell where she couldn’t foresee when the suffering would end, Larisa had no strength left to resist.
‘Since I made you suffer in hell for ten years, I hope you’ll be happier than anyone else in the world—for at least ten years.’
It might be a shallow form of guilt, but Guinevere meant it sincerely. Larisa hadn’t begged William to kill her.
She must have known it would only cause William pain—so she’d made the difficult request to Guinevere instead. Yet Guinevere had coldly refused, all for William’s sake.
“Thank you… for loving William so much…”
Tears welled up again.
“Huh? Mother, are you crying?”
“Sand got in my eye.”
Guinevere tried to explain away her tears.
“Sand?”
“It’s your fault.”
Flustered, Larisa scooped up seawater in both hands.
“Should I wash your eyes with this?”
“Yes!”
“You clearly don’t know what the sea is yet.”
“Huh?”
Larisa looked bewildered. Guinevere smiled and said,
“Try tasting it.”
Larisa cautiously brought the water cupped in her hands to her lips.
“Blech! It’s salty!”
Guinevere burst into laughter.
“The water’s salty, Mother!”
“Seawater is naturally salty.”
Guinevere summoned a water orb with magic, took Larisa’s hands, and gently rubbed them inside the orb.
Everything felt wondrous and beautiful to Larisa—the ocean she’d never seen before, the sandy beach, the mysterious water orb… and Guinevere, smiling with a beauty she’d never witnessed.
But the sun was setting. She wanted to go home now.
“Today was so much fun.”
“Oh? I’m glad.”
“Thank you for playing with me even though you’re busy.”
Larisa bowed deeply from the waist. Guinevere gently stroked her head and said,
“Shall we come again next time—with William?”
“Yes! I’d love that!”
“Alright. Let’s head back now.”
“Wait!”
Larisa quickly cried out, filled the empty lemonade bottle with seawater, and sealed it with a cork.
Though the water was cloudy with sand, Larisa hugged it tightly as if it were treasure and clasped Guinevere’s hand.
Back home, Larisa unknowingly let out a sigh of relief. Guinevere realized then that Larisa was still afraid of being abandoned.
‘I need to spend more time with her.’
She hadn’t even noticed how withdrawn William had become—all because she’d never spent time with him. She never imagined he’d even be ignored by the Rodante family’s personal physician.
If innocent Larisa hadn’t repeated Dr. Prosch’s words exactly as spoken, Guinevere might still be oblivious.
Afterward, observing the other servants confirmed it—William was treated like an empty sack of grain.
‘And the one treating him that way… was none other than myself.’
Guinevere waved goodbye to Larisa, returned to her laboratory, and immediately collapsed onto the floor.
“How much pain must you endure before I can truly understand your suffering, William?”
Tears spilled again, as if by habit.
“What does that wretched magic even matter?”
Magic and research—pursuits she’d devoted her life to—what right did she have to torment that child over them? She wanted to tear her past self to pieces.
Yet even now, she had to continue her research. Despite wanting to abandon everything, one fact remained unchanged: she must complete the time regression magic.
Gritting her teeth, she stood up and stared at the golden sphere hovering in the center of her lab.
“I’ll complete it—I swear I’ll protect you both. William. Larisa.”
Guinevere trusted her grim premonition. If she didn’t finish this magic, her children would surely be in danger someday.
Even if Siod confirmed her as the culprit behind the time regression magic, as she’d requested, she herself would still have to prove it. And besides…
‘If the time ever comes to rewind time again… I’ll be the one to do it.’
William had poured all his magic into turning back time—so much so that he lost all his memories, unable to protect his own mind.
If only William had been able to reverse time without losing his memories from the start, this tragedy wouldn’t have kept repeating. He was such a wise child.
When that moment arrived, the Lord of the Dragonkin would surely try to eliminate her—but so what? Guinevere had lived long enough. And she trusted William.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
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