Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 32

After the hunting tournament ended, Larisa looked up at the floating heap of animal carcasses hovering above the carriage with a slightly weary expression.

“Are we really taking all that?”

“Yes. It’s all yours.”

“M-mine?”

“Didn’t I just bestow the laurel wreath upon you? That means the game belongs to you as well.”

Guinevere smiled proudly. She had her own reasoning.

She could have instantly teleported everyone back to the mansion, but instead she deliberately chose to ride the carriage all the way home, openly advertising that she was the tournament’s victor.

That way, everyone would know Larisa was the wreath’s rightful owner, and those who might have looked down on her for lacking noble status would think twice.

Unaware of these thoughts, Larisa made a sullen face.

“You don’t have to give it all to me… Can’t I just have the wreath?”

“Don’t be like that. Since it’s yours, think about what you’d like to do with it.”

Seven-year-old Larisa strained her mind desperately. Nothing came to her. Hedel spoke gently with a kind smile.

“It’s perfectly fine to freeze everything and store it in a cold-storage vault, so you don’t need to worry, Miss Lara.”

“A cold-storage vault?”

“If we preserve it using magic, we won’t need to buy meat for about a year.”

Though somewhat reassured by this, Larisa remained deep in thought throughout the carriage ride.

The grotesque sight of the floating carcasses trailing above the carriage startled passersby so much their screams could be heard even from inside.

‘Lady Guinevere is such a kind witch, yet people keep misunderstanding her.’

Larisa asked timidly,

“Um… You really mean to give all of that to me?”

“Yes.”

“Then… can I do whatever I want with it?”

“That’s what I’ve been saying. Why keep asking about something so obvious?”

“Then… can I give the meat to the people?”

Guinevere looked at her as if hearing something strange, and Larisa immediately shrank back.

“I-I’m sorry! But… if we just pile it up in front of the mansion and offer it for free, plenty of people will gladly take it.”

“You want to give it to the people?”

“Yes…”

Fearing Guinevere might refuse, Larisa quickly nodded her head.

After a brief pause, Guinevere spoke.

“Go ahead, then.”

“Huh?”

“You can do exactly as you wish.”

Guinevere herself had once survived on bread and meat generously given by the wealthy during her own impoverished days.

‘Why didn’t I think of that?’

Naturally, the selfish Guinevere Rodante had never in her life simply given away something of her own.

But after hearing Larisa’s suggestion, it struck her as a good idea—not only a kind gesture, but also an excellent way to publicize Larisa Rodante’s existence throughout the entire city.

“Then it’s best to set up a relief station in your name. Hedel.”

“Yes, Master.”

“How long would it take to prepare if we started right now?”

“Three hours would be more than enough.”

“I’ll trust you on that.”

Hedel was exceptionally capable. In less than two hours, a relief station had been erected in the capital’s largest central plaza. He had not only secured official permission from the Imperial Palace and government offices but also gathered every butcher and tanner in the city.

“Well done.”

“Not at all.”

Hedel puffed out his shoulders slightly. His master was usually stingy with praise, yet whenever Larisa was involved, compliments flowed freely.

Thanks to this, he’d lately found genuine joy in his work. His previously shattered self-esteem—once convinced he was utterly incompetent compared to his master—was slowly being restored, all thanks to Larisa.

“Mister Hedel, how did you manage all this? It’s truly amazing.”

“This is nothing at all.”

‘Our little lucky charm.’

Hedel smiled fondly and ruffled Larisa’s hair.

“But what if no one comes?”

“No need to worry about that either.”

Hedel proudly puffed out his chest and gave a signal. At once, the Rodante family’s mages began chanting spells, then cried out in unison:

[Miss Larisa Rodante is giving away meat at the central plaza.]

Their voices, carried by magic on the wind, spread to every corner of the city. People looked around, startled as if someone were shouting right beside them—but found no one.

Curiosity drew residents from nearby neighborhoods, and soon the relief station grew crowded.

[Miss Larisa Rodante is giving away meat at the central plaza.]

The poor who ventured all the way to the central plaza out of hope were moved to tears. This wasn’t the usual spoiled, salted meat nobles handed out only when it became utterly inedible.

It was fresh meat—prime cuts of large game like deer and wild boar, delicacies normally reserved for nobles alone.

[Miss Larisa Rodante is giving away meat at the central plaza.]

“Lara! It really is you!”

Among the crowd, someone who remembered her from the back-alley gutter rat days recognized Larisa—but was promptly held back by Hedel.

“It’s all right, Mister Hedel. Auntie, it’s me—Larisa, Marina’s daughter.”

“Yes… it really is you. I thought you were a princess now…”

The woman, about to reach for Larisa’s hand, quickly rubbed her dirty hands on her apron and hid them. Larisa immediately threw her arms around the woman and said,

“Are you doing well? Thanks to Lady Rodante, I’m living very happily.”

“Are you really doing well?”

Larisa felt an unexpected lump in her throat at the woman’s worried gaze.

“Yes, she treats me just like her own daughter.”

The woman then whispered softly,

“If anything ever happens, just run away. In the back alleys, hardly anyone’s past is clean—like your mother… Hiding someone is no trouble at all.”

Larisa gave a small nod. The woman then took her portion of meat without hesitation and left.

But a small doubt lingered in Larisa’s mind.

‘Like my mother?’

She touched the locket around her neck, wondering. Did my mother have her own hidden story? But… she never told me even once.

*

When William returned home for the weekend, he confronted Guinevere as soon as dinner began.

“Why are you suddenly doing things you’ve never done before?”

“Things I’ve never done?”

“Mother, you usually don’t even glance at event invitations.”

And that wasn’t all—he’d never once shared dinner with her before. Now, as if resurrected from the dead, she insisted on dining together every weekend, leaving William utterly unsettled.

Guinevere took a sip of wine in response to her son’s pointed question.

‘All this trouble—for whose sake, again?’

Apparently, William’s sharp temperament was undeniably inherited from her.

“Why did you suddenly bring Lara along… ugh.”

William swallowed an anxious sigh. He’d already heard that his mother had taken Larisa to the hunting tournament.

He’d also learned how she’d nearly wiped out all the game with an enormous area spell, effectively ruining the contest.

And when he heard she’d even awarded the laurel wreath to Lara, he’d felt an unexpected weight of pressure himself.

“Seriously, why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

Feeling his mother had no intention of answering, William fell silent. From the start, her insistence on sharing dinner was utterly unlike Guinevere.

‘I feel like I’m going to get indigestion.’

William gulped down water and glanced sideways at Larisa, who was happily munching her food.

‘Guess I’m the only one struggling to adjust.’

He’d also heard that the kind-hearted Larisa had given away all the game to the poor. With the mages’ voices echoing across the entire city, there was no way not to know.

[Miss Larisa Rodante is giving away meat at the central plaza.]

Because of that announcement, his classmates had pestered him endlessly.

‘Who’s Larisa Rodante? Your sister?’

William had stammered an evasive answer—unable to say yes or no.

‘She’s the daughter of Mother’s friend… whose friend passed away…’

‘So she’s your adopted sister?’

‘Not officially yet…’

‘Not yet? So it’ll happen soon, then?’

William couldn’t bring himself to answer. What could he possibly say? That she’s not my adopted sister—but my future wife?

‘I really do feel indigestion.’

Unable to continue eating, William set down his utensils. Larisa looked at him with concern.

“William, why aren’t you eating?”

“I think I’ve got indigestion.”

“Then… shall we take a walk together?”

“Sure.”

The moment William stepped outside with Larisa for an evening stroll, he felt as if a great weight had lifted from his chest. True, the garden had been so thoroughly transformed it no longer felt like his home—but at least the atmosphere was pleasant for a walk.

Larisa followed obediently behind him and asked,

“Is it still here? The dog hole?”

“Yes. If we go a bit farther that way…”

“Mother still doesn’t know about it, right?”

“Probably not. Just in case, I cast a barrier keyed to my blood so she can’t detect it—and there’s no sign it’s been breached.”

“Wow! Amazing!”

Larisa clapped her hands, though she didn’t fully understand what he’d said. To a child raised in the slums, such social maneuvering was second nature.

“How about you? Are you doing well at school?”

William asked with concern. Larisa gave him a slightly odd look and replied,

“Willi-Willi, you just sounded like an older brother.”

“…Huh?”

“I’ve never had siblings, so I always envied kids with older brothers or sisters. But the way you asked just now… you really felt like my own older brother.”

William, who’d been lost in his own thoughts until that moment, was suddenly struck with guilt.

‘Right. This is how it should be. I should be a good older brother for Lara’s sake…’

Yet for some reason, his heart felt bitter.

“How about you? Is the Academy fun?”

“Yeah.”

William, majoring in Knight Studies with Alchemy as his minor, currently ranked among the top students at the Academy.

Having proven his abilities in the first exam of the new term, he was thoroughly enjoying school life—though instructors from the Magic Department occasionally approached him, asking if he truly had no magical talent whatsoever.

“I’ve already told you—no.”

William’s glare sent them scurrying away with a squeak. Never before had he felt his mother’s influence so vividly.

“Mother’s sudden change… it feels strange.”

“How so?”

“Everyone’s suddenly fawning over me… and it’s not because I’m actually impressive—it’s just burdensome.”

Why was he confiding such worries to a child? William sighed.

“Well, William *is* impressive.”