Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 40
The three of them began walking slowly, matching Larisa’s pace. Everyone at the academy started staring as they passed by.
‘This is awkward—even Mother would feel uncomfortable if she were here.’
It was good that no one approached them, but the attention was overwhelming. William struggled to hide his discomfort. Only Guinevere asked calmly,
“Whatever is that James fellow up to?”
“James? Oh, he’s probably playing knight at the festival too.”
Their dorm roommate James had made such a fuss over his appearance since morning that William had been forced to wake up early and was exhausted.
James was likely having the time of his life right now.
‘Do you think this is enough to get a girlfriend?’
What nonsense—thinking about girlfriends at just fourteen years old. William thought he still had plenty of time. Yet all the festival knights were buzzing with excitement about finding one.
‘Kids who haven’t even gotten their feet wet yet… Why do I feel so old?’
William briefly pondered himself.
‘Am I the strange one?’
“William, are you having weird thoughts again?”
“Huh? Oh… yeah?”
“You had a weird look on your face. Stop that and just think about me. We’re going to buy my candy, remember?”
“Right.”
William chuckled softly. Perhaps because of the festival, Larisa seemed especially cheerful—and cuter than usual today. And then…
‘She’s actually having fun.’
Guinevere felt jealous.
*
Guinevere was experiencing a festival for the first time in her life. Her usually expressionless face bore a strangely flushed look.
William, noticing her subtle change in expression, couldn’t bring himself to stop her and simply followed along.
Stopping in front of a festival booth, Guinevere asked,
“What’s this?”
“It’s a game where you throw darts to pop balloons.”
Upon William’s reply, Guinevere lifted her chin and declared,
“I’ll do it.”
“Huh? Mother, wait. You’re not allowed to use magic.”
Guinevere shot him a look as if to say, “Do you really think I’d be that clueless?” William shrank back sheepishly.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Guinevere hit nine out of ten shots.
“Congratulations! Here’s your prize…”
“I’ll play again.”
“What?”
William paid the student handing out prizes—of course, Guinevere never carried petty cash.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Only after hitting all ten shots did Guinevere set down the darts in satisfaction. Thanks to her perfectionism, both William and Larisa were now struggling to carry armfuls of plush toys.
“Mother, you don’t mean to…”
“I’ll do that one too.”
This time, it was ring toss.
“…Can I get this on credit?”
“Normally, we don’t allow it… but for you, I’ll make an exception.”
“Thank you.”
William, now completely out of cash, requested credit. Guinevere played until all five rings landed perfectly on their targets.
“Mother, shouldn’t we stop now? Larisa looks weighed down…”
“Is it heavy?”
“Huh? No, no! I’m fine.”
Larisa quickly shook her head, though the pile of plush toys nearly obscured her face. Only then did Guinevere realize she’d gone overboard and halted.
“Put them all down.”
“What? But…”
Though Larisa hesitated, William immediately dumped his load on the ground. He’d already felt embarrassed carrying them around.
But he soon regretted it—the moment Guinevere snapped her fingers, the plush toys all stood upright and began marching in formation.
“Oh, Mother…”
The embarrassment always fell to William.
“Let’s go.”
Majestically striding ahead, Guinevere was followed by a procession of plush toys. Watching them waddle along, Larisa’s cheeks flushed as she exclaimed,
“Kyaa! They’re so cute!”
“Like them?”
“Yes! I love them!”
‘Well, at least you’re happy…’
William swallowed back a tear. Born an outsider, he found the growing crowd’s stares utterly unbearable. He’d rather carry a mountain of plush toys any day.
Regardless, Larisa was utterly enchanted by the waddling procession trailing behind them.
“Mother! That one fell over!”
“It’s fine. It’ll get up on its own.”
Students from the Department of Magic, who had come out to see Guinevere Rodante, were all stunned.
‘She cast golem enchantments on mere cloth dolls—and without incantations, on so many at once…’
They’d followed her hoping to witness her magic, but none expected something this extraordinary.
Leaving behind the students’ gasps and admiration, Guinevere enjoyed the festival with dignified flair.
By now, the sun was beginning to set.
“Today was fun.”
William was taken aback—he’d never expected to hear those words from his mother.
“Oh… um… I’m glad.”
“Let’s come again next time.”
“Huh?”
“Have you made many friends?”
“Huh?”
“I mean friends. How many do you have?”
William stared at her as if she’d said something absurd.
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“You said you had no friends. I’ve been making an effort socially lately—do you still not have any?”
“No, I do… I mean, I have some…”
Guinevere let out a relieved sigh.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Mother, you never cared about that sort of thing before.”
“I’m sorry.”
William had no idea how to deal with a Guinevere who kept apologizing like this.
“I thought you deliberately avoided making friends.”
‘Well, that’s partly true…’
“I assumed there was simply no one worthy enough to be your friend—like me.”
‘Whoa…’
That wasn’t it at all. William blinked in shock, then quickly denied it.
“It’s just that I don’t like noise. And now I know I need to engage socially, so I won’t be like I used to… act like that anymore.”
“I see.”
It felt utterly foreign—and awkward—that his mother worried about him like this. He didn’t know why she’d changed so suddenly, but…
“You don’t need to force yourself into social events just because of me. I’ll handle my own friendships.”
“Why not?”
“You hate that sort of thing. Don’t do it just for my sake.”
“If I don’t show concern, people will misunderstand again—that I’m neglecting you.”
In truth, it wasn’t really a misunderstanding. From Guinevere’s perspective, she’d practically abandoned him during those lost fifty years. The real issue was that she’d only just now realized it.
Unaware of Guinevere’s inner turmoil, William grumbled,
“Anyway, I’ll handle it myself.”
In the past, he’d never have dared speak so irritably to his mother—it was an unthinkable change. Yet William didn’t even notice it himself.
“Let’s go. The festival’s over now.”
“But didn’t they say the festival continues tomorrow?”
Guinevere, already having plans, pretended ignorance to test William.
“My knight duties are only for today. Tomorrow, I’ll study all day for exams.”
Exams were still far off, but he’d rather die than step outside his dorm again—crowds were absolutely unbearable.
“Alright. Study hard.”
Having achieved her goal—to check on William’s social development—Guinevere decided to leave cleanly.
“See you on the weekend, William!”
“Take care, Lara.”
The moment Guinevere teleported away with Larisa in her arms, William sighed.
“Mother left all the plush toys behind…”
But this time, his sigh wasn’t as heavy as before.
As soon as they arrived at the mansion, Guinevere asked Larisa,
“What do you think?”
“Huh?”
“About William.”
“Oh, William? He was amazing.”
Guinevere gave a soft chuckle—that wasn’t what she’d meant to ask.
“Does he seem to be doing well at school?”
“Huh?”
“Did he look gloomy or troubled at all?”
“Not at all!”
Guinevere felt relieved. She lacked confidence in her own judgment—after all, she’d already failed three times.
She’d been blind to her son’s unhappiness and wasted fifty years. That’s why she turned to Larisa—perhaps, as William’s destined partner, Larisa would notice his suffering first.
“Are you worried?”
“No.”
Guinevere automatically denied it, then set Larisa down and added,
“Actually… yes. I am worried.”
He seemed to manage socially well enough today, but she feared she’d raised him too introverted—perhaps it was already too late to reshape his character.
Yet William wasn’t as gloomy as she’d imagined—surprisingly mature, even, diligently cleaning up after his mother as she roamed the festival grounds at will.
“William is strong. You don’t need to worry.”
It might have sounded like naive child’s talk, but Guinevere couldn’t dismiss Larisa’s words so easily.
Beyond her precocity for her age, Larisa had been the one closest to William during those lost fifty years—only Guinevere remembered that.
Though memories were gone, intuition might remain.
“Yes, that’s right… He’s a strong child…”
He’d sacrificed his life three times to change his tragic fate and ultimately turned back time—a feat no ordinary person could accomplish, let alone repeat thrice.
William possessed an iron will. His weakness and anxiety belonged not to him—but to Guinevere herself.
“Larisa… Will you promise me one thing?”
“Yes?”
“Promise me you’ll never abandon William. That would put my mind at ease.”
“…I promise.”
It wasn’t because she loved William—Larisa made the promise for Guinevere, who looked so uncertain.
“And I’ll never abandon you either, Mother.”
“What?”
Guinevere burst into laughter.
“You little thing…”
“It’s true.”
Larisa mustered all her courage and whispered softly,
“As long as I’m around, I want to make sure you’re never lonely.”
Guinevere froze, stunned into silence for a moment.
“I mean… when William isn’t around.”
‘Was I lonely?’
“Mother?”
“No.”
She hadn’t even thought of the moment William died, yet tears threatened to fall.
“Dust got in my eyes.”
“Huh?”
“Anyway, don’t forget your promise.”
Without waiting for a reply, Guinevere vanished as if fleeing.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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