Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
Hedel quickly wiped the corner of his eye while pretending to adjust his glasses.
“Hmph, I wasn’t crying.”
“Not my problem.”
‘I just want to flip that brat upside down!’
He wanted to hang him by his ankles until all the tears and snot drained out.
Unable to actually carry it out, Hedel clenched his fists tightly—until Larisa hastily tugged at William’s sleeve.
“Let’s go out quickly, okay?”
“Alright.”
As the two kids turned their backs on Hedel and started walking away, he suddenly felt puzzled.
It was because the direction they were heading wasn’t toward the main gate.
“Hold on, where are you going?”
“Why should I tell you?”
‘So they’re running away.’
Hedel rubbed his temples, his head aching. He couldn’t understand himself at all.
‘I decided to quit already—so why am I tailing that kid?!’
He could simply ignore them and go on his way, or even better, grab both brats by the scruff of their necks, teleport them straight back into the mansion, and be done with it—yet his feet kept following the kids on their own. He had no idea why.
‘It’s because I don’t have enough energy left to teleport.’
Hedel kept coming up with excuses for his own actions.
‘And if the servants in the mansion find out I was crying, I’ll be humiliated! Damn it—I’m Archmage Hedel!’
He was the loyal servant of the noble Guinevere.
“Look, this is the doggy door.”
“Wow!”
Larisa gasped in innocent delight. After clearing away the vines, a tiny wooden door—fit for fairies or dwarves—was revealed.
Despite its name, the door was enchanting and utterly charming.
“There are a few more like this. I’ll show you later.”
“Thanks, William.”
Hedel was flabbergasted. William hadn’t been this considerate before.
No—more importantly, a doggy door in Archwitch Rodante’s mansion? And not just one, but several??
Then again, they relied so heavily on magical barriers that they didn’t even post guards—so while intruding from outside was impossible, sneaking out from within posed no problem at all.
While Hedel was processing this, the two kids swiftly opened the wooden door and slipped outside. He hesitated for a moment.
‘Looks like I won’t fit…’
The doggy door was sized precisely for William’s body—far too small for a full-grown man like himself.
After a brief pause, Hedel teleported just outside the estate wall.
‘Ugh, my head feels heavy.’
Pulling all-nighters for days on end was routine for him—but learning that his sole master, Guinevere, didn’t trust him at all was a genuine shock.
His mental exhaustion naturally drained his magical energy as well. Maintaining an invisibility spell while teleporting was simply too much, even for him.
Rubbing his neck, Hedel followed William.
“My wallet’s safe, right?”
“Probably. I hid it well.”
Hearing their conversation, Hedel let out a sigh of relief. William’s intentions didn’t seem to be about running away after all.
So nothing serious should happen. But life rarely went according to plan.
“It’s gone!”
“Huh? Oh no… I think Boss took it.”
“Boss?”
“The boss of a little pickpocket gang. Sorry, William…”
William sighed and took Larisa’s trembling hand. Not only was his wallet missing—Larisa’s house had been completely emptied.
Today, William had meant to retrieve his wallet, and Larisa had come to collect her late mother’s keepsake.
“It’s fine. Don’t cry. It’s not your fault.”
“But… that was all your money.”
Why on earth would anyone carry their entire fortune around? Only Hedel, unaware William had been running away that very day, felt his chest tighten with frustration.
After all, William—talentless though he was—had inherited Guinevere’s stubborn temperament perfectly…
“We’ll just go get it back.”
“What?”
‘I knew he’d say that…’
Hedel silently prayed William would at least call a strategy meeting. That way, he could meditate and restore his drained magic right away.
But as always, William charged ahead without hesitation. Larisa tugged his hand and asked,
“What if Boss didn’t take it?”
“Then we’ll beat it out of whoever did.”
‘There’s nothing a seven-year-old won’t say!’
Hedel bit his lip hard, swallowing the urge to snap.
“But what if Boss didn’t do anything wrong?”
“That guy’s an adult, right? Adults who force kids into pickpocketing or begging are rotten scum. And rotten villains deserve to be crushed.”
Larisa pressed her lips shut. Just from her glistening eyes, Hedel could guess what she was thinking.
‘Why does it bother me so much to see this brat cry?’
William sighed and said,
“Of course stealing’s bad—but you couldn’t help it. From now on, you can just do lots of good deeds.”
“William, Mom said that even when people can’t help it, they still need to feel guilty.”
“Who said that?”
“Mom.”
William grew curious about what kind of person Larisa’s late mother had been. Clearly, she must’ve been extraordinary—after all, she’d entrusted her child to Archwitch Rodante…
“Mom said that when people lose their sense of shame, they become devils. Devils wear human faces and hurt others without a second thought.”
‘That sounds just like my mom.’
‘Somehow, someone comes to mind.’
Both men thought the same thing simultaneously.
“Anyway, let’s go. We’re getting my wallet back.”
William had secretly worried the kid might throw a tantrum out of fear—but seeing her march ahead bravely instead surprised him a little.
Guessing he’d soon need to use magic again, Hedel sighed and trailed after them.
They arrived at a shabby tavern in the slums, where the so-called “Boss” turned out to be the tavern keeper.
“So you’re the boss of that little pickpocket gang?”
“What’s up, Lara? You don’t look like a newbie.”
“I asked you first.”
William pushed Larisa behind him. But Larisa boldly stepped forward and blurted out,
“Boss! This is William Rodante—the one and only son of Archwitch Rodante-sama!”
“…What?”
His delayed reaction came from sheer disbelief at such an absurd claim.
Boss rubbed his eyes and studied the boy again. The boy’s bored, indifferent expression and fine clothing clearly screamed nobility.
“What brings a noble like you to a place like this?”
“I came to get my wallet back.”
“So why are you asking me…?”
“Find it.”
“Huh?”
“I said, find it.”
Boss stared blankly at Larisa again. She nodded frantically, her face pale with fear.
Convinced by her desperate gestures that she’d already been thoroughly scolded by the boy, Boss chuckled nervously.
“I’ll look for it right away. Could you describe what your wallet looks like…?”
“A million linars.”
“…”
Silence fell over the tavern. Hedel was the first to snap out of it.
‘Why on earth is he carrying a million linars around?!’
“There’s probably only one wallet in this city holding a million linars. You’d better find it quickly—I’d rather not see blood spilled.”
William struck an arrogant pose, and the tavern keeper swallowed hard.
It sounded like a threat: fail to find the wallet, and blood would surely flow.
But Boss sincerely had no idea where the million linars had gone.
‘If I’d known, I’d have left this city ages ago. Wait—does that mean the thief has already…?’
“P-please, I’ll do my absolute best to find it! Young Master, I truly don’t know where your wallet is. I didn’t steal it—I really don’t know anything about it…”
“Enough. Just find it.”
“Yes, right away! Hey, you lot up there—get down here!!”
The tavern keeper summoned the big guys resting upstairs—the full-grown thugs who managed the little pickpockets.
After gathering all the small ones and ordering them to find the missing child, a little boy was dragged down by one of the thugs within half a day.
“Did you steal the wallet from Lara’s house?”
“N-n-no, I didn’t!”
“Empty your pockets—if even a speck of dust falls out, you’ll get one hit for each.”
The boy squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for a beating. Then Larisa cried out tearfully,
“Jeje!”
William was dumbfounded.
Of all people, why did the suspect have to be Larisa’s close friend? Strangely enough, William really hated seeing this girl cry.
The moment Jeje was thrown to the ground, William stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Boss and the thugs immediately backed away.
With a blank expression, William drew a dagger from his pocket. Larisa gasped in fright and murmured,
“W-W-William…?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt him.”
Then, without a hint of concern, he cut his own palm. Larisa let out a small scream at the sight of blood streaming down his hand.
“That’s exactly why I hate spilling blood…”
‘So that’s what he meant by “hate spilling blood.”’
Only Hedel sighed inwardly from his hiding spot. William always needed blood as a component to cast magic.
William’s blood, seemingly flowing onto the ground, twisted like a serpent and crawled up Jeje’s leg.
“G-gah! What is this?! Please, help me!”
The bizarre scene left everyone stunned—but William remained perfectly calm.
“Knew it. There it is—my wallet.”
William had prepared a tracking spell on his wallet for emergencies. Just now, he’d simply used magic to locate it.
As he pulled the wallet from the boy’s pocket, the blood shimmered blue and vanished.
“Is… is that magic?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Of course—you’re Lord Rodante’s son after all…”
William turned to the awestruck Larisa and sighed. For some reason, he didn’t feel like lying to her.
“It’s nothing special. It’s closer to alchemy than magic. I have absolutely zero talent for real magic.”
‘Because I can’t move magic at all.’
Yet Larisa, undeterred by his self-deprecation, spoke up.
“But if it weren’t for you, Jeje would’ve been beaten half to death. I never imagined a method like this existed. Alchemy is amazing.”
“…”
“I’m so glad Jeje wasn’t hurt. Thank you, William.”
William felt strangely awkward—as if he were suddenly, intensely embarrassed. To hide it, he spoke gruffly,
“Hey, if you’ve got any conscience, you’ll spit out that necklace yourself.”
Jeje flinched in panic and immediately bowed low.
“Yes, yes!”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
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