Mother-in-Law Refuses to Regress! (7 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6
“Really. I didn’t steal it—I was going to find you and give it back.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m serious. I took it so the others wouldn’t steal it first.”
“I know. Thank you, Jeje.”
How could she possibly know? William nearly burst with frustration at Larisa’s overly kind reply.
“T-then I’ll be off.”
“Bye!”
Larisa waved at Jeje’s retreating back as he fled without even glancing behind.
William felt an immense sense of responsibility.
“You don’t actually believe a word that kid says, do you?”
Larisa remained silent with a lonely expression. William sighed.
“Phew. Good. I was worried you actually believed all that…”
“I do.”
“What?”
Larisa then smiled softly and said,
“I just… want to believe.”
Jeje had been her neighbor for a long time. They’d gone hungry together and shared the last pieces of bread. She wanted to remember only that.
Looking down at Larisa’s small, thoughtful head, William merely sighed inwardly.
Sometimes, a few words from this child felt harder to understand than a conversation with a renowned philosopher.
“By the way, William! What should we do? Does it hurt a lot?”
Larisa made a sad face and grabbed William’s hand. Dried blood still clung to his palm.
“This kind of thing heals quickly.”
It was true. William, blessed with the blood of a great sorceress, always recovered swiftly from minor wounds. Left alone, not even a scar would remain.
“But it still hurt.”
Yet Larisa’s eyes welled up with tears. William felt oddly unsettled.
He’d seen many people find his actions strange, but never had anyone pitied him like this before.
“I’m fine. Let’s go home now.”
He took Larisa’s hand with his uninjured one and started walking. Larisa, who had been fiddling with the necklace—her mother’s keepsake—began to slow down gradually.
Wondering what was wrong, William looked down at her face and realized instantly.
“Oh, right—she’s only seven…”
For a seven-year-old, she’d walked far too much today. Even the most energetic child would be ready to complain by now.
“Want me to carry you?”
“Huh?”
“If you can’t walk anymore, just say so. I’ll carry you.”
“Oh, no. I can walk.”
“Don’t be stubborn. Aren’t you sleepy?”
Larisa clenched her eyes tightly and insisted,
“I’m fine. Not sleepy at all.”
William picked her up anyway, regardless. Carrying her in his arms was harder than piggybacking, but he had no choice since she insisted on being difficult.
“William, I’m really okay…”
“Just go to sleep already.”
Larisa soon drifted off. After confirming her steady breathing, William stopped abruptly and said,
“I know you’re there. Come out.”
William’s senses far surpassed those of an ordinary human. He’d known from the start that Hedel was following them.
“I said come out.”
“Tch. How did you know?”
“I sensed it the moment you cast your concealment magic.”
It was ironic—Hedel couldn’t hide his conflicted feelings. Though William was born with immense magical power, typical of a great sorceress’s son, and could detect even the faintest magical currents, he himself couldn’t wield magic.
William, perceptive as ever, clearly saw Hedel’s emotions. Irritably, he asked,
“Why are you following me?”
“You seemed like you were running away.”
“What do you care whether I run away or not?”
“I’m technically Lord Rodante’s only disciple—it wouldn’t be right to stand by while her son goes astray.”
“Damn it.”
William scoffed inwardly. Hedel was probably the one most anxious about the possibility of William ever becoming a mage.
Hedel, too, found William pitiful.
“If only I were Guinevere Rodante’s son, by now I’d…”
Shaking off his habitual thought, Hedel approached William.
“Hand her over. I’ll carry her.”
“No.”
Ignoring Hedel, William started walking again.
“You must be tired. You never exercise… She looks heavy?”
“I said I’m fine.”
“Shall I teleport you then?”
William stopped once more, turned to look at Hedel trailing lazily behind, and said firmly,
“Go on your own. Your magic seems barely holding on anyway.”
Exposed, Hedel vanished with an annoyed expression. William waited until he was certain Hedel’s presence had fully disappeared, then carefully adjusted Larisa in his arms.
“Ugh. I really need to work out.”
Their mother certainly wouldn’t raise Larisa properly, so William had a sinking feeling he’d end up taking care of this child himself.
Actually, ever since he first saw Larisa, he’d felt a strange sense of déjà vu—an unacknowledged desire to protect her.
*
“Running away?”
“That’s what I said.”
Hedel shrugged.
“What if I hadn’t followed? You should be grateful to your disciple.”
He’d told Guinevere everything that happened today. Hearing this, Guinevere paled and asked,
“Why on earth… Why would he, when Larisa is right here?”
“What does that little girl have to do with it? He didn’t seem like he’d prepared to run away for just a year or two.”
“That can’t be.”
Seeing Guinevere’s unusually flustered expression, Hedel instinctively stepped back.
“I should go. Where are they both… Ah, in the dining hall.”
Using detection magic, Guinevere confirmed the two were having dinner and let out a relieved sigh.
“If you’re so worried, why not treat them better from the start?”
Hedel muttered without thinking—less for William’s sake and more out of his own petulance.
He wanted to reproach Guinevere for her indifference: bearing a son yet ignoring him, taking a disciple yet never paying attention.
But this time, it was different.
“I see. Thank you, Hedel.”
A silence fell.
“I’ll go see the children.”
Hedel stood dumbfounded as Guinevere vanished via teleportation. Did she just… thank him? Seriously?
Hedel wasn’t foolish. Something had changed—and it clearly started with that little girl, Larisa.
Suddenly, he felt like having dinner himself, and slowly headed toward the dining hall.
Guinevere, having arrived first via teleportation, sat awkwardly in front of the two children.
“So… What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Huh?”
“Your dream, maybe. Something like that.”
Guinevere was trying awkwardly to act friendly toward Larisa.
She’d decided she absolutely had to be extra kind to Larisa—what if they ran away again?
It’d be even better if she could teach Larisa well enough that the girl would feel deeply indebted to her.
Larisa’s drowsiness vanished completely. She’d been forced awake by William to eat dinner, but now she felt like she might vomit again.
“I promised your mother I’d support you in anything until you come of age. So go on—what do you want to do? Is there something you’d like to learn?”
“Why did you make that promise with my mom?”
“I received something in return.”
“In return?”
“Yes. Something very precious. I’ll tell you what it is when you’re a bit older.”
She planned to keep it secret until the two reached adolescence and realized their feelings—after all, it’d be awkward if William outright refused to marry Larisa.
But seeing Larisa’s frightened face, Guinevere hastily added with a nervous expression,
“It’s not your mother’s soul or heart or flesh and blood, so don’t worry.”
“Eeek!”
Seeing Larisa turn pale, William protested.
“Why scare her like that in front of a child?”
Guinevere had absolutely no intention of frightening her and was now thoroughly flustered. What now?
“It’s fine—Mother was just joking. Besides, even if I got something like that, I couldn’t possibly use it.”
“Really?”
“Of course. If I really needed a heart as an ingredient, I’d have to extract it while still alive or apply special preservation. But your mother received a proper burial—she’s perfectly intact.”
Larisa began trembling uncontrollably at William’s “reassurance.” Hedel, unable to take it anymore, stepped in.
“Both of you, drop it.”
He scooped up Larisa and patted her back gently.
“You two have no idea what’s inappropriate to say in front of a child. Do you want her to have a seizure? Are you even sane?”
“Why are you butting in, mister?”
“Don’t worry, Lara. Lady Marina was a wonderful person—she must be in heaven now, and will never feel pain again.”
William had jumped up to take Larisa back but froze mid-motion. Larisa had buried her face in Hedel’s shoulder, tears streaming silently.
“And even if Master looks a bit scary, he’s not a bad person. He protects Ariendia. He must have recognized Lara’s potential and offered support for that reason.”
“S-sob… Really?”
“Of course. Even I became his disciple without paying any price.”
Larisa didn’t believe in kindness without cost, but nestled in his warm embrace, exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she quickly fell asleep.
Hedel then turned to the two stunned onlookers and gave a triumphant smile.
“She’s asleep. Isn’t she adorable?”
William, unable to snatch sleeping Larisa away, scowled in frustration.
“Since when did you start using nicknames after just meeting her today?”
“You didn’t hear Lara object, did you? Oh—has Master William still never used a nickname?”
“Ugh!”
Seeing the boy’s genuinely irritated face, Hedel smiled contentedly.
“I win. Hehehe.”
Watching them, Guinevere sighed and said,
“Hedel, just in case—don’t harbor any ill intentions toward Lara. She’s destined to marry our William.”
“What?!”
Hedel was flabbergasted at being branded a pedophile, but even more shocked that Larisa had been brought in as William’s fiancée.
William’s face turned bright red as he shouted,
“Don’t you dare say things like that anywhere else!”
Hedel fixed William with a stern look.
“Have you no conscience?”
“It wasn’t me—it was Mother who decided that on her own!”
“I’ll wake Lara up. Keep it down.”
William fell silent, grumbling quietly.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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