Even If Your Regret Tries to Hold Me Back - Chapter 47

In the daughter-in-law education where mother-in-law Christine appointed herself as teacher, Helena always became the bad child.

When Christine met Helena, she would appear carrying a long cane made from hazelnut branches, and would hit her chin with it while shouting.

[Raise your head higher, higher! Just how far do you plan to drag down the prestige of Evergale!]

For Helena, it felt like her neck would break if she dared to face her directly. Until marriage, only her own feet had always been visible in her field of view.

She was the money-crazed witch worth 50 krsant who couldn’t step onto the street without lowering her head.

Everywhere she stepped, the whispers of village women and the heated gazes of men would mix together and cling to her—that was her daily life.

Overcoming such a daily routine overnight was never an easy task.

‘Still, through repeated regressions, the scolding about etiquette has disappeared.’

But Christine’s purpose was never etiquette education from the beginning. She would always find new faults or impose even stricter standards to constantly torment Helena.

While Helena stood dazed, holding the shoes that Lily had kicked off, Lily swayed and pulled back her arms that had been stretched out to both sides. Then she jumped up onto Helena’s bed and plopped down her bottom.

“Phew, but I can’t do it because it’s too hard. I think it would be much more comfortable to just be a bad child and live messily.”

The cheerful voice pulled Helena out of her past reverie. Helena neatly arranged the shoes and set them aside while thinking.

‘I should buy children’s slippers too when I go to the central district.’

As she was adding to her mental shopping list, Lily suddenly giggled as if something had occurred to her.

“Oh, do you know something, sister?”

“……What?”

“What they call you and Kamel oppa at the guild.”

“Ah…… I heard on the way here.”

When Helena nodded slightly, Lily smiled sheepishly.

“Hehe, so you heard. But it’s not that they’re teasing you for putting on airs—it’s because there are so many people here who treat etiquette like rum with cinnamon powder sprinkled on top. You and Kamel oppa look like a princess and prince to them.”

“I didn’t think there was any bad intention. But I didn’t know that was the reason.”

Helena sat next to Lily and listened to everything she continued to say. Lily seemed delighted by this, swinging her feet and chattering away continuously.

Then she suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit.

“Right, I almost forgot. The captain said she has something to tell you and asked you to come to her room for a moment.”

“When?”

“Um…… Since I talked for so long, probably right now?”

Lily jumped off the bed just like when she had climbed up, shoved her feet into her shoes, and ran to the door.

“Please don’t say I made you late! I’m sorry!”

****

The moment Helena entered Gelda’s office, what greeted her were long legs boldly propped up on the desk.

Gelda was in a position almost lying back in her chair, and there was even a thin booklet covering her face.

“You’re a bit late.”

Even though Helena hadn’t announced who she was, a response came back as if everything was visible. It was quite a mumbling voice. Whether it was because it hit the booklet and became muffled, or because she was sleepy, was unclear.

Helena looked at the mud on the tips of Gelda’s boots and squeezed out a poor excuse.

“Ah…… I got a bit mixed up with Lily…….”

“Never mind.”

A hand covered in ink splotches waved through the air once. Gelda made a grunt and removed the booklet, sitting up.

“There’s no way that chatterbox saw you and just delivered the message and left. That tiny thing is secretly picky about what she finds pretty and nice.”

She twisted her neck this way and that with a snicker, then ran her hand through her hair once. When her disheveled black hair found its place somewhat, her face likewise took on a serious expression.

“Anyway, let’s get straight to business.”

Gelda gestured with her chin toward a chair placed in the corner opposite the desk. While Helena pulled the chair over and sat down, Gelda spread out a map of Dairon Forest.

“There may be differences by region, but from now on is the breeding season for magical beasts in Dairon. If we leave them alone and they get buried in snow or soil later, it becomes incredibly troublesome, so we need to start removal work immediately.”

“Then magical beast hunting too…….”

“Will naturally accompany the process. When prey walks into the forest on its own, do you think those guys will just stay still?”

Gelda slid her finger across the map and stopped at the waist part of the forest, tapping above it.

“This weekend, we’ll start from the Delta zone. Of course, the deep areas will be deployed as soon as the first-half habitat analysis is completed. I’ll tell you the details when we get there, so study up on magical beast grades in the meantime.”

Perhaps because it was bothersome, Gelda started to get up but stopped and turned her chair to the side. She stretched out her legs and kicked the bottom of the bookshelf with force.

Then a thick hardcover book that had been precariously stuck in the middle shelf fell with a thud. The book landed precisely in the space above her foot that Gelda had created by bending the tip of her shoe.

“Ha- perfect.”

Gelda smiled with satisfaction at her own praise. She tapped the cover to roughly dust it off and held the book out to Helena.

<Magical Beast Encyclopedia – Special Illustrations of Grade 1 Species Included>

Helena took it somewhat bewildered. It was quite heavy, so as soon as Gelda let go, Helena’s hands sank down.

Helena scratched at the cracked parts of the cover leather with her fingernail for a moment, then looked up.

“Am I also participating in the subjugation battle?”

At the quiet question, Gelda’s right eyebrow rose noticeably.

“Then what did I call you here for? Why, don’t you want to do it?”

“It’s not that, but…… I didn’t expect to be given such an important mission so immediately.”

“With that skill, why would I let you rot doing menial tasks all the time? You know that’s a huge loss, a loss. The guild isn’t running a charity, and you want me to just sit back and watch such a loss?”

A sigh mixed with reproach flowed through Gelda’s teeth as if she had expected this. She rolled up the map and secured it with a thin metal ring while continuing to speak.

“If you have power, you should know how to use it. If you just have it without using it, is that power? It’s just a burden. So you should also reasonably…….”

During this time, Helena just stared down at the book.

Finding this strange, Gelda threw the rolled map into a container placed far away and brought her gaze back to the front.

“Or what, is it burdensome by any chance? If it seems like too much-.”

“No.”

Helena cut off Gelda’s words somewhat urgently. It was an uncharacteristic appearance, so Gelda kept her raised eyebrow frozen and closed her mouth.

Helena raised her head and answered again in a calmer tone this time.

“I’ll go right in.”

Gelda’s expression became strange as she faced her. Gelda leaned back against the chair back and clasped her hands together, wiggling her index fingers.

Not long after, Gelda made a short snorting sound and straightened up.

“Well. Since that’s your intention, I won’t particularly oppose it. But don’t be too hasty. This isn’t some rigid capital academy.”

“……?”

“I’m saying you don’t need to desperately try to prove something.”

This time Helena’s eyebrows twitched with puzzlement.

“But when I first came in…….”

“Ah, sorry.”

Gelda also realized the contradiction in her words and let out an awkward laugh along with a quick apology.

“Back then I was so curious about you that I wanted to see more.”

Perhaps feeling embarrassed, Gelda opened a drawer and rummaged through it instead of meeting Helena’s eyes.

When her bent torso rose again, there was a cigarette between her fingers.

Gelda struck a match and complained in a grumbling tone.

“Actually, as you’ll find out living here, our guild isn’t that strict. It’s a bit rough, but it’s natural to see it as a charity. It’s called a guild, but everyone without money or homes crawls in here…… Tsk. Even leaving children at the front door and going away.”

The last sentence was mumbled while holding the cigarette in her mouth, so it wasn’t clearly audible. But Helena vaguely sensed it was about Lily.

“Anyway, just showing as much power as you have is enough. That’s why this is a guild. It’s not about competing with each other, but combining forces to form a pack. That’s the survival method of this place.”

Gelda exhaled smoke after finishing her words. A faint wrinkle formed between Helena’s brows. Gelda, who glanced at it sideways, told her to go ahead and leave.

Just then Flam entered, so Helena hugged the book to her chest, bowed her head once, and stood up.

“Don’t scare her too much. You’ll devour her completely.”

“Be quiet. The scariest-looking one here is you.”

“What did I do wrong to deserve that.”

Flam spoke in a light complaining tone and settled his bottom on the chair. The chair that hadn’t budged when Helena sat on it earlier made quite a loud creaking sound.

At that sound, Gelda burst out the smoke she had been holding in her mouth along with laughter.

“How many times have you been wanted as a bandit this year? Count them again?”

With the cigarette between her teeth, her mumbling voice as she said “let’s see” was full of laughter.

Her hands rummaging through the busy desk looking for wanted posters were likewise amused. Flam grumbled about why she didn’t throw such things away instead of collecting them.

“People and their prejudices, really…….”

He hunched his large frame into the chair and put his elbow on the armrest, holding his temple.

Gelda also stopped her teasing and stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

“So why did you come? Don’t you know I’m a busy person?”

“How heartless. I was just passing by and heard a harsh voice that seemed ready to pierce through the door, so I came in to take a look. Wondering who you were devouring this time.”

“Mind your own business, I’ll handle everything myself.”

“And how many kids have left because of that so far. You have to be trustworthy, really.”

“I don’t need guys who can’t even endure that much!”

Gelda, with veins bulging on her forehead, threw a heavy file. Flam caught it casually with one hand as if he had expected it.

At the perfect defense, an annoyed groan escaped through Gelda’s teeth. She stood up with a menacing air, passed by Flam, and collapsed onto the large sofa that occupied one side of the room.

Flam glanced at her and asked casually.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

“True, the cuckoo sounds were severe last night. Sometimes I wonder if that bastard sends them on purpose.”

“You stop cuckooing too. Let me get some sleep.”

After roughly organizing Gelda’s chaotic desk, Flam also stood up. He took slow steps as if he would leave the room just like that, but suddenly turned around at the door.

“If the princess goes, the prince will naturally go too…… So we’re preparing two sets?”

“Right. Hurry up and turn off the light and get out.”

Gelda answered while covering her eyes with the back of her hand, then turned to lie on her side. While she tossed and turned several times looking for a comfortable position, Flam left, and she mumbled quietly at the end of a yawn.

“That kid needs……to be a mess.”