The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 149 - Special Story 1. What I’d Want to Say If I Met My Parents

Special Story 1. What I’d Want to Say If I Met My Parents

 

“Hey, Giselle! Do you know about the ‘Time Slip Machine’?”

 

As usual, I had been spending another peaceful day without causing any chaos. Meaning, I was sleeping. Then Riwes suddenly showed up in my bedroom, shoved a square box at me, and started spouting weird stuff.

 

“…Mmm, a ‘Time Slip Machine’?” I staggered up half-awake and squinted at the square box he was holding out.

 

“Yes, yes! Look! They say it can send you back to the past. Giselle, is there a time in the past you’d most like to go back to?”

 

“Mmm, I’m not sure.”

 

It looked kind of like the <Time Machine> from modern times. Then… would I be able to meet my parents too? Come to think of it, I’d literally never once thought about my parents.

 

He picked up something interesting. Up to that point, that was about as far as my thoughts went. At least until I accepted that damned box called ‘Time Slip Machine’ and forgot all about it without a second thought.

 

And then came a private dinner with just Duke Kalinos and me. At that time, while showing him the top of the <Time Slip Machine> box…

 

“Riwes said it works if you press this button. Isn’t it interesting?”

 

“…Indeed, it is.”

 

I was pretending I was going to demonstrate it when my hand just barely brushed the bright red button on top of the box. Click, the button was pressed.

 

“Huh?’

 

…It gets pressed that easily?

 

But that wasn’t the real problem. The moment the button was pressed, fine, crack-like lines of light began to spread across the top of the box. As if something really was about to happen!

 

I was staring dumbly at the button when Duke Kalinos grabbed my hand in a tight grip.

 

“Giselle.”

 

“No, it’s dangerous—”

 

“Isn’t the whole point of being a married couple to go to dangerous places together?”

 

Strangely, that did kind of make sense. But couldn’t we just not go to dangerous places?

 

While I was thinking that, a pale, hazy light was already gathering around us, and I could hear a series of clicking sounds. I looked back and forth between the glowing box and his eyes and thought. We’re f*cked. Then I squeezed my eyes shut.

 

* * *

“We’re in trouble. How are we supposed to get back?”

 

That was when I opened my eyes again after being engulfed in a mass of white light. Before I knew it, we were standing in an unfamiliar forest.

 

“…At least it’s daytime.”

 

“Is that really something to be glad about…?”

 

With a long sigh, I glared at the ‘Time Slip Machine’ in my hand, or rather, the now-useless square box. On the very top of the box, the text [D―7] was written.

 

“Seeing as it says [D―7] here, I’m guessing we’re stuck here for a whole week.”

 

Unlike me, sighing away, Duke Kalinos looked completely calm.

 

“It’s fine. It seems to be about 20 years in the past. It’s before the currency reform, so we should still be able to use the money we have without any issues.”

 

…What on earth is he even talking about? He looked like someone who already knew this world inside and out.

 

“And how exactly do you know that?” I fixed him with a gaze gone cold.

 

He answered in all seriousness. “Look at the sign, Giselle. It says (-eumnida), not (-seumnida) ^[1] In modern Korea, the formal ending is written (-seumnida). However, before the Korean spelling reform of 1988, it was often written as (-eumnida). So, Vientin is pointing out that the sign uses the old orthography, meaning they have reverted to a time before the spelling reform. .”

 

I followed his finger to the inn sign. Though I had no idea why there was suddenly an inn in the middle of a forest…

 

“…You’re right.”

 

“Judging from the fact that the standard orthography was revised about seventeen years ago, this means we’re in a time at least seventeen years before the present.”

 

“What in the world…”

 

“And look at the metallic compound used on that inn’s roof. Surely you understand now, right?”

 

No. I don’t get it at all…

 

“…”

 

Seeing my silence, Duke Kalinos glanced at me and let out a little “oh” of realization. “It seems to be from the period when that kind of compound was commonly used for roofing. Judging by the style, it’s an architectural trend from about twenty-five years ago.”

 

…The more I listened, the less I understood.

 

“And this watch.” The duke glared at the unfamiliar watch that had somehow ended up strapped around his wrist. “My guess is that in a week, this watch will break, allowing us to return to our original world.”

 

I didn’t understand a single thing. Still, we’d have to deal with things as they came.

 

“Why don’t we go inside and take a look around first?”

 

This was a pretty sinister forest. That inn sitting there in the middle of it only made the whole thing feel even more suspicious, but…

 

“Let’s go.”

 

…With the strongest person in this whole world right next to me, what was there to be afraid of?

 

* * *

“Ah, so travelers have arrived. Do you happen to have ID cards?”

 

It was when we had entered the suspicious-looking inn with our guard up. The well-built innkeeper came all the way to the entrance to greet us courteously. But the words coming out of his mouth were completely incomprehensible.

 

“What is an ID card?”

 

At Duke Kalinos’s question, the innkeeper looked bewildered. “Huh? It’s unusual for a stranger who doesn’t know what an ID card is to come to this inn.”

 

“We got lost on the way.”

 

“Now that I think about it, your way of speaking is a bit unfamiliar too. You don’t seem to be from around here, do you?”

 

That would make sense. After all, this world must have changed over the past 20 years. Speech patterns, lifestyles, and so on. The level of detail is incredible… That was what I thought, but I couldn’t say it out loud. So I merely nodded.

 

“Well, there are a lot of bandits nearby. Then, as for payment… could you tell me your home address?”

 

“Kali—”

 

“…Not that. You know, money?” I repeatedly jabbed Duke Kalinos in the side to stop him from saying ‘Kalinos family’. If he said that now, we’d be treated as identity frauds!

 

Understanding what I meant, he leisurely fished around in his inner pocket and pulled out one gold coin. “Take a look. We shall stay for a week.”

 

“O-O-One gold f-for a week… U-Understood.”

 

…Come to think of it, prices must have risen enormously. It feels like a waste somehow… Still, one gold coin would surely be of greater value to the innkeeper.

 

Making a huge fuss, the innkeeper led us deeper inside. “You’re very lucky guests. You’ll be using our deluxe room! I never thought I’d live to see the day I opened that room…”

 

Following the innkeeper up the second-floor corridor, we reached the room at the end. With a look that suggested he was eagerly anticipating our reaction, he swung the door open.

 

“Hehe, ta-da!”

 

“Oh…”

 

The room looked about 10 pyeong (roughly 33 square meters), like a neat studio apartment with a double bed and a dressing table. For an inn like this, it was probably a pretty high-end room. But having become accustomed to the Kalinos family, it wasn’t exactly the kind of room that would leave me in awe.

 

How am I supposed to react? I can openly curse villains, but I have this condition where I just can’t say mean things to people who look at me with eyes full of expectation like that.

 

At that moment, Duke Kalinos said, “It’s shab—”

 

“Ah!” Pressing hard into the side of the overly honest man, I forced a smile. “Wow, it’s wonderful.”

 

“Ri-Right? This room has been passed down through my family for generations. We decided it would only be given to our most honored guests!”

 

Avoiding the innkeeper’s sparkling gaze, I muttered softly, “Y-Yes. It’s really wonderful.”

 

At my soulless words, the innkeeper nodded vigorously. “Then please make yourselves comfortable for the next week!” He then pointed to a small door in the left wall. “And there’s even a toilet room inside.”

 

Bang! After the door closed and he had left, I manually turned on the light in the bathroom and grumbled quietly. “20 years ago was more inconvenient than I expected.”

 

Duke Kalinos nodded. “This is a time when magic and magical artifacts are less developed. If necessary, I shall try developing some magical artifacts here.”

 

“That’s…”

 

“Don’t worry.”

 

He’d always looked like he genuinely enjoyed developing magical artifacts anyway, but still… There’s no need to do anything weird. We were lucky enough to find a nearby inn, but if we ended up affecting this world, that would be troublesome. Wouldn’t that risk twisting the future? Right now, Duke Kalinos and I were nothing more than shady outsiders.

 

“Anyway, we just need to live normally for about a week.”

 

“Hmm, indeed. There was a pub on the first floor of this inn earlier. How about we go there?”

 

“That doesn’t sound bad.”

 

“Then change into something comfortable. I’ll go down first.”

 

“Let’s go together…!”

 

“Yeah, yeah, just get changed and come after me!”

 

…I had merely gone quickly down to the first floor while Duke Kalinos was changing clothes. And I accidentally bumped into someone who was carrying a mug of beer out of the pub.

 

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

 

“Mmm, yeah.”

 

…What’s with that rude tone? Clearly, it was our fault since neither of us was paying attention. We bumped into each other, and he just naturally accepted my apology like that? Sure, I’d apologized first as someone from a Confucian culture would. Is that b*stard’s personality completely rotten or what?

 

I, Giselle, never put up with unpleasant treatment. At times like this, I intended to complain that mutual apologies should be the basis of common courtesy. And so, just as I turned my gaze toward the other person’s face…

 

…Huh?

 

My eyes went wide. Because the face of the person I had bumped into was far too familiar.

• 1. In modern Korea, the formal ending is written (-seumnida). However, before the Korean spelling reform of 1988, it was often written as (-eumnida). So, Vientin is pointing out that the sign uses the old orthography, meaning they have reverted to a time before the spelling reform.