The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 31

“Giselle, how much dowry should we prepare? Don’t worry about the money. Just tell me what you need.”

 

“Ah, don’t worry about the dowry. I’ve already received it.”

 

He was the head of the House of Florette. Who else but him would provide the family’s dowry?

 

She must be trying to ease my burden. How thoughtful. Giselle’s deep thoughts left him momentarily speechless. What have I been doing all this time, leaving such a girl behind? Caring for her should have been more important than searching for my friend’s keepsake… A wave of bitter regret threatened to engulf his heart. But Giselle continued to smile brightly, unaware of how much it pained Count Florette.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get a solid share. And not just this coffee house, several others too.”

 

“Huh?” Giselle’s eyes widened.

 

If Giselle were as considerate as he thought, he’d surely refuse to accept it.

 

“With that kind heart of yours, don’t even think about refusing. Understand?”

 

“What? Do you think I’d refuse?”

 

“Yes. You’re too kind…”

 

“If you insist, I’ll gladly accept!”

 

* * *

The coffee house buzzed with its usual crowd. But in the private room, silence hung heavy as winter frost.

 

“Giselle.”

 

“Yes, Mother!”

 

“Are you really running a business under your own name?”

 

Yuliana had arrived at Giselle’s coffee house after receiving Caitlyn’s detailed report on her future daughter-in-law’s activities. Giselle, still wearing her work apron, had been bustling around the front counter, giving orders, when Yuliana suddenly appeared.

 

“Aah, yes! This coffee house will be my dowry!”

 

“Ha. That uncultured apron…”

 

“By the way, Mother, you investigated me!”

 

“Yes.”

 

Even after openly admitting to the investigation, Giselle remained cheerful. She looks like she’d be easily crushed by an enemy.

 

“No matter how I think about it, someone as useless and fragile as you doesn’t belong in our family.”

 

“Yes~♡”

 

“I don’t want to talk any further, but have you informed the House of Florette about the marriage?”

 

“Yes~♡ Now all that’s left is to get married! But Mother, why did you come? You came because you wanted to see me, right?”

 

“That damn…”

 

Ever since granting permission for the marriage, that incessant ‘Mother’ from her lips!

 

Yuliana Kalinos had lived a life as pristine and untouchable as an orchid. No one dared approach her closely. Friends, even her first daughter-in-law, who had passed away, found her intimidating. But Giselle was different. This unfamiliar behavior left Yuliana completely unsettled.

 

“Why am I your mother? You joining our family and me acknowledging you as my daughter-in-law are two separate matters.”

 

“I understand, Mother! If you don’t want a daughter-in-law, there’s nothing I can do.”

 

“…”

 

For a moment, Giselle seemed a bit deflated…

 

“Then I’ll act like your real daughter from now on!”

 

…or not, definitely not.

 

“I’ve never had a daughter like you.”

 

“Ohohoho, you haven’t had a daughter until now, so of course! Can I call you Mom from now on?”

 

“…Can you?”

 

“If you allow it, then I will!”

 

Unable to bear it any longer, Yuliana shouted angrily. “You’re really insolent!” She was at a loss for words, almost reaching for the back of her neck in frustration.

 

“Hehe, okay! Then I won’t call you that!” Giselle, who had captured Yuliana’s attention, was rubbing her belly with a satisfied smile.

 

Could it be that I’m getting drawn into this? Yuliana found herself speechless.

 

“Ah! I’m developing a new recipe for the coffee house, and I’ll let Mother be the first to tas~te it! I promise!”

 

Could Giselle, with her stubborn personality, have been oppressed by someone like Mariposa in the past? Everything was questionable.

 

Glaring at Giselle, Yuliana turned away coldly and said, “None of that matters. I’m here because I have something to say.”

 

“Huuh? What is it?”

 

“As you know, our family doesn’t hold weddings. With the territory constantly under threat from monsters, who has time for fairy-tale romances?”

 

“Yeah, that’s right!”

 

Yuliana reminded herself why she’d come here today, the words heavy on her tongue. “There’s one thing you must do. You need to make your marriage vow in front of the direct blood relatives of the Kalinos family.”

 

Giselle wiped mysterious white powder from her lips—probably from whatever dessert recipe she was tinkering with—and asked casually, “So that’s Mother, Count Teren, the duke, and me? Four people?”

 

“…There is also your grandfather-in-law, former Duke Garno, but he’s on the eastern continent. Can’t make it.” Yuliana’s voice grew distant. “But there’s someone else in our family you haven’t met yet.” She turned her head, something cold flickering in her eyes. “Someone who’s still alive.”

 

* * *

The council chamber felt suffocating, weighed down by one man’s heavy sighs. Fresh from a long voyage to the Spice Islands, Count Florette commanded respect and wariness in equal measure. Everyone could sense his dark mood.

 

“Count Florette?”

 

“Sigh…”

 

“What’s eating at you? Ah, you must be upset because of Giselle Florette!”

 

“What’s she done now?”

 

His glare could have melted steel. “My foul mood is because of you. Get lost.”

 

“What? What did I—”

 

“My friend would’ve said something like, ‘Even if I have to choke on a ton of spices, I won’t sell to a worm like you. Get lost!’” Channeling his old friend’s voice made him feel marginally better.

 

Alone in the empty chamber, Count Florette brooded over Giselle’s life. Everyone tears her apart like this. How hard it must’ve been for Giselle, fragile as she is…

 

“Kneel!”

 

“Then die!”

 

The memory of Giselle’s vicious words to Abisan and that maid made Count Florette rub his face. Though she’s hardly fragile. Still, it must’ve been hell for her. Regret gnawed at his chest like a living thing.

 

Then there was the other unpleasant news.

 

[I would like to arrange the date for the wedding announcement. I plan to publicize the union at the upcoming Saint Gladius Festival. Please be informed, Father-in-law.]

 

Count Florette knew the Kalinos family’s tradition—no weddings when you lived next to monster territory. Even Duchess Yuliana had entered the family without ceremony. But Giselle isn’t just any bride. And she’s clearly not being treated well.

 

All of this felt like his fault for sailing away. Everyone was dismissing Giselle because of him. Why the hell did I decide to set sail, leaving my precious child behind?

 

Count Florette’s worries had been multiplying like weeds. Day after day, the same thoughts…

 

[Tomorrow, I plan to meet separately with Father to make the marriage vow.]

 

Reading Duke Kalinos’s note made him grab the back of his neck. “This is just a damn announcement!” The tension made his neck ache.

 

Neslan Kalinos must’ve heard this news too.

 

Five years ago, rumors said the former duke had locked himself away in his mansion. It was voluntary exile. What kind of messed-up family is this?

 

I really don’t like it. Sorry, old friend. But it wasn’t too late. I’d keep watching Giselle’s back.

 

Count Florette ground his teeth at the carelessly scrawled words at the letter’s end.

 

[I would appreciate Count Florette joining us as family at the event.]

 

If they so much as mistreat Giselle, I’ll have her divorced on the spot and keep her close. I’ll even give her anything she wants.

 

Count Florette tried to soothe his churning heart with the chestnut Mont Blanc Giselle had sent—another ‘newly developed recipe.’ The sweetness nearly brought tears to his eyes.

 

Is Giselle planning to give this Mont Blanc to her father-in-law? She’d probably give him something even better than what she wastes on someone useless like me. Thinking that, Count Florette suddenly couldn’t stand it, so bit into the Mont Blanc again with needless force.