The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 44

Many people strive to live their lives, but few are as passionate as she is.

 

Giselle nodded with a bright smile. “Am I living diligently?”

 

“That’s how it seems.”

 

“If that’s how it appears, the reason is simple. At the end of my life, or at the end of any episode in my life, I don’t want to regret not having tried something. Regret is tiresome, and life is shorter than we think, isn’t it?”

 

For a man who had been trudging through life as if he were discarding it, her words strangely took his breath away.

 

“Is that so?”

 

“Yes! So rather than saying I live diligently, it’s more about making choices that make me happiest, because it’s my life after all.”

 

He suddenly realized how much Giselle’s expression sparkled. And that resembled his brother’s face as he headed off to the battlefield.

 

At that moment, Giselle pulled her lips into a wider smile and gently shook her head. “So, Duke, thank you for contributing to my happiness!”

 

Giselle bowed her head and left, whistling a tune. However, Vientin found himself unable to move for a while. Giselle’s smiling face lingered in his mind like an afterimage. Sitting there, he turned her words over and over in his head.

 

Life is shorter than we think, and I want to become happy more frequently.

 

And my actions can be the source of someone else’s happiness.

 

To think that such seemingly simple words could make him feel like a failing student facing an unsolvable problem for the first time in his life. It was an emotion for which he could find no outlet.

 

Duke Vientin Kalinos buried his head on the desk and let out a low groan.

 

* * *

Before they knew it, it was the last day of the Aurum Market. The time had come for the emperor to personally visit and select the products to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Naturally, Count Ronus’s video magic artifact was considered the greatest innovation and a guaranteed winner.

 

Count Ronus, wearing a happy expression, was leisurely walking towards his booth at the Aurum Market. But then…

 

“W-What is this?”

 

There was a line of people at Duke Kalinos’s family booth. It was an unexpected sight. That booth usually attracts nothing but flies, so why the sudden change? The Kalinos family was known for inventing strange and peculiar items, so he never really considered them as rivals.

 

A man with a distinguished mustache, silver hair, and piercing blue eyes was shouting in a booming voice. “Everyone, look at the screen of this magic artifact!”

 

Besides Duke Kalinos, boxes were being handed out.

 

“It’s a recording magic artifact with vibrant colors!”

 

Seeing everyone’s attention fixed on the boxes, Count Ronus approached as if entranced. The screen was playing a video.

 

“This is the magic artifact that exposed Caitlyn Ronus, a notorious abuser and thief!”

 

His mocking tone made Count Ronus boil with rage. How dare he insult my aunt, calling her an abuser and a thief?

 

Count Ronus clenched his fist and rushed forward. But even he was stunned when he saw the video artifact.

 

The magic artifact glowed with vibrant colors. In it, there was Caitlyn, unmistakably, abusing the servants, slapping them, and committing all sorts of evil deeds.

 

“T-This can’t be true.”

 

“It is true.”

 

With Duke Kalinos’ arrogant declaration, all eyes turned towards him. At that moment, he was terrifyingly expressionless.

 

They say he once ate a troll alive with that very expression.

 

Just then, the man with the mustache interjected appropriately. It was Kima disguised as Kimar. “Ah, come to think of it, Count’s surname does have ‘Ronus’ attached to it, doesn’t it?”

 

The eyes that had been fixated on the magic artifact now turned to him. Caught off guard, he hesitated. It wasn’t the gaze of admiration that everyone had shown on the first day at Aurum Market.

 

“T-That’s…” He stammered, unable to find the right words, while people continued to speak.

 

“For the Kalinos family, this is quite a merciful decision, isn’t it?”

 

“Indeed. At least they didn’t use the sword that chopped off the troll’s head on her. Just a house arrest.”

 

Duke Kalinos replied arrogantly. “It would have been fitting to use the sword that beheaded the troll on Ronus’s neck, but I held back.”

 

Even if others doubted, the words of Kalinos carried significant weight. Count Ronus almost nodded in agreement before quickly speaking up. “What do you mean by that?”

 

“Well, she secretly roughed up the maids behind the mistress’s back. She undermined the authority of the lady of the house.”

 

The sound of people whispering filled his ears. Even though it wasn’t the right situation, hearing the roaring public sentiment, he had to admire it in his heart. Duke Kalinos is using noise marketing to this degree. So brutal.

 

The tale of a noble-born head maid’s downfall was undoubtedly a delightful gossip for the people. People were talking about Caitlyn Ronus’s misdeeds, and naturally, their attention focused on the magic artifact that had revealed those crimes.

 

There’s no way the Kalinos family thought all this up. Was it that Kimar guy who planned this ruthless marketing? He glared at Kimar.

 

In the distance, Kimar could be heard enthusiastically promoting the product. “See the vivid colors? It’s on a whole different level from black and white, isn’t it?”

 

“Indeed. It’s truly different. Much more engaging and clear.”

 

“You can set the desired time and record for more than 30 seconds, not just 10. That means overwhelming performance.”

 

“But what if someone tries to record me? I mean, if I don’t want them to!”

 

It was a question Count Ronus had received countless times before. Back then, he had brushed it off casually. As the market leader, he thought people would buy it despite its flaws, but now he was uncertain.

 

“Oh, don’t worry. When recording, there’s a sound that everyone can clearly hear. With the commercial recording artifact, recording is impossible without mutual consent. Also, the recorded content can only be kept for personal use.”

 

Count Ronus’s legs gave way, and he fell to the ground. He thought securing a spot in the Aurum Market’s Hall of Fame was a sure thing. He even had already completed all the production orders for delivery to numerous noble families. But he was wrong. Duke Kalinos was overwhelming him, and moreover—

 

“We’re offering a one-month free trial as well.”

 

“I’m curious. Let me try it.”

 

“We’ve engraved numbers on each product to facilitate exchanges and refunds, so please keep that in mind.”

 

With the promise of free trials and easy exchanges or refunds, even those who were skeptical of this new recording magic artifact began to approach the Kalinos family’s booth.

 

Damn it! Looking around with bloodshot eyes, Count Ronus saw everyone staring at him with pity, as if he were a pathetic loser. He gritted his teeth. I won’t let this slide. Never.

 

* * *

Caitlyn had been thoroughly dealt with, and Count Ronus’s money source had been decisively cut off. But then, an unexpected problem arose.

 

“Um, aren’t you two going anywhere?”

 

It was my father-in-law. Unlike before, he seemed more energetic than before by the fact that his magic artifact had become a huge sensation.

 

“No, we’re not going.”

 

“I-I see.”

 

Neslan tried to smile brightly, suppressing any signs of disappointment, and then pulled out something he had prepared from behind his back. “… It’s a beautifully decorated recording magic artifact.”

 

“Wait, why is there a teddy bear attached to a recording magic artifact…?”

 

“It’s a design favored by my father, the former Duke Garno.”

 

“It’s really very pretty.”