The Regret Novel Female Lead with Unbreakable Mentality Chapter 67

The mysteriously appearing woman, Cordelia Inferna, was staring at me with a desperate look.

 

Yesterday, she looked like she wanted to kill me. Her face looked even more haggard than it had yesterday as she gazed at me and spoke with determination.

 

“The reason I tried to kiss your hand yesterday was, well, I needed to check something.”

 

“To check something?”

 

I gave her a suspicious look, and she replied firmly.

 

“I think, Duchess, you have a very special ability to control magical beasts!”

 

…All of a sudden? Right here?

 

“The truth is, yesterday I cast an illusion spell on everyone. I didn’t want people to notice I wasn’t feeling well. My illusion magic is pretty sophisticated—no one ever notices, unless they’re a higher-level mage than me.”

 

…Wait, so…

 

“But you noticed.” She pulled an egg out of her pocket and muttered, “Would you like to try handling this dragon?”

 

The egg was about the size of an ostrich egg, but what made it unique was that a pair of feet was sticking out of it.

 

How did she even fit something like that in her pocket?

 

I scowled and glared at the little feet poking out of the egg. Yeah, I really was just glaring at them. But in an instant, the feet curled up.

 

“Coo.”

 

“Oh my goodness.” Cordelia’s eyes went wide as she looked back and forth between the feet and me. “You subdued it with just a look, didn’t you? Right?”

 

“I wouldn’t call it subduing… It just looked like the toes were curled by coincidence.”

 

But Cordelia didn’t seem interested in listening to me. With a desperate expression, she grabbed my hand tightly and said, “Not only did you break through my illusion magic, you even defeated a dragon with just a glance!”

 

“That sounds a bit exaggerated.”

 

“It means Lady Giselle has the power to control magical beasts.”

 

“…Control?”

 

“Let me explain. Actually, my illusion magic is closely tied to my ability, ‘Affinity with Magical Beasts.’ And there are three abilities related to handling magical beasts. The highest of them is the power to control them.”

 

Why do all these abilities I’ve never heard of keep popping up? I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what was going on, when Cordelia, slightly out of breath, ran her hand through her hair.

 

“…I’ve been wondering, are you low on mana?”

 

“Yes. Annoyingly enough, I am.”

 

I nodded at Cordelia’s quick admission. Ah, no wonder her attitude yesterday felt so familiar. Classic mana depletion symptoms. I guess I recognized it because I’d suffered the same thing at the hands of that regretful male lead, ‘Duke Reshaniel.’

 

Cordelia was looking at me with intense enthusiasm. Her eyes were practically sparkling…

 

This is just like the student looks at their professor!

 

So, I have the power to heal Marquis Berto. Apparently, I also possess this so-called control ability. I just have way too many suspicions hidden powers, that’s all. The ability to heal, and now the power to control magical beasts. Just what am I? Seriously!

 

Cordelia, who had no idea what I was thinking, clung to my hand and whispered desperately. “Please, tell me what the dragon is saying! You understand, don’t you?”

 

“No.”

 

I could hear a muffled sound coming from inside the egg. But now that the shell was closed, I couldn’t make out exactly what it was saying.

 

“I have no idea what those sounds mean, but I figured someone with the power of control would understand everything!”

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

“Here!”

 

I took the egg and pressed my ear to its surface.

 

“Coo…”

 

…The moment I heard that, I rubbed my face in exasperation. Yeah, I understood perfectly well what it was saying.

 

“Well, the thing is…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“To be honest, I’m not even sure if I have this so-called power of control, but I do know what it’s saying.”

 

Cordelia’s eyes widened, burning with intense passion.

 

I have no idea why I keep manifesting all these suspicious abilities.

 

Cordelia seemed to only half understand what I’d said, but her eyes sparkled as she asked, “Really? Then, what is the dragon saying? Do they need anything?”

 

…I wasn’t sure how to put this, so I whispered very quietly. “It says it wants to set things on fire.”

 

“Coo! (Let’s burn it up!)”

 

“It also says it wants to meddle everywhere.”

 

“Coo! (I’ll show the world my power!)”

 

Cordelia’s eyes grew huge with bewilderment.

 

Crack—

 

“T-The egg!”

 

“Is it hatching?”

 

Like the parting of the Red Sea, the eggshell split cleanly in two. Before I knew it, the baby dragon tumbled out of the egg, opened its mouth, and produced a tiny flame. Watching the little bursts of fire coming from its mouth, I held my head in my hands. Ugh, my blood pressure’s rising.

 

15. How to Tame a Dragon

 

This damned Coocoo brat.

 

I hadn’t even bothered to name the dragon that ended up with me. It just keeps cooing, so I decided to call it Coocoo.

 

Coocoo was fluttering its wings in my pocket, excitedly trying to breathe fire again.

 

“Hey, Coocoo. Stop.”

 

“Coo.”

 

“I told you, if you set fire to my house, I’ll kick you out.”

 

Its wings drooped sadly to the floor.

 

Leaning my chin in my hand, I patted Coocoo and recalled my conversation with Cordelia.

 

“The dragon can do a lot—if the person it’s connected to has plenty of mana. I’m sure it’ll be helpful.”

 

“So…?”

 

“Actually, being able to handle a great dragon is something everyone envies.”

 

“…I see, so?”

 

“No matter how I look at it, I can’t keep a dragon with me when I can’t even understand its grand language.”

 

“But—”

 

“I’ll leave it here and visit it often!”

 

Cordelia, leaving behind this troublesome, fire-obsessed creature to me! To make matters worse, this brat devoured mana. Ever since our eyes met, this brat had been sucking up my mana….

 

“Coocoo. (We’re connected by heart! That’s why I could wake up and move from the egg using your mana!)”

 

“I don’t want to be connected with you. How do I break it?”

 

“Coocoo. (No! Someday, I’ll be a huge help as a dragon!)”

 

“But right now, you’re not much help, are you?”

 

I glared at Coocoo while barely keeping myself alive with potions. But Coocoo just looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

 

“Coo! (I can make your dreams come true!)”

 

It didn’t sound all that convincing, but I couldn’t really turn it away. After all, I’d promised Cordelia I’d take care of the dragon…

 

“I’ll do my best to help you whenever you need it.”

 

I’d gained a phantasmal beast and even gotten closer to the Inferna family. Looking back now, as my mana was being drained, I wasn’t so sure it was a good deal. Well, I guess I’ll just have to wait and see. I rested my chin on my hand, thinking of the bright red ruby ring I’d given Cordelia as a token.

 

“I’m just temporarily looking after you, that’s all.”

 

“Coo? (Why?)”

 

“If Cordelia does what I asked her to, I’ll keep taking care of you. But if she doesn’t, I’ll kick you out without a second thought.”

 

Thanks to getting closer to Cordelia, I’d finally found a way to deal with something that had been bothering me for a while. But who knows if Cordelia will actually do a good job?

 

* * *

It was a few days later. The atmosphere at Muto, the most famous social club in high society, led by Shabel, was buzzing with excitement. That was because the young lady of the Inferna family was said to be attending their gathering.

 

“It’s truly an honor to have Lady Cordelia visit us!”

 

The main color for this season’s social scene, as promoted by Muto, was green. Ladies, each wearing a vibrant green dress gifted by Shabel, sat in the private room of a coffeehouse.

 

“It’s been ages since we’ve all gathered like this. It’s so good to see everyone.”

 

“Lady Shabel, it’s wonderful to see you.”

 

One of the ladies of Muto, watching her, spoke up rather bluntly. “But isn’t it strange?”

 

“What is?”

 

“I’m talking about Lady Cordelia. Why did she insist on meeting here, of all places?”

 

“That’s true. This place belongs to the Kalinos family. Hardly anyone comes here these days…”

 

As the other young ladies chatted, Shabel cut in firmly. “Regardless, what matters most is the meeting between Lady Inferna and Muto. Everyone, please mind your words and actions.”

 

Truthfully, Shabel felt uneasy too. It was odd that Cordelia had chosen this coffeehouse, which belonged to the Kalinos family. But for the sake of reviving Marquis Berto’s masterpiece, the Celestine Green dye, she’d decided it was worth sacrificing a pawn to gain the bigger prize.

 

Just then, one of the ladies, looking out the window from the second floor of the coffeehouse, suddenly went pale. “I-Isn’t that Lady Cordelia over there?”

 

Even from a distance, her presence was overwhelming. Watching her walk toward the private room, it was no wonder everyone turned pale.

 

“I think that really is Lady Cordelia…”